Have you noticed more and more fine linemen popping up in the Mountain State?

I always felt WVU football’s main hurdle to clear was finding top-shelf linemen. It seems the majority are in the SEC or Big Ten.
The Mountaineer program always seemed to find good linebackers (Chuck Howley, Darryl Talley, David Long Jr., Sam Huff), running backs (Steve Slaton, Adrian Murrell, Amos Zereoue), defensive backs (Aaron Beasley, Mike Logan, Pac-Man Jones, Rasul Douglas, Fulton Walker, Jerry Holmes, Bo Orlando, Tom Pridemore, heck, Beanie Bishop!), receivers (Tavon Austin, Stedman Bailey, Danny Buggs), even quarterbacks like Oliver Luck, Jeff Hostetler, Major Harris, Marc Bulger, Geno Smith and Pat White.
But linemen like centers Rich Braham and Mike Compton, guard Bruce Bosley, tackle Brian Jozwiak and, on defense, Mike Fox, David Grant, Gary Stills, Jeff Merrow, Renaldo Turnbull and John Thornton were difficult to find – especially from the base recruiting landscape that’s the state of West Virginia.
But, hey, look at the Mountain State and linemen lately.
Pittsburgh Steelers fans certainly know of Fairmont native and starting center Zach Frazier. It didn’t take the second-round draft pick long to make waves in the Steel City.
And while on the subject of the Steelers, don’t forget about guard Doug Nester, who is stashed on the practice squad. Nester, 6-7, 319 pounds, is from Kenova, W.Va., where he played at Spring Valley High.
On defense, of course, Fairmont native Dante Stills starts at right end for the Arizona Cardinals after his stint at WVU. All he did there was become the all-time leader in tackles for loss.
Don’t forget Martinsburg native Trevon Wesco, who is still hanging on with the Las Vegas Raiders after stints with the New York Jets, Bears and Tennessee Titans. The tight end went to Musselman High before moving to Lackawanna and then WVU.
One of the finest linemen to come out of West Virginia recently was Huntington High’s Darnell Wright. Although WVU’s Neal Brown and staff made a late run at Wright after getting hired, the offensive tackle went to Tennessee and was selected by the Chicago Bears No. 10 overall in 2023.
Also, San Francisco 49ers starting offensive tackle Colton McKivitz is from Union Local, a mere 21 miles from Wheeling.
I could keep going if you want me to get technical. Former North Carolina and three-year NFL guard Landon Turner – and nephew of WVU’s Jim Braxton – was born in Morgantown.
The point is, with advances in weight training and playing opportunities, more and more fine linemen are popping up in the Mountain State.
Which is good news for a WVU program trying to keep up in an increasingly dog-eat-dog college football world.
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Mitch Vingle covered sports in West Virginia for 38 years. Follow Mitch on Twitter at @MitchVingle and be sure to check out the rest of Wheelhouse Creative’s website for your marketing and advertising needs. If interested, call us at 304-905-6005.