MORGANTOWN — In modern football, the fullback position has been all but abandoned.
Things are no different in Morgantown, where the Mountaineers have not deployed a true fullback in any capacity in quite some time.
That might be changing sometime soon for fifth-year head coach Neal Brown, however, and it’s a local product that could be the one to force his hand.
The Mountaineers have two true fullbacks on their roster this season, graduate senior Luke Hamilton, who transferred in from Towson, and University High product Colin McBee.
“We’re getting them reps,” Brown said this spring. “We played with a fullback all the time at Troy because we really struggled to recruit tight ends there at that level.”
Brown described Hamilton as “a natural fullback”, but referred to McBee, who walked on at WVU in 2022, as simply a good football player.
With the Hawks, McBee was primarily a linebacker and played full-time running back during his senior season in 2021. That year, UHS was a perfect 10-0 in the regular season and McBee earned second-team all-state honors by rushing for 975 yards and 25 touchdowns.
With WVU planning to use multiple running backs at once in 2023, McBee’s ability to both carry the ball and block has Brown thinking he could start seeing the field sooner rather than later.
“He’s a good football player,” Brown said. “He can block and we’re trying to get him bigger to where he can be a fullback. We’re still handing him the ball a good bit and I really believe, I don’t know about this fall, but he’s going to be somebody who plays.”
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