For West Virginia football this season, the offensive line is no doubt the strongest group returning for the Mountaineers and head coach Neal Brown is confident in how they have developed, from starters all the way down to the newest additions.
West Virginia is returning all five starters in the offensive line group and that's impressive in this era of college football, but the depth goes beyond just the starters according to Brown.
The Mountaineers return experience at every spot on the line and that starts with tackles Wyatt Milum and Doug Nester, who were massive contributors last season.
Milum, who is only a junior, has been stellar in 24 career appearances and 20 starts for WVU in two seasons, bringing with him 849 snaps, 36 knockdowns and 47 great blocks in eight games last season, without a missed assignment or sack allowed.
Nester has also been a solid addition from the transfer portal that buttoned up a need in the offensive line group three years ago. Nestor was an in-state product from Spring Valley High School, but he originally committed to rival Virginia Tech and played two seasons for the Hokies.
Nester joined the Mountaineers in 2021 and put together two solid seasons, with 25 appearances in the last two seasons and 60 knockdowns.
Someone in the depth chart is the versatile Nick Malone, and Brown's been specifically impressed with the former walk-on's development.
Malone, who can play both tackle and guard for the Mountaineers, is not only a Morgantown native and a Morgantown High School graduate, but after joining the team in 2019 and being awarded a scholarship last November, he's climbed the depth chart and has made a name for himself on a Big 12 roster.
"He's gotten stronger, he's always been athletic, so it's been a three plus year process getting him to 305 [pounds] and he's played some and started on our field goal team," Brown said. "He's just consistently gained weight and gotten stronger and so that's what's given him an opportunity and he's got patience. He's been self-aware early in career on what he needed to do to get better, and now he's getting some of the fruits of that."
When you move into the dedicated interior lineman, WVU boasts more talent in Zach Frazier, Tomas Rimac, JaQuay Hubbard and Brandon Yates.
The anchor in the offensive front however is All-American center Frazier, and you can't have enough of what Frazier has done for West Virginia as an in-state recruit.
Coming out of Fairmont, West Virginia and Fairmont Senior High School, Frazier immediately took over the center position for the Mountaineers and has become the best offensive lineman in the conference.
Frazier's accolades are a laundry list, and for good reason. He was awarded First Team All-Conference in the Big 12 and Second Team All-Conference from another source, and was given a NCAA Preseason All-American honor to begin 2023.
He's played in an outstanding 35 games going into his junior season, with 25 straight starts, 51 knockdowns and 38 great blocks a year ago. Fraizer is the epitome of an elite college football lineman, he's reliable, technical and strong, so Brown couldn't ask more from his leader in the blocking game.
Hubbard has also improved greatly into his junior season and will most likely man the right guard spot for West Virginia. In his sophomore season in 2022, he started 11 games at right tackle and appeared in all 12 matchups, recording 514 snaps, 15 knockdowns and 13 great blocks.
Then Tomas Rimac emerged as the left guard last season and stood out there down the stretch with him coming back for his second year starting.
This season, outside of these primary stars up front, Brown wants seven different offensive lineman seeing snaps on Saturdays and he anticipates that group getting the majority of the time.
"I think seven [players] is where it's at right now, there's the six that played last year and then Nick Malone is really moving up.. and I think there's competition for the other group," Brown said. "I think we'll get seven ready to play and think there are seven that are ready...and these seven guys are ones that we can start and have a good opportunity to be successful up front."
There are some additionally exciting depth pieces in that other group for the Mountaineers and it's easy to be excited about the next generation of Mountaineers as well. It's not only about the present, but the future health of the offensive line room.
Johnny Williams IV is an exciting freshman at tackle with great size for the position and Brown has been high on his development alongside interior linemen Landen Livingston and Tomas Rimac, who are a freshman and a sophomore respectively with plenty of time to develop.
This group is the leaders of a young and inexperienced offense for West Virginia and it's a group that can be relied upon by Brown. Most times you'll see offensive line inexperience hurt a college football team's chances, but when you have this much talent and experience, it has to be a great combination to succeed.
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