A month before Justin Crawford filled two of the most important shoes left open after last season at West Virginia, he was working nights at Taco Bell.Sound appetizing?Crawford, in fact, harbored no affinity for cheesy gorditas. He needed to support his family, a quest that predates his two years at Northwest Mississippi Community College and took a sharp turn in January.In the week after West Virginia won the Cactus Bowl, Big 12 rushing leader Wendell Smallwood declared for the NFL draft, a major loss for the Mountaineers.WVU planned to sign a pair of backs in its 2016 class, and veteran Rushel Shell was set to return as the workhorse. But offensive coordinator Joe Wickline and running backs coach Jajuan Seider knew they needed something more at the position to operate offensively as envisioned.Right away, film surfaced of Crawford. He had committed to Louisville out of high school in Columbus, Georgia, and was considering Missouri and South Carolina after he rushed for 1,610 yards and 16 touchdowns as a junior college sophomore.But widespread recruiting attention had evaded the NJCAA offensive player of the year.The first thing I said was, How in the heck is this kid still available? Seider said.He was Smallwood all over again, thought Seider. If Crawford checked out OK, the coach vowed to recruit Crawford with maximum intensity in the four weeks that remained before signing day.Turns out, checking on Crawford found a motivated prospect who didnt care about labels and wanted to work for all that he received.He doesnt have his hand out, West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen said, which is refreshing.As a first-year player, Holgorsen has not allowed Crawford to speak to the media. So far, hes play is speaking loudly enough. Through three games, Crawford leads West Virginia in rushing with 227 yards while splitting time with Shell. The newcomer has also caught eight passes, most among WVU running backs. He adds a play-making element to an underrated group of skill players as unbeaten West Virginia opens Big 12 play Saturday at home against Kansas State (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPNU).Holgorsen said he, too, harbored initial concerns about Crawford, who attempted to divide his time between family, academics and football in a way that most players fail to understand.You always worry about kids like that, the sixth-year WVU coach said, if theyre going to use [the family] as an excuse to not do what theyre supposed to do -- or if theyre going to use it as motivation to make something of themselves.Crawford largely erased any concerns in the summer, weeks after he arrived on campus in Morgantown. He formed an immediate bond with Shell, who is the father of three children, and went to work at cementing his spot as a leader among the Mountaineers.Hes not afraid to speak his mind, said Seider, the running backs coach. He will say some things that make you wonder. He comes off a little different, but hes exactly what every team needs. He has a voice on the team. As soon as he stepped on the field in the summer, he brought it.And then, Crawford really went to work.In July, he got a job at a Taco Bell near the WVU campus.The coaches in Morgantown learned of Crawfords situation and brought him in for a long talk.Dude, you cant do this when the season starts, Holgorsen said he told Crawford.Crawford said he understood but told the coaches that practice didnt begin for another two weeks. He wanted to keep working -- and he did, until about Aug. 1, supporting his wife and two boys.Thats a kid I want, Seider said, because hes highly motivated. He didnt want to have to do it, but he was being Justin. He was just being a man; thats what I call it. He was being a man and taking care of responsibilities.And this was nothing new.While playing junior college ball in Senatobia, Mississippi, Crawford held several jobs in fast food and elsewhere, according to Northwest Mississippi CC coach Benjy Parker, who was defensive coordinator at the school during Crawfords juco career.His team often played Thursday games, so Crawford arranged his work schedule for Friday and Saturday while teammates got their rest.If he had a free minute, he wanted to go work for his money, Parker said. When I saw that, it said a whole lot to me about his character.Justin and Chakeya were married before Crawfords sophomore year in Mississippi.Crawford is one of seven siblings. After his father died, Crawford attended two years of high school in Gainesville, Florida, then moved to Georgia.When his team won the Mississippi Bowl in December and Crawford accumulated 190 yards and scored twice in his final junior college game, he broke down in tears, wishing that his father could have seen him play at this level.A lot of people saw him running the ball 25 times on Thursday nights, said Jake Long, the Northwest Mississippi athletic academic advisor who has remained close to Crawford. They didnt know the whole story.The whole story now includes a chapter about Crawfords early success at West Virginia.In the Mountaineers 26-11 victory over Missouri to open the season, Crawford rushed 21 times for 101 yards and caught five passes. More notably, Seider