Nester Brings Versatility to the Offensive Line
As part of the 2019 recruiting class, West Virginia offensive lineman Doug Nester was one of the top offensive linemen in the country coming out of Spring Valley High School.
The likes, of Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Ohio State was looking to scoop up the West Virginia native but due to the previous coaching regime's lack of commitment to recruit in-state kids, Nester initially committed to Ohio State before landing at rival Virginia Tech.
The previous coaching regime didn't have much luck landing some of the top talent in the Mountain State, especially from the Huntington area where there was a run on some very talented offensive line prospects. WVU was in the mix for Nester, but they never came close to landing him out of high school. He would initially commit to play at Ohio State before flipping his decision to go to Virginia Tech.
It didn't take long for the Huntington native to see the field as he started 10 games during his true freshman season in Blacksburg. He started six games as a sophomore and at the end of the 2020 season, he hit the portal and the country roads would lead him back home to West Virginia.
The addition of Nester was a massive pick up for WVU. It gave them an experienced Power Five level starter with multiple years of eligibility left; something they desperately needed at the time with a rocky foundation up front.
Unfortunately, it wasn't all smooth sailing for Nester in his first year with the Mountaineers. He had his fair share of struggles, much of which can be attributed to a spiral fracture in his right hand.
"It was tough for him not to be able to use his hand," said offensive line coach Matt Moore. "Credit to every defense we played, they did a great job in third down of getting him one on one with an athletic guy and he struggled. He gave up some sacks and stuff where he couldn't get his hand on people. But Doug never used it as an excuse. That's the kind of kid he is. He just kept working and then once he got off, he had a good second half of the year and has had a really good camp so far."
Now in his second year with the program, Nester is making strides and becoming a "Swiss Army knife" of sorts.
"Doug is a guy that can play all five [spots]. Doug can snap. He can play guard. He can play tackle. He's really coming on. We've put him at the tackle a couple of times because as an o-line, you got to make sure you've got guys that can play multiple spots. He's done a really nice job of showing that he can play all five."
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