Smallwood playing through pain

Not that he would give a thought to missing a game if he could play.

Asked if he considered his performances courageous, he answered: “Not really. I’m just playing football. That’s what I came here for. I don’t want to miss any games.”

He actually injured the ankle three weeks back in the first quarter of the Oklahoma game when a defensive end rolled over and sat on the ankle. He stayed in and wound up running the ball 22 times for 111 yards.

“I didn’t worry about it. I got it taped and played the rest of the game,” Smallwood said.

The next morning it was swollen and sore, forcing him into treatment and out of practice, but come game time, he was a go.

“He’s a kid who can play through pain. He has a high tolerance. I didn’t think he was going to play the last game. He was a lot sorer than he had been,” running back coach JaJuan Seider said. “About his third series he finally started getting his feet underneath him.”

He played enough to carry a dozen times, gaining 89 yards, after he rushed 19 times for 147 yards against Oklahoma State.

“It takes a special kid, a kid who has a high football IQ, one of the smartest kids we got,” Seider said.

“He was able to take the mental reps while everyone else was out there practicing.”

“It’s just hard not seeing the looks on the defenses and not getting the looks from the scout team. All I had was the film. You don’t get a feel for it,” Smallwood said. “I missed out on my conditioning, too. I wasn’t in game shape.”

Still, he was able to gain 89 yards against Baylor including a 52-yard burst, one that he says would have been a touchdown if he had been healthy.

“I know it would have been a touchdown. I couldn’t get that burst,” he said.

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West Virginia’s secondary may be extremely shallow for this week’s game against TCU.

Cornerback Terrell Chestnut, who made a huge play in last year’s game against the Horned Frogs when he stole the football from star receiver Josh Doctson and ran 35 yards for a touchdown, injured a shoulder against Baylor and his arm was still in sling on Monday.

He was, however, able to practice in a green jersey — meaning limited participation and no contact — Monday afternoon.

“Right now, if we were playing today, he wouldn’t play,” defensive coordinator Tony Gibson said. “I don’t know if it will hold up for a play or a hundred plays.”

And that’s only part of the problem. His backup, Ricky Rumph, had a death in his family and left the team and is not expected to play Thursday night in Fort Worth.

The Mountaineers already are without their star defensive back, pre-season all-American Karl Joseph, whose college career ended with knee surgery two weeks back.

Gibson believes his absence had effect on the team’s defensive play against Baylor, noting they missed about 26 tackles in the game.

“Guys were pressing,” Gibson said. “That was the first time not having Karl showed up in a lot of different aspects — communication, being on the road against a top 5 team in the country. I think our guys got rattled a little bit, guys trying to make plays.”

The veteran leader, Joseph, might have been able to settle them down.

• • •

WVU’s other cornerback, Daryl Worley, had a rough start against Baylor and was removed to give him a chance to look things over but forced back into the game when Chestnut was injured.

“I thought he did a real good job after he came back in the game,” Gibson said. “You just have to play with confidence. He’s a real good player and he’s played well at times. He’s always been matched up with people’s top guys. I’m not worried about Daryl.”