OL Nester excited about final year at West Virginia

Doug Nester had a decision to make.

Before committing to a fifth and final season at the college level, the offensive lineman first wanted to sit down with his family and the West Virginia coaching staff to determine his options.

That’s only natural for upperclassmen near the end of their careers and that was no different for Nester. After spending his first two years at Virginia Tech and then the previous two in Morgantown, Nester wanted to see his options when it came to what’s next.

But it was never a slam dunk so there was an element of re-recruiting from the coaching staff.

“I was to the point where I was actually almost done,” he said.

The decision essentially boiled down to weighing the possibility of entering his name into the NFL Draft or electing to return to West Virginia for one final season.

The coaching staff was up-front and honest with Nester which helped him realize that a return could help him further develop as a player and make his overall game more appealing at the next level.

“Talking it out with them it was just an easy decision that I should come back,” Nester said.

That honesty on how the coaching staff felt about Nester’s professional chances and whether there was room for improvement helped him realize that there was still work remaining. The coaches made it clear that Nester needed to find a way to improve with his twitch off the ball and his hands in pass protection.

“Just talked it through with the coaches and to come back for another year and try to improve and get better every day and work,” Nester said.

And this spring, Nester is being able to showcase some of that by kicking out to right tackle after playing primarily guard last year to highlight everything he can bring to the table.

That doesn’t mean that Nester will remain there, but it’s a good way to help develop depth across the board and provide avenues for more versatility up front. But admittedly, Nester prefers that role at tackle given the fact he has played there in the past and has a comfort level.

Instead of working with double-teams on the inside, the tackle spots provide more of a one-on-one battle and puts linemen on an island against the man it front of them. That’s something Nester enjoys.

“I just find it enjoyable to work against one-on-one,” he said.

As part of that move, Nester essentially flip-flopped with last season’s tackle Ja’Quay Hubbard and the two already have a strong working relationship so it’s just about adjusting to being in different spots.

Still, being able to work with somebody that you have in the past is a major advantage because there is an understanding of how each likes to block and how they move.

The senior offensive lineman understands that his unit is going to be one leaned on heavily when it comes to the success of the offense and they’ve embraced that leadership role. And that's just another reason why Nester wanted to return.

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