Think back that many days ago to Jan. 7, 2016, when junior running back Wendell Smallwood shocked everybody by announcing his intention to forgo his senior season and enter the NFL Draft.
Smallwood’s sudden departure put West Virginia in a major bind. The Mountaineers needed an older, more experienced runner capable of coming in and playing immediately in 2016.
The guy they ended up getting a month later on signing day was junior college All-American Justin Crawford.
In the meantime, WVU had commitments from two solid high school running backs - Martell Pettaway, a Detroit resident who publically committed to the Mountaineers on June 23, 2015, followed by Lexington, North Carolina’s Kennedy McKoy, who made his commitment known a few weeks later on July 4, 2015.