West Virginia signed one player on scholarship out of the state of West Virginia on Wednesday as a part of its 2013 recruiting class — Spring Valley running back and linebacker Elijah Wellman. He’s expected to have a hard-hitting, blocking role with the Mountaineers, bringing a hard-nosed style that left has an impression on head coach Dana Holgorsen.
“I have a tremendous amount of respect for him,” Holgorsen said. “You talk about a guy that loves to play the game – he’s gritty, determined and what this state is all about. He didn’t entertain any other offers because it was real important to him to be a Mountaineer. He grew up a Mountaineer, he’s proud of the state of West Virginia and he couldn’t think of playing anywhere else.”
Wellman, rushed for over 1,600 yards and scored 18 touchdowns during his senior year of high school. He also earned the state’s 2012 Huff Award as the top defensive player, recording 124 tackles during his senior year.
“He’s what this state is all about and we’re certainly proud to have him on board,” Holgorsen said. “We need more guys like that to be proud of the state, where they’re from and what they’re all about.”
As for Wellman’s future role with the Mountaineers?
“He’s a guy that I’m not so sure you can’t just put him in the backfield and just hand it to him a couple of times because he’s so tough,” Holgorsen said. “I’m just proud to have a guy like that on our team, and Cody (Clay) as well.
“You’re talking about a couple of southern West Virginia guys that grew up being Mountaineers and they’re not interested to talking to anybody else outside the state because they’re proud of who they are and it’s good enough for them,” he continued. “Hopefully we can get a few more guys like that in the future.”