said, Crawford scored better than a 95 on the Mountaineers grading scale.He had no missed assignments, Seider said. I looked at that and said it cant be right. But it was.Teammates notice that Crawford has backed up his talk.Its kind of do or die for him, West Virginia quarterback Skyler Howard said. He wants to support his family and wants to put food on the table, whether thats with a degree or going to the NFL.His wife secured work in Morgantown. Additionally, because of his unique circumstances, Crawford may be eligible to receive extra assistance from West Virginia through his cost-of-attendance stipend.And he continues to work to support his family -- solely, though, as a student and through football. Wholesale Hockey Jerseys . Clarke was injured while practicing on the Doha Golf Club range after the pro-am on Tuesday. The Northern Irishman arrived at the course on Wednesday hoping to start, but after hitting a few balls on the practice putting green Clarke advised officials he was not fit to play. Cheap Hockey Jerseys . -- Ty Montgomery had 290 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns, and fifth-ranked Stanford held on to beat No. https://www.fakehockeyjerseys.com/ . -- Patrick Reed got an early start in golf. Cheap Hockey Jerseys Authentic . The third-ranked Ivanovic, who won the event in 2008 and 10, served five aces and broke Wickmayer, also a former winner in 2009, five times. "The result looked easier than it really was," Ivanovic said. Hockey Jerseys China . On Tuesday, Ottawa placed forward Cory Conacher and defenceman Joe Corvo on waivers as trade rumours swirl around the Senators. WHISTLER, British Columbia -- Those competing in World Cup luge races Saturday night got only one run instead of the customary two, because delays in getting the sleds to the track forced some schedule changes.Tucker West of the U.S. apparently didnt mind.West won the mens World Cup race for the second straight weekend, finishing in 50.109 seconds for his third career victory on the circuit. Wolfgang Kindl of Austria was second in 50.153 seconds, and Andi Langenhan of Germany was third in 50.243 seconds.He is on top of the world, USA Luge womens racer Summer Britcher said of West, as he draped himself in an American flag on the podium after the race. You can see it.Wests win capped a strange World Cup week in Whistler, where most athletes waited around all week and were unable to train while their sleds were stuck in transit because of a snowstorm.This was a crazy week, West said.West didnt get on the Whistler ice for practice until Saturday. John Fennell didnt even get that.Fennell, like all other athletes who rely on Nations Cup qualifying races to get a chance at being in the World Cup field, couldnt get on the track at the Whistler Sliding Center this week. Shipping problems meant most competitors planning to race in Whistler didnt have their sleds until Friday night, leading to a very condensed World Cup schedule -- with all training and races being squeezed into Saturday.To make that happen, Nations Cup runs were canceled.That meant a lot of sliders were in Whistler this week for nothing.I feel terrible for all of the athletes who have traveled to Whistler who will receive no time on the ice and will only be allowed to be spectators, USA Luge veteran Chris Mazdzer said.Mazdzer didnt like the move by International Luge Federation officials, and teammate Fennell was maybe the biggest casuality. Fennell used to race for Canada, knows the Whistler track well and this weekend was a legitimate chance for him to collect some critical World Cup points that could have gotten his first year with the Americans rolling.ddddddddddddInstead, he got nothing. No points, and now probably no chance of qualifying for the world championships later this season.Im feeling angry, frustrated, upset, Fennell said. I dont think its the right decision. Zero World Cup points is huge for me.Fennell had his sled with him in Whistler all week, while many sliders didnt get theirs until Friday night -- a truck involved in the shipping of sleds from last weekends World Cup in Lake Placid, New York got stuck in a snowstorm and it took several days to get the sleds rerouted and on the move again. But since so many sliders did not have equipment, Fennell and others who had their sleds were told to keep them off the ice.This was my best chance to do well this season and show coaches and the organization what Im capable of, and it was a waste of time, effort and money, Fennell said. Im walking away empty-handed.Canadas Alex Gough walked away in a very different mood. Gough won the womens race Saturday night on her home track, finishing the single-heat competition in 38.796 seconds. Germans took second and third, with Natalie Geisenberger finishing in 38.848 and Tatjana Huefner in 38.850.For the U.S., Emily Sweeney was fourth, Erin Hamlin sixth and Britcher took seventh.This was a very interesting week, Sweeney said.In doubles, Toni Eggert and Sascha Benecken of Germany prevailed in 38.542 seconds. Fellow Germans Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt were second in 38.570, and Peter Penz and Georg Fischler of Austria were third in 38.642. ' ' '