Through two games, question marks remain on West Virginia’s offensive line.
Two particular spots are still up for grabs with rotations occurring through the team’s first two games against Tennessee and Youngstown State.
Coming into the season opener against the Volunteers, West Virginia’s first team offensive line consisted of fifth-year senior Yodny Cajuste at left tackle, redshirt sophomore Josh Sills at left guard, redshirt junior Matt Jones at center, redshirt junior Joe Brown at right guard and another redshirt junior in Colton McKivitz at right tackle.
However, other players have been rotating in at the center and right guard positions.
Jones and redshirt sophomore Jacob Buccigrossi nearly split the offensive snaps against Tennessee with Jones playing 35 snaps and Buccigrossi playing 28. However this total was more lopsided against Youngstown State with Jones playing 65 snaps and Buccigrossi playing just 11.
At right guard, Brown logged 54 plays against the Volunteers and redshirt sophomore Chase Behrndt played eight, but Behrndt got the start and snap count advantage against the Penguins, playing 53 snaps to Brown’s 33.
According to head coach Dana Holgorsen, the motive behind starting Behrndt was due to his performance during practice leading up to last Saturday as well as Brown’s physical condition. Behrndt also outplayed senior Isaiah Hardy, who’s now working at tackle and someone Holgorsen hopes to redshirt this season.
In other words, this move had nothing to do with Brown’s performance, but rather Brown playing too much against Tennessee as he is still working himself into shape since he hadn’t seen game action since 2016 heading into this season.
“Joe is going to be a good player for us and is continuously working himself into better shape. It’s hard for an (offensive) lineman to step foot on campus in May or June and start game one,” Holgorsen said. “I just thought (Behrndt) played better in practice last week, honestly. I’m not disappointed in Joe (Brown), it’s just a competition.”
“The more competition that we can have at a whole bunch of these spots, the better they are going to be,” he added.
Competition has been critical in carving out West Virginia’s starters and depth throughout the offseason and that has continued into the fall with not only the offensive line, but also the defensive line with the addition of two graduate transfers and running back, where there are currently four players that have been sharing playing time through two games.
Brown’s experience playing as a true freshman at Miami has put him ahead of the curve according to Holgorsen which can continue to increase the competition and elevate the play of both Brown and Behrndt. The same goes for the center spot.
“Up front, we had it at center with (Jacob) Buccigrossi coming in and having a really good camp, it pushed Matt Jones and made Matt Jones better,” Holgorsen said.
The overall goal behind these rotations is to find the best guys who can block up front which will open up more possibilities for what West Virginia can do offensively.
“They got to keep building continuity,” offensive coordinator Jake Spavital said of the offensive line. “Just overall, they just got to keep improving so we can be more multiple.”
Moving around and rotating players on the offensive line can sometimes disrupt chemistry and/or communication between the unit, but according to Jones, that hasn’t been the case at all with these ongoing rotations at right guard.
“Next man up is how I feel and I’m sure that’s how Colton (McKivitz) feels,” Jones said. “They’re both going to listen to me and Colton whatever we have to say and they’re both going to do their best and play every play as hard as they can play.”
Jones has also noticed the progressions of both Brown and Behrndt and likes what they bring to the table.
“Joe’s older. Chase is coming along. Chase came a long way from where he was and Joe, we’ve only had him for a couple months and he’s a good experienced player,” Jones said. “Chase has really shown that he can play and hold his own out there and I think Chase is going to be a good guard somewhere down the line.”
At this stage, it looks as if Jones will continue to hold down the starting center spot and play the majority of the snaps, but for now, it still seems almost unpredictable what the snap counts will be, especially at the right guard spot.
On this week’s depth chart, Jones is still listed as the starting center, but at right guard, it lists Brown or Behrndt as contenders for the starting role.
What else can be expected moving forward?
Players will continue to rotate according to offensive coordinator Jake Spavital until one sets himself apart. West Virginia loses the benefit of evaluating these battles with no game being played this Saturday, but that leaves more time for preparation for Kansas State and more time in practice to compete.
“We’re going to keep rotating, we got to,” Spavital said. “We got to keep rotating until one solidifies it.”
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