Blackwell to be named West Virginia RB coach

West Virginia is set to name Toledo running backs coach Marquel Blackwell to the same position he held with the Rockets.

WVSports.com first reported on the intent to hire Blackwell shortly after the departure of former Mountaineer running backs coach Tony Dews, who accepted a position with the Tennessee Titans.

Blackwell just finished his second season at Toledo and before that served as a quality control specialist at Florida. He also had previous two previous stints at South Florida as director of player development and quality control as well as Western Kentucky where he coached running backs.

Prior to jumping into the college game, he was first the offensive coordinator and then head coach at Freedom High School in his native Florida.

A native of St. Petersburg, Blackwell was a quarterback at South Florida and was a three-year captain throwing for 9,108 yards and 57 touchdown passes from 1999-2002.

Blackwell has strong recruiting ties to the state of Florida and is expected to handle that for the Mountaineers. Current West Virginia recruiting targets in the Tampa area have commented on how well connected he is in their area.

National college football writer Brett McMurphy was first to report what WVSports.com has discussed at length with our users.

While Blackwell is expected to be named to the position he will first have to clear the University's hiring process.