WVU Vice President and Director of Athletics Wren Baker announced that WVU Athletics will retire Pat White’s No. 5 this fall. White is the seventh player in program history to receive the honor after a first-ballot induction into the WVU Sports Hall of Fame and football’s Mountaineer Legends Society in 2018. They will retire it at a home game this fall, the date to be determined later. Read more: WVU to retire quarterback Pat White’s No. 5 in fall.
Pat White’s phenomenal career
White finished his career as the NCAA’s all-time rushing leader as a quarterback, with 4,480 yards. That record was later broken by Denard Robinson (Michigan) and, again, by Keenan Reynolds (Navy), who currently holds the record. He currently sits tied for 68th all-time on the NCAA’s career rushing yards.
He finished his career with 6,049 passing yards, 56 passing touchdowns, and 23 interceptions. Including his 47 rushing touchdowns, he accounted for 103 total touchdowns. White won Big East Offensive Player of the Year in 2006 and 2007, and finished sixth and seventh in Heisman Trophy voting in 2007 and 2008, respectively.
Related: Game times determined for four 2026 WVU Football matchups: history behind the schedule
White still holds multiple records in the Big East Conference. He holds the record for most touchdowns responsible for (103), quarterback rushing yards (4,480), and is second for total offensive yards (10,529). White also became the first player in Big East history to eclipse 6,000 passing yards and 4,000 rushing yards. He also owns the Big East single-game rushing record by a quarterback. He ran for 247 yards against Syracuse in 2006, breaking his own record of 220 yards a year earlier against Pitt.
White started 43 games as a Mountaineer, finishing with a record of 35-8. He won four straight bowl games during his career: the 2006 Sugar, 2007 Gator, 2008 Fiesta, and 2008 Meineke Car Care Bowls. He became the first and only quarterback to go 4-0 in bowl games, and did it in major bowl games. One of his most impressive statistics is his record against ranked opponents. He went 7-2 against top 25, 2-1 against top 10, and 1-0 against top 5-ranked opponents.
White’s lasting legacy
The Miami Dolphins drafted white with the 44th overall pick of the 2009 NFL Draft. He played for the Dolphins until he was waived in 2010. White was also selected by the Los Angeles Angels in the fourth round of the 2004 MLB Draft, but declined the signing bonus to play football at WVU. He was drafted again in 2007, 2008, and 2009, but did not sign with any team. White eventually signed minor league contracts with the Kansas City Royals in 2010 and the Miami Marlins in 2013.
He is currently the assistant quarterbacks coach and assistant to the head coach at West Virginia. He started in February 2025 with head coach Rich Rodriguez, his former head coach at WVU. White spent time with Alcorn State, South Florida, Alabama State, and the Los Angeles Chargers before coming to Morgantown.
