West Virginia RB Martell Pettaway Planning to Redshirt

After West Virginia’s loss to Iowa State on Saturday, many were wondering why senior running back Martell Pettaway did not see any game action.

In the postgame press conference, head coach Neal Brown addressed the situation. “He hasn’t had the type of year he wants to have or that we want him to have. I think some of that is limited opportunities and some of that is he hasn’t been as productive as he or we’d like. He’s in a unique situation because he only played three games his freshman year. He and coach Scott and I have been having some on going’s and if everybody stays healthy the plan is to redshirt him.”

Pettaway isn’t the only Mountaineer struggling to run the ball, it has been the entire unit that has had a tough go of it. What presumed to be the teams strength heading into the year, may be one of the teams weaknesses at the halfway point of the season. Not all blame should be placed on the running backs though, the offensive line has been inconsistent and has been getting beat in one on one battles in Big 12 play.

So far this season, Pettaway has rushed for 72 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries averaging 2.7 yards per carry — which is way down from his 6.4 yards per carry a year ago.

If he’s able to redshirt, this will give him the opportunity to see more reps and potentially be the go-to guy next year along with Leddie Brown.

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