Last year, West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez added a few players after a week or two of fall camp, trying to infuse competition at certain spots and attempt to add more depth at running back. None of those late additions really amounted to much, but the expectation wasn't for them to.
This season, the Mountaineers added two Power Four transfers with experience AFTER the season began in Georgia safety JaCorey Thomas and Utah running back NaQuari Rogers. Neither has made a significant impact yet, but that could change coming out of the bye week.
Let's look at each player's situation and see whether or not if there is a path to more snaps.
A mouthguard flies through the air after Georgia defensive back JaCorey Thomas (20) hits Ole Miss wide receiver Cayden Lee (19) to the ground during the Sugar Bowl and College Football Playoff quarterfinals at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, La., on Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. Ole Miss defeated Georgia 39-34. Thomas was called for targeting and ejected from the game. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
Thomas made his Mountaineer debut on the road at Iowa State, where he logged 22 snaps and made three tackles. He saw limited snaps (12) against Arizona, but then saw a season-high 35 against Cincinnati before being a DNP against TCU. Unless something happened in pregame, this was a coach's decision not to play him against the Frogs, which is certainly odd.
Thomas has allowed just two receptions for 12 yards in three games and has yet to miss a tackle, making six stops. For a guy who's new to the system and has not made many mistakes on a defense that makes plenty of them, it was surprising that he didn't get on the field.
LSU transfer Jacob Bradford played a boatload of snaps for the first time this year and looked pretty solid. Since he has multiple years of eligibility remaining, I'm sure Zac Alley is going to want to get him involved as much as possible. That being said, there should still be a spot for Thomas to make an impact, especially if Matt Sieg's injury puts him in street clothes coming out of the bye.
Aug 30, 2025; Pasadena, California, USA; Utah Utes running back NaQuari Rogers (21) runs the ball against the UCLA Bruins during the first half at Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
West Virginia has three talented running backs and a quarterback who can tote the rock just as well as anyone in the country. The problem? There's only one football and only so many touches to go around. Rich Rodriguez would have done anything to have this problem a year ago, when WVU was so beat up at running back that they had to pull pass rusher Curtis Jones Jr. over to offense to give him some touches in short-yardage situations.
Rogers isn't just another dude, either. This guy led the Utes in rushing touchdowns a year ago with 11. With how simple Rodriguez tries to keep things on offense, I'd assume that Rogers already feels pretty comfortable with the playbook, but even more so coming out of the bye week.
It's hard to take Cam Cook off the field, and Amari Latimer is the future, so Rich Rod wants to feed him as much as possible as well. I don't think we'll just see Rogers standing on the sidelines with his helmet on every single game, but it's probably safe to say that he is not going to jump Latimer for the No. 2 spot behind Cook.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/westvirginia as WVU's In-Season Additions Haven't Made Much Noise - Will That Change? .
