Rick Trickett Dropped Several Clues About WVU's Starting O-Line

Rick Trickett met with the media on Friday and, as usual, cracked a few good jokes and gave his honest opinion on a number of his players. Without directly coming out and saying, "these are our five starters" he dropped enough hints during his presser to give you a pretty good idea as to how things are shaping up.

In the middle

Dec 30, 2023; Tucson, AZ, USA; Wyoming Cowboys guard Wes King (78) against the Toledo Rockets during the Arizona Bowl at Arizona Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

“I really like how Wes King’s progressed so far (at center). Cam Griffin has played it for me before, and he’s solid in there. He didn’t have a great day today, but he was pretty good the first two days. Landen Livingston could help us there a little bit if we need it. I got a young kid named Lamarcus Dillard that, down the road, he has a chance to be a really good kind of player. There’s no Dan Mozes out there right now, but we’re getting closer.”

King came in from Wyoming, where he played left guard and was elite in pass protection, allowing zero sacks in 893 pass sets over the last three seasons. Livingston was pretty rock solid in pass pro last year, but struggled to get consistent push in the run game. From the sounds of it, Griffin is actually the No. 2 option there (for now). Not Livingston.

The guards and tackles

Both Rich Rodriguez and Trickett made it very clear that true freshman Kevin Brown will have a chance to start in Week 1 against Coastal Carolina.

That's not a surprise to anyone, but there had been a lot of uncertainty as to which tackle spot he would occupy. He repped at both left and right tackle back in the spring, and played right tackle in high school. Having a true freshman protecting the quarterback's blindside is a bit risky, no matter how talented he is. But it seems like that's where he is going to ultimately end up.

“We got Nick Krahe and Kevin Brown working on one side together and then Bubba Grayson and Casady on the other side. Those guys are starting to mesh. You've got to learn how to play beside a guy.”

It's widely known at this point that Krahe has been moved down inside to left guard. Grayson has played right guard for the majority of his career, and Casady started at right tackle for UConn last year. So once you put all of the pieces together, you get this starting lineup.

Projected starters + key contributors

LT Kevin Brown, Devin Vass, Aidan Woods, Jonas Muya
LG Nick Krahe, Landen Livingston
C Wes King, Cam Griffin, Lamarcus Dillard
RG Amare Grayson, Josh Aisosa
RT Carsten Casady, Malik Agbo, Deshawn Woods

Trickett believes he has about a dozen or so who are in the mix at the moment and thinks that he will be able to get ten ready to play. Those five, plus Livingston, Griffin, and three others that he mentioned by name, were: “Malik Agbo has got a chance to help us. Devin Vass has come along pretty good. I like the freshman kid Aidan Woods. He’s got some things about him.”

Woods will likely be blocked out of the rotation as a true freshman, but he could be a nice depth piece at tackle. Josh Aisosa, who saw some action last year in this offense, appears to be the No. 2 at right guard behind Bubba Grayson.

We are only three practices into fall camp, so a lot can change, but as far as the starting unit is concerned, I think there's a pretty good chance the Brown-Krahe-King-Grayson-Casady lineup holds.

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