For a unit that prides themselves on being the engine of the West Virginia offense, the Texas Tech game last season was a performance to forget for the Mountaineers offensive line.
The offense managed just 73 yards on 26 carries in the run game, an average of just 2.6 yards per carry, while the Red Raiders recorded six tackles for loss and three interceptions. Now some of those picks weren’t on the offensive line, but the Mountaineers struggled to protect the quarterback.
But that was then, and this is now, and the Mountaineers must play as consistently as they have through the first three games of the season especially when it comes to the run game.
“We fall back on our training. We’ve seen so many different fronts and we’ve run pretty much against everything. “We have a lot of experience and whatever (Zach) Frazier calls we go with,” senior starting right tackle Doug Nester said.
Along with Nester, the offensive line is filled with experience with multi-year starters in Frazier in the middle, left tackle Wyatt Milum, left guard Tomas Rimac and right guard Brandon Yates. When starting quarterback Garrett Greene went down with an injury against Pittsburgh, the offense had to rely on that experience and rely on running the football to win 17-6.
“There’s nothing better than being able to run the ball even though they know you’re running the ball. I think it’s the best feeling in the world when they’re loading the box and you’re still able to produce yardage,” Nester said.
West Virginia now has to put that game behind them however and look to try to overcome an obstacle in Texas Tech that has beaten the Mountaineers on four consecutive occasions.
The offensive line understands that they didn’t play up to their standards and that can’t be the case this week especially if Greene misses yet again and Nicco Marchiol gets his first career start. The Red Raiders have two talented interior options with experience on the defensive line which can cause problems, while they are long and have size on the edges meaning that the offensive line must perform.
“It’s a big challenge for us we have to come out here and be able to produce what we have been the last three games. For us they put a big challenge on us to go out there and produce,” he said.
Nester has plenty of faith in what Marchiol can do as the quarterback if he does get the call, but a productive offensive line can help any signal caller settle in and play better.
“We’ve got his back,” Nester said.
The Mountaineers have cleared one hurdle in Pittsburgh in the early season schedule but now must go out and prove themselves yet again against the Red Raiders.
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