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WVU's Shell Poised for Success in 2016
April 07, 2016 12:17 PM | Football
When Rushel Shell decided to transfer to West Virginia University after his freshman year at Pitt in 2012, some wondered just how he was going to fit in Dana Holgorsen’s offense.
Despite being one of the most coveted high school running backs in the country, Shell’s skills seemed more suited for a bygone era when teams lined up in the I-formation and handed the ball off to the tailback 30, 35 times a game. His ball skills were questionable at best, his conditioning was not great and whenever he had the football in his hands it was almost always with a fullback in front of him.
That all had to change if he wanted to play at West Virginia.
And not only did he have to change the way he was accustomed to playing, he had to change his body, too, to be able to play at Holgorsen’s frenetic pace.
For the last two seasons, Shell has shared ball carrying duties with Wendell Smallwood, the duo last year helping the Mountaineers average 228.2 yards per game to rank second in the Big 12 behind Baylor’s impressive 326.7 yards-per-game average.
Smallwood emerged as West Virginia’s No. 1 running threat in 2015, the junior rushing for 1,519 yards and averaging 6.4 yards per carry. Shell’s contributions last season consisted of 708 yards and eight touchdowns on 161 attempts - not bad.
In fact, Shell’s three-year Division I totals include 2,137 yards, 19 touchdowns and an average of 4.5 yards per carry. Again, not bad, but not close to what many were predicting of Rushel following a record-setting high school career at Hopewell High that had Nick Saban, among countless others, burning up his cell phone.
The first time Shell touched the football as a ninth grader playing for the Hopewell varsity, and facing a third and long situation, he promptly ran for a 50-yard touchdown. Three of the six times he touched the football that day he scored touchdowns.
The conference in which Hopewell plays, the WPIAL, has been around for more than 100 years and comprises nearly 140 schools. Before Shell came along only two players had ever rushed for more than 2,000 yards in a regular season. He did it during his sophomore and junior seasons, and finished his prep career as the leading rusher in WPIAL and Pennsylvania state history with 9,078 yards.
Former Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin thought it was necessary to send him more than 500 handwritten letters, many of those coming from Volunteer players asking Rushel to be their teammate. In fact, Shell got so many letters from different schools the paper cuts from opening them were visible on his fingers (http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/7493379/ncf-pitt-bound-rb-rushel-shell-juggled-recruiting-girlfriend-pregnancy-espn-magazine).
But he chose to stay home and play at Pitt in order to become the next Tony Dorsett (his uncle). However, the pressure to perform like a local legend can be burdensome, and it certainly was for Shell.
“I feel like when I got to college I just started worrying about what everyone else was saying about me,” Shell admitted last week. “In high school, I didn’t care what anyone was saying about me. It was ‘give me the ball and watch me score.’ That’s how I came into the game, and I feel like I let things overwhelm me.”
After a freshman year at Pitt that saw him rush for 641 yards and score four touchdowns - good, but not great numbers, and certainly not anything close to Tony Dorsett-like numbers - Shell decided a change of scenery was in order. The hour and a half drive down I-79 to Morgantown, West Virginia, seemed close enough for friends and family to watch him continue his college football career, but was far enough away from the daily scrutiny he was receiving at home.
At West Virginia he could grow and develop at his own pace.
Now, three years later, the time has come for Rushel to come out of his shell. There is no more sharing carries with Wendell Smallwood and no more tapping his helmet to come out of games whenever Holgorsen chooses to go turbo.
When Holgorsen wants to throw the football to his running back, Shell has to be able to catch it.
That’s because he is the only running back with any game experience in the program right now, something he is reminded of daily whenever he looks around and sees all those empty chairs in his position room. Running backs coach JaJaun Seider’s message to Shell this spring is a simple one - embrace your past.
“I have told him to block out the outside, stop worrying about the expectations and go back to being the kid that made you Rushel Shell, the Pennsylvania rushing leader, the five-star kid coming out of high school when you were just playing ball and it was fun for you,” Seider explained.
Seider says he sees the light coming on for Shell. The senior is in the best shape of his life. He’s bigger, faster, stronger and, most importantly, burden free.
“This is the kid we were hoping we were going to see last year,” said Seider. “Right now, if he continues to do what he’s doing, which I think he will, he’s going to be a happy man come this time next year (when preparing for the NFL draft).”
“Sometimes you can be your biggest enemy,” Shell added. “Whenever you stress out about something it can really affect you, but when you are relaxed and not really worried about everything that’s when you play your best.”
All indications are Shell is playing his best football right now. He’s 15 pounds heavier at 230, he’s a step faster and he’s clearly in the best shape of his life.
Shell admits Smallwood’s development into a coveted professional prospect was an eye-opening experience for him.
“There has not been an offseason when I’ve worked this hard, or been pushed this hard,” Shell admitted. “I feel like I’m at my peak right now.
“You look at it like they want me to be the guy, so I’ve got to do this and I’ve got to do that,” he added.
Indeed, the high expectations have once again returned for Rushel Shell - much the way they were when he was a freshman playing at Pitt. Now, however, he’s much older, much wiser and much more equipped to handle it.
“He’s comfortable within himself, within the offense and around his teammates to where he can now just go out and be a ballplayer,” Seider said.
Here at WVU, that means going out and playing like Rushel Shell, and not like his famous uncle.
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