MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — In recent years, West Virginia’s offenses have been known for splash plays resulting in long touchdowns. But the Mountaineers are trying to become more physical in the flashy Big 12 Conference, starting with its offensive line.
A big focus this offseason has been getting the guys in the offensive trenches to carry more weight — both figuratively and literally. With summer camp right around the corner, that goal seems to be coming to fruition, at least in the literal sense.
Heading into the season opener a year ago, West Virginia’s offensive line held an average height of 6-foot-5 and tipped the scales at an average of 307 pounds, including starters and key bench players. Going into camp this summer, the Mountaineers boast an average offensive line — including starters and key backups — of 6-5, 327 pounds. The projected starters for 2018 sit at an average of 6-5, 322 pounds.
Coaches have said that becoming more physical across the board has been a priority during recruiting.
"You try and get the biggest, best players you can get," Dana Holgorsen said this offseason. "You try and get bigger, faster and stronger at every position.”
Over the last two recruiting classes, West Virginia has managed to find bigger offensive linemen to fit the bill. Over that span, offensive linemen recruits that West Virginia has signed stand an average of 6-foot-5 and weigh an average of 316 pounds before coming to campus. From there, getting put in the weight room will either slim the linemen down to a good playing weight or beef them up to carry more weight effectively.
The weight room has paid off for its starters, too. Heading into camp, West Virginia’s five men up front look like this: Yodny Cajuste 6-5 318; Josh Sills 6-6 326; Matt Jones 6-3 325; Isaiah Hardy 6-6 335; Colton McKivitz 6-7 306.
“Last year, we weren't the most physical group up front. That was definitely a weak point on last year's team,” McKivitz said. “We took that into this offseason with (Assistant Athletic Director for Strength and Conditioning) Mike (Joseph) and (Assistant Director of Strength & Conditioning/Director of Applied Performance) coach (Darl) Bauer and (strength) coach (Chad) Snodgrass. They pushed us this offseason, and there was an emphasis that we have to be the more physical group up front.”
Last year’s offensive line was about 20 pounds lighter on average compared to this year’s. It showed in games against teams with physical defensive lines, especially when depth for West Virginia became an issue. (Think back to the Heart of Dallas Bowl — yikes.)
Offensive line coach Joe Wickline knows a thing or two about powerful offensive lines. He’s helped teams like Oklahoma State, Texas, Florida and Baylor up their rushing capabilities while protecting the quarterback over his 30-plus years in the coaching game. He’s coached 35 all-conference players, 10 All-Americans and 18 would-be professional players.
He’s conveyed his thoughts on a big offensive line to Holgorsen and offensive coordinator Jake Spavital, who both agreed that physicality is a must for this group.
"Coach Wickline is big on that. He wants big guys. You're looking at 330 to 350 across the board, and they're all about 6-foot-5, 6-foot-6, which is a massive offensive line,” Spavital said. "The thinking behind that is if we're having trouble with certain things, we know we're going to be smothering guys. If a guy goes the wrong direction, he's at least going to move the guy in the wrong direction. If there is a pass rush, they've got a long way to go to get around a 6-foot-5, 6-foot-6, 350-pound guard. It's just a lot of bigger bodies and that makes it tougher.”
West Virginia averaged 459.6 yards of total offense a game — 309.3 passing and 150.3 rushing — but the team still struggled at times against physicality up front. In that bowl game, West Virginia ran the ball 53 times and produced 197 yards for just a 3.7-yards-per-carry clip. Utah likely knew West Virginia was going to attempt to pound the football with Will Grier sidelined with a hand injury, but the Mountaineers couldn’t effectively execute either way.
Week 1, though, against Virginia Tech, which featured a pretty physical defensive front, West Virginia managed to average 5.2 yards per carry. But following that game, West Virginia turned in games of 4.4 and 3.7 yards per carry against lowly ECU and Delaware State. Sure, they dominated Kansas, racking up 367 rushing yards on 50 attempts (7.3 YPC) but the next week TCU’s front slowed them down to just 170 yards on 36 carries (4.7 YPC).
West Virginia showed ability to move the ball, but with a quick-strike offense, numbers oftentimes are inflated. Moving forward, West Virginia’s added emphasis on physical