Adjustments all a part of the process for JUCO players at WVU
West Virginia has used junior college recruiting as a major part of its overall formula in recent years.
From Dana Holgorsen’s first full recruiting class in 2012, the Mountaineers have signed a total of 39 players from the junior college ranks in that six-year span.
That comes out to around 6.5 per year, but for good measure and since you can’t split people in half, we’ll use a round number of seven per class that have come from that avenue of recruiting.
It’s been invaluable when it comes to filling out depth throughout the roster and has resulted in some high-impact players during that span as well. Since 2015, West Virginia has had three of those players picked in the NFL draft in Kevin White, Mark Glowinski and Rasul Douglas while the roster this season is littered with former junior college prospects set for prominent roles.
But while the junior college experience is designed to bring in a more physically mature and college-ready athlete, there are still adjustments that have to occur for players.
It isn't as simple as purely plugging and playing those athletes.
Senior running back Justin Crawford is set to take the reins as the lead option in the West Virginia backfield this fall after rushing for a team-leading 1,184 yards a season ago. Crawford did that damage on only 163-carries and is the leading rusher returning in the Big 12 Conference.
He was awarded a spot on the all-Big 12 pre-season team for his efforts.
But perhaps most surprising is the fact he accomplished that without the benefits of a full off-season in the program and an understanding of how to watch film and apply that to his on the field play. While Crawford would watch film at the junior college level, the differences since he arrived at West Virginia have been noticeable in several areas.
The focus shifted from areas he could improve, to areas and tendencies to watch from the defense. Looking at the down linemen as well as the linebackers and where they are aligned and their responsibilities on given snaps. It’s allowed him to become a more complete back.
“It allows me to go out there and play and be quick on my feet,” he said.
Crawford, a standout at Northwest Mississippi C.C., also has noticed there is naturally more structure when it comes to meetings and weight lifting at the highest level of college football.
“The hardest thing of all was just constantly getting up early and doing the same things over and over again. At junior college one morning we’d get up early and the next later in the day,” he said.
Safety Kyzir White attended Lackawanna College in nearby Scranton, Pennsylvania and he hasn’t necessarily been surprised by many aspects of the jump to major college football outside of the differences in both facilities and nutrition.
“Nutrition is a little different, but at Lackawanna we were eating good food too. The biggest difference is just facilities for me,” White said.
Part of that facilities aspect is the convenience of being able to do all of those things inside the Puskar Center at West Virginia instead of bouncing around to multiple areas.
“Everything you need is right here. There isn’t any reason why you can’t get everything out of the way while you are in the building,” he said.
Junior colleges are preparing players for the next level and helping to mold them into productive athletes and students, while West Virginia puts the finishing touches on each one that walks through the doors. It’s a formula that is having success.
