Weariness washes over his face. Noel Devine is tired of this.
Not from carrying the football.
Rather, from questions about him carrying the football.
"A certain number per game?"
West Virginia's latest star tailback was asking rhetorically the other day, when The Carry Query was posed yet again. This fleet sophomore didn't elude the inquiry, like so many defenders. He confronted it head on.
"Thirty carries, that's a lot,"
he continued about his potential workload. "The way things are going right now, I don't think we'll need 30 carries. We should blow teams out."
Well, that's one way to answer it.
There exists a small sampling of statistics to support Devine's case about a less strenuous burden on average. He required just 13 carries against then-No. 3 Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl to compile 108 yards and two touchdowns. He required 11 carries against Connecticut for 118 yards. He required a scant two carries at Maryland to hit triple digits.
Another shred of mathematical evidence comes in the form of his predecessor, Mountaineers record-holder Steve Slaton. WVU's previous star tailback collected 30-plus carries only twice in his 37-game career: triple-overtime against Louisville in 2005 and Marshall in 2006. In truth, he averaged barely 20 touches per game a year ago, including receptions.
And that's probably more of a logical starting number for Devine. He'll return kickoffs alongside fellow Floridian Jock Sanders once or twice per game. He'll get screens and shovels tossed his direction maybe a couple or three times per game. He'll wrap his arms around 15-plus carries per game. Then again, it depends upon how each game plays out.
Still and all, folks look at his 5-foot-8, 173-pound frame and wonder: How much pounding can this little guy endure?
Plenty, he answers.
Thirty carries a game, starting against Villanova in eighth-ranked West Virginia's season opener Saturday at Mountaineer Field?
"If it comes down to it, I will,"
Devine said. "I think my heart's big enough."
Don't overlook that body mass, added Mountaineers running backs coach Chris Beatty. He looks at Devine and same-sized buddy Sanders, and marvels at their sturdy physiques: "They're not big guys. But they're rocked up."
Certainly, Slaton and quarterback Patrick White softened up foes a mite before Devine hit the field a year ago as a freshman. In spot duty, he rushed for 627 yards on 73 carries for a bloated 8.6-yards-per-carry average. His 76-yard romp against Maryland tied the school record for the longest non-touchdown run. His 27 plays of 20 yards or more were the highest amount on a Mountaineers offense blessed with Darius Reynaud, Slaton and White, the two-time Big East Conference offensive player of the year.
Devine eagerly awaits a backup with whom he can grab some rest, much like Slaton with Devine a year ago, or align beside in the backfield.
"Last year, I shared the ball with Steve; I kind of liked that, also,"
Devine said. "'Cause it took some of the pressure off Steve. When they put both of us in the game, [defenses] didn't really know who was getting the ball. Hopefully we get that back with me, Jock, Terence [Kerns] and Zach [Hulse], maybe take the pressure off me and Pat. So there won't be a lot of keying on us."
