ESPN Ranks Two WVU Freshmen in Big 12 Top 10 — But One Mountaineer Is Missing

West Virginia has a bunch of true freshmen who could help the team this fall, and two of them were recently ranked inside the top 10 freshmen in the Big 12 by ESPN's Billy Tucker.

No. 3: OT Kevin Brown

Tucker: "Rich Rodriguez wants to revamp his offensive line's identity in 2026. Step 1 was reuniting with longtime offensive line coach Rick Trickett. Step 2 is turning to new faces such as Brown, whose father, Tim, was a three-year starting tackle under Rodriguez at West Virginia. The four-star tackle is a physical, nasty culture-setter who knows how to use his leverage and lower-body strength to his advantage."

What we're hearing on Brown: Believe it or not, Brown is not immune to making mistakes. Every freshman in the history of college football has gone through some bumps along the way; some just turn the corner quicker than others. Brown is a part of that group. He still has his moments, which is to be expected, but he is doing exactly what the coaching staff thought he would when he signed back in December — putting himself in a position to start in Week 1 against Coastal Carolina. The biggest surprise is that they have him repping mostly at left tackle, which shows how much they trust him and believe in the type of player he is going to be right out of the gates.

No. 8: Matt Sieg

Tucker: "A four-star recruit, Sieg was a decorated high school quarterback and two-time state champion in Pennsylvania who owns the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League's all-time total offensive record with 12,592 career yards. West Virginia flipped him from Penn State, and he's dynamic enough that the Mountaineers didn't close the door on him contributing on offense this spring. He projects best to safety, where he can use his ball skills and athleticism to step in immediately."

What we're hearing on Sieg: With Andrew Powdrell moving back to safety, Sieg won't be asked to start, although he is fully capable of doing so. The IQ is off the charts, and it's showing up every time he takes the practice field, dating back to the spring when he made several plays on the ball. He will see significant snaps at free safety and could move around if needed. Don't rule out the possibility of him playing two ways either. Here in about another week or so, the coaching staff plans to give him a few reps on offense and see how it goes before committing to using him both ways this fall.

Tucker's top 10 freshmen in the Big 12

No. 1: OT Kelvin Obot (Utah)
No. 2: EDGE LaDamion Guyton (Texas Tech)
No. 3: OT Kevin Brown (West Virginia)
No. 4: OT Bott Mulitalo (BYU)
No. 5: WR Tyren Hornes (UCF)
No. 6: WR Jaron Pula (BYU)
No. 7: QB Keisean Henderson (Houston)
No. 8: S Matt Sieg (West Virginia)
No. 9: OT Felix Ojo (Texas Tech)
No. 10: TE Hayden Vercher (Arizona State)

Where in the world is Amari Latimer?

I get that there were only ten spots, and there are 16 teams that all feel they have at least one player who is deserving of recognition. But still, not having Latimer on this list is a big surprise to me. I believe all three (Brown, Sieg, and Latimer) are worthy of being in the top 10, but with the role Latimer is going to have as RB2, I expected him to be listed before Sieg. If the offensive line is as good as we all expect it to be, Latimer could put up some big-time numbers as a freshman behind Cam Cook.

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