Run game gets help from move by Pankey

There is not one solitary reason to explain West Virginia’s success running the ball the way it did against Texas Tech.

But there is one sizable explanation: 6-foot-5, 315-pound Adam Pankey and his successful homecoming at left guard.

“He’s more comfortable inside, and he’s really good, especially in the run game, coming off the ball,” Mountaineers coach Dana Holgorsen said.

Pankey started all 13 games at left tackle last season and played more snaps than anyone else on offense, but he was shifted inside to maximize his promise and the running game’s potential. An injury forced him outside in a loss to TCU that featured a season-low 167 yards rushing.

The Mountaineers, who ran for 304 yards against Maryland in September, haven’t had successive 300yard rushing games since 2008. They might not reach that mark Saturday, but they will run the ball when they play host to Texas.

Those are the things guards can do with greater ease and frequency. The combat is in a tight space inside. There isn’t room as there is outside for defensive linemen to exploit and for offensive linemen to protect.

“You can go attack a guy,” Pankey said. “You don’t have to settle down

and react to their rush.” The way the Mountaineers run the ball makes the most of Pankey’s preferences inside. WVU uses inside zone more than anything else. Linemen create lanes by engaging the defenders who cross in front of them, and Pankey can put his hands on multiple players on a single snap.

On power plays, Pankey or right guard Kyle Bosch, who Holgorsen said played his best game against the Red Raiders, fall back from their spots and sweep behind their teammates across the line. Defenders are trying to fill gaps, but a guard is hurrying to an opening on the side opposite his position to seal off the defender to the outside and create space inside.

Defenders don’t always see the guards coming, which is the plan, and it can create constructive collisions.

“The defense doesn’t look forward to that,” Pankey said. “You’ve got to keep that in your head. They’re not looking forward to someone 300, 315 pounds pulling around and trying to hit him just as hard as they try to hit us. It’s a battle that goes back and forth all the time, but I enjoy it.”

Wendell Smallwood and running back Rushel Shell do much of their work on zone plays, but Skyler Howard’s quarterback runs have evolved to include power plays.

The offense has more carries, touchdowns, first downs and 10-yard runs in the fourth quarter than in any other and closed out the Red Raiders with a 16-play drive that took the final 6 minutes, 47 seconds off the clock.

“When you’re running the ball effectively, you can definitely feel it put pressure on them to stop the run,” Pankey said. “It wears on defenses over time, and you can see on tape that sometimes they might have the burst to make a stop, but as soon as you get a first down, it depletes the defense.”