Running the Backs: WVU Football’s Tony Mathis Jr. Steps Up

Orlando native Tony Mathis Jr. is preparing for his fourth season in the gold and blue.

“West Virginia was a home feeling,” he said of the journey to get to Morgantown. “It reminded me of the town I played at, Cedartown High School. It had the same type of feeling. Small town and football. It’s where I could get better, and I chose here.”

Following the graduation of leading rusher Leddie Brown, Mathis Jr. is finally first on the running back depth chart. Maturing behind Brown produced a slim 312 yards and 72 attempts in 2021, but now, Mathis Jr. is the leader of the pack. Add in a new offensive coordinator, in USC’s Graham Harrell, and the run game had a lot to make up for entering spring 2022. Mathis Jr. isn’t worried though.

From Brown, Mathis Jr. said that he learned, “How to be a college running back… I don’t have to do everything perfect, but I have to do everything cleaner, so I try to lead more and talk more because I know I’ve got younger guys like [redshirt freshman] Jaylen Anderson, who’s going to be great here too, just watching, so just being more vocal.”

Entering his redshirt junior season, Mathis Jr. has refined his focus, leadership style, and hopeful impact.

“I’m still head down, grinding, and just more vocal, but for the other running backs, continue to lead,” Mathis Jr. said. “Everything is still the same.”

Spring practices have further enhanced that position for Mathis Jr., and running backs coach Chad Scott and Harrell have both seen the structured improvement.

“He finished the season and had a really good off-season for us,” Scott said. “He’s having a really good spring. The game is slowing down for him. The amount of repetitions he had at the end of last season to the ones he’s had now, the game seems to be slowing down for him. He’s out there kind of free-flowing and improvising. He’s a better football player. It’s good to see.

“I love that kid. Here’s a kid who’s been through a lot, a really talented kid… You’re transparent and you tell him things he can get better at and some of the kids, you know, what they say in their terms, they aren’t real with themselves. He’s real with himself. I’ve been really honest with him. Most kids may say, ‘No. That’s not the case. I should be this. I did this. I did that.’ He didn’t do that. He’s honest. We showed him the film, and that wasn’t the case. All that stuff that we talked about all those weeks, and all the things he needed to improve upon, he worked his butt off in the off-season and he’s done it. Right now, he’s taken his game to another level.”

Adjusting to a new offensive scheme, different terminology, and even a left-handed quarterback in the mix puts pressure on West Virginia’s options, but Mathis Jr. is excited to go out and perform. Last regular season, Mathis Jr. was injured in preseason camp, but he’s approaching 2022 with a renewed ferocity.

“I’m looking forward to moving the ball, scoring points, and having a lot of fun,” he said. “Nicco [Marchiol], he’s left-handed, so that’s a different type of spin. It’s still the same.”

Mathis Jr. will be a powerhouse for Harrell’s offensive schemes, which are currently being revamped.

“A few small changes,” Mathis Jr. said of implementing Harrell’s tweaks. “They’re small, but very big, if that makes sense. I like what he’s doing and everybody else around me likes what he’s doing, so at the end of the day, we’re going to do that. It’s small things like seeing the fun in everything and having fun out there. He’s a special guy.”

One of the biggest changes to the WVU offense is the potential to see multiple run threats flanking the QB spot. Both Harrell and Scott hinted at seeing not only Mathis Jr., but also sophomore Justin Johnson or Clemson transfer Lyn-J Dixon taking snaps.

“We run a little two-back with those guys,” Harrell said. “We could get creative with the way we use those guys… The more and more we just rep the offense in general, the more we just expand on it and have fun with those guys and use them in different spots.”

Scott also alluded to a multi-back scheme, saying, “We’ll play multiple guys on the field. In this offense, we play a lot of twin personnel. Intentional twin personnel, like that’s just the offense itself, it’s twin personnel.”

Of his running back room depth, Scott also said, “They’ve got to build it. They’ve got to do it. They’ve got to understand all the pass concepts, so when they’re in the game and one guy’s in protection and the other is in route, he knows where to fit in that pass concept. They’ve got a lot that they’re doing… we’ll definitely play more than one back, maybe two or three. Based on what we have now, two at the same time definitely.”

Mathis Jr. is ready for that challenge.

“I don’t get deep balls like the wide-outs do, so spin routes ain’t that bad,” he said with a laugh. “We’re pretty good this year. The running back room is pretty set. Coach Scott is doing a great job coaching us and finding the little details, so all of us, we’re rolling and having fun.”

Mountaineer fans can see Mathis Jr. and the new run game on Apr. 23 at WVU Football’s Gold-Blue Spring Game. Kick-off is set for 1 p.m. at Milan Puskar Stadium.