Rich Rod's Recent Comments Are Good News for Freshman Stud OL Kevin Brown

Starting a true freshman along the offensive line is rare in college football, and probably even more rare than starting one at quarterback. So it's no coincidence that it takes a rare talent to be able to achieve such a goal, and it just so happens that Kevin Brown might be in a position to do so this fall.

In recent years, you've started to see more freshmen starting up front than ever before, and WVU head coach Rich Rodriguez believes early enrollment plays a large factor into that.

“It’s easier now for a true freshman because they can come in the spring, and because we can work with them in the summer a little bit. So it’s not as rare, whereas most of the time, the true freshmen are going to get redshirted. Now, we don’t recruit any freshmen with the idea that you’re going to get redshirted, even the quarterbacks, which is the hardest position as a true freshman. This freshman class is huge, but I think it’s really talented and a lot of them are going to play.”

The former four-star recruit was previously committed to Penn State and had offers from virtually every Power Four school you can think of. Everyone and their brother wanted him. Rich Rodriguez and his staff made a hard push once James Franklin was fired at Penn State, and eventually, the hard work and the family ties to the program paid off.

Because of how poor the offensive line play was a year ago, everyone jumped to the conclusion that Brown would be able to start day one. Trust me, that's not a bad prediction to have. He's extremely talented and one of the best young tackles in the country.

However, Rich Rod was never going to put all his eggs in one basket, and that of an 18-year-old. He had to go fish out some experience in the portal and did so successfully by snagging UConn transfer Carsten Casady, signing JUCO product Deshawn Woods, and retaining Malik Agbo. This year, the Mountaineers have something that didn't exist in that room a year ago — options.

Still, the coaching staff is leaving the door open for Brown to rise to the top of the depth chart and win the starting job. If he does, at any point next fall, he will become the third Mountaineer to have started as a true freshman since 2019, joining Zach Frazier and Wyatt Milum. That's pretty elite company.