Sparrow Battling for Playing Time in the WVU Backfield

Leddie Brown is the main man in the Mountaineer backfield but establishing depth behind him has been a top priority for the coaching staff throughout fall camp. Tony Mathis Jr. is expected to hold claim to the No. 2 spot on the depth chart, but A'varius Sparrow and true freshman Justin Johnson Jr. are going to tussle it out for that third spot and hope to catch up to Mathis.

When it comes to speed, Sparrow has no shortage of it. In fact, he's probably the fastest back on the roster. It's the other responsibilities that a running back has aside from carrying the ball that Sparrow needs to improve on such as picking up blitzes, catching passes out of the backfield, and so on. According to running backs coach Chad Scott, Sparrow is trying to play catch up in his development.

"He's got to continue to come on. He's been in the program for a year. We'd like to see him be a little further than where he is right now. He has the capability to do it, he's just got to go out and do it."

The number one thing that seems to be plaguing Sparrow is his consistency. Head coach Neal Brown referenced this in a recent press conference.

"He's got to continue to improve. He's got great speed. His best days are usually scrimmage days which I guess is good and bad. As I tell our players all the time, this is a practice sport. Baseball you play more games than you practice. Basketball you usually play more games than you practice but football, we're a practice sport. We're playing 12-16 games and we're practicing a whole lot more. You've got to earn trust during practices and he's in the process of earning that trust. He's just got to be more consistent. He's a guy that we would like to come on because he has a speed element that we don't have."

With WVU now turning the page from being in fall camp mode to officially beginning preparation for next Saturday's game at Maryland, Sparrow has very little time to prove that he could jump clear up to the No. 2 spot behind Leddie Brown. That said, anything can happen. Chad Scott just wants production and if you produce, you'll earn your role.

"They're going to determine it themselves -- that's the easy part about it. We always talk about does your talent equal your production? They're all talented but they've got to be able to produce. Production in our room is what do you do beyond what's blocked? I think our offensive line does a great job of blocking everybody in the box and those safeties, those free hitters that show up, those are the guys that we've got to be able to make plays. Their ability to be able to do that on a consistent level will be able to help me determine that."

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