[EKUAlum05]

Man, I saw Devin Varney Wednesday and he's every bit of 6'0 and pushing 6'1. Can't wait to see him gain weight over the next 4 years.

What I saw out of the Varney kid I could easily see him becoming very similar to Michael West that played at Lawrence County.

Not sure he will ever be the guy to take on two defenders in the open field or plow a would be tackler like a Dustin May, but he just has natural instincts and explosive agility at his age.

Belfry hasn't had a lot of backs in recent years with ability to plant their foot and cut back at the LB level of the defense and then explode into the secondary. JJ had nice agility, but he really wasn't overly explosive or had that second gear where once the defender leaned too far he was gone. Thomas Varney was close, but he didn't have the strength to escape arm tackles. Probably Matt Maynard was the only one that comes to mind.

I can see Varney becoming that type of back if he can get his lower half stronger and develop his straight line speed.

Think of how many shoestring tackles and "one man left to beat" tackles have been made over the years that were literally a cut or a step through away from being TD's. Varney could be a very potent weapon if he becomes that guy because you know Belfry will always be able to find that grinder at FB and that second HB who just explodes into the hole for the tough yards (Fletcher appears to be the perfect example of this type of back).

What made Michael West so good wasn't his speed or his ability to pick up tough yards, it was his ability to turn a 7 yard gain into a 57 yard gain by turning defenders in the open field.