Sinkfield: WVU is where I want to be

Plantation (Fla.) American Heritage running back Alec Sinkfield knew he wanted to go to West Virginia as soon as he first received a scholarship offer in December so needless to say when the opportunity presented itself Thursday there was no hesitation on his part.

Sinkfield, 5-foot-10, 180-pounds, made his choice after running backs coach JaJuan Seider visited his school during the evaluation period and he put on a show during the practice.

“He fell in love with what I do and I called him once I got home. I just told him that this is where I want to be and he said that he’d love to have me and he would love to coach me,” he said.

The Rivals.com three-star prospect has been talking with Seider for quite some time and has built a strong relationship with the assistant during that span. That played a major role in his decision to select the Mountaineers because of the trust he had built with Seider.

“He’s just a straight forward guy and I don’t like people that beat around the bush. His personality is one of the best out there,” he said. “I feel like I can learn a lot from him. He’s very educated on coaching running backs and bettering their game but I also can learn a lot from him about being a man.”

Sinkfield also believes his skillset is a natural fit for what West Virginia does with their running backs both carrying the football and catching passes out of the backfield. The Mountaineers plan to utilize the versatile running back in a number of ways and that appealed to him.

“I love the way running backs operate in the offense. It was natural to commit because I’ve been trying to get there since they first offered me,” he said. “Their offense is the best fit for me and my skillset.”

In total Sinkfield was up to a dozen offers with scholarships from Miami (Fla.), Syracuse, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Kentucky and several others to his credit. But even with more schools attempting to get involved he was relieved to have a college decision behind him.

“There are so many schools and everybody is telling you the same thing,” Sinkfield said. “I’m excited because it’s also a new beginning too.”

Even without a visit to West Virginia, Sinkfield considers his pledge a solid one although he isn’t ruling out taking additional trips to safeguard in case something would ever happen with the Mountaineers. He plans to take his first visit to Morgantown sometime this summer.

During his junior season Sinkfield split time in the backfield and even lined up at wide receiver for long periods of time finishing with over 1,000 all-purpose yards. But this season he will take the lion share of the work at running back and is excited to showcase what he can do.

As a running back Sinkfield believes that his strengths are his vision as well as his ability to make people miss without too much dancing in the backfield.

“I like to get it and go. My quickness is my biggest strength,” he said.

Sinkfield plans to study aerospace engineering in college and will enroll at West Virginia next summer.

“I would rather not be anywhere else,” he said.