Campus Confidential

By Adam Abramson

Jason Gwaltney is again part of the West Virginia football team.

The former North Babylon running back is back in Morgantown with another chance to see the field for the Mountaineers in the future.

Gwaltney's return to West Virginia comes after a tumultuous two-year stretch that saw him bouncing between Morgantown and Long Island.

Even though he's at WVU again, the third time around won't necessarily be a charm. New head coach Bill Stewart has told Gwaltney he must spend this year in the classroom and on the scout team before he can see the field. He will use a redshirt this season, leaving him with one year of football eligibility for the 2009 season.

"He's back with the team, he's on campus. He's just not eligible," said Stewart, who was quarterbacks coach when Gwaltney first came to West Virginia. "As long as he goes to class, does what he's supposed to do, as long as he crosses his Ts and dots his Is, he's part of the family."

As a freshman in 2005 he had 45 carries for 186 yards and three touchdowns before a knee injury. Trouble in the classroom abruptly kept him from the field and he left school.

Former head coach Rich Rodriguez was prepared to give him another chance following the 2006-2007 season after he re-enrolled as a student, but a June arrest for underage consumption of alcohol, speeding and failure to produce an operator's license again landed him in hot water.

Gwaltney has since spent time at Nassau Community College where he attained enough credits to head back to West Virginia where he’s been in summer school, according to his high school coach Terry Manning.

“He’s been great with the speed work, agility. He really got into it. He’s not into the power lifting anymore. He’s phenomenal specimen,” Manning said of Gwaltney’s training. “I hope [he knows what’s at stake]. There’s been a lot of conversations over the years about going to class and doing the right thing … I’m hoping the light in him went on and he understands what’s ahead of him.”

Manning said Gwaltney is under his high school playing weight of 238 by nearly 10 pounds.

"I know he's matured. I know he knows this is his last opportunity," Stewart said. "I'm a guy that sees the glass as half full instead of half empty."

Gwaltney is the only two-time winner of Newsday’s Hansen Award, given to Suffolk's top high school football player since 1960. His senior season was marked by 2,880 rushing yards and 45 touchdowns.

"He's a tremendous football talent. He has a great future ahead of him," Stewart said.

Calls to a number listed for Gwaltney went unanswered.