Heralded Gwaltney finding WVU harder than expected

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By MICKEY FURFARI

FOR THE JOURNAL

MORGANTOWN - Jason Gwaltney, West Virginia's highly rated freshman running back, is finding the college grind tougher than he had thought.

"It's a lot harder than I expected," he said after the first of Friday's two preseason practice sessions. "Probably more so because it's so much faster.

"Coach (Rich) Rodriguez teaches quickness, quickness. It's a good thing because it gets you in condition.

"There are a lot of teams out there that probably can't run this style of offense. They're not used to getting out there and going quickly."

Gwaltney is a record-breaking superstar from North Babylon, N.Y., High School, where he rushed for 2,882 yards, 45 touchdowns and 282 points as a senior.

Thus, he admittedly came to WVU with a heap of hype - the most by any football recruit here in years. The youngster said when announcing his decision that he expected to be the Mountaineers' No. 1 tailback as a rookie.

Asked about that, Gwaltney commented:

"Coach Rod and (position coach Calvin) Magee will make the decision. I have no control over that.

"Right now I'm just working hard and learning all the plays. And I'm having fun out there."

However, he indicated that he still has designs on the starting job.

"I just keep working hard, just keep working hard," Gwaltney said.

Then he paid tribute to junior Jason Colson, the frontrunner among the running backs.

"He's a great leader," he said. "He's going to be the one who helps me out. He's going to be like my mentor on the field. He's real vocal and tells us what we're doing wrong and what we're during good.

"Jason is like another coach on the field. He does a lot."

While Gwaltney now weighs 240, Rodriguez has told him to get down to 235 or 230. He expects to play at that weight when the season starts.

"I'm picking up the offense pretty good," Gwaltney said. "Some things are a little tricky. And I'm making some mistakes.

"But I'm learning the system, and I'm having fun out there. I think I'm progressing in the drills as a normal freshman would."

Gwaltney said he figured it was going to be hard jumping from high school to college. "But I think I'm taking it pretty good so far."

He noted that the spread offense is totally different from what he played in high school.

"Sometimes when I'm running toward a hole, I get a little impatient," Gwaltney said. "In high school, we ran one scheme. The object was to get in the hole right away and then go.

"Now it's more of waiting for something to develop. The great linemen we have, they're going to make the holes, and I just have to sit back and watch them.

"It's a real good scheme. And I want to make sure I'm doing what the coaches want me to do."

He's also capable of catching passes. He has good hands and doesn't drop many. He tries to use his ability and 6-foot-1 size when an intended pass target.

"I came here with a lot of hype," Gwaltney admitted. "But I showed I'm here to work hard and do everything possible to help this team win games.

"I'll do whatever I can, whether it's with the scout team or special teams or offense. So I go out there with respect for the other players."

While he could have been home this summer with his friends, he said he gave all that up to join WVU teammates for individual workouts and show them he wants to be a Mountaineer.

He declared that he's not interested in any college awards after having received numerous honors in high school.

"Those are over with," he said. "This is a whole new level of football. It's a more aggressive and competitive type of football.

"I'm not even worrying about All-America, the Heisman or stuff like that. Everyone is saying that to me, and I tell them I don't want to hear about that. "All I want to hear about is what we do here as a team when we step on the field. So this is a whole new creation.

"That other stuff is in the past. This is a new beginning."