MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Ty Konchesky was the workhorse for the Morgantown football team the last two seasons, both out of necessity and willingness to do so.
As a junior two years ago, he was the focal point of “Dozer” package while the Mohigans struggled with quarterback issues. Last year, Konchesky helped MHS through growing pains with a young offense at the skill positions. He carried the load often as a power back, averaging over 20 carries per game the last two seasons.
Now, with Konchesky gone, as well as second-leading rusher Tanner Davis, the Mohigans will likely go with a much different look in the backfield.
They aren’t without running backs with similar builds to Konchesky — Jackson Wolfe played tight end most of his career, and now as a senior, is getting carries. Coach Matt Lacy said Wolfe added to his 5-foot-11, 200-pound frame this offseason.
“Jackson Wolfe is a lot like Ty in that he has the size and can run between the tackles, and he even plays middle linebacker like Ty did,” Lacy said. “We don’t know if he’ll be able to take 20 carries like Ty did, we have a lot of capable guys that can get those extra carries.”
And that’s what will be the difference in the offense this season, which opens Aug. 30 at Parkersburg. The workload will be spread out and MHS will have a variety of skill sets to go around.
Wolfe can bring the power and run between the tackles, Connor Kelly is a mixture of pop and speed, and Jace Whetsell, Quin Thompson and Corban Cross are the fast and quick backs.
“I think there’s a whole bunch of guys that I feel comfortable with getting the ball,” Lacy said.
Whetsell made several eye-popping plays as a junior last season as a specialist in the kick return game and offensively at running back and in the slot. Several spin moves made it onto the highlight tape at the end of the year, and his quickness gives the Mohigans a major threat anywhere on the offense.
“He’ll serve kind of like a Tavon Austin role for us,” Lacy said. “We’re going to need him to touch the ball seven, eight, nine, 10 times. He’s so shifty with his speed — you put on the film from last year and a couple of times, he just made defenses look silly. It makes coaches look good when you can give a guy the ball and he looks like a video game out there.”
Whetsell finished with 43 carries for 240 yards and three touchdowns out of the backfield. However, he was not a threat in the passing game, tallying just four catches for one yard. Learning to play both receiver and running back is something Whetsell hopes to work on during the three-week summer workout period.
He’s always been smaller, so his game has consistently been on the outside.
“I’ve been used to it my whole life,” Whetsell said. “Being smaller as a running back, I’ve had to play differently than what power backs like Jackson would. I don’t run the ball inside often, but running outside, they never expect that you’ll make a move or a juke or something to get inside, because they think you’ll just keep going outside.”
