MORGANTOWN - As it turns out, perhaps all the interest and debate over who might emerge as West Virginia's primary tailback and fullback this season is rather pointless.
MORGANTOWN - As it turns out, perhaps all the interest and debate over who might emerge as West Virginia's primary tailback and fullback this season is rather pointless.
Dana Holgorsen on Thursday said the real challenge isn't so much deciding who will play, but instead how much time each will see.
"They're all seven going to play,'' Holgorsen said of his four young tailbacks and three fullbacks. "I've never been anywhere where seven running backs are going to play. But there's going to be seven running backs play.
"It's our job to continue to narrow down at what point we put who in the game and how much we need them in there.''
To hear Holgorsen, it would seem that West Virginia is dealing from a position of strength in the offensive backfield. True freshmen Andrew Buie, Dustin Garrison and Vernard Roberts, along with sophomore Trey Johnson, are essentially in a coin-flip battle at tailback. At fullback it's juniors Ryan Clarke and Matt Lindamood and senior Ricky Kovatch.
"[Fullback is] a different battle, but it's fun to watch,'' Holgorsen said. "You've got three guys that are battling it out and the guy that's probably taken a slight lead at this point is Ryan Clarke, which is good to see.''
The tailback competition, though, is of far more interest to most fans. West Virginia's fullbacks will carry the football rarely, relegated almost exclusively to blocking duties. At tailback, the job of carrying the football could be one of committee regardless of who starts.
"Somebody's got to run out there first,'' Holgorsen said. "But whoever the starter is, it's going to mean more to that guy than it does to us. We know that they're all going to play. Throughout the course of the game - how it looks and how it feels - we'll decide who to put in there the most. We don't know how that's going to happen, how it's going to play out.
"[The eventual starter] can get all jacked up about being the starter and the media and the fans and [everyone else] can, but that has nothing to do with how much he's going to play.''
In what is expected to be a pass-first offense, of course, there is more to playing tailback than carrying the football. Holgorsen, though, said that pass blocking by the young tailbacks - none of whom weighs more than 185 pounds - is improving.
"Young kids, you always worry about that. And then young kids who aren't very big, you really worry about it,'' Holgorsen said. "But they've had lots of reps and lots of opportunities. They're all picking up their assignments and they're battling.
MORGANTOWN - As it turns out, perhaps all the interest and debate over who might emerge as West Virginia's primary tailback and fullback this season is rather pointless.
Dana Holgorsen on Thursday said the real challenge isn't so much deciding who will play, but instead how much time each will see.
"They're all seven going to play,'' Holgorsen said of his four young tailbacks and three fullbacks. "I've never been anywhere where seven running backs are going to play. But there's going to be seven running backs play.
"It's our job to continue to narrow down at what point we put who in the game and how much we need them in there.''
To hear Holgorsen, it would seem that West Virginia is dealing from a position of strength in the offensive backfield. True freshmen Andrew Buie, Dustin Garrison and Vernard Roberts, along with sophomore Trey Johnson, are essentially in a coin-flip battle at tailback. At fullback it's juniors Ryan Clarke and Matt Lindamood and senior Ricky Kovatch.
"[Fullback is] a different battle, but it's fun to watch,'' Holgorsen said. "You've got three guys that are battling it out and the guy that's probably taken a slight lead at this point is Ryan Clarke, which is good to see.''
The tailback competition, though, is of far more interest to most fans. West Virginia's fullbacks will carry the football rarely, relegated almost exclusively to blocking duties. At tailback, the job of carrying the football could be one of committee regardless of who starts.
"Somebody's got to run out there first,'' Holgorsen said. "But whoever the starter is, it's going to mean more to that guy than it does to us. We know that they're all going to play. Throughout the course of the game - how it looks and how it feels - we'll decide who to put in there the most. We don't know how that's going to happen, how it's going to play out.
"[The eventual starter] can get all jacked up about being the starter and the media and the fans and [everyone else] can, but that has nothing to do with how much he's going to play.''
In what is expected to be a pass-first offense, of course, there is more to playing tailback than carrying the football. Holgorsen, though, said that pass blocking by the young tailbacks - none of whom weighs more than 185 pounds - is improving.
"Young kids, you always worry about that. And then young kids who aren't very big, you really worry about it,'' Holgorsen said. "But they've had lots of reps and lots of opportunities. They're all picking up their assignments and they're battling.
"As we go on, especially in live situations, we'll learn a lot more about them and about how they can actually do it.''
There is also the issue of reacting to pressure, which can't be simulated in a closed workout.
"All four of them have the ability to make some things happen, but you've got to get them in a live situation,'' Holgorsen said. "You've got to see how they can handle the crowd and handle the live bullets and all that stuff. If he looks good then we've got to get him into the game.''
So, is there a pecking order?
"No, not yet. It depends on how they practice today,'' Holgorsen said before practice on Thursday. "It can change on a daily basis, right?''
When camp opened, Roberts was listed first on the depth chart with Johnson second and the two freshmen, Buie and Garrison, waiting to make their mark. When last he was willing to venture a guess as to the order, about a week ago, Holgorsen listed Buie, then Garrison and then Roberts.
But even Holgorsen isn't sure where they stand now.
"I ask Robert [Gillespie, the team's running backs coach] every day to give me his pecking order and it changes every day,'' Holgorsen said. "He's the one who's getting paid to be the running backs coach, so if his opinion changes, so does mine.''
Reach Dave Hickman at 304-348-1734 or dphickm...@aol.com.
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