West Virginia University Athletics

Larry Porter is in his first year as the running backs coach on the Mountaineer football coaching staff.

Porter, a 27-year coaching veteran, comes to West Virginia after serving as the running backs coach and special teams coordinator at North Carolina for the past four years. He is a two-time national recruiter of the year, a three-time Broyles Award nominee, has developed numerous NFL running backs and special teams prospects and has been part of 21 bowl teams since 2002. 

During the 2024 season, the Tar Heels were led by two-time All-American and two-time Doak Walker Award finalist and eventual first-round draft pick Omarion Hampton.

During his first season back at Carolina in 2021, Porter’s running back unit led the ACC in rushing.        

Porter also had stints at Auburn from 2017-20 (special teams coordinator/tight ends/H-backs), special teams coordinator and running backs coach at UNC (2014-16), running backs coach at Texas (2013), Arizona State (2012), LSU (2005-09), Oklahoma State (2002-04), Arkansas State (1999-01) and Tennessee-Martin (1998) and was the head coach at Memphis (2010-11).

In his first season at UNC, Porter was part of an offensive staff that set several school records and gained more than 5,000 yards of total offense. Rotating three running backs, the group produced 1,119 rushing yards and scored 11 TDs.

Porter developed two 1,000-yard rushers at LSU in Jacob Hester (2007) and Charles Scott (2008) and produced six NFL Draft selections (Hester, Joseph Addai, Quinn Johnson, Charles Scott, Trindon Holliday, Stevan Ridley). He coached 1,000-yard rushers for three straight seasons while at Oklahoma State. In 2004, Vernand Morency earned All-Big 12 honors after rushing for 1,474 yards and 12 touchdowns. A year earlier, Tatum Bell earned first team All-Big 12 honors with 1,286 yards and 16 touchdowns. Morency was a third-round pick of the Houston Texans in 2005 and Bell was a second-round pick by the Denver Broncos in the 2004 NFL Draft.

Prior to his arrival in Stillwater, Porter spent three years at Arkansas State, where he coached Jonathan Adams to back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons.

A native of Jackson, Mississippi, Porter lettered for four years (1990-93) at Memphis, and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in education in 1996. He is a member of the Memphis Athletics M Club Hall of Fame. Porter and his wife, Sharmane, have three children; sons Brandon and Omari, and daughter, Olivia.management in 2014 and his master’s degree in human resource development in 2017.