The 2022-2023 West Virginia Football roster is filled with many young and talented players, all with different skill sets and different physical capable abilities that help contribute to the goal of a successful football season.
The running back group for the Mountaineers is a part of the roster that is young and ready to prove that they can be a key contributor for this year’s offense. The running back room consists of five players. Tony Mathis Jr, Justin Johnson Jr, Markquan Rucker, Jaylen Anderson and Owen Chafin.
The Mountaineers will look to replace Leddie Brown who had over 1,000 yards a season ago and will look to do so with a somewhat unproven group.
Tony Mathis Jr.
Mathis Jr., a redshirt sophomore, leads the pack with playing time. Last season he appeared in 11 games right behind Brown. So far with his time with the Mountaineers he has played a total of 20 games and started only one.
His first career start came during the Guaranteed Rate Bowl against Minnesota. Despite the Mountaineers losing 18-6, Mathis Jr. would go on to lead the team with five catches for a total of 24 yards.
His best game came against the Kansas Jayhawks last season. He carried the ball 22 times and amassed an impressive 118 yards rushing in total.
With Mathis Jr. being the most experienced player in the running back room, the Mountaineers will be leaning on him heavily to be their main guy this upcoming season.
Justin Johnson Jr.
This upcoming sophomore played in a total of eight games last year for the Mountaineers. In those eight games he saw a total of 77 offensive snaps.
He finished the year with a total of 24 carries and 90 yards.
In his best game of the season against Long Island, he had a total of 10 carries for a total of 42 yards. The Mountaineers would go on to win this game by a big margin of 66-0.
This former three-star recruit out of St. Louis Missouri can be a solid depth option for the Mountaineers this upcoming season.
Markquan Rucker
Rucker is a redshirt freshman who saw a total of four games last season.
He was mainly used for special teams, totaling 25 appearances and saw a total of five special team plays in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl against Minnesota.
This West Virginia native attended Tyler Consolidated High School and is there all time leading scoring with 98 touchdowns and there all time leading rusher with 4,470 career rushing yards.
Jaylen Anderson
Anderson saw no playing time last year as he was redshirted.
He hails from Perry, Ohio and attended Perry High. His senior year he rushed a total of 875 yards with 13 touchdowns.
In his time at Perry High he would be a four year starter and be named to two All State First teams. He would eventually become a four star recruit and ESPN ranked him the 26th best player at his position and number 13th overall in the state of Ohio.
Owen Chafin
Chafin is a redshirt Junior from Huntington, West Virginia. His first three years he did not see any playing time but was named to the academic all big-12 rookie team back in 2019.
He was a three time starting running back and linebacker at Spring Valley High School. He finished his high school career with a total of 4,200 rushing yards, 210 receiving yards, and 29 touchdowns.
Photo by Wesley Shoemaker
