Reliable Backup
April 09, 2007 12:49 PM | General
April 9, 2007
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez has been looking for a reliable backup to starter Steve Slaton at tailback and he may have seen enough in Eddie Davis to warrant a closer look this fall.
 |
||
| Eddie Davis ran for 26 yards with the No. 1 offense in last Satuday's Gold-Blue Spring game.
All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks |
Davis, a 6-foot, 180-pound, redshirt freshman from Tampa, Fla., had a handful of plays against Eastern Washington last year before missing the rest of the season with a nagging quad injury.
With Slaton out for the entire spring recovering from off-season wrist surgery, a recovered Davis had the opportunity to get valuable reps with the No. 1 offense.
“He’s learning,” said Rodriguez. “He’s got some talent and Coach Magee is confident that he can keep coming along. We said all along that we need another tailback.”
Davis is fast like Slaton but possesses a much different running style.
“I hate to compare backs but he’s more of an Eric Dickerson-stride guy,” says offensive coordinator and running backs coach Calvin Magee. “He’s moving; he’s a fast guy. He does have a different style and that’s what’s unique about running backs, they’ve all got different styles and they’ve got to use their strengths.”
West Virginia jumped on Davis late in the signing period last year after he had initially made a verbal commitment to South Florida. The Freedom High School product was a 10.6 guy in track who played several different positions before settling at running back midway through his senior season.
Davis ran for a school-record 275 yards against Tampa Tech and finished his senior season with more than 700 yards on just 89 carries, earning honorable mention all-county honors.
Because of his versatility, Davis could also be utilized as a pass receiver in the slot.
“I think he’s an all-around guy,” Magee said. “Eddie has got a long way to go now, but he’s done enough this spring to make me very excited about him. Jetavious (Best) has done enough to make me excited about him and I already know what Ed (Collington) can do. Eddie does have very good hands and he’s running the ball hard and he’s getting more physical.”
The area of development most important to Davis is getting stronger and more physical. He came here weighing just 170 pounds and has managed to boost that to 182 this spring. Davis says he’s probably still 10 to 15 pounds away from his ideal playing weight.
“Weight really helps out getting hit so you don’t get injured as much. I’m going to try and put some on this summer,” Davis said.
“It’s going to be fun to watch him get with Mike Barwis this summer going through that summer workout,” Magee added. “He went through a little bit of one last year but it’s going to be fun to watch him progress and grow as he gets a little stronger.”
Davis understands, too, that Slaton will be back in the fall and West Virginia is also bringing in a talented freshman class of running backs.
“Actually it just motivates me,” Davis said. “Anybody who says they’re going to come in and do this or that … they really don’t know about me. I’m just going to sit back and do my part and when they get here I’ll just show them the ropes.”
Briefly:
“I’ve heard we had a weakness when Avon (Cobourne) left. I heard we had a weakness when Quincy (Wilson) left. I heard we had a weakness when Kay-Jay (Harris) left,” said Magee. “If we keep having the production with a weakness like that we’ll be OK.
“Everybody says it’s a weakness and I think it’s been on paper but I’ve never seen anyone not step in there and do well,” Magee added. “Ed Collington stepped up in the bowl game and did some good things. The good thing about these guys is they work preparing themselves for games.”
“We’ve got one in Steve Slaton and Owen can play that role some but we need a third one,” Rodriguez said. “We’ve got guys that we’ve signed but it’s hard for freshmen to come in. We’ll see. If they can learn then they will help us. Whether it’s Eddie or Ed Collington or Jetavious Best, they’ve still got a lot of work to do but they’re getting better.”
“Fall is a little different than the spring because the spring is general,” Magee explained. “The fall you kind of specify and zero in on game plans. You see these guys being a little bit more active and sharper on their assignments and stuff.”
“(Coach Rodriguez) came up to me and told me that I did a good job so I’m happy about that. He didn’t come up to me and tell me I did something wrong. As long as I keep doing the right things I should be OK,” Davis said.
