It wasn't until right before Saturday's game at West Virginia State that University of Charleston football coach Pat Kirkland decided that the banged-up shoulder of running back Marvin Elam - the Golden Eagles' 1,000-yard rusher from last season - would keep him on the sideline.
Yet UC still had its leading rusher for this season.
Redshirt sophomore Tevion Cappe led UC's overwhelming rushing attack, which allowed the Golden Eagles to pull away from the Yellow Jackets for a 34-13 win at Lakin Field.
All eyes were on Elam, one of three 1,000-yard rushers in the Mountain East Conference in 2014, entering the year. When the Golden Eagles took the field Saturday, though, he was wearing a ballcap instead of a helmet.
"Marvin's a tough kid," Kirkland said. "He wants to play. He'll never take himself out, and he didn't. Me, together with Marvin and the training staff, we made that decision. We thought it was in his best interest."
Cappe, a 6-foot, 215-pound running back from Watertown, New York, was more than ready to pick up the slack. He was coming off of his first game eclipsing the 100-yard rushing mark, gaining 125 yards and a touchdown in UC's win over Glenville State. He had a bit of a slow start against State, gaining just 17 yards in the first half but scoring a pair of touchdowns.
But when the Golden Eagles began distancing themselves from WVSU in the second half, Cappe led the way. He gained 69 of his 86 rushing yards in the final two quarters, picking up a trio of first downs and scoring his third touchdown of the contest. That second half allowed UC to build a time-of-possession average of nearly 16 minutes.
"Our plan is to grind it out on any team," Cappe said. "We have the capability to grind it out against anyone."
Cappe now has 368 yards rushing, five touchdowns and averages 92 rushing yards a game. All three are team bests. Kirkland said one of the things that helps Cappe in the backfield is his likeness to Elam, which keeps UC's offensive line from worrying about an entirely new running style when Cappe comes in and Elam goes out.
"Marvin and him are similar guys," Kirkland said. "They run downhill. They get positive yards. They're kind of a one-cut, north-and-south back. That's what our strength is with our offensive line."
Cappe is just happy to play his part. Sometimes it's as a complement to Elam. Sometimes he takes the lead. Cappe said he's always ready for whatever is asked of him.
"At the end of the day, it's a team effort," Cappe said. "We all put in the work during the week, to get ready for the games. And we just execute when our time comes."
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State's defense struggled, especially in the second half, to get off the field and allow its explosive offense to go to work. Among its biggest difficulties was its inability to hold the Golden Eagles back on fourth down.
UC converted four of five fourth-down opportunities Saturday. The first included some trickery, a 17-yard pass from punter Brett Benes to receiver Johnny Delahoussaey. The other three were simple runs that either scored touchdowns or kept touchdown drives alive.
State coach Jon Anderson said his Yellow Jackets not only had to get better at stopping teams on fourth down, but also rebounding if they didn't stuff the other team and regain possession.
"You've got to get it," Anderson said. "And we talk about it all the time. Once you get a new set of downs, you've got to mentally shift over and start that new set of downs. The next play is the one you're on."
The Yellow Jackets entered Saturday's game ranked eighth in allowing fourth-down conversions at a 57.1-percent pace. That jumped to 75 percent on the season after Saturday's game.
"I guess it's a smack in the mouth," State linebacker Dennis Gardeck said. "It's adversity, but good teams will be able to overcome that and continue to play."