MORGANTOWN — West Virginia will be in the market for a running backs coach for the second-straight season.
Auburn has reportedly hired the Mountaineers’ running back coach, Larry Porter, to be its running backs coach, according to CBS Sports Matt Zenitz. Porter reunites with the Tigers, where he was their special teams coordinator, tight ends and H-backs coach from 2017 to 2020.
It was a short stint for Porter in Morgantown, not even lasting a year, as he was hired in early March. He had a tough job during the season, trying to prepare a running backs room that constantly had injuries to many key players. WVU’s starter Jahiem White was out for the year, along with second-string Tye Edwards. Porter coached youngsters Diore Hubbard and Cyncir Bowers to close out the rest of the season, and even Hubbard missed the final game with an injury.
Even with all the injuries, Porter’s running back room rushed for over 1,000 yards and over 10 touchdowns. That might not be impressive, but keep in mind WVU’s quarterbacks take a lot of yards on the ground.
Porter was excited to coach under Rodriguez and in his offense.
“He had a fundamental belief in running the football,” Porter said in August. “Obviously, for me as a running back coach, it’s something that I love and I enjoy. He’s shown over the years that he would absolutely run the leather off the ball.”
Porter was a big hire after Chadd Scott left for Texas just two months into Rich Rodriguez’s return. Porter had success at North Carolina and produced first-round running back Omarion Hampton, who has shown promise in his rookie year with the Los Angeles Chargers. The Tar Heels led the ACC in rushing in 2021.
Prior to North Carolina, Porter bounced around, spending time at Auburn and LSU, where he produced six NFL Draft selections.
After Porter was hired in March, it became evident that retaining him was going to be difficult. Now, the Jackson, Mississippi native, heads closer to home, joining new head coach Alex Golesh’s staff, returning to the SEC.
Replacing Porter becomes a top priority, especially with a bunch of talented running backs already signing with WVU in the 2026 class, and the transfer portal quickly approaching. White and Hubbard have already announced their decisions to transfer, and it could be because they knew Porter wasn’t going to be around in 2026.
An early name to keep an eye on for Rodriguez’s next running back coach is Marshall running backs coach Rod McDowell, who was Rodriguez’s RB coach while he was at Jacksonville State. McDowell’s room finished third in the country in rushing in 2023. WVU could also hire within, promoting WVU legend Noel Devine, who is currently the assistant running backs coach.
