Yates adjusting to role in the middle of the West Virginia OL
Brandon Yates compares his maturation at the center position to college courses.
The sixth-year senior initially started with 100-level classes such as learning the ins and outs of the position and gaining general knowledge but now is set to serve as the starter. That means graduating into 300-level courses and looking at the bigger picture.
And with that comes understanding where to position his body to get ahead of the twists, splits and different fronts that defenses will throw at him.
“Just going out there and improving upon the things I was good at and working at what I was weak at and just doing something different each and every day,” he said.
Yates has the added pressure of following in the footsteps of Zach Frazier, a four-year starter who is considered one of the greatest centers in program history.
But those two are completely different players in the sense that Frazier played with his strength and wrestling background, while Yates is a more athletic option that can move.
Offensive line coach Matt Moore doesn't compare the two but likes that Yates has taken some techniques and fundamentals from Frazier and added them to his own game.
"He's learned from that he’s embraced it. He knows he’s filling some big shoes, but he’s ready to do it," Moore said.
Yates believes some of those areas where he can continue to take some of what he learned from Frazier is with his hands and body control.
“I just have to be conscious of where my hands are on every single rep. Grip strength, being strong if you’re constant about it you’ll be able to do it,” he said.
It’s not completely foreign territory for Yates as he stepped in for Frazier on the final drive of the Baylor game and it was something he was prepared for because they had repped that exact situation in practice as the replacement in the middle of the offensive line. He also spent the entire spring practice the year before there too with Frazier on the sidelines with an injury.
“I worked at center every single day so I was doing the exact same things that Zach was doing. He goes in for a couple plays, I go in for a couple plays,” Yates said. “He gets the front calls, I get the front calls so I’m doing everything.”
Given his experience in the offense, Yates has gotten more comfortable not only with the calls but reading the defense and how to best attack it.
Yates got a head start on his starting role in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl when Frazier missed the game due to injury. The message from the coaching staff was to use that as a springboard for the 2024 season and Yates was able to find some things out about himself in the process.
“I think I did pretty well in the bowl game,” he said.
The Delaware native is the next man up and he’s finding the consistency needed to play that role and that starts with getting down a consistent snap and identifying the fronts.
“From a mental standpoint he’s done a really good job of making the front calls, making the mike calls and really just teaching him to take his preparation a step further," Moore said.
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