MORGANTOWN - When Tuesday afternoon's WVU football media session began, most flocked to Mountaineer defensive coordinator Tony Gibson.
It was understandable. Gibson is personable. He's very quotable. On Tuesday, for instance, he pointed to safety Jovanni Stewart, a sophomore, as the "biggest surprise of the spring so far."
Yet the real story of the day sat mere feet from Gibson. Actually, the real story of last season sat mere feet from Gibson. And it was the first time WVU has made Justin Crawford accessible to the state media.
He was the story of last season for the Mountaineers. There's no reason to believe he can't be the story of next season. And, with the possible exception of quarterback Will Grier, he's probably WVU's most lethal offensive weapon for 2017.
All Crawford did in 2016 was jump from a junior college into a backfield with former high school USA Today first-team back Rushel Shell, rumble for 331 rushing yards against Oklahoma and lead the Mountaineers in rushing with 1,203 yards. He averaged 7.3 yards a carry, which was No. 6 nationally.
All of that, though, is secondary to Crawford's off-the-field story. And while many West Virginia fans seem to root a little harder for in-state products, they'll no doubt adopt Crawford.
Because of his work ethic.
On the field and off, Justin Crawford is impressive.
"I'm really enjoying coaching Justin so far," said new Mountaineer running backs coach Tony Dews. "He's been really good and works extremely hard. He's knowledgeable and understands the game. He was well-coached prior to me. And he always has that bright smile."
A positive approach had to come in handy at Northwest Mississippi Community College, where Crawford was forced to go after initially committing to Louisville out of Hardaway High in Columbus, Georgia.
"I'm not the kind of guy to complain and mope about things," Crawford said. "It is what it is. God has a plan for everybody. You just have to follow his plan and everything will work out in your favor."
The running back can certainly testify to that. He rushed for 1,610 yards and 16 touchdowns at Northwest Mississippi and was named the NJCAA Offensive Player of the Year. Louisville again came calling. Ditto Missouri and South Carolina. But WVU's coaches borrowed a strategy from the school's basketball team and put on a full-court press.
It was easy to understand why. At Northwest Mississippi, they found a man finding himself - which happened on a particular day.
"When my first son came about," Crawford said. "He was born Dec. 23, 2015. That really made me grow up and mature. Not only do I have to grow up and take care of myself, but I have this little boy, this little person, looking up to me and watching everything I do. So I have to make sure and do the right things so he'll do the right things."
The son is Jaydense. The back also has a 10-month old son, Justin Jr., with wife Chakenya, whom he met in high school. ("Whoa," he said while trying to remember exactly when. "It was a while back.")
While at Northwest Mississippi, Crawford would work at Taco Bell to help support the family. Now, his wife does so, although they also have Crawford's cost of attendance stipend to help. ("We're stable," said the senior. "We have a lot of support.")
The goal, of course, is the NFL. At 6-foot and 202 pounds, Crawford definitely has a chance. He's rated by Draft Scout as 2018's No. 8 running back. A fine year would boost Crawford's status.
For now, he's still trying to reap the benefits of going to junior college.
"It really [helped]," Crawford said. "At the time you could say I wasn't as mature as I am now. It helped better my character. It helped me focus on my school work and what's really important. It helped with my priorities and then working from there."
Rolling up 331 against Oklahoma was a nice first step.
"With it being Oklahoma, it was a big game and I wanted to set the tempo for my team," Crawford said. "I wanted to be the first one to throw the punch, so the rest of my team could follow. And that was the first time I'd ever played in the snow for real. It was an amazing feeling. It was just fun."
"Obviously, he's had a lot of success," said Dews. "This spring he's done a good job of trying to insert all the little things we're trying to coach him to do. He's certainly making strides and getting better each and every practice. He practices extremely hard. He's been great so far."
"I'm just working my butt off, man," Crawford said. "I'm trying to compete in every aspect. I'm trying to push my teammates to get better, push myself to get better. I'm just trying to go all out."
To help those little people that look up at him.
"That's why I always have to remain focused," he said. "I keep that in mind."
Contact Mitch Vingle at 304-348-4827 or mitchvingle@wvgazettemail.com. Follow him on Twitter @MitchVingle.