Photo by: WVU Athletic Communications
Nickel Safety Latimer Excited to Reunite With Rodriguez, Alley
July 15, 2026 01:14 PM | Football
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Senior nickel safety Geimere Latimer II says he wouldn't trade the year he spent playing Big Ten football at Wisconsin last season, but he did miss the everyday intensity that he experienced playing for Rich Rodriguez at Jacksonville State.
So, when his little (and much bigger) brother Amari, a four-star running back prospect with many offers, opted to commit to West Virginia, a Rodriguez reunion seemed inevitable. Consequently, Geimere's time spent in the transfer portal was about as long as it takes to pick up your food at the drive-through window.
"When my brother made his decision, there were conversations within the family about it and, of course, I met with the Wisconsin coaches and made the decision (to enter the transfer portal). Once the portal opened, I hit it, and it just happened from there," Geimere (pronounced juh-MEAR) said recently at Big 12 media days in Frisco, Texas.
"It was a celebration, and I think we celebrated for like a month. It was crazy," he laughed.
The two played together for one season at Sandy Creek High in Fairburn, Georgia, where Geimere was the team's quarterback, and Amari was a freshman running back. Geimere said he had about 12-15 college offers to play quarterback, wide receiver and defensive back before settling on Jacksonville State in the Sun Belt Conference.
The 5-foot-10, 190-pound nickel safety played 27 games in two seasons there, including a sophomore campaign in 2024 that included three interceptions, six pass breakups and 46 tackles, leading to the opportunity to play Big Ten football at Wisconsin.
His one year playing cornerback for the Badgers featured 28 tackles and a forced fumble in 12 games, three of those starts. He produced three tackles against national champion Indiana and a couple of tackles against Ohio State and Michigan, so he was exposed to some of the best football teams in the country.
From that perspective, he believes his time spent in Madison was valuable to his overall growth as a player.
"I don't have any regrets for going there," he admits. "The coaches were great; I just felt like it wasn't the best fit for me, and I had to make that decision, but I definitely learned a lot in that time there."
What he said he missed was the everyday rhythms, activity and intensity that goes on in a Rich Rodriguez football program. The music is turned off on the field when the work needs to get done during practice and the ice cream and popsicle breaks can wait until afterward.
For the hour-and-a-half a player is out there with Rich Rodriguez, it's all business, all the time - which Latimer admits suits him just fine.
"You don't realize it until there are times in the season when you get complacent and you don't have that motivational factor," he explained. "Even with (Zac) Alley, I miss his defenses, and I feel like being back with them is where I needed to be."
Although West Virginia's 4-8 record last year seems like a lost season when comparing it to all the successful ones that Rodriguez has enjoyed throughout his 28-year head coaching career, it wasn't.
The coach spent the year evaluating the players that were here and the players in the transfer portal that he wanted – guys like Geimere Latimer – to make sure that he had more than enough Rich Rodriguez players.
There are now 33 of them left from last year and nearly 80 new ones, and from what Latimer has seen during the spring and what's transpired so far over the summer, he says mission accomplished.
"A lot of the guys we've gotten out of the portal, even the guys they kept from last year … we're all aggressive and play with intensity, and I think as a cohesive unit, we're all pretty much the same guy," he explained. "I don't know how else to explain it. I guess we're all interchangeable and a lot of us play multiple positions and it just makes sense."
What Latimer said he experienced at Wisconsin last year playing in a physical, predominantly run-first football league will apply this year in the Big 12, even though the Big 12 has had a long history of teams passing the football.
In that regard, some of the offensive styles that West Virginia had issues defending last year more closely resembled what Latimer faced in the Big Ten.
"Obviously, the Big Ten is a little bit more run-heavy than the Big 12, and I think I learned a lot playing nickel and being able to fit the run well and just not being late and playing with instincts," he observed. "In the Big 12, it's a lot more pass heavy, but I think playing in the Big Ten it will transfer over being able to still fit the run and my game is being able to play man (coverage)."
Mountaineer Sports Network sideline reporter and football analyst Jed Drenning agrees.
According to Drenning, the nickel position in Zac Alley's defense combines some of the modern-day skillsets required of defensive backs with the Sam linebacker techniques used in the old 4-3 scheme.
The nickel must be physical enough to set the edge against the run, which Latimer experienced last year at Wisconsin, and athletic enough to play man coverage out in space. And then, he must be able to get to the quarterback whenever Alley dials up one of his many blitzes.
