Psst, WVU followers, take a look at the improving offensive line; tidbits

I had an editor way back when who used to get mad at me. Throughout my writing career I’d go treasure hunting and piece together columns of “nuggets.” He’d get mad because he said I could write an expanded column on each of those nuggets.

I knew, though, my readers didn’t always want expansive columns. Sometimes they wanted the info in a rapid-fire manner. Flashes.

Also, that’s what sticks in our minds, right? Flashes. When I think back on WVU’s impressive win against Iowa State, for instance, I remember a few plays. There was ISU’s Breece Hall baptizing the beginning of the game. There were some of WVU’s Leddie Brown’s hard runs. And how about some of those Jarret Doege spot-on passes?

What’s burned in my brain, though, is Mountaineer coach Neal Brown’s animated post-game celebration, punching the air with gusto. I remembered upon watching that he had several top recruiting targets on campus to watch the game – pushing recruiting chips in and hitting blackjack.

Then, this week, I watched a replay of Brown’s Tuesday press conference. And I found a few of those tidbits.

Like the one concerning the Mountaineer offensive line.

Coming into the season, I was looking forward to WVU’s rushing attack. There was Leddie Brown. Doug Nester, the former four-star recruit and transfer from Virginia Tech, was on the O-line. Same with freshman Wyatt Milum, rated the No. 1 right tackle recruit by Sports Illustrated. Guard James Gmiter is a grizzled vet. We saw good things from Fairmont’s own Zach Frazier as a freshman last season.

Yet even today that rushing attack is ranked No. 97 of 130 teams nationally, averaging 125.1 yards.

But the running back had 109 yards and two TDs against Iowa State. He had 111 and the team had 229 overall against Texas Tech. And, look at that, WVU has back-to-back conference wins after losing three.

Coach? Have you seen improvement along that offensive line?

“I think we’re playing the way it should be played as far as being much more physical at the point of contact,” Brown said. “We’re straining to finish blocks. I think we cleaned some things up schematically during the bye week.

“From a protection standpoint where we’ve been able to help our tackles has been a benefit. And then run- game wise we’re doing a much better job with the details. You know, consistently.”

The coach paused.

“We had some times early in the year where we did our footwork correctly, or we had our hands in the correct spots, or we had our eyes where they should be. But we didn’t do it consistently. Now we’re doing it at a much higher, higher percentage, the right way and that’s helped. They’re playing better.

“And the good thing about that group is, if you look at it, sophomore, junior, you know, sophomore, junior, and then freshman, so there’s a lot of football left to be played with that group.”

He’s right. Left tackle Brandon Yates is a redshirt sophomore, left guard Gmiter is a redshirt junior, center Frazier is a sophomore, Nester is a junior and Milum is a freshman. Parker Moorer, who has also started at right tackle, is a redshirt sophomore. All should be back for next season.

Oh, and another tidbit about the O-line? Well, Brown likes to give out awards to each position group. This week’s award there went to Milum.

“Thought he played extremely physical,” Brown said. “Played hard. Had eight knockdowns. He was the most productive offensive lineman. As a true freshman playing against Iowa State that was an impressive performance.”

More tidbits?

Well, Brown was asked about Oklahoma State’s defense, which the WVU offense will face Saturday. And within the answer, he addressed the fact that, hey, maybe the Big 12 does have some stout defenses after all.

“There are a lot of really good defenses in our league right now,” Brown said. “Anytime I do [interviews] nationally they always ask, ‘Has the Big 12 perception switched?’ Well, it really has been three years in the making. I thought last year we had a really good group of defenses. This year is no exception.”

“[OSU is] aggressive. They take some risk. How they play their front is similar to how we play. I mean, they’re different in the back end than we are, but how they play their front is very similar. They’re just bigger. We’re smaller, and probably a little quicker. They’re bigger and a lot older than we are at some spots.”

And a few bits to go on.

First, this about a standout on the Mountaineer special teams:

“Go back and watch Sam James on punt return,” Brown said. “Unbelievable strain. Fighting to do his job. And then watch him on punt coverage. He’s always the first one down.”

He addressed his oft-criticized quarterback, Doege:

“Played the best game of his career to this point.”

And then there was this about Major Harris, who will be honored on Saturday.

“That was my introduction to West Virginia football,” Brown said. “At the time, he was so unique.”

He certainly was that. Have a great week, folks.

+ + +

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.