MORGANTOWN -- It's late at night Sept. 18 as West Virginia's offense positions itself along the line of scrimmage once more.

Tested by the thin air and the mile-high altitude, the Mountaineers hold a slim lead and need just one more first down to put the game out of reach and secure a defining road win.

It's third-and-1 with 75 seconds to go and the Colorado Buffaloes have no timeouts remaining. Everyone knows the Mountaineers will run the ball. Will Johnson would like everyone to know he wants the ball.

"I could do it," he said. "I could move the chains."

It was with that combination of confidence, determination and ability in mind that the coaching staff decided to change Johnson's life in spring practice.

No longer would the sophomore from Dayton, Ohio, be a receiver. He'd be an H-back-running back-fullback-tight end-slot receiver.

"Basically," he said, "an all-around player."

He went from one catch in 10 games of an injury-plagued true freshman season to learning four new positions in 15 practices for his sophomore season.

Somewhere along the line, he sensed people worried about how he'd handle such a change, how he'd replace the similarly versatile Owen Schmitt, how Noel

Devine would find room to run, how Patrick White would operate in the pocket.

Those were wasted worries.

"It wasn't too difficult at all," Johnson said.

There was seemingly daily praise of Johnson's education and how quickly he learned things. Johnson appreciated, though never fully understood the compliments.

This, after all, was football and Johnson had always been a pretty good player and, more importantly, a pretty quick study.

He played linebacker and running back in high school and turned heads at a WVU summer camp in 2006. When the Mountaineers were recruiting him, Johnson proposed the switch to receiver. The coaching staff went along and felt good enough to let him play there his first season.

Now he finds certain things from every prior experience have prepared him for his new role.

"It takes time but I like it," he said. "I feel pretty comfortable. I like getting the ball a lot, too. That's something different from playing receiver last year. That's why I like this so much more."

The major difference is how Johnson will be used - which is to say he'll be used this season -- but there are similarities, mainly in the emphasis on blocking.

At 6-feet-2 and 215 pounds, Johnson had a nice blend of size, speed and strength to accomplish WVU's perimeter blocking goals last year.

In the backfield for most of his snaps and up perhaps 15 pounds when the coming season starts, Johnson knows he'll have to block a lot and a lot differently.

The schooling began early in spring practice. J.T. Thomas, a linebacker who runs like a cornerback, sliced through the line of scrimmage with bad intentions. Johnson stepped forward to stop the advance.

The lesson that day was simple.

"You've got to be more physical," he said. "It's definitely not like blocking a cornerback. They sit back and run at you. Now guys are trying to run away from you or they're coming with a full head of steam."

Again, though, Johnson doesn't see this as an impossible adjustment and, obviously, his coaches agree. It's why the move was made. It's why he'll block and run and catch behind and beyond the line of scrimmage, why he'll line up and, if he has his way, make plays all over the field.

"It's a big honor," he said. "I never thought I would be put in all these positions at this level and be able to take advantage of it."

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TwoWVU home games will be televised live on ESPN Regional this season. The Aug. 30 season-opener against Villanova and the Sept. 27 game with Marshall will have 3:30 p.m. starts at Mountaineer Field. Several state stations will air the game.

WVU already has five other games -- East Carolina, Colorado, Auburn, Pitt and South Florida -- planned for national telecasts on ESPN, ESPN2 or ABC.

--Contact sportswriter Mike Casazza at mi...@dailymail.com or 319-1142.