Jaylen Anderson knew he wasn’t ready to see the field as a true freshman.
Of course, missing all of fall camp didn’t help matters. Anderson arrived in Morgantown after clearing the academic hurdles he had but understood that it was going to take time for him to work his way not only into playing shape but from a maturity standpoint.
“I was never really ready to play at the college level yet,” he said.
That realization alone helped him from ever being frustrated about sitting on the sidelines. And instead of looking for an out, Anderson went to work on changing his body and learning the scheme.
“I wasn’t in the best shape when I got here and I still had some maturing to do on and off the field. They got me to where I needed to be,” he said. “Now, I’m in the best shape of my life.”
Anderson was still on his developmental path much of last season, but when injuries in the running back room forced him to take on a larger role against Oklahoma State in the season finale he didn’t let the opportunity pass. In that game, the Ohio native rushed for 155 yards on 15 carries including two 50-plus yard touchdown runs. Those were the only two that the Mountaineers had all season against FBS teams.
That game was a breakout for the former four-star running back who collected offers from a long list of programs out of Perry High School. It was also a sign to him that despite the early challenges he could more than make his impact felt when given the opportunity to carry the football.
Anderson was ready to show that he was in fact, well ready.
“It still seems surreal. It just felt like the game slowed down and I just felt really comfortable and I played faster. I felt like I had been there before,” he said.
Now into his sophomore year, Anderson is stepping into another challenge. This time a more proven commodity but he is battling it out with several other very talented backs for reps. The list outside Anderson reads sophomore CJ Donaldson, junior Justin Johnson, freshman Jaheim White and freshman DJ Oliver.
Anderson treats the battle as a competition but one that he thinks will get each of the running backs better prepared for the challenges that lie ahead this fall. It seems to be the feeling across the room.
“We all just really want to see each other shine. It’s never been about one person. We feed off each other’s success and we compete with each other,” he said.
Through a pair of games, Anderson has taken 9 carries for 45 yards and a touchdown while catching 2 passes for 15 yards but there is room for him to have a larger role.
Growing up in Ohio, Anderson has always loved to watch former Michigan State and Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell. While he doesn’t try to mimic his unique playing style, he has picked up some of the things that he does and applied them to his own game.
Two of those areas are in his patience, which was on display on both of his long touchdown runs against Oklahoma State, and his versatility when it comes to catching the football.
“I just sit back there and read it,” he said.
Anderson was an accomplished pass catcher in high school reeling in 51 receptions for 833 yards and 11 touchdowns while following that up with 9 catches for 124 yards and 2 more scores in a shortened senior season. The pass catching chops are there.
“It’s come natural to me. It’s always something I’ve done. Receiver has always been natural to me and running back is just something I fell in love with,” he said.
Anderson committed to West Virginia largely due to his connection with then running backs coach Chad Scott and with the assistant now the offensive coordinator he is excited for how things will continue to evolve.
Now, he’s excited to see where that decision will take him.
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