West Virginia continues to look at ways to shake up their backfield to generate production.
The Mountaineers were true to their word against Oklahoma State and trimmed the snaps down to essentially a two-man rotation with CJ Donaldson playing 44 snaps and Justin Johnson handling 34. True freshman Jaheim White did see action with only three snaps, but Jaylen Anderson did not.
Johnson’s return to the lineup came after previously playing just 24 snaps on the season due to injuries and illness which kept him out of multiple games. But the junior proved effective in his return turning 14 carries in 72 yards and a touchdown while showing decisiveness with his totes.
It should lead to even more opportunities moving forward according to head coach Neal Brown.
“Justin Johnson earned more playing time,” Brown said. “He got downhill fast and was really decisive.”
It was a direct reflection of how he practiced throughout the week as during competitive periods Johnson displayed the same physicality, determination and urgency that he put on tape. That alone was the reason that position coach Chad Scott got him in the game and once he found a rhythm, he stuck with it for the majority of the second half over Donaldson.
“He gets downhill real fast. The faster we can get to the line of scrimmage; it eliminates the tackles for loss and negative plays. And allows those guys to get beyond the line of scrimmage faster,” Scott said. “He has a good ability to get to the line of scrimmage and he sees it really well, too.”
Donaldson turned his 13 carries into 39 yards and a touchdown, but the Mountaineers want to see him be more effective with his touches and help to create some big plays in the backfield. As part of that, the sophomore simply has to quit thinking so much and play free within the system.
“He’s just got to keep playing. He’s getting better, he’s watching a lot more film and he’s practicing better. He is resilient as well and has to continue to get better,” Scott said. “He’s got to be more consistent.”
The Mountaineers are hoping to create more big plays in the run game and as part of that it could open the door for White to see more opportunities. In the game against the Cowboys, Johnson popped a 30-yard run but the long for Donaldson on the season sits at 17.
White has that ability to hit homeruns, but he has to be more consistent in both his preparation and his practice habits in order to make his way onto the field.
“We’re blocking pretty well and there’s a couple if you go back and watch the game that could have been big ones. Especially early in the game,” Brown said. “Where we’re getting six or eight yards, but man those can be homeruns.”
As his position coach, Scott plans to be very active in ensuring that White does everything right this week to be where he’s supposed to be and do what he’s asked to do.
“Practice like he’s supposed to practice, he’s going to run fast like he’s supposed to run fast and we’re going to play him because he can do some things with the ball in his hands that we need,” Scott said.
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