Offensive Line Shakeup Could Be Coming Soon for West Virginia Football

One of the biggest reasons West Virginia's offense has been unable to uncork some explosive plays or piece together any sort of consistency is because of the play of the offensive line.

Everyone knew that coming into the season that the group would have its fair share of bumps in the road, given that zero starters returned from last year's team and those replacing them had very little experience, be it here or elsewhere. Still, it's been a massive disappointment, particularly the right side of the line.

On Monday night, WVU head coach Rich Rodriguez was asked point-blank if there is any consideration to making changes in that group up front.

“Well, we might have to," he responded. "We don’t know yet about Landen (Livingston). And then we’ve got a couple of other younger guys we’re trying to motivate, see if they can get into the rotation. Usually, the o-line is the first people to blame if you have a problem running the football or whatever, but like I said, there’s a whole lot of folks to blame, starting with the coaches. If he’s not playing well, trust me, if somebody can play better, we’re going to put them in there. We like winning too much to not play the best guys.”

Right guard Kimo Makane'ole and right tackle Ty'Kieast Crawford both graded out in the low 40s this past weekend in the loss to Kansas, per Pro Football Focus, backing up what we saw live, where both repeatedly whiffed on blocks or let defenders through untouched.

Left guard Walter Young Bear has also had his fair share of moments through the first four games, which is why the ground game has struggled to get going. When you have poor guard play, it makes life incredibly difficult for not only your running backs but the quarterback as well, who is constantly met with pressure in his lap.

The depth chart for the Utah game was released on Monday, with no changes made. That doesn't mean it can't change by Saturday, however. Guys like Donovan Haslem, Josh Aisosa, Malik Agbo, and Xavier Bausley could push for a spot or, at the very least, crack the rotation.

Repping it out could be the solution for the current starting five, but if they don't make strides soon, Rich Rodriguez and Jack Bicknell Jr. won't have a choice but to try a new mix of starters.

MORE STORIES FROM WEST VIRGINIA ON SI