INDIANAPOLIS -- West Virginia's Steve Slaton began last season as a Heisman Trophy candidate, but his dream season never unfolded. Most observers thought he would need to return to school for his senior season to re-establish himself as an elite running back.

Slaton was leaning toward coming back until mid-December, when Rich Rodriguez left West Virginia to coach at Michigan, taking with him a number of his assistant coaches, including offensive coordinator Calvin Magee, who also worked with running backs.

In Slaton's eyes, that meant he would have to start over with new coaches, and he just wasn't interested in that. He decided to roll the dice and enter the NFL draft early.

"The biggest reason for my decision was my position coach, Calvin Magee, leaving," Slaton said, adding that the loss of strength coach Mike Barwis also was a factor. If [Magee] would have been there, even if coach Rod would've left, I think I would've stayed.

"Coach Magee had to make a decision for him and his family, and I think he made a good decision and I think I made a good decision as well. I think you have to remember that I played my freshman year, so I played three seasons in college, which means I've played as much football as most of these guys because not a lot of players get the opportunity to play as a freshman."

Slaton spent this past weekend at the NFL Scouting Combine trying to prove that he is worthy of being one of the top running backs taken. He is considered a little small (5 feet 10, 196 pounds) and, because of the style of the Mountaineers' read-option offense, he has little experience as a pass-blocker. His size also raises questions about his ability to be an every-down back.

Any of those things can be tough to overcome, but Slaton must overcome them all between now and the April draft. That is one reason why Slaton is likely to be chosen somewhere in the third or fourth rounds.

But Slaton, whose 4.5 range in the 40-yard dash was not among the top 10 for running backs at the combine insists that questions about his size and durability are not fair because he is the same size as some of the game's greatest backs.

And while he knows he will have to adjust from the spread offense to a pro-style offense, he reminds people that the most important part of a running back's job isto run, which he did with great success at west Virginia.

"I had a chance to meet Tony Dorsett in Connecticut last year, and he said I remind him of himself," Slaton said. "We're about the same size. After taking some advice from him, I feel confident that I am going to be fine. I think my game is good, both running to the inside and to the outside.

"I know that I need to work on my pass protection the most, but I don't want to be just a third-down back, I'll try to be an every-down back."

Slaton's best argument for being included among the top group of running backs is that he ran for 1,128 yards and 17 touchdowns as a freshman and 1,744 yards as a sophomore. He had a "down" year last season a junior, but he still had 1,401 total yards and 18 touchdowns and finished with a school-record 50 career touchdowns.

"I succeeded in [high school], as a freshman in [high school] and as a freshman in college and I think I have the mentality to be good," Slaton said. "I think I have the right mentality to be here [in the draft] and to become a playmaker for whatever team picks me. That's what I intend on doing."

NOTES -- Yesterday was the final day for the combine. ... Penn State cornerback Justin King ran the 40 in 4.31 seconds, which tied Connecticut's Tyvon Branch as the fastest 40 among cornerbacks at the combine. ...The next step for most of the participants is to return to their training centers and prepare for their school's pro day. Penn State's pro day is March 18; Pitt's is March 24.