Defenses Will Have to Make 'Business Decisions' When Donaldson & Oliver Are on the Field

The Mountaineers have two bruisers in the backfield.

For West Virginia to win games this fall and exceed the national media's preseason expectations, the Mountaineers will have to rely on the run game. That's no secret. 

This time a year ago, CJ Donaldson was just starting to take reps and learning the running back position for the first time as he forced the coaching staff's hand to find a way to get him on the field. He took that opportunity and literally ran away with it eventually overtaking Tony Mathis Jr., now at Houston, as the starting running back.

At nearly 6'2", 240 pounds, Donaldson is obviously not your prototypical back. To put it into perspective, he's the same size as most NFL linebackers. When that freight train gets downhill, there's no stopping it. So once he hits the hole, you'll often see defenders take some awkward angles so they don't take the brunt of the hit.

It just so happens that West Virginia has a clone of Donaldson in the backfield with true freshman, DJ Oliver (5'10", 240 lbs). Now, with Justin Johnson Jr. and Jaylen Anderson having prior experience, Oliver may not see a lot of touches this fall but when he does get his opportunities, he's going to display a similar running style to Donaldson.

"DJ Oliver, man, he’s a load. I tell him and CJ Donaldson when the defensive guys can see the 4 and the 20, they gotta make business decisions," offensive coordinator Chad Scott said. "Those are some big guys with their momentum going forward. I told ‘em, you’re an efficient runner naturally. Four yards, run north.”

Business decisions. I love that term. It perfectly describes the "oh-no" moment that runs through the minds of defenders. But more importantly, having two powerful backs like that can really wear down a defense. Repeatedly hammering the ball inside with those two will have the opposition begging for mercy and gasping for air just for WVU to turn to their speedy/more elusive backs to really apply the pressure.

Last year, Scott knew Donaldson had a chance to be special because no one showed an interest in tackling him. He's already seen a little bit of that when Oliver has the rock in his hands.

“He’s a downhill runner. He does a phenomenal job and we’re not in pads so you can’t see it but guys are not fitting up. Not saying he’s breaking tackles, but they don’t necessarily fit up on him like they should sometimes. 

“When he first got here they didn’t know, his teammates, which position he played. They know what he is now. He can run the football.”

Scott isn't the only one who sees Oliver's potential. Donaldson is a big believer in him as well. 

“He just don’t know how special he really is. It’s kind of like watching a reflection of me. I’m looking at DJ like dang, DJ can really run. He’s powerful. He’s strong.”

The one thing Scott preaches to all of his backs is to do what got you here and hone in on that. There's no need to try and be something you're not and that's something a lot of freshmen struggle with. They are eager to show that they can do everything. Scott shared an example of that last week.

“A lot of it is just telling those guys the truth. Everybody’s not going to be able to do that. DJ Oliver would say, ‘Coach, man I can catch that ball too’ but y’all ain’t looking for us to go flex DJ Oliver out in the slot at 245 pounds. That ain’t saying you can’t do it, but I told the guys this the other day, you got to be great at what you are. I’m not saying you can’t work on your weaknesses, but whatever it is that you’re great at, you got to be great at that. Jahiem White is a make-you-miss guy. He’s got to be good at making people miss. CJ, you break tackles. Get downhill, be great at that."

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