Crook looks for right pieces to the WVU OL puzzle
Coaching is about adjusting on the fly and even after a dominant opening performance that is no different for Ron Crook and the West Virginia offensive line.
Redshirt sophomore Yodny Cajuste is now lost for the season with a torn ACL and while redshirt freshman Colton McKivitz will slide into the starting role on the left side there are still plenty of questions remaining for the unit when it comes to depth and who will slot where moving forward.
First of all, with the return of redshirt senior Adam Pankey from his one-game suspension, Crook is tasked with figuring out how he fits into the picture.
There is no question that Pankey will play, and play quite a bit against Youngstown State this weekend, but there is still some question as to where that will be along the offensive front. The natural position for Pankey is at guard and he could see time there filling in for either starter Tony Matteo or Kyle Bosch or there is another option altogether.
That would be sliding him out to fill one of the tackle spots which is something he did two seasons ago for the Mountaineers. It’s still something that the coaching staff is considering according to Crook because of the options they still have inside with redshirt junior Grant Lingafelter still available.
“We haven’t made any decisions but that’s a possibility,” he said.
Behind the two starters at the offensive tackle spots, currently West Virginia lists redshirt senior Sylvester Townes as the first person off the bench. The former junior college prospect put together his best camp to date but in the past has been used primarily on one side as opposed to the option that McKivitz once gave Crook as a swing tackle that could line up at both.
It’s something that the coaches experimented with when it comes to Townes in the past but now given the fact he has more experience and is more comfortable it could be something that is revisited.
“As a senior does he have the ability and knowledge to do that,” Crook said. “That will be one of the scenarios I’m sure that we will look at.”
If Townes is not ready to take on that responsibility as a swing option, the Mountaineers also have another place they could turn outside of Pankey in true freshman Josh Sills. A physically imposing option, Sills has the size to see game action but is still in the process of developing.
Not an uncommon theme for young offensive linemen but he now currently stands as the fourth option and will receive practice reps throughout the course of the week leading up to the game. But there has been no determination of he will be inserted into the lineup at any point as Crook plans to force feed reps this week in order to see how he responds.
“He’s big, he’s athletic and he has long arms. He’s strong but he doesn’t fully understand how to play the position which is natural for a freshman,” Crook said. “But we need him for practice and this will help his development. It’s a game day thing right now I can’t answer if he’d go into the game.”
The fact that West Virginia has some many bodies up front that can play multiple positions is a testament not only to the recruiting at the position but a staple of the Crook tenure with moving bodies around and working at different places to get players comfortable.
Depth was an obvious bonus for this unit coming into the season and that will be tested moving forward.
“Each year it’s getting better. We’re getting more depth and guys are understanding what we’re asking with the techniques,” Crook said.