West Virginia University gets boost from redshirt freshman
West Virginia's Ryan Clarke crosses into the end zone past Colorado's Benjamin Burney during the fourth quarter of an NCAA college football game Thursday, Oct. 1, 2009, in Morgantown, W.Va. West Virginia won 35-24.
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – While West Virginia’s Noel Devine is the third-leading runner in Division I, it is teammate Ryan Clarke who has been the big surprise.
While the speedy Devine is averaging 135 yards per game, Clarke, a 6-foot-0, 228-pound redshirt freshman, has already scored three touchdowns this season for WVU (3-1).
Clarke is three for three on third-down plays of three yards or less. He is also three for three scoring touchdowns when given the ball inside the opponents’ 10-yard line, capitalizing from the 8-, 2- and 1-yard lines.
“(Clarke) is like a big Ninja Turtle – a beast,” Devine said.
An example of how well Devine and Clarke have worked together at running back came late in West Virginia’s 35-24 win over Colorado last Thursday. Devine led the offense into the red zone before Clarke came in to punch the ball across the goal line. That happened again later in the game.
“He’s brought a toughness to this team,” WVU coach Bill Stewart said of Clarke.
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