MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — How much does West Virginia assistant Ja’Juan Seider adore his running backs room? Let us count the ways he gushed Monday:
— Presumed starter Rushel Shell is running “downhill, physical, attacking” at the outset of his senior camp, and Seider disputes the narrative Shell wasn’t focused or properly conditioned in 2015, when he played backup to Big 12 rushing champ Wendell Smallwood.
“He should have been a 1,000-yard rusher last year, but the thing that hurt him was Wendell,” the coach said.
While Shell has admitted disappointment over his career numbers, Seider ribbed the media: “Keep telling him he sucks, that he’s a bad player. It makes my job easier.”
— And how about reigning junior college player of the year, Justin Crawford? “Explosive. He’s faster than I thought he was. I knew he was good but you never understand how good a kid is until you get to coach him. He made a cut yesterday in practice that was kind of reminiscent of Noel (Devine), the way he could stop and start and still be able to get upfield. He’s got some great traits.”
— On true freshman Kennedy McKoy: “As far as assignments and handing him the ball to make things happen, he’s ready. If we didn’t have (the other backs) we have and him being a freshman, I’d have no problem starting him. I think he’s that far along.”
— Regarding another true freshman, Martell Pettway: “All he does is the right stuff. He’s way more physical than what you think. He always runs behind his pads and he has high knee drive after impact. … It’s going to be hard to say who plays and who don’t play, who redshirts.”
Lauding the group for supportive chemistry and a willingness to hop into extra drills, Seider said each new day of camp has shown “we did right in recruiting.”
Contrast this collection to the one last August when Seider pleaded for his third- and fourth-team backs to show dependability. Neither proved reliable as West Virginia got a combined 22 carries from Jacky Marcellus (who transferred to Eastern Kentucky) and Donte Thomas-Williams (jettisoned in May).