Anderson Forced to Step Up Amid Impaired RB Depth

Redshirt freshman Jaylen Anderson is getting his time to shine.

WVU's three-headed monster has been decapitated by injury. 

Still, one running back remains undeterred.

Ahead of playing TCU this weekend, both Tony Mathis Jr. and Justin Johnson have been sidelined. CJ Donaldson, whose injury against Texas culminated with the true freshman on a backboard and moving through concussion protocol, is set to make his return; he's the sole remaining head of Cerberus with serious snap counts, but the struggling run game can't rely on one body fresh from serious head injury rehabilitation.

Enter: 5-11, 214-pound redshirt freshman Jaylen Anderson.

Anderson, one of the team's top 2021 recruits and the No. 12 RB in the nation, chose West Virginia over 24 other offers. He played three different offensive positions at Perry High School in Perry, Oh. When he came into the Mountaineer fold, he was immediately redshirted and sent into the developmental program. He sat far down the depth chart, behind 1,000+ yard rusher Leddie Brown, Mathis Jr., and fellow 2021 recruit Johnson, and it was unclear when he'd see the field.

Anderson's gridiron arrival took 16 games.

He made his first of two 2022 appearances against the Towson Tigers on Sept. 17, when he picked up 33 yards on six attempts. He also saw time against Virginia Tech but didn't register any carries.

Now, it appears that he's the No. 2 running back on the roster.

"He'll be up," head coach Neal Brown said. "This is the way I think about injuries all the time: I hate it for the guy that gets injured, right? From a personal standpoint, you really feel for those people, because they put so much time and effort into it, so to get injured and not be able to reap those rewards playing in the games, you really feel for that. At the same time, it's a great opportunity for whoever is behind him. 

"Jaylen Anderson's got an opportunity. CJ Donaldson will start. We'll try to get Justin [Johnson] ready. If he's ready, he'll play. If he's not, then Jaylen Anderson's got to be ready to go, and it's his opportunity to prove that he's ready, as a redshirt freshman, to play at this level. He's got the talent. He just has to put it together," Brown said.

Anderson arrived in Morgantown as a four-star recruit and Ohio's No. 8 overall player. There's no mystery about what the West Virginia offense is receiving with him in tow. At Perry High, Anderson accrued 3,517 yards rushing and 47 touchdowns as a four-year starter. He also spent time as a slot receiver, registering 1,642 yards and 29 touchdowns on 108 receptions.

He's a proven dual threat, and now Mountaineer Nation will get to see what the hype is about. The West Virginia coaches have been lauding Anderson's work on scout team since fall camp, especially in scrimmage situations. He's been consistent during practices, but getting reps against the likes of TCU's defense is dramatically different from six attempts in a 65-7 blowout against Towson.

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