Quarterback William Crest Jr. refuses to be selfish despite seeing minimal time at his listed position at West Virginia, reports Mike Casazza of the Charleston Gazette-Mail. Crest has spent time at quarterback, running back and receiver during his time on campus.
"I'm not a selfish person," Crest told Casazza. "You can't be selfish in this game. You have to be willing to help the team out."
Crest's chances of eventually becoming the guy behind center seemingly became even slimmer with Wednesday's announcement of former Florida quarterback Will Grier's plans to join the Mountaineers and become eligible in 2017. Yet it would be unwise not to use Crest's unique gifts to help make an impact the Mountaineers' offense, even if he isn't the No. 1 trigger man.
Skyler Howard is the clear favorite to be the starter for West Virginia in the fall after starting the entire season in 2015 and finishing strong with 532 passing yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions in the Motel 6 Cactus Bowl win over Arizona State. Thus, Crest's role as a dynamic "X-factor" is likely to continue as a sophomore. Crest had 231 yards of offense during his redshirt freshman season as he completed 11 of 25 passes for 124 yards, added 20 carries for 107 yards and had four receptions for 29 yards in 2015.
With West Virginia looking for more playmakers on offense -- particularly with the departure of Big 12 rushing leader Wendell Smallwood -- don't be surprised to see Crest's all-purpose role expand even more in 2016.