WVU football managed to move to 4-6 overall and establish a two-game winning streak last Saturday against the Colorado Buffaloes, and one of the big storylines coming out of the victory for the Mountaineers was the offensive debut of sophomore bandit Curtis Jones Jr.
Jones, a Huntington, W.Va native and former all-state running back at the high school level, got called upon to add some depth at his old position, despite being recruited as a defensive player and spending his first two seasons on the roster in Morgantown on the defensive side of the ball. He made the most of that opportunity, scoring a touchdown on his first collegiate carry and finishing the game with three rushes for 11 yards and two touchdowns.
Jones said after the win Saturday that "I'll be right there" if the Mountaineers continue to need him on the offensive side of the ball, and it looks like that might be the plan. On his radio show on Monday night, West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez said that he plans to have Jones "continue in that role" over the next few weeks.
"I am," Rodriguez said when asked if he plans on keeping Jones in the running back rotation. "He'll get more reps this week in practice."
Rodriguez also indicated that it might not just be Jones who ends up with an opportunity to play on both sides of the ball, as he expects to evaluate players – both those currently on the roster as well as high school prospects – for their ability to perform on both sides of the ball. Specifically, he cited his desire to add a fullback to the roster when discussing the possibility.
"We're going to start looking at that more often with all of our players," Rodriguez said.