Gold & Blue Lunch: How WVU went uptempo for juco RB

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia coaches spent months and years pursuing Steven Smothers, Brendan Ferns and Kyzir White. But a fast-tracked relationship with junior college running back Justin Crawford filled a vital need.

At Northwest Mississippi Community College, Crawford put up more 2,000 yards from scrimmage last season, and programs like Georgia, South Carolina and Ole Miss were interested.

Once Wendell Smallwood announced he was entering the NFL draft, West Virginia became interested also. But was it too late? Could the Mountaineers land the national junior college offensive player of the year in just three weeks?

After running backs coach JaJuan Seider and recruiting coordinator Ryan Dorchester identified Crawford as a potential fill-in, Joe Wickline was dispatched down to Senatobia, Miss., to gauge Crawford’s potential interest. Why Wickline? Because he has Mississippi juco ties that stretch back two decades, to the time he was a head coach at Southwest Mississippi Community College,

“We sent Joe down there the first time just to make sure we had a chance with this kid, because he was all SEC early,” Seider said. “We just wanted to make sure there was an opportunity. Next time around we all went down there—me, Joe and Dana (Holgorsen)—and after that I just took over and recruited the hell out the kid. Showed him why he could fit what we do and why we need him.”

There certainly was a need, because the returnees behind Rushel Shell haven’t inspired confidence. Neither Donte Thomas-Williams or Jacky Marcellus are reliable options at this point. Nor is WVU willing to gamble on signees Kennedy McKoy or Martell Pettaway being ready to play as true freshmen.

Why was Crawford, the national offensive junior college player of the year, available so late in the cycle? Some schools preferred a player who could enroll in January, and Crawford wasn’t on pace to graduate from his junior college in time.

He expects to arrive at WVU by May 16. That’s too late for spring practice but not the drawback it used to be.

“The stuff that you do in the summertime now, you can miss a spring and still be caught up,” Seider said. “We can meet with the kid, we can go on the field with kid, and we can expedite the learning process way faster than before.”

The Gold & Blue Lunch report liked other tidbits from NSD:

Stocking up on linemen: WVU signed three offensive linemen from the high school ranks—all of them redshirt candidates—and next season’s potential starting tackle Craig Smith from Tyler (Texas) Junior College.

“Three of them I doubt we’ll talk about for the next three years, hopefully,” Holgorsen said. “But Craig Smith, he’s an interesting story.”

Holgorsen recounted how the native Floridian Smith was “one of those 6-foot-6 basketball guys that are a dime a dozen” before he gained some weight and realized football was the path.

Smith signed with Florida A&M, but didn’t qualify, and made one stop before Tyler that led to a Holgorsen zinger:

“He went to some junior college in Minnesota and hated that, which is understandable.”

Two in-state signees: Cabell Midland defensive end Reese Donahue and Bridgeport safety Dylan Tonkery were the home-state signees this time. (Capital’s Tyrhee Pratt decommitted Tuesday reportedly because he wasn’t going to qualify.)

Holgorsen, asked about the program’s inability to rely on local talent, said: “We got two (in-state players) and that’s probably above the norm. I wish there was more, but there’s not.”

WVU is “actively pursuing walk-ons” from the state, however, he said.

Where will linebackers line up? Along with the four-star Ferns, WVU signed two more Ohio linebackers, Zach Sandwisch and Adam Hensley, plus Logan Thimons of Freeport, Pa.

“Thimons looks like a middle linebacker,” Holgorsen said. “Sandwisch looks like a Sam. Hensley looks like a Will. Ferns looks like anything. It doesn’t matter. Gibby will look at those guys and evaluate them. You want a bigger, thicker guy at Sam. Then you want a shiftier, smaller guy at Will. You can move those guys around.”





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