By Keenan Cummings
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia addressed many needs in the 2020 recruiting class during the early signing period, but there is still one position that must be addressed.
That is at running back, where the program only has a total of three scholarship players on the roster after the departure of Martell Pettaway to the transfer portal.
Things seemed to be clear cut when Brooklyn, N.Y., running back Lamy Constant committed to the Mountaineers in November, but the program elected to go in a different direction — leaving the class with zero players at that spot in the class. Expect that to change in the late period, as the coaching staff has set their sights on several possible options to fill that slot.
At the top of that list is Ellisville, Miss., Jones J.C. running back La’Damian Webb, who has held an offer from the Mountaineers since the fall. The Alabama native has four years to play three and is coming off a season at the junior college level where he earned second team NJCAA all-America honors.
Webb, at 5-foot-9 and 195 pounds, has already taken an official visit to Oklahoma State and is set to take a trip to Florida State once the dead period ends Jan. 17. After that, a stop at WVU is planned for the Jan. 24 weekend while also considering several other stops down the stretch.
The impressive back rushed for 940 yards and 10 touchdowns this season and has the attention of the WVU coaches, as well as many others as his recruitment continues to grow.
The second prospect who holds an offer from WVU and is likely to visit in January is Orlando, Fla., Jones running back A’varius Sparrow. The 5-foot-9 and 180-pounder had gone relatively under the radar until a major senior season generated an offer from Central Florida and then WVU.
Sparrow rushed for rushed for 2,135 yards and 26 touchdowns this season and has built a strong bond with running backs coach Chad Scott in the process. Expect his recruitment to continue to add suitors down the stretch run as schools look to fill needs.
Outside of those two, the Mountaineers are keeping tabs on a number of others and are expected to look at all of the options on the list in order to address the need before turning full attention to landing a top running back in the 2021 class.
