Crowded House
July 15, 2005 09:22 AM | General
July 15, 2005
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia University sophomore tailback Pernell Williams believes there will be enough footballs to go around this fall.
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| Pernell Williams ran for 313 yards and scored three touchdowns as a true freshman in 2004.
All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks |
The Mountaineers have three established runners returning in Williams and juniors Jason Colson and Erick Phillips. Junior college transfer Arlen Dorsey showed during the spring that he has the ability to carry the football and three more talented newcomers will join the mix this fall in Jetavious Best, Jason Gwaltney and Steve Slaton.
That means there will be at least seven runners trying to catch offensive coordinator Calvin Magee’s eye in August. Williams, a New Lebanon, Ohio, resident, says this offense is designed for multiple ball carriers.
“We have enough footballs for everyone,” he said recently. “We had enough last year and we’ll have enough this year.”
Williams worked his way onto the field as a true freshman in 2004, making his debut in the Connecticut game on national television. He finished the contest running for 89 yards and scoring a touchdown. He also had 58 yards in a backup role against Pitt and finished the season with 313 yards and three touchdowns.
Williams believes his game performance last year as a freshman should put him in the mix this fall.
“With all the backs coming in that will help me out,” he reasoned. “That is more that (defenses) have to worry about. We used three backs last year and we can use three backs this year.”
Williams, a 5-foot-10-inch 195-pounder, is a straight-ahead runner that keeps low to the ground and runs and underneath his pads. Much like Erick Phillips, Williams isn’t going to make a lot of cuts to get into the open field.
“I get north-south and I just try and be physical and get into the end zone as quick as I can,” is how he describes his running style. “Playing in this offense you’ve got to be physical. If you’re not physical it will show.”
Williams believes the year under his belt has helped him understand the intricate nuances of Rodriguez’ spread offense. And he thinks that may be just as important as having physical talent.
“I know the system pretty well right now and I know the offense pretty well,” he said. “Now I know what to do and what to look for in games. I know defenses and I know what I’m doing.”
Like all freshmen, Williams remembers being in a fog for the first couple months of the season. It wasn’t until he actually got onto the field that all of the things the coaches were telling him started to make sense.
“You’re hearing the coaches saying over and over, ‘You’ll learn once you get in there.’ But you really don’t understand that just hearing it. When you actually get into a game you know what to expect and understand what they’re saying.”
Seven game’s worth of action has helped reinforce the things that Williams still needs to improve upon -- mainly catching the ball out of the backfield, blocking and getting a little bigger to take on those 230 and 240 pound linebackers.
Playing time this year will probably come down to the backs that can master all of the other things a running back needs to do besides just carrying the football.
“I’m trying to work on my weaknesses and improve in those areas,” said Williams. “It is just simple things I need to do to help me get better for this year.”
An improved and more confident Pernell Williams will give West Virginia’s offense an added spark in 2005. At the very least, it will give defensive coordinators one more thing to worry about.
“I’m going to try and go out there and be a play maker and help the team do our best this year,” he said.
Briefly:
Last year West Virginia played in the Gator Bowl for the second consecutive year. Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese believes this is the best possible solution for his conference, which is in the process of reconstructing its football conglomeration after the departures of Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College.
“As we sat here, we tried to prioritize,’’ said Tranghese. “One of our biggest priorities was to play in bowls against top conferences and with as much over-the-air exposure. This gives us that.”
The process to determine the national championship game has become too cumbersome and vague for most college players to comprehend.
“I don’t even really think about it,” admitted West Virginia running back Pernell Williams. “I figure if we win all of our games then we’ll be there at the end. Hopefully we do what we’ve got to do and hold up our end of it.”
