Summer view: What's the latest at RB for WVU?
It’s summertime and with fall camp approaching, WVSports.com takes a look at the individual positions on the roster and what is unfolding at each.
Today we continue our series by looking at running back.
Roster, projected depth chart and career stats:
No. 1 - 4 Kennedy McKoy, Jr., 198 carries, 1,068 yards, 11 touchdowns, 5.4 per carry.
No. 2 – 32 Martell Pettaway, Jr., 92 carries, 409 yards, 3 touchdowns, 4.4 per carry.
No. 3 – 20 Alec Sinkfield, r-Fr.
No. 4 – 4 Leddie Brown, Fr.
Exiting spring:
Gone from the roster is senior Justin Crawford and with him opens up the number one job in the backfield. Last season, Crawford saw a total of 190 carries rushing for over 1,000 yards in the process and that workload is likely to be divided up between several options in the backfield.
Junior Kennedy McKoy is entering his third year with the program and served as the lead back down the stretch last season when Crawford dealt with injury issues and then sat out of the bowl game. A versatile running back that can be used out of the backfield and in the pass game, McKoy is primed to see a bigger workload this fall as the projected starter to open fall camp.
His running mate for the last two years has been fellow junior Martell Pettaway and while he has seen less action, has proven himself capable as well such as on the road at Iowa State as a freshman. Pettaway can catch the ball out of the backfield as well but is more of a bruiser than the other options and could assume a bigger role between the tackles and in short yardage situations.
Freshman Alec Sinkfield pushed for time as a true freshman and just narrowly was given a redshirt due to what he was doing in practice and that only carried over into the spring. A one cut and go style running back, Sinkfield has proven that he is a versatile option in practice that can do a number of things with the football in his hands. He was one of the most commonly cited players in the spring as a surprise for this coming fall. The final option out of the backfield is freshman Leddie Brown who fits the mold of the versatile options that can run and catch but he only arrived in June and will be competing for time behind the more proven options that currently sit ahead of him on the depth chart.
Expectations for fall:
West Virginia as a whole took a step back in the rushing department in 2017 after trending upward for several years and the focus this season will be to recapture that momentum. This team struggled at times to run the football a year ago especially in short yardage situations and the focus this year will be to capitalize on those opportunities and get the backs more involved than a season ago. This is a unit that has some question marks but is expected to take a step forward.
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