MORGANTOWN — If there was one player on the WVU football team who had a case for taking advantage of the new one-time transfer rule, it would be running back Tony Mathis.
The coach he originally signed with, Dana Holgorsen, left three weeks after Mathis signed on the dotted line to join the Mountaineers. Then, he was almost guaranteed a backup spot behind Leddie Brown for three seasons, and for a running back, there are only so many touches to go around.
Now, three years after signing with WVU, Mathis finally has his opportunity to be the top guy in the backfield, and while the popular choice is to leave and find a chance somewhere else, he’s been committed to the coaching staff and program since.
“The bond you create with coaches, it doesn’t just change overnight,” Mathis said. “I decided to stay and work and do what I needed to do. I’ve just been that type of guy.”
Running backs coach Chad Scott, who inherited Mathis who he joined head coach Neal Brown in early 2019, has raved about Mathis’ dedication to get better, beginning with last off-season. Mathis was lined up to take significant carries in relief of Leddie Brown, but an injury before the 2021 season set him back until about midway through the year.
Finally, in the second half of the season, Mathis began to come in to his own, culminating in 118 yards in the regular-season finale at Kansas.
“When I felt 100% healthy, I gained way more confidence, like I had in fall camp before the season started,” he said.
Mathis also soaked up everything he could from Leddie Brown, who is preparing for the NFL draft. Mathis said Brown helped him with how to be a lead back, as well as responsibilities as a pass-catcher and in pass-protection.
With Brown gone, Mathis is the next in line, but Scott said there are still things Mathis needs to work on, though it’s really as simple as it sounds.
“I tell him just be a football player,” Scott said. “I was always honest with him and it didn’t always sound good, and you would think in most cases, a kid would say, ‘Nah, that’s not the case. I should be this and I should be that.’ He didn’t do that.
“He knows the offense really well. He was just pressing and forcing things, trying to make things happen. Doing that at the running back position can look robotic at times. We watched film from last year where he was in one-on-one situations, and if he would have just been a football player — not thinking like he was back in high school rocking the Cedartown (Ga.) uniform, you’d win a lot of those and go score.”
Scott credited Mathis’ vision and ability to make something out of nothing, saying he’s turned several plays that should have been tackles for loss into home-run plays, even a few touchdowns.
According to Neal Brown, he’s seeing the same things out of Mathis.
“He’s really being patient,” Brown said. “He’s getting downhill. He’s strong enough to get through tackles and he’s improved his lateral agility.”
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