West Virginia media was permitted time to observe practice for the first time in over a year Saturday and if you were paying attention one thing was noticeable on the offensive line.

It was simply that change was constant.

Players flipping in and out of different units and moving from position to position across the front, it was clear that the Mountaineers were using the session as a way to test what they had on the roster. The end goal of course being a way to find the best overall group.

“We’re going to try to find our best five out there and in the process of doing this, we’re going to move guys around and try to create some versatility during spring ball,” head coach Neal Brown said.

He isn’t fibbing. The Mountaineers had sophomore Zach Frazier, junior James Gmitter and freshman Jordan White all taking reps at center, as well as Tyler Conolly.

At guard and tackle, others bounced around between the two spots such as transfer junior Doug Nester, senior John Hughes and sophomore Parker Moorer.

Nester, who played both at Virginia Tech, is a prime candidate that could slot into either opening depending on how he develops. He looked the part at both and displayed the versatility in a limited showing without pads that you want to see.

One that seemed to stay put was sophomore Brandon Yates but even he could end up doing the same.

Even in a limited showing, the West Virginia coaches used a variety of different lineups trying to get more versatility out of the unit as a whole. It’s the plan to continue this throughout spring ball and a way to get as many snaps as possible distributed to the position as a whole.

"More steps have to be made. That comes with progression of teaching and strength in the off-season that we believe has happened. Then of course as you add new faces and some veteran faces that have seen a lot of reps," coordinator Gerad Parker said.

There’s going to be a lot of experimenting ongoing up front this spring and that is already well underway with the coaching staff seeing what all they’ve got along the offensive line.

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