MORGANTOWN — West Virginia athletics announced Friday morning that it will retire former Mountaineers quarterback and current assistant quarterbacks coach Pat White’s No. 5 jersey this fall at a home game this season. The game is to be determined later this summer. He becomes the seventh player in history to receive the honor.
“Pat White was a generational player for West Virginia football and led our program through perhaps the greatest era in our history,” athletic director Wren Baker said in a statement. “Everywhere I go, I hear stories about the way Pat elevated our program and his teammates to greatness.”
White was one of the greatest WVU quarterbacks of all time and played during Rich Rodriguez’s first time in Morgantown. He had a 35-8 record as a starter and became the nation’s first starting quarterback to lead his team and win four-straight bowl games, 2005-08. He led the team to a win in the 2006 Sugar, 2007 Gator, 2008 Fiesta and 2008 Meineke Car Care Bowls. White set multiple Big East records in touchdowns (103), total offense (10,529) and was the first player in the Big East to pass for more than 10,000 yards.
As a freshman, White burst onto the scene as a true dual-threat quarterback. He earned freshman first-team All-American honors, according to multiple outlets. In his first season, White played in 12 games, threw for 828 yards and eight touchdowns, along with rushing for 952 yards and seven more scores.
In White’s sophomore year, he only improved. He threw for 1,655 yards and 13 touchdowns, and then rushed for 1, 219 yards and 18 touchdowns. He led the Mountaineers to an 11-2 season and an AP Poll high of No. 3. White helped WVU beat Georgia Tech in the Gator Bowl 38-35. The sophomore was named Big East Offensive Player of the Year and Davey O’Brien Award.
In 2007, White continued to show immense success on the gridiron. He threw for a hundred more yards in the air and rushed a hundred more than his sophomore year. White won back-to-back Big East Offensive Player of the Year. WVU once again went 11-2, beat Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl and won a Big East title. White finished sixth in the Heisman Trophy voting and was a semifinalist for the O’Brien Award and Walter Camp Player of the Year.
This was White’s final season under Rodriguez. Rodriguez took the Michigan job after the regular season finale against Pitt.
“Pat was a great player and a great leader in our program, and he was a dominant force in college football for four years,” Rodriguez said. “He is very deserving of the honor of having his number retired.”
In White’s final year in the gold and blue, he threw for a season-high of 1,842 yards and 21 touchdowns. He rushed for 974 yards and eight touchdowns. White finished his career rushing for 4,480, 47 touchdowns, and threw for 6,049 yards and 56 touchdowns. He led the Mountaineers and new head coach Bill Stewart to a 9-4 season, winning the Meineke Car Care Bowl.
White was drafted in the second round of the NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins and played in the 2009 season. He bounced around with different teams before retiring from professional sports in 2015.
White joined the Mountaineers coaching staff when Rodriguez was hired as an assistant quarterbacks coach. He was inducted into the WVU Sports Hall of Fame, and joins Bruce Bosley, Sam Huff, Hot Rod Hundley, Ira Errett Rodgers, Rod Thorn and Jerry West as the Mountaineers to have their numbers retired.
“There is no question Pat deserves this ultimate honor,” Baker said. “His legacy and success have been documented and appreciated by his teammates, national media and college football fans all over the world. It has also been a privilege to watch him continue to pour himself into our program while serving on our coaching staff. Pat White is a special person and one of the greatest Mountaineers of all time.”
