MORGANTOWN — Jason Gwaltney isn’t any different than any other freshman college football player in the country.
Or at least he’s no different from a rather basic point of view.
He wants to play.
Now.
“You can ask any freshman in America,’’ Gwaltney said. “If they say no, they shouldn’t be playing football.’’
Where Gwaltney differs, of course, is that he’s one of those freshmen who are expected to play. It comes with the territory of being one of the most highly hyped freshmen running backs ever to slip on a West Virginia helmet.
But with those expectations comes pressure. For Gwaltney, it’s not pressure to earn a starting job or run for 1,500 yards or any of those other things he was saying he wanted to do back in February, when on national television he announced his college choice.
No, for Gwaltney the pressure is simply to earn the respect of his teammates, most of whom — no, check that, all of whom — arrived at their current station with far less fanfare.
Let’s face it, the eyes of West Virginia football fans weren’t the only ones on him when he arrived here. The eyes of a whole bunch of naturally skeptical teammates bore through him, as well.
And before Gwaltney ever gains a single yard he has to earn something less tangible.
WVU's Gwaltney carrying extra weight well
By
Dave Hickman
Staff writer MORGANTOWN — When Jason Gwaltney stepped on a set of scales one day early this summer and saw the needle cross the 250-pound mark, he never batted an eye.
Of course, Rich Rodriguez wasn’t standing behind him at the time, either, aghast that his five-star running back recruit was about to turn into a one-star offensive guard.
And even had Rodriguez been there to see those scales tip precariously, Gwaltney would have assured him that it wasn’t a problem.
“It’s like Jason Colson said, as long as I can move with it, it’s OK,’’ Gwaltney said.
Rest assured, Gwaltney can move just fine. He’s no longer 252 pounds, having shed 15 during his first summer conditioning session in Morgantown. He reported to camp a week ago at 240 and has done nothing during the Mountaineers’ first week of workouts to suggest that he is anything less than the highly hyped tailback WVU recruited out of Long Island.
“He’s got pretty solid speed for somebody who’s 230-plus pounds,’’ Colson said.
Colson should know because he sees Gwaltney every day in practice. Colson and Pernell Williams, West Virginia’s two holdover tailbacks, are in the midst of a fierce battle with Gwaltney and fellow freshman Steve Slaton for playing time as the Mountaineers prepare for their Sept. 4 opener at Syracuse.
And Gwaltney is ready for the challenge, especially from a physical standpoint.
“Right now, I’m 240,’’ Gwaltney said. “Coach Rod wants me down to 235, 230. We’re starting two-a-days, and I know I’m going to get there by the season. I’m going to maintain it with [strength and conditioning] Coach [Mike] Barwis. He makes sure we’re nourished right and eating the right things and makes sure we’re conditioning properly.
“But I also want to get down to a good weight where I’m still strong. When I left [to go home for a week before camp] I was 237 and I was twice as strong as I was before I got here. So that’s probably the weight I’m going to shoot for.’’
