West Virginia Running Backs Coach to Join Gators, McElwain’s Staff

According to a report from Mike Casazza of the Charleston Gazette-Mail, West Virginia running backs coach JaJuan Seider will join Jim McElwain’s staff at the same position.

Impact

The move represents a major recruiting coup for the Gators just days after National Signing Day. Seider is known for his elite recruiting ability in South Florida. He is from the area himself, being a native of Belle Glade, and has landed coveted recruits from the area. He was Conference USA’s recruiter of the year in 2012 while he was at Marshall.

JaJuan Seider landed coveted Miramar teammates Tyreke Cole and Jovon Durante for WVU in 2015. At Marshall, he got the No. 1 JUCO WR in 2013.

— Zach Abolverdi (@ZachAbolverdi) February 2, 2017

According to the report, he was credited with landing two South Florida commits in this past class for the Mountaineers: wide receiver Alec Sinkfield and defensive lineman Lamonte McDougle.

Seider could also represent an improvement in the Florida running game. The report notes how Seider has gotten guys like Charles Sims and Wendell Smallwood to the NFL. Seider was responsible for one of the better rushing attack in the country at West Virginia, while the Gators ranked 113th over the same time span. Seider’s main running back this past season, Justin Crawford, ran for 1,184 yards in his first season with the Mountaineers.

West Virginia's rushing offense ranked in the top 25 nationally the last two seasons. https://t.co/VteKhztfcR

— Zach Abolverdi (@ZachAbolverdi) February 2, 2017

Seider will now take over an attack featuring Jordan Scarlett, Lamical Perine, Mark Thompson. In addition, he’ll have incoming freshmen Malik Davis and Adarius Lemons.

Tim Skipper, the current running backs coach, is likely to move to the defensive side of the ball. Skipper, a former linebacker, may take over at that position now that Randy Shannon has been promoted to defensive coordinator.

The hire means that McElwain has one position left to fill out on his staff. He has yet to hire a new offensive line coach after Mike Summers was hired by Louisville to become their offensive line coach and their co-offensive coordinator.