West Virginia’s offensive line has gone from a question mark to one of the most interesting parts of the roster, and Rich Rodriguez is not hiding how much better he feels about the group heading into the season.
That’s a big shift for a unit that let the Mountaineers down badly a year ago. This time around, the line looks different in almost every way. The personnel has turned over, the projected two-deep carries far more experience, and Rick Trickett is now in the mix as one of college football’s most respected offensive line coaches.
Rodriguez sounded upbeat about the group during his radio show on Monday.
“We got five or six guys out of the portal that have played multiple games at the Division I level and wanted to prove themselves moving up. You can tell the difference," he said on his radio show on Monday.
"We feel a lot better on the o-line. At least there’s been some guys that have played some football at this level.
There’s a certain attitude (they play with), and they go through really hard practices. There’s not another position group in the country that will work like our o-line works.
I think we can play nine very easily, and we’re hoping there could be eleven.”
That confidence lines up with what’s been coming out of camp. The group is said to be playing with more violence off the snap, more physicality, and less hesitation.
That matters up front. When linemen have already logged real snaps at the Division I level, they’re not spending as much time thinking - and that lets them play faster.
Rodriguez pointed to the expectations around Trickett and the transfers, but he also made clear this is still a work in progress with plenty of young talent in the room.
"The expectations are high because of Trickett and because of the linemen we brought in, but it's still the first time going around, and he's got a lot of good, young players to work with on that o-line," Rodriguez added. "I think you'll watch these guys get better each and every week.
This year's group seems particularly tight. I think a couple guys coming back, Landen (Livingston) and Nick (Krahe), helped a little bit, but having a guy like Bubba Grayson, who has played in our system and played with Trickett for a couple years, was really a big piece.
He's helping those guys, saying, 'this is what we want here and what we want there.' And then I've got two assistant line coaches in Derek Dressler and Trey Brown who have been with me for the last three or four years, so that really helps too."
The expected starting five, from left to right, is Kevin Brown, Nick Krahe, Wes King, Bubba Grayson, and Carsten Casady. Behind them, Malik Agbo, Devin Vass, Josh Aisosa, Cam Griffin, and Landen Livingston are the next five in line, with freshmen Lamarcus Dillard and Aidan Woods as the two younger players who could work their way into action.
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The key change came when the West Virginia Athletic Council revised that policy, opening the door for Whites place in school history to be honored in the most visible way possible. In a recent interview, White said he reflected on his career and expressed gratitude for the moment, a fitting response for one of the defining figures of the Mountaineers modern era, even as the final step in the process still waits out the season. [Read more 🡒]
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Rich Rodriguez is already putting his stamp back on the Mountaineers, and one of the first visible changes will be at the start of the game. On his radio show, Rodriguez said West Virginia will not revive the inflatable helmet entrance that became a calling card in the early 2000s. Instead, the team is headed back to a more familiar setup, entering through the tunnel with smoke and a tunnel camera feeding the big screen for fans.
It is a small detail, but in Morgantown these kinds of details matter because they help shape the feel of game day. Last years entrance from the weight room was a notable departure, and now the program is leaning back toward a look that feels more connected to its past. Whether fans embrace the change or argue for the old spectacle, Rodriguez has made clear the first impression at home will have a different flavor this time around. [Read more 🡒]