MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- In the end, Will Johnson transformed from split to tight.

Transformed from a freshman receiver with just one catch, for zero yards, in 75 plays last season and into a stout sophomore tight end expecting to find himself in the middle of considerable action this fall.

Will Johnson

Granted, one catch sounds as if he was well-groomed to become a tight end in the West Virginia scheme of things, circa 2001-07. But coach Bill Stewart purports his spread-offense administration to be slightly new and different, particularly where a fellow such as Johnson is concerned.

Why, look at the Mountaineers' first scrimmage a week ago yesterday. With Johnson absent due to a left-foot sprain, freshman tight end Tyler Urban of Norwin High caught a Patrick White pass in a wide-open middle and scooted some 45 yards before bowing his helmet and bowling over cornerback Ellis Lankster. Later marveled linebacker J.T. Thomas, "I don't remember the last tight end to catch a pass here."

Owen Schmitt is officially the answer to that trivia question, and Johnson is, in a way, following in that local legend's turf-shoe steps. This 6-foot-2, 228-pound sophomore, in the motion-filled and pass-keen offense brought from Wake Forest by offensive coordinator Jeff Mullen, plays a hybrid tight end/fullback role similar to the one Schmitt performed as a fullback/tight end. Same as Schmitt, expect Johnson often to line up at one or the other. Different from Schmitt, Johnson adds a third position, and second slash, as H-back, too.

"If we keep Will healthy, then he should have a big year," Stewart said at midweek, when Johnson returned to practice from his weeklong injury. "He is going to be a guy who can catch the ball in the backfield, he can block, and he can play tight end. He's 230 pounds, and the young man has so many natural abilities."

This was a Centreville, Ohio, lad who in high school played Wing-T running back and defensive back, next became all-Greater Western Ohio Conference and all-district at linebacker, then arrived at Mountaineer Field a lanky receiver who played special teams and a few offensive snaps each of his nine games while hale, missing three others due to a sprained right knee.

And the catch was, he didn't officially switch to tight end until the end of spring drills.

"I said, 'Sure,' " Johnson recalled of coaches approaching him with the notion. "But I didn't think I was big enough at all. Or tall enough. The usual tight ends are 6-6, 280. I didn't see myself as that."

But he could envision himself blocking from the backfield and from the line and from a split-back alignment, running routes from all three places, using his 4.48-second speed in the 40-yard dash, catching ... well, more than one bubble screen for nothing. So he commenced consuming and added at least 11 pounds of mass since April.

His diet? "Eating a lot," said Johnson. "I eat every time I get a chance to. Anytime somebody offers me food, I take it. I'm still gaining."

Perhaps a former tight end such as 290-pound right offensive tackle Selvish Capers should pull this kid aside and warn him about eating his way out of the position. But we digress.

"I'm loving this," Johnson said of tight end/fullback/H-back. "It's something I wasn't used to before. It's working out well."

Urban and a fellow freshman, fullback Ryan Clarke, likewise have received work in practice at those hybrid positions, work to -- as Johnson put it -- "create mismatches all over the field." It's a radical departure from the previous coaching staff that aligned Schmitt and hardly anyone else regularly at tight end this century.

"We have increased the passing game so we're making more downfield plays and we're trying to open the offense up," Johnson said. "It will help the offense, and it will give the defense something else to focus on besides Pat and Noel [Devine]."

NOTES -- In addition to the ailing Johnson, starters Devine and slotback Jock Sanders were allowed to skip yesterday's 54-play, 51-minute scrimmage, in which mostly skill-position backups helped the offense score three field goals but no touchdowns. Mark Rodgers rushed four times for 39 yards and Terence Kerns seven for 28 in the backup tailback competition. Plum's Pat McAfee kicked a 49-yard field goal, with 10 yards to spare, with 3.4 seconds on the clock in the hurry-up finish to the scrimmage. ... Seneca Valley's Don Barclay is competing for starting right tackle with Selvish Capers. ... Woodland Hills receiver Wes Lyons (knee), receiver Dorrell Jalloh (infection) and fullback Ryan Clarke (hamstring) sat out, too. ... Stewart said of the Norwin tight end with four catches for 20 yards, "Tyler Urban, he's special." ... Devine and Sanders worked as kickoff returners before the scrimmage. ... Stewart also singled out backup defensive end Larry Ford, credited with a couple of scrimmage sacks.