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I did a feature on West Virginia running back Shawne Alston. Tell me what you think.

BY MICHAEL CARVELLI
SPORTS WRITER

West Virginia running backs coach Chris Beatty has never lied to Shawne Alston since the two began talking when Beatty was recruiting him to become a Mountaineer.

So, why would Alston not believe him early this season when the two had a little talk after West Virginia’s loss to LSU?

With running back Noel Devine sidelined for much of the game with a toe injury, the coaching staff had to decide who would take the bulk of the carries for the rest of the game and opted to go with fullback Ryan Clarke over Alston or any of the other true tailbacks on the roster.

“We sat down and had a talk after the LSU game,” Beatty said. “I said, ‘Look, you’re going to get more and more (playing time), I promise you. We brought you here for a reason and I promise you that you’re going to get your turn.

“Just be patient’”

And to say that Shawne Alston has been patient is an understatement.

He was sidelined up until that LSU game, due to a knee injury and he admitted that it was a little tough to have to sit and watch from the sidelines while waiting to get his chance to show what he could do.

“Any time you’re a competitor, you feel like you can come out and get the job done,” Alston said. “But at the same time, if the coaches don’t think you’re ready or if there’s anything else preventing that from happening, you just have to keep working hard and don’t lose confidence.”

It seems like that hard work has finally started to pay off over the course of the last three weeks as Alston has emerged as the Mountaineers’ most consistent threat in the running game while Devine has been working back to full health after suffering an ankle injury against Louisville.

In the last three games, Alston has carried the ball 40 times for 182 yards.

But what he gives the Mountaineers is another guy, like Clarke, who can run the ball hard downhill and can offer a change of pace for defenses to adjust to once Devine is back to full health.

“Shawne’s another powerful back and I like the rotation that we have and how can get in there and run power downhill. I like knowing that he’s back there,” Clarke said. “Coach can throw him in and throw me in and we can do damage at the same time. Defenses won’t know what to do.”

Devine echoed Clarke’s praise of the Hampton, Va., native on Tuesday when speaking with the media.

“I’ve always seen that Shawne has something special and that he was going to be great,” Devine said. “It was just a matter of when he would get his chance to show his ability.”

There’s no doubt that in the short time that he’s gotten his chances to show that ability, Alston has left an impact. He’s been terrific at helping the Mountaineers grind out the clock late in games when they need to run down the clock and it seems like every time he touches the ball, he always gains yards.

But there is one thing that he wants to do on Saturday against Rutgers that he hasn’t done yet this season.

He wants to score a touchdown.

“I’ve been trying to get it,” Alston said. “But I’m definitely going to get it in the end zone.”

 

I thought it was a fairly good piece. I just had a couple of questions.

What year is Alston? Sometimes that goes a long way toward determining whether he gets a start. I imagine he's a freshman or sophomore because WVU went with Clarke over him, but I could be wrong.

Does Alston deserve to start? Did he come in as a highly regarded recruit or just another running back?

What has Clarke done this season? Has he outperformed Alston that he actually deserves the starting spot?

When will Devine be returning and how does the coach plan to use his running backs then?

 

I would have reworded this. I get what you're saying here, but it just reads weird to me and kind of sounds as if Alston DIDN'T believe what Beatty was saying.