Fred Perry was very productive playing that position last year.
"A Swiss Army knife type," Drenning notes.
"There were times in the season when I lagged," Latimer admitted. "Toward the end of the year, I was a lot better, but it took time. You just have to see a little, see a lot, see a lot and see nothing, and over time I learned that, and I was able to play a little bit faster."
What Latimer says he brings to this year's defense are intensity, speed and knowledge.
"There is never going to be a time when I don't give it my all," he offered.
Latimer says he is also excited to reunite with Alley, whose aggressive coaching style mirrors his playing style.
"His ability to disguise plays with the quarterbacks' minds," Latimer said. "He puts you in positions to make plays a lot of times and that's just based off our disguises.
"I definitely like a coach that presses the issue," he added. "Sometimes, you get coaches who like to react and I feel like if you press the issue, it forces guys to make decisions that he probably wouldn't make (compared to defenses) just reacting. Putting pressure on guys is just as valuable."
This summer, Latimer says he's been organizing at least one 30-minute film session a week with the defensive backs to better familiarize themselves with the schemes and the teams that they will be facing this fall.
In that respect, the carryover has been seamless.
"I have picked it up quick," he said. "There wasn't anything I didn't remember; I just had to get back to being used to the terminology.
Latimer, who falls in the five-for-five category recently adopted by the NCAA, now has two years of college eligibility remaining, but he indicated he's focusing on this year and not looking too far into the future.
There will be plenty of time to do that after the season.
"I'm going to play this season like it's my last one and then we'll see where it goes from there," he said. "I'm not necessarily in a rush to get to the league, but if the opportunity presents itself, then obviously, I will have to take a look at it."
In the meantime, he said he's going to continue to work on becoming a more consistent football player, citing Rodriguez's long track record of getting the most out of his guys.
"I was happy to be back with them and just feeling that intensity of practice every day and even in meetings - the constant competition; he doesn't waste your time and when you are out there you are going to work," Latimer said.
"That's what helped me with my decision. I knew what I was getting myself into, and I just missed that. It was the right decision, I feel like," he concluded.
So, when his little (and much bigger) brother Amari, a four-star running back prospect with many offers, opted to commit to West Virginia, a Rodriguez reunion seemed inevitable. Consequently, Geimere's time spent in the transfer portal was about as long as it takes to pick up your food at the drive-through window.
"When my brother made his decision, there were conversations within the family about it and, of course, I met with the Wisconsin coaches and made the decision (to enter the transfer portal). Once the portal opened, I hit it, and it just happened from there," Geimere (pronounced juh-MEAR) said recently at Big 12 media days in Frisco, Texas.
"It was a celebration, and I think we celebrated for like a month. It was crazy," he laughed.
The two played together for one season at Sandy Creek High in Fairburn, Georgia, where Geimere was the team's quarterback, and Amari was a freshman running back. Geimere said he had about 12-15 college offers to play quarterback, wide receiver and defensive back before settling on Jacksonville State in the Sun Belt Conference.
The 5-foot-10, 190-pound nickel safety played 27 games in two seasons there, including a sophomore campaign in 2024 that included three interceptions, six pass breakups and 46 tackles, leading to the opportunity to play Big Ten football at Wisconsin.
His one year playing cornerback for the Badgers featured 28 tackles and a forced fumble in 12 games, three of those starts. He produced three tackles against national champion Indiana and a couple of tackles against Ohio State and Michigan, so he was exposed to some of the best football teams in the country.
From that perspective, he believes his time spent in Madison was valuable to his overall growth as a player.
"I don't have any regrets for going there," he admits. "The coaches were great; I just felt like it wasn't the best fit for me, and I had to make that decision, but I definitely learned a lot in that time there."
What he said he missed was the everyday rhythms, activity and intensity that goes on in a Rich Rodriguez football program. The music is turned off on the field when the work needs to get done during practice and the ice cream and popsicle breaks can wait until afterward.
For the hour-and-a-half a player is out there with Rich Rodriguez, it's all business, all the time - which Latimer admits suits him just fine.
"You don't realize it until there are times in the season when you get complacent and you don't have that motivational factor," he explained. "Even with (Zac) Alley, I miss his defenses, and I feel like being back with them is where I needed to be."
