Rick Trickett, WVU's O-Line Get Major Love Following First Scrimmage

West Virginia's offensive line is starting to come together.

WVU Athletics Communications

West Virginia's offense is going to have a very different look to it this fall, and a big reason for that is the addition of Rick Trickett and the revamped group that he coaches, which is one of the most experienced offensive lines in all of college football.

Over the weekend, the Mountaineers held the first of two scrimmages, and players had their families in town, who were able to watch, getting their first glimpse of this year's team. The father of WVU QB Mike Hawkins Jr., Mike Sr., left Morgantown floored with how good the offensive line looked.

"One of the most impressive things I seen from going to the WVU scrimmage yesterday was Coach Trickett and the physicality from the offensive line," Hawkins said on X. "Really impressive group. Top to bottom, with a phenomenal coach!!!!!!!"

The o-line alone is enough to believe

WVU Athletics Communications

I saw a few clips from the practice that was open to the media last week, and even in the handful of plays that I saw, my eyes got big seeing how fast that line fired off the ball. Being technically sound and coming off the ball with a purpose is what Trickett preaches to these guys day in and day out, and you could tell in just that small sample size that it's a group that had been coached by him.

And here's the other thing: they look bigger, but they aren't.

For comparison, here is a look at last year's starting offensive line (left) compared to this year's projected starting group (right).

LT: Nick Krahe 6’6”, 316 lbs | Kevin Brown 6’6”, 294 lbs
LG: Walter Young Bear 6’3”, 312 lbs | Nick Krahe 6’6”, 312 lbs
C: Landen Livingston 6’4”, 293 lbs | Wes King 6’3”, 309 lbs
RG: Kimo Makane’ole 6’4”, 298 lbs | Amare Grayson 6’1”, 306 lbs
RT: Ty’Kieast Crawford 6’5”, 324 lbs | Carsten Casady 6’6” 310 lbs

The average height/weight from last year's group? 6'4.4" and 308.6 lbs. This year's? 6'4.4" and 306.2 lbs.

That's coaching. An offensive line will look bigger when they are firing off the ball and climbing to the second level in a hurry. This group is bought in, gaining chemistry, and getting better with every rep.

Obviously, a lot of things need to happen to have a successful season, but for Rich Rodriguez, it always starts with having a competent offensive line, and from everything I'm hearing, this group is much more than just that. They will set the tone and run the ball effectively.