Orlosky a coach on the field

Call it a classic love-hate relationship.

Redshirt senior Tyler Orlosky has started 40 games over the course of his four-year career at West Virginia and during that time he has developed a strong connection with head coach Dana Holgorsen.

And not just your typical player, coach bond but a unique one where he is almost treated like a coach on the field for the Mountaineers given his experience and understanding of the game.

Orlosky is the engine to the West Virginia offense being responsible for communicating the calls and gets all of the offensive linemen on the same page in all areas from the field to the weight room.

“He’ll tell you he hates me and I’ll tell you I hate him, but truth of the matter is, we work together pretty dang good. We’ll be on the sidelines and he’ll say ‘I know’ and I won’t even have to say it because he knows what’s coming out of my mouth,” Holgorsen said.

But Orlosky has a little bit of a different perspective.

“He says he hates me more than I say it to him. He’s a good guy he’s done a lot for me here,” he said.

The hate part is obviously in a joking manner, but the bond developed between the pair has been central in the success of the Mountaineers offense the past couple seasons.

Still, even with that bond there have been moments where Orlosky has voiced his opinions, mostly calling for inside zone, to the coaches in a not so pleasant manner. Even he admits that at times he should keep his mouth shut but it’s part of what makes the senior a leader on the team is his ability to voice his opinion to players and coaches alike with what he sees on the field.

Offensive line coach Ron Crook has been front and center for some of those moments but it is a situation where the coaching staff appreciates the insights of the lineman because of his ability to see things on the field and communicate that to them.

“There are several adjectives you could use to describe Tyler,” Crook joked.

There was also a feeling out period with new offensive coordinator Joe Wickline, who takes a military style approach to his instruction and it took time for Orlosky to adjust.

“There have been guys who say what they mean, mean what they say, and they’re real. He’s a special guy, and he’s got his own personality,” Wickline said.

On the field, Orlosky has been the centerpiece to the West Virginia offensive line for the past three seasons and has so much experience that he is rarely surprised by what is going on in front of him. His confidence in his understanding is so concrete that he doesn’t dedicate a ton of time to film study.

Instead he relies on his own experiences on the field.

“Once you’ve started 40 games, I’ve played in close to 50, if somebody throws something at me that I’ve never seen before then they’ve reinvented the game of football or something went drastically wrong,” Orlosky said. “There is only so much you can do.”

And now with one regular season game remaining in his West Virginia career, Orlosky hopes to close it out with a bang and take his experiences to the next level.

“I’ll remember the good times,” Orlosky said.