He's Andrew. His friends call him Pooh. (He hails, by the way, from a family of colorful nicknames. His cousin was former Mountaineer safety Boogie Allen.)

He was called a four-star recruit out of Jacksonville, Fla., high school Trinity Christian Academy. He's been called muscular, fast, dangerous in the open field, a hard runner, a competitor and a leader. He's even been compared to New England Patriots back Kevin Faulk.

Now, though, he's being called on by West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen to help jump-start the Mountaineer football team. Buie is one of three true freshmen - the other two are Vernard Roberts and Dustin Garrison - in line for playing time as the season approaches.

Buie said to bring it on.

"It's been a nice transition from high school to college,'' said the tailback. "The older guys are doing a very good job of taking us under their wings and showing us the ropes around here."

Buie has quite a resume. At Trinity, he was a three-year starter for a program that went 29-6 over that period and won the Florida 1-A state championship in 2010. He rushed for 1,782 yards on 211 carries with 26 touchdowns as a senior. He also threw for 772 yards and 11 touchdowns on 43-of-94 passing attempts.

He was hailed as one of the best all-purpose running backs in the country and one of the top overall runners in Florida, rich in backs last year. Rivals.com had him as the nation's No. 6 all-purpose back.

Now, though, the stars are in his eyes as he competes in WVU's camp.

"I've just been going out every day, trying to practice hard and get better so I can help this team accomplish the goal of a Big East championship," Buie said.

He feels a little more comfortable playing for running backs coach Robert Gillespie, who not only recruited Buie but played college ball at Florida with the player's high school offensive coordinator, Gus Scott.

Still, camp hasn't been easy.

"Coach Gillespie coaches all the running backs hard," Buie said. "He's a hard-nosed coach. He drills us to be ready for big-time ball."

Buie's road to WVU was twisted.

"It was a stringent recruiting thing going on," Buie said. "A lot of schools offered me. But in the end, some started to veer off because of how kids [commit] early. Coach Gillespie stood strong. He let me know if all else failed, I had a home here at West Virginia. And I love it here so far."

The schools interested?

"South Carolina, Auburn, Georgia ... I mean countless schools," Buie said. "Too many to name off the top of my head, but this was the school I felt honestly wanted me to be here."

Others reported to have offered a scholarship included Louisville, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina, Pitt and Tennessee.

And their interest seems warranted now. Buie is set to hit the field as a freshman.

"Coach Holgorsen has a great offense," Buie said. "It's my job to go in and do my part. The line does an awesome job of blocking, making my job easy to run and assert myself."

Buie was asked his biggest adjustment since moving from Jacksonville to Morgantown.

"Responsibility," he said. "In high school, you always have someone over your shoulder to do this and do that. In college, it's your job to get up and get to meetings on time. You don't have your mom over your shoulder.

"And we start classes next week, so you can't just think football. Now you have to put on your student outfit, too. You have to be able to handle both sides."

So far, so good. He has supporters. Some just happen to be his competitors for the tailback slot.

"It's beneficial not only to have Dustin [Garrison] by my side, but also Vernard [Roberts]," Buie said. "With him already being here since January, he does a good job of letting us know how things work and how to prepare yourself for it.

"We're not alone out here."

When the players are on the practice field though, it's every man for himself.

"It's one of those things where we're all in the same stage," Buie said. "We're all freshmen. So we're competing against each other, but we're still friends. You're going to need someone to lean on when things are down.

"I leave it all up to Coach Gillespie. He's going to put the best player on the field. It's just my job to give it my all every day."

Buie, 5-foot-9, 191 pounds, is mostly known for his speed.

"Everyone has their own [strength]," said the player. "But Coach Gillespie does a good job of bringing us all together and trying to strengthen all of our games so we can have more than just one component. It takes more than just being able to block and run. Sometimes you have to be able to catch too. It's becoming a complete back. Coach Gillespie does a good job of bringing us together and making us better all around.

"We do a good job of rotating. Like Coach Holgorsen said, it's an open competition for the job. It's our job to run out there and compete hard every day. At the end of the day, he'll put the best player on the field."

And make the call.

Reach Mitch Vingle at 304-348-4827, mitchvin...@wvgazette.com or follow him at twitter.com/MitchVingle.