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West Virginia Football: 5 reasons the Mountaineers will struggle in 2018

By Andrew Miller

MORGANTOWN, WV - OCTOBER 28: Will Grier
MORGANTOWN, WV - OCTOBER 28: Will Grier /
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AMES, IA – NOVEMBER 26: Running back Martell Pettaway #32 of the West Virginia Mountaineers breaks away from defensive back Evrett Edwards #4 of the Iowa State Cyclones to score a touchdown in the second half of play at Jack Trice Stadium on November 26, 2016 in Ames, Iowa. The West Virginia Mountaineers won 49-19 over the Iowa State Cyclones. (Photo by David Purdy/Getty Images)
AMES, IA – NOVEMBER 26: Running back Martell Pettaway #32 of the West Virginia Mountaineers breaks away from defensive back Evrett Edwards #4 of the Iowa State Cyclones to score a touchdown in the second half of play at Jack Trice Stadium on November 26, 2016 in Ames, Iowa. The West Virginia Mountaineers won 49-19 over the Iowa State Cyclones. (Photo by David Purdy/Getty Images) /

2. Lack of depth in the backfield

The starting running back for West Virginia could without a doubt be one of the better at his position in the Big 12. Junior running back Kennedy McKoy actually got the bulk of the workload in the final games of the 2017 campaign due to former West Virginia running back Justin Crawford’s declining production and absence from the Heart of Dallas Bowl.

Beyond McKoy, the running back depth starts to get a bid shady. Fellow junior rusher Martell Pettaway is an option with some experience, but there’s no running backs with significant game experience after him. To add some fuel to the flame, Pettaway averaged just 3.5 yards per carry last season.

While the experience is there for Pettaway as a backup to McKoy, the efficiency was not last season. Hopefully for the sake of the West Virginia ground game, McKoy is able to hold up alright this fall. Any injury to McKoy and the entire state of the rushing attack for the Mountaineers is thrown into jeopardy. It would be similar to what happened to the passing game after last year’s injury to Grier.

The third string running back is a player with no game experience in second-year Alec Sinkfield. As a former three-star signee of West Virginia that was barely rated as a top 1,000 recruit in the nation, Sinkfield is not the most ideal option to turn to at this moment. Some younger running back needs to step up for West Virginia in fall camp to provide some relief to all the pressure on McKoy’s shoulders.

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