Although West Virginia's 4-8 record last year seems like a lost season when comparing it to all the successful ones that Rodriguez has enjoyed throughout his 28-year head coaching career, it wasn't.
The coach spent the year evaluating the players that were here and the players in the transfer portal that he wanted – guys like Geimere Latimer – to make sure that he had more than enough Rich Rodriguez players.
There are now 33 of them left from last year and nearly 80 new ones, and from what Latimer has seen during the spring and what's transpired so far over the summer, he says mission accomplished.
"A lot of the guys we've gotten out of the portal, even the guys they kept from last year … we're all aggressive and play with intensity, and I think as a cohesive unit, we're all pretty much the same guy," he explained. "I don't know how else to explain it. I guess we're all interchangeable and a lot of us play multiple positions and it just makes sense."
What Latimer said he experienced at Wisconsin last year playing in a physical, predominantly run-first football league will apply this year in the Big 12, even though the Big 12 has had a long history of teams passing the football.
In that regard, some of the offensive styles that West Virginia had issues defending last year more closely resembled what Latimer faced in the Big Ten.
"Obviously, the Big Ten is a little bit more run-heavy than the Big 12, and I think I learned a lot playing nickel and being able to fit the run well and just not being late and playing with instincts," he observed. "In the Big 12, it's a lot more pass heavy, but I think playing in the Big Ten it will transfer over being able to still fit the run and my game is being able to play man (coverage)."
Mountaineer Sports Network sideline reporter and football analyst Jed Drenning agrees.
According to Drenning, the nickel position in Zac Alley's defense combines some of the modern-day skillsets required of defensive backs with the Sam linebacker techniques used in the old 4-3 scheme.
The nickel must be physical enough to set the edge against the run, which Latimer experienced last year at Wisconsin, and athletic enough to play man coverage out in space. And then, he must be able to get to the quarterback whenever Alley dials up one of his many blitzes.
Fred Perry was very productive playing that position last year.
"A Swiss Army knife type," Drenning notes.
"There were times in the season when I lagged," Latimer admitted. "Toward the end of the year, I was a lot better, but it took time. You just have to see a little, see a lot, see a lot and see nothing, and over time I learned that, and I was able to play a little bit faster."
What Latimer says he brings to this year's defense are intensity, speed and knowledge.
"There is never going to be a time when I don't give it my all," he offered.
Latimer says he is also excited to reunite with Alley, whose aggressive coaching style mirrors his playing style.
"His ability to disguise plays with the quarterbacks' minds," Latimer said. "He puts you in positions to make plays a lot of times and that's just based off our disguises.
"I definitely like a coach that presses the issue," he added. "Sometimes, you get coaches who like to react and I feel like if you press the issue, it forces guys to make decisions that he probably wouldn't make (compared to defenses) just reacting. Putting pressure on guys is just as valuable."
This summer, Latimer says he's been organizing at least one 30-minute film session a week with the defensive backs to better familiarize themselves with the schemes and the teams that they will be facing this fall.
In that respect, the carryover has been seamless.
"I have picked it up quick," he said. "There wasn't anything I didn't remember; I just had to get back to being used to the terminology.
Latimer, who falls in the five-for-five category recently adopted by the NCAA, now has two years of college eligibility remaining, but he indicated he's focusing on this year and not looking too far into the future.
There will be plenty of time to do that after the season.
"I'm going to play this season like it's my last one and then we'll see where it goes from there," he said. "I'm not necessarily in a rush to get to the league, but if the opportunity presents itself, then obviously, I will have to take a look at it."
In the meantime, he said he's going to continue to work on becoming a more consistent football player, citing Rodriguez's long track record of getting the most out of his guys.
"I was happy to be back with them and just feeling that intensity of practice every day and even in meetings - the constant competition; he doesn't waste your time and when you are out there you are going to work," Latimer said.
"That's what helped me with my decision. I knew what I was getting myself into, and I just missed that. It was the right decision, I feel like," he concluded.
Players Mentioned
N/S
/ Football
N/S
/ FootballCoach Rich Rodriguez Press Conference | Big 12 Football Media Days
Wednesday, July 08
A Special Announcement for No. 5 Pat White
Friday, June 05
NCAA Super Regional (Steve Sabins, Chansen Cole, Tyrus Hall) - WVU Baseball | June 5
Friday, June 05
Pat White No. 5 Retirement
Friday, June 05
