Johnson Turning Heads
August 25, 2010 03:50 PM | General
August 25, 2010
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Is freshman running back Trey Johnson the second coming of Noel Devine? The guy who knows Noel Devine best - Noel Devine - thinks he might be.
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| Freshman Trey Johnson has been impressive during fall training camp and is now in the mix at No. running back.
All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks photo |
“He’s my little bro,” said Devine earlier this week. “He reminds me of myself when I first came in.”
Johnson is similar to Devine in size (5-feet-10, 172 pounds) and speed. The two also have a knack for getting to the line of scrimmage quickly and avoiding direct hits from defenders. In the two officiated scrimmages so far this fall, Johnson has averaged more than five yards per rush, including a 12-carry, 69-yard performance last Saturday working with the ones and twos.
“I think he has a strong heart,” said Devine. “He’s going to be a great back.”
Devine is not the only one to share that opinion. Running backs coach Chris Beatty believes Johnson is good enough to play right now as a ball carrier. However, Johnson is not quite there yet in the passing game as a route runner or as a backside protector of the quarterback.
“Run game wise he can play today but he would not be able to play right now in the pass game as far as route running or protections,” said Beatty. “He might get Geno killed and that would be a quick way for me not to be up here (talking to reporters at the podium).”
Johnson was considered one of the top 30 players coming out of Virginia last year while playing at Varina High in Richmond. The two-time class 3A all-state choice ran for 1,785 yards and scored 19 touchdowns as a senior, including monster games against No. 9-ranked Atlee when he ran for 330 yards and scored four TDs and against Armstrong High when he had 266 yards and four touchdowns on just 11 carries. Incredibly, Johnson only played in seven games during his senior season because of a broken hand.
He committed to West Virginia in the spring time before his senior season and stuck with the Mountaineers all through the recruiting process.
“It’s a miracle they offered me - I committed right away,” Johnson said.
The one big question mark with Johnson was his grades, but he answered that by buckling down and getting the necessary course work completed to join the other freshmen when fall camp started earlier this month.
Now in just three short weeks in Morgantown, Johnson has already showed enough during training camp for the coaches to consider using him this year. He’s battling Shawne Alston and Daquan Hargrett for the No. 2 job at tailback.
“He’s probably the strongest 170-pound back I’ve ever seen,” said coach Bill Stewart. “He’s thin, but he’s fast.”
Looks certainly are deceiving with Johnson, who probably is closer to 160 than he is to his listed 172 pounds. But the pile always seems to be moving forward when he’s in it and in the open field he has an ability to make cuts going at full speed.
After a year or two in the weight room, Beatty sees Johnson comfortably carrying 190 pounds without losing any of his terrific breakaway speed.
“He’s got the frame to carry a lot more weight,” said Beatty. Devine said most of what Johnson has picked up so far has simply been from him observing the older players in action.
“I haven’t really given him many pointers but I’ve just been encouraging him,” he said. “He can give all the credit to himself for just coming in and wanting to work and improve. He just has the right positive attitude; he just wants to play. He wants to make plays and help out the best that he can.”
Will that be this year?
“That’s the coaches’ call,” said Devine. “We have some great backs, we’ve been competing all fall and we’re going to continue to compete. It’s going to be a tough call.”
One thing that won’t be a tough call is whether or not to move slot receivers Jock Sanders or Tavon Austin back to running back when Devine needs a rest. Beatty is comfortable that he has three running backs good enough to handle that this year.
Briefly:
“Everyone is wanting to play and win and our coaching staff has been together for a while so we’ve grown together and improved on our leadership and chemistry,” Devine said.
Devine said it’s important for the veteran players to remain positive and encourage the younger players, especially now that school has started and they have to juggle football with their academic responsibilities.
“They come in and they should know that it’s all a business,” Devine explained. “This is what they’re going to be doing for the rest of their life (if they are fortunate enough to play pro football). You have to take care of school to play football – it’s pretty easy to ingest what you’ve been doing all of your life. You go to high school and you have to take care of school then, and then you play football.”
Being a senior, Devine particularly wants to have a memorable final season as a Mountaineer.
“This is my last year and I’m going out with a bang,” he said. “I want to win as many games as I can and with my leadership, that’s what I have to do. I have to step up and be a part of the leadership on the team and pick guys up when they’re sluggish and just be there for them.”
