WVU's Cam Cook Rated One of the Top 10 RBs in College Football 27

NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...

When you fire up your PlayStation or XBOX next week and begin playing the new College Football 27 video game, you'll have one of the best running backs in the game on your roster. That is, assuming you play with the Mountaineers, of course.

EA Sports recently released the top-rated running backs in the game, and West Virginia's Cam Cook is the 8th-best overall (91 OVR). The only backs ahead of him are Kewan Lacy (Ole Miss), Ahmad Hardy (Missouri), Mark Fletcher Jr. (Miami), Isaac Brown (Louisville), LJ Martin (BYU), Antwan Raymond (Rutgers), and Jadan Baugh (Florida).

I think there's an argument to be made that Cook was the biggest non-QB transfer portal addition to the Mountaineers' roster. After what West Virginia went through at the position last year, they not only needed a dude, they needed a workhorse. Cook checks both of those boxes.

Several schools were after him after he led the entire nation in rushing with 1,659 yards and 16 touchdowns, but those connections to WVU helped the Mountaineers land him. Obviously, Rich Rod didn't overlap with him at Jax State, but he kept an eye on him and knew the moment he hit the portal that he was someone he needed in this offense.

"Still had a lot of guys that we recruited on that team, and it's a great school, and I love the people down there," Rodriguez said back in the spring. "The mid-week games, I got a chance to watch, and this guy was making people miss. He's a really good football player, and he was a really good football player in our league (the Big 12) before he went there. We went after him and knew we wanted an experienced guy. I'm glad he's here. He's a really smart football player. He's got a great feel for it. He can block, he can catch. He's got all the stuff that you want in a back. He is the alpha in the room."

If Cook is healthy through the entire season, don't be surprised to see him get upward of 270 carries. Rodriguez is going to lean heavily on his top back regardless, but certainly this season, when the rest of the room is made up of a JUCO transfer (Martavious Boswell), four freshmen (Amari Latimer, Chris Talley, SirPaul Cheeks, Lawrence Autry), and Temple transfer Darius Morant, who has no experience.

There's always some skepticism whether or not a highly productive player can be just as good once he makes the jump to Power Four football, but Cook has already done it. He played two years at TCU, and in his last season there, he racked up 460 yards and nine touchdowns in a limited role. Going to Jax State just gave him an opportunity to be the guy, and now he has a chance to do it on the big stage.

Due to the NCAA's new eligibility rules, Cook technically has two years of eligibility remaining.

This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/westvirginia as WVU's Cam Cook Rated One of the Top 10 RBs in College Football 27.

More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos