West Virginia RB Jason Gwaltney (official thread)

[jwinslow]

Is Gwaltney's decision date before Wells? I do not have insider/premium accounts, I'm just a poor college boy

I would think a player like Gwaltney would not be scared off by Wells, as an unproven speed recruit would probably be only as dangerous (if not less) to his chances next year as Haw/Pittman.

Gwaltney would seem like a better back for obvious running plays, as well as a great back for selling the play action. Wells sounds dangerous, but I would be more concerned with seeing a Eddie-like back ready to pound up the middle for 5-9 yards than a speedster that won't knock anyone over at the line.

From the sounds of it, he seems to like the idea of speed and size on a team. If wells committed first, I think we could still land Gwaltney. I don't know if Wells would do the same if the roles were switched.

Either way, I still love Haw/Pittman with a chance at a greyshirted Ringer. These two "other" backs from NY/FL are just icing on the cake!

[tsteele316]

Is Gwaltney's decision date before Wells? I do not have insider/premium accounts, I'm just a poor college boy

some of us are still poor and have been out of college for a while. mortgage and car payments will do that. anyway, both are set to announce at the AA game on 1/15, as is rico mccoy and travis beckum.

my guess is that if osu doesnt get both of wells and gwaltny, then ringer gets an offer. I just can't see why gwaltny would want to go to wvu when he has everyone at the country knocing down his door, and he knows he could probably start for osu as a freshman.

[Buckskin86]

http://www.newsday.com/sports/highsc...-hsports-print

G. City will be chasin' Jason
BY GREGG SARRA
STAFF WRITER

November 24, 2004

There is only one place Jason Gwaltney wants to be Saturday afternoon. And that is at the Long Island Championships, playing in the Class II game, one he never has experienced. Imagine that: The player who holds every rushing and scoring record in Long Island's rich football history never has played in a Long Island final.

Now he will.

Gwaltney leads North Babylon (9-1) against Garden City (9-0-1) at Stony Brook University's LaValle Stadium.

And he did it his way - on the ground behind his offensive line and senior fullback Tim Bolden. For it was Gwaltney who imposed his 6-2, 230-pound body on the West Babylon defense and pounded the Eagles for 268 yards on 54 carries, three touchdowns and two two-point conversion runs in a 23-22 victory in the Suffolk Division II championship game.

"He's the horse we're going to ride into the championship," North Babylon coach Terry Manning said. "I can't say enough about this team and how they've overcome some very difficult circumstances. We rallied around each other."

Gwaltney, who has a Long Island single-season record of 2,645 yards and 40 touchdowns, has chosen to deflect all the credit to his coaches and teammates.

"I get what I get because the coaches like [Jim] Mango and [Joe] Chetti prepare the team so well," Gwaltney said. "Coach Manning has kept everyone in line and made us believe even when we lost some of our best players. I am so happy that we're here. It's all I wanted my whole career."

Gwaltney has statistical numbers never seen on Long Island. He has 7,563 rushing yards on 908 carries, 130 touchdowns and 796 points in his four-year career. He has 33 career TDs of 40 yards or more.

Longtime Garden City coach Tom Flatley, who saw Jim Brown play for Manhasset, said the only halfbacks he would put in Brown's class were former Mepham back Amos Zereoue and Gwaltney.

That's about as flattering as it gets - but don't think for a second that Flatley, a defensive mastermind, hasn't devised a game plan to try and slow the "ground and pound" offense that is North Babylon.

"We won't change a thing," Manning said. "We come right at people." And he has the horse to do it.

[Holy Buckeye!]

Any updates on this Brusier?

[osugrad21]

Nice free video clip...

Clip

[Folanator]

Yea, but does he play lacrosse?

[Buckskin86]

http://www.newsday.com/sports/ny-skn...orts-headlines

Gwaltney leads North Babylon in Class II
BY JASON MOLINET
Staff Writer

November 27, 2004, 6:04 PM EST

There's Jason Gwaltney, the record-breaking running back. Then there's Gwaltney, the back-breaking football player.

Garden City watched film all week and coaches schemed into the night to prepare for North Babylon's super back. Yet no game plan, no amount of diligence could have readied the Trojans for just how thoroughly Gwaltney can take control of a game.

"Everything that can be done to stop Gwaltney has been done," Garden City coach Tom Flatley said.

And whatever Garden City tried wasn't enough. Gwaltney's final performance in a North Babylon uniform may have been his finest, from his interception to stop Garden City's opening series to the moment coach Terry Manning greeted him with a hug as he left the field with 5:03 left. Gwaltney's fingerprints were all over North Babylon's 43-14 win over Garden City in the Class II Long Island championship game yesterday before a capacity crowd 8,500 at Stony Brook University's LaValle Stadium.

"Winning a Long Island championship is all he talked about," said Manning, who won his sixth title in seven tries since 1995. "He willed this team to get here. There was nothing more important in his career than playing here today."

Gwaltney ran for 237 yards on 40 carries and racked up five touchdowns to tie a championship-game record, including a 10-yard scoring reception. (North Babylon's Omar Palmer scored five times in the 1999 title game.) But where the 6-2, 230-pound Gwaltney really made an impact was at linebacker and defensive end, adding five tackles, an interception, sack and a forced fumble.

His defensive prowess was remarkable considering Gwaltney played defense in six games this season. North Babylon (10-1) turned three turnovers into touchdowns and held Garden City to negative 2 yards of total offense in the first half. Garden City (9-1-1), the defending champion, had its 21-game unbeaten streak snapped.

"It's hard to overcome two interceptions and a fumble for a touchdown -- all in the first half," said Garden City senior Terence Hartigan, who ran for 42 yards on 10 carries and anchored the defense from middle linebacker.

Gwaltney stole the momentum 14 seconds into the game when he hauled in Steve Carroll's errant pass. The Garden City quarterback, chased by the defense, intended to simply dump the ball out of bounds.

Instead Gwaltney corralled it along the left sideline before stepping out at the Garden City 45-yard line.

Six straight Gwaltney runs ended with a toss that North Babylon's super back took, then bowled over three defenders before spilling into the end zone with a 10-yard touchdown run. It was the beginning of an assault on Garden City's mind and senses.