MORGANTOWN - Mark Rodgers had barely set foot on West Virginia's campus this summer when Bill Stewart began to worry. Not a lot, but a little.

It had nothing to do with anything related to football, mind you. Sure, at just 5-foot-9 and 185 pounds, Rodgers might be a bit undersized. Then again, that's an inch taller and 12 pounds heavier than Noel Devine, and he's turned out pretty good.

No, what concerned Stewart about Rodgers was a simple matter of culture. The little running back from Southern California found himself in the hills of West Virginia, and who knows what sort of a shock to the system that might turn out to be.

"I just hope he adjusts,'' Stewart said privately one day just as preseason camp was about to begin. "That's got to be a culture shock.''

Well, as it turns out, Stewart had nothing to worry about. Granted, it's only been a matter of weeks, but Rogers seems to be coping just fine, thank you.

"Actually, I like it. It's pretty cool,'' Rodgers said. "Sure, it's different. It's a total shock. It's really different from California - the town and all the hills and the mountains and the weather. It'll rain and then the sun shines and then it'll rain again the same day.''

And as Albert Hammond famously sang back in the early 1970s, it never rains in Southern California, right?

"Well, it doesn't start and stop like that,'' Rodgers said.

No, more so than the shock of moving from Lawndale, Calif., to Morgantown was the much shorter move Rodgers was forced to make when he got here. This one was only a matter of a few yards, but the little tailback was no longer a tailback. When camp began he was working with the slot receivers.

"Now that was different,'' Rodgers said.

Now before we get bogged down here in the details, let's fast-forward two weeks from that move. Rodgers is now back at tailback with an exclamation point. Thanks in part to a couple of dazzling runs during West Virginia's most recent scrimmage last Saturday, he has won - at least for the time being - the backup tailback spot behind Devine. And that's where a guy who rushed for almost 5,000 yards in his final two seasons at Leuzinger High School and ran a 10.5-second 100 meters belongs, right?

So why was Rodgers ever moved to slot receiver in the first place? Well, because obviously in the opinion of his new coaches he was no better than the third-best option for the backup tailback spot when camp opened, behind fellow newcomers Zach Hulce and Terence Kerns.

"Yeah, I did [want to play tailback],'' Rodgers said. "But I wasn't disappointed. I just felt like if the coach felt like I could play better at the slot I was going to try it out and learn it the best I could and just do what I was told to.''

It was about a week into camp, while Hulce was struggling to hold onto the ball and show much elusiveness and Kerns was struggling to hold onto the ball and learn the system, the coaches figured they'd better get Jock Sanders some work at tailback just in case no one else stepped up. Sanders began his WVU career at the position before Devine proved himself more suited, and Sanders was moved to slot receiver.

A few days after Sanders began working at tailback, Rodgers began doing the same thing, just to see if that was an option.

It quickly became apparent that it was.

It had nothing to do with anything related to football, mind you. Sure, at just 5-foot-9 and 185 pounds, Rodgers might be a bit undersized. Then again, that's an inch taller and 12 pounds heavier than Noel Devine, and he's turned out pretty good.

No, what concerned Stewart about Rodgers was a simple matter of culture. The little running back from Southern California found himself in the hills of West Virginia, and who knows what sort of a shock to the system that might turn out to be.

"I just hope he adjusts,'' Stewart said privately one day just as preseason camp was about to begin. "That's got to be a culture shock.''

Well, as it turns out, Stewart had nothing to worry about. Granted, it's only been a matter of weeks, but Rogers seems to be coping just fine, thank you.

"Actually, I like it. It's pretty cool,'' Rodgers said. "Sure, it's different. It's a total shock. It's really different from California - the town and all the hills and the mountains and the weather. It'll rain and then the sun shines and then it'll rain again the same day.''

And as Albert Hammond famously sang back in the early 1970s, it never rains in Southern California, right?

"Well, it doesn't start and stop like that,'' Rodgers said.

