The West Virginia defensive line is one of the deepest positions on the entire roster but that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for some of the young players on the roster to break through.
True freshman Eddie Vesterinen has appeared in three consecutive games logging 49 snaps as a rotational piece on the Mountaineers defensive front.
He saw the most snaps of his career against Iowa State as coordinator Jordan Lesley elected to go with an even front on occasions to counteract what the Cyclones do to slow down running back Breece Hall and their usage of tight ends.
“Those tight ends force you into some things you might not normally do,” he said.
It’s not something that the Mountaineers will use every game, but it is in the toolbox and is just another avenue for playing time for the freshman as he continues to develop in his role.
A native of Finland, Vesterinen arrived on campus in January as what many believed to be a college-ready prospect given the fact he was already a little older and was equipped with plenty of strength.
That caught the attention of Lesley when he was recruiting him as Vesterinen would send him two videos each week of him working out and the European import never missed a beat in doing so.
“Eddie is 6-foot-3, 275-pounds and he’s walking ten-yards on his hands. Whether you lift a weight or not, that’s a tremendous amount of core strength to do that,” Lesley said.
It’s clear at this point that a redshirt isn’t in the plans for Vesterinen and during the spring he was able to play with the leverage and strength necessary to succeed in college football. But even more important is the fact that he plays hard at all times giving him an even higher ceiling with that skill set.
“The thing that makes all of that go with Eddie is how he plays. He plays extremely hard,” Lesley said.
The snaps are going to be invaluable moving forward for Vesterinen, who figures to have a much larger role next season and in the years to come. But so far, his play in spurts certainly has the attention of not only the coaches but his teammates as well.
“He works very hard, one of the hardest workers in the room,” senior Dante Stills said. “He does everything the coaches ask him to do. He doesn’t say that much but his work tells you the story.”
That makes for an exciting future if Vesterinen continues to work for it.
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