Strength on strength up front for WVU, Mizzou

It could come down to an old fashioned battle of strength on strength Saturday when West Virginia opens the season against Missouri inside Milan Puskar Stadium.

For the Tigers, that strength comes up front on the defensive side of the ball while the Mountaineers look to combat that with as deep and experienced of a unit on the offensive line as head coach Dana Holgorsen has had during his tenure in Morgantown.

The Missouri defensive line is one of the top returning units in the nation loaded with depth as the Tigers return a total of eight players that saw game action last season. Holgorsen referred to the unit as one of the best he has seen during his coaching tenure based off their play last season.

It’s a group with an average height of over 6-foot-4, while the weight ranges from over 305-pounds on the interior to 255 on the edges making attempting to block them a difficult task as they are able to keep fresh by rotating so many different players into the game.

“They’re bigger than what we’re used to and do a good job getting leverage and getting up underneath guys. They stunt a lot,” redshirt senior center Tyler Orlosky said.

Last season the Tigers defensive line accounted for almost half of the total 50 tackles for loss, while managing to sack the quarterback 12 times, which also represented almost half of the totals. And while the Tigers did lose some players up front, many of the same names return this fall.

“You’re going to see great athletes lined up at defensive end that are long, fast and explosive and can come around the corner really quick. You’re going to see guys inside that are hard to move and to anchor against the run game,” offensive line coach Ron Crook said.

That unit is led by redshirt junior defensive end Charles Harris who is regarded as a possible first-round NFL draft pick. Harris displays a tremendous blend of power, size and speed to create havoc coming off the edge with a total of 18.5 tackles for loss, the most in the SEC, as well as seven sacks last season.

But it extends further than that with a unique mix of not only experience but young talent such as in the case of sophomore and all-SEC freshman selection last season Terry Beckner and a number of other interior options to help junk up the middle. A lot of times the unit was able to get pressure last season without sending additional blitzers making it a difficult proposition for opposing teams.

When asked who the unit reminds him of Orlosky compared the Tigers to TCU due to the fact their former defensive coordinator DeMontie Cross now is on the sidelines with Missouri.

West Virginia counters with an experienced offensive line that even without the services of redshirt senior left guard Adam Pankey for the first game is considered one of the top units nationally by several different publications in the off-season. Across the front, West Virginia has starting experience with four of the five set to be at least starters for the past two seasons this fall.

Orlosky is the anchor of the unit in the middle and with Pankey out will be flanked by redshirt senior Tony Matteo as well as returning starter Kyle Bosch. Matteo has started two games in the past and has the confidence of those in the program to more than hold his own in the meantime.

“I couldn’t feel better about his replacement. The truth of the matter is when Tony got hurt week one he was arguably our best guard,” Holgorsen said.

The tackles will be held down by returning starter redshirt sophomore Yodny Cajuste and redshirt junior Marcell Lazard who will draw the responsibility of fending off the edge rush.

But unlike in years past, the Mountaineers also feature quality depth with several players being able to come off the bench into the game such as redshirt freshman Colton McKivitz, redshirt senior Sylvester Townes and redshirt junior Grant Lingafelter to keep bodies fresh up front.

In order to simulate what they will see against the Tigers, West Virginia has studied film in order to focus on how the Missouri defensive line attacks as well as building things into practice to allow periods where the offensive line can go against the first-team defense.

But now it’s about putting the plan into action and the keys to winning up front aren’t complicated.

“You always want to establish the run so we’re excited to do that but I’m really excited to see our emphasis in pass protection paying off,” Crook said.

“We want to see what we’re able to do against them,” Orlosky added. “That would be a big boost for us.”