No, more so than the shock of moving from Lawndale, Calif., to Morgantown was the much shorter move Rodgers was forced to make when he got here. This one was only a matter of a few yards, but the little tailback was no longer a tailback. When camp began he was working with the slot receivers.

"Now that was different,'' Rodgers said.

Now before we get bogged down here in the details, let's fast-forward two weeks from that move. Rodgers is now back at tailback with an exclamation point. Thanks in part to a couple of dazzling runs during West Virginia's most recent scrimmage last Saturday, he has won - at least for the time being - the backup tailback spot behind Devine. And that's where a guy who rushed for almost 5,000 yards in his final two seasons at Leuzinger High School and ran a 10.5-second 100 meters belongs, right?

So why was Rodgers ever moved to slot receiver in the first place? Well, because obviously in the opinion of his new coaches he was no better than the third-best option for the backup tailback spot when camp opened, behind fellow newcomers Zach Hulce and Terence Kerns.

"Yeah, I did [want to play tailback],'' Rodgers said. "But I wasn't disappointed. I just felt like if the coach felt like I could play better at the slot I was going to try it out and learn it the best I could and just do what I was told to.''

It was about a week into camp, while Hulce was struggling to hold onto the ball and show much elusiveness and Kerns was struggling to hold onto the ball and learn the system, the coaches figured they'd better get Jock Sanders some work at tailback just in case no one else stepped up. Sanders began his WVU career at the position before Devine proved himself more suited, and Sanders was moved to slot receiver.

A few days after Sanders began working at tailback, Rodgers began doing the same thing, just to see if that was an option.

It quickly became apparent that it was.

"I did play pretty decent, so they started give me more reps,'' Rodgers said. "I was happy about it. Now I'm just trying to pick it up as fast as I can and learn it before the season comes up.''

As disappointed as Rodgers was to be moved to the slot in the first place, it actually worked out better than anyone could have imagined because now he knows - or at least has a leg up on knowing - both positions.

"I'm happy I learned the slot first so I can play both positions,'' he said.

Indeed, while Rodgers has rapidly scaled the depth chart to become the backup to Devine at tailback, don't think for a moment that his days as a slot receiver are over. With the Aug. 30 season opener against Villanova approaching, the Mountaineers really have only one fully healthy slot receiver, Sanders, who figures to be a key component in the offense. Assuming Dorrell Jalloh overcomes a foot infection that has hampered him, that would be two.

But if Rodgers is as talented as it seems - enough so to leapfrog Hulce and Kerns at tailback in a matter of days - don't expect him to stand on the sidelines waiting for a handful of carries when Devine is winded. He will certainly be included in some two-back sets and involved, like Sanders, in motioning from the slot to the backfield or vice versa.

So how did Rodgers get from sunny California to hilly West Virginia? Well, his route was even more unusual than the trip itself. He graduated from high school in 2007 and had a scholarship to play at Division I-AA Portland State. He even showed up on the team's preseason roster.

But Rodgers never made it to Portland State because of what he now describes simply as family problems. In retrospect, it was the best thing that could have happened.

"It is a good thing. I was blessed with the opportunity to come here,'' Rodgers said. "God knows what he wants to do with me. I'm here for a reason.''

While sitting out last year and working - and working out - his high school coaches kept shopping his highlight tapes around. Late in the recruiting season this year, they got a bite from West Virginia, which was one of the places that received his tape.

"It was just a blind shot in the dark,'' Rodgers said. "But I watched a couple games last year, so I knew where West Virginia was.''

He also watched enough to see Devine in action and figured if there was room for one mini-back here there might be room for another.

"He set the standards for us,'' Rodgers said.

Now all Rodgers has to do is keep up the good impressions and, of course, continue to adapt to his new surroundings, free of the boogie boards and the surf he so enjoys at home.

So what is he doing to make the transition? In true SoCal style, he's just laying back.

"Just staying in the house, chilling with the football players, playing the game,'' Rodgers said.

Reach Dave Hickman at 348-1734 or dphickm...@aol.com.