Last season was a bit of an adventure for West Virginia punter Oliver Straw.
Straw would end up playing most of the 2023 season hurt before he required offseason surgery to fix what was a lingering issue in his knee.
"It’s definitely been a big difference for myself this year going through an injury in the second game lat year and having to deal with that and then having a procedure in the offseason to clean up my knee. It’s definitely been a change, definitely beneficial for myself though," Straw said.
"I feel like I’ve revamped my body, I’m in a lot better shape, probably the best shape I’ve been in since I’ve been here. It was a big strength emphasis for myself and I feel like my leg and the way I’m hitting the ball when I’m hitting the ball well it’s going a lot further than it ever has and it’s definitely been a big one. It’s been a big offseason and I’m excited to see how it plays into the regular season."
In week three of the season last year, Straw would get ran into against Pitt as he had a punt blocked. Straw would get hit in the knee, the same knee he had a procedure on years ago.
"I had surgery on my knee back in 2016. It was a bone degenerative disorder so I had a procedure back then. I think at some point during the season, maybe during the Pitt game after they blocked the punt, I caught a hit to the knee and it may had undone what had previously been fixed. After I came off to the sideline I kind of felt my knee a little bit and felt something wasn’t right. As the season went on it kind of became clear to me something was loose in there and it was floating around. There was two loose bodies floating in my knee I had to have removed and the doc did a really good job of that and it just kind of happened on that play and it’s a freak accident you can’t really do anything to prevent," Straw said.
Last season WVU's punt unit was among the best in not allowing opponents to return kicks. WVU ranked fifth in the country in punt return defense allowing a total of three yards on punt return all last season.
For Straw, his goals are team-first goals. He wants to do his job and therefore give his team the best chance to win. If he earns individual accolades because of that then that's just a bonus for him.
"I just want to take care of myself every game, every play, in order to put the team in the best position. But obviously if that leads to individual awards and being recognized that’s great," Straw said. I’m honestly not too fazed about anything with preseason watch lists because a lot of that stuff that comes out, prove it with the team last year being picked 14th, completely wrong. As long as I’m doing my job and the coaches here understand and think I’m doing a good job, I tell myself if I can get an individual award it is what it is but as long as I’m doing my role good enough for the coaches then I’m happy with that."
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Be sure to take a moment and read about Straw's effort to help a young cancer patient.
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