West Virginia’s offensive line is already turning heads, and the buzz around Rick Trickett’s group only got louder after the Mountaineers’ first scrimmage over the weekend.
With families in town to watch, Mike Hawkins Jr.’s father left Morgantown impressed by what he saw up front. On X, Mike Hawkins Sr. wrote, "One of the most impressive things I seen from going to the WVU scrimmage yesterday was Coach Trickett and the physicality from the offensive line," Hawkins said on X.
"Really impressive group. Top to bottom, with a phenomenal coach!!!!!!!"
That kind of reaction fits with what’s been showing up in practice. Even from the limited clips available from the media-open session last week, the line stood out for how quickly it got off the ball. That’s the trademark with Trickett: clean technique, aggressive first steps and a group that plays with purpose.
What makes this line even more interesting is that it doesn’t just look more imposing - the numbers say it isn’t actually bigger. In fact, the projected starting five is slightly lighter on average than last year’s unit, even though it appears more physical and more explosive.
Last year’s starters compared with this year’s projected group:
LT: Nick Krahe 6’6”, 316 lbs | Kevin Brown 6’6”, 294 lbs
LG: Walter Young Bear 6’3”, 312 lbs | Nick Krahe 6’6”, 312 lbs
C: Landen Livingston 6’4”, 293 lbs | Wes King 6’3”, 309 lbs
RG: Kimo Makane’ole 6’4”, 298 lbs | Amare Grayson 6’1”, 306 lbs
RT: Ty’Kieast Crawford 6’5”, 324 lbs | Carsten Casady 6’6” 310 lbs
The average height stays the same at 6'4.4", while the average weight drops from 308.6 pounds to 306.2 pounds.
That’s where coaching shows up. A line can look larger when it’s moving with urgency, creating push at the point of attack and climbing to the second level in a hurry. This group appears to be buying in, building chemistry and improving rep by rep.
For Rich Rodriguez, it all starts there. Plenty has to come together for a season to go right, but the line is the foundation, and the early word out of Morgantown is that this group is more than capable of setting the tone and helping West Virginia run the ball effectively.
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