The West Virginia Offensive Line is Still in Good Shape Despite Departures

On Tuesday, the West Virginia Football program took another hit along the offensive line when redshirt sophomores Briason Mays and Blaine Scott entered the NCAA Transfer Portal. However, the o-line is still in good shape.

Mays made 11 starts in 15 appearances during his Mountaineer career, while Scott registered five appearances.

Junior Uzebu left the team near midseason after winning the starting left tackle job heading into last season but served a one-game suspension for the opener. He started the following game at Oklahoma State but didn’t make an appearance.

Additionally, starting center Chase Behrndt and starting right guard Michael Brown opted out of their free year of eligibility. (All class rankings are based on the free year of eligibility granted by the NCAA in 2020).

While the departure of Mays hurts the depth chart, the Mountaineers do return three starters in left tackle Brandon Yates (r-Fr.), left guard Zach Frazier (Fr.), and right tackle John Hughes (Jr.). James Gmiter began the season as the starting left guard but, after two games, he missed the next two due to COVID-19 protocols. Then, Frazier took over, who also started the season opener at center for a suspended Behrndt.

Frazier is suspected to be the starting center, while Gmiter takes back the starting left guard role. The only hole left to fill is at right guard, and it will be presumably filled by Virginia Tech transfer Doug Nester after starting 17 games in 19 appearances at right guard in his two years with the Hokies.

Redshirt freshman Parker Moorer appeared in all 10 games last season and his playing time increased late in the season after Hughes missed the final four games due to an injury and Mays took over as the starter.

West Virginia does not have much experience outside of the six aforementioned, but the staff has been developing pieces behind the two-deep. Freshman Jordan White has three appearances, Tyler Connolly and Nick Malone have two and Donavan Beaver and Chris Mayo made one appearance apiece.

Virginia transfer Ja’Quay Hubbard is expected to compete for playing time along with incoming in-state product Wyatt Milum. And the coaching staff might add another piece or two through the transfer portal.

Of course, a lot can change between now and the season opener scheduled for September 4th against Maryland. I expect some shuffling along the offensive line between spring practice, fall, and the first week of game preparation before the rotation settles. However, after nearly doubling their rushing yards from year one to year two, you got to feel confident that the running game will continue to progress after a full offseason with strength and conditioning coach Mike Joseph.

West Virginia 2021 Offensive Linemen

50 Brandon Yates, r-Fr., 6’4”/306 / Middletown, DE

53 Jordan White, Fr., 6’3”/300 / Largo, MD

54 Zach Frazier, Fr., 6’2”/308 / Fairmont, WV

55 Parker Moorer, r-Fr., 6’4”/306 / Charlotte, NC

58 Nick Malone, r-Fr., 6’6”/292 / Morgantown, WV

60 Noah Drummond, r-So., 6’0”/290 / Bridgeport, WV

61 Tyler Connolly, r-Fr., 6’5”/335 / Marysville, OH

65 Donavan Beaver, r-Fr., 6’6”/308 / Fredericksburg, VA

66 Ja’Quay Hubbard, r-Fr., 6’5”/335 / Sharpsville, PA

73 Chris Mayo, Fr., 6’5”/320 / Deptford, NJ

74 James Gmiter, r-So., 6’3”/300 / Bethel Park, PA

78 Tairiq Stewart, Jr., 6’4”/344 / Cleveland, OH

79 John Hughes, Jr., 6’5”/298 / Carrollton, TX

Doug Nester, So., 6’6”/330 / Kenova, WV

Class of 2021 Offensive Lineman Signees

Wyatt Milum, 6’7”/280 / Kenova, WV

Tomas Rimac, 6’6”/275 / Brunswick, OH

You can follow us for future coverage by clicking "Follow" on the page's top righthand corner. Also, be sure to like us on Facebook & Twitter:

Facebook - @WVUonSI

Twitter - @SI_WVU and Christopher Hall @WVHallBilly