West Virginia running back Jahiem White (1) against Arizona in the first half during an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, in Tucson, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

The summertime for the college football player isn’t an offseason. There are times when players get time off, but most of the summer is work. Players aren’t allowed to practice, but are allowed to work out and condition before the intense practices of fall camp.

This offseason, West Virginia’s conditioning is a bit more intense than in years past because it’s a Rich Rodriguez offense. Most college football teams run tempo these days, but Rodriguez’s tempo is up a notch compared to other offenses around the league. Last year, Rodriguez’s Jacksonville State ranked 11th in tempo, whereas West Virginia ranked 84th.

During the spring, most players’ goal this summer was to get into tempo shape, and this summer’s workouts have focused on speed.

“We do a lot of fast workouts, and a lot of tempo workouts, too,” wide receiver Jaden Bray said. “Throughout the day, it’ll be all incremented through our workout, something to do with speed.”

Workouts consist of a bit less rest, like in between plays in a game, and a lot of running up the Morgantown hills, like at the practice facility.

There are still a couple of weeks before the start of the official camp, and some players are still working toward tempo shape, like center Landen Livingston.

“Definitely, I could say that I’ve gotten in better condition, but definitely some more still to go,” Livingston said.

“I think that you can really never get into too good of condition. That would be my goal is to get in the best condition possible, so we can run this offense.”

The offensive line has an important role in the tempo offense because the play speed is dictated by how fast they line up and snap the ball. Offensive linemen are also the biggest players on the team, making it hard for them to run and get to the ball. A fast pace also entails high demands from the offensive line. Nothing derails a drive- and a tempo offense’s momentum- like a false start penalty.

However, Livingston has enjoyed the tempo so far.

“I feel like it definitely has its advantages and stuff like that,” Livingston said. “I do like going at the fast pace. I think that it really simplifies our scheme, which is very good. Obviously, it needs to be simple for us to run it fast. That’s something I’ve quickly learned to love over the spring.”

The other position that’ll receive an extra workload in Rodriguez’s offense is the running back position. Rodriguez ran the ball 646 times last year, the third-most in the NCAA. The running back will have to be in superb shape as well.

Luckily for Rodriguez, he has the best running back in the Big 12. Jahiem White was named preseason All-Big 12, and he’ll need another big year and should as long as he stays healthy. White was banged up this spring, but Rodriguez said he’s healthy and ready to go for fall.

“We milked it a little bit in the spring, but he’s healthy now,” Rodriguez said. “He’s a competitive guy by nature. He’s a smart football player. He kind of understands football. He’s been coached well, poised for a big year… Jahiem’s got a lot of the same skills of a lot of really good backs that I’ve had over the years.”

Rodriguez said White will take the brunt of the touches, but he wants to work in a couple of other backs to make sure White stays healthy. Rodriguez added a couple of transfer running backs to help, SMU veteran Jaylan Knighton and Northern Iowa’s Tye Edwards.

White’s put on some size, and Rodriguez thinks he’ll handle the extra workload well.

“Now it depends a lot of times on who’s tackling him,” Rodriguez said. “If he’s getting tackled by the big guys or the little guys. Hopefully it’s by the little guys. But we got to play more than one, and we’ll play more than one guy. With our pace and our tempo, he’s got to have to be in great shape, but we’ll have other guys that can play. But I like his skill set for sure.”

For some, the summer might seem like a break for college football players, but it’s not, especially for WVU. Last year, WVU players might’ve worked out, but this year, there’s another level to achieve.

Rodriguez believes his squad has taken the next step this summer, moving towards tempo shape.

“We are pretty demanding,” Rodriguez said. “I think we’ve always been. But they worked out. It’s not like this was all new to them. They worked hard in the summers before. Our biggest difference is our tempo. You have to be in great shape on both sides of the ball to play the way we want, not just on offense.”