Rich Rodriguez's Comments on the O-Line Should Have WVU Fans Fired Up

The one area West Virginia fans should feel really good about heading into the season is the group that let them down in a big way a year ago — the offensive line.

A lot has changed with that group, from the personnel to the guy coaching them up. The difference in experience between this year's projected two-deep and last year's is stark. And then you add one of the best offensive line coaches in college football, Rick Trickett, to the puzzle, and all of a sudden, you have turned a weakness into a strength.

It may not be a well-oiled machine come Saturday vs. Coastal Carolina, but Rich Rodriguez seems very pleased with where that unit is.

Rick Trickett with the WVU offensive line — WVU Athletics Communications

“We got five or six guys out of the portal that have played multiple games at the Division I level and wanted to prove themselves moving up. You can tell the difference," he said on his radio show on Monday. "We feel a lot better on the o-line. At least there’s been some guys that have played some football at this level. There’s a certain attitude (they play with), and they go through really hard practices. There’s not another position group in the country that will work like our o-line works. I think we can play nine very easily, and we’re hoping there could be eleven.”

I've heard many of the same things about this group. They are firing off the ball with great intensity; they have a different level of physicality to them, and because they have played a lot of football, there isn't a whole lot of thinking going on, which, of course, allows them to play faster.

"The expectations are high because of Trickett and because of the linemen we brought in, but it's still the first time going around, and he's got a lot of good, young players to work with on that o-line," Rodriguez added. "I think you'll watch these guys get better each and every week. This year's group seems particularly tight. I think a couple guys coming back, Landen (Livingston) and Nick (Krahe), helped a little bit, but having a guy like Bubba Grayson, who has played in our system and played with Trickett for a couple years, was really a big piece. He's helping those guys, saying, 'this is what we want here and what we want there.' And then I've got two assistant line coaches in Derek Dressler and Trey Brown who have been with me for the last three or four years, so that really helps too."

Who could the nine-ten linemen be?

The starting five, from left to right, will be Kevin Brown, Nick Krahe, Wes King, Bubba Grayson, and Carsten Casady. Malik Agbo, Devin Vass, Josh Aisosa, Cam Griffin, and Landen Livingston are who I would expect the next five to be with freshmen Lamarcus Dillard and Aidan Woods being the two youngsters who could earn some time.

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