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West Virginia Football: 3 ways to improve from 2017

By Andrew Miller

MORGANTOWN, WV - NOVEMBER 04: Will Grier #7 of the West Virginia Mountaineers hands off to Justin Crawford #25 against the Iowa State Cyclones at Mountaineer Field on November 04, 2017 in Morgantown, West Virginia. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
MORGANTOWN, WV - NOVEMBER 04: Will Grier #7 of the West Virginia Mountaineers hands off to Justin Crawford #25 against the Iowa State Cyclones at Mountaineer Field on November 04, 2017 in Morgantown, West Virginia. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /

2. More consistency out of the backfield

Crawford did not have the season many anticipated him to put together in 2017. After averaging nearly 7.5 yards per carry and racking up 1,184 rushing yards in 2016, Crawford’s yard per carry and total yards on the ground dropped in 2017.

Part of that was due to Crawford sitting out the bowl game to get ready for the 2018 NFL Draft. However, it would have been nice to see him finish out his West Virginia career in proper fashion. He did set a career-high in rushing touchdowns this year with seven.

Crawford sitting out put the keys to the backfield in the hands of Kennedy McKoy. However, without two of the most important parts of the offense, Grier and Crawford, there was too much pressure on McKoy’s shoulders to carry the load.

Rising sophomore running back Martell Pettaway will also be put in a bigger role in 2018. He got limited carries, in the third string role on the depth chart, behind Crawford and McKoy. But, McKoy is going to need a break at some point next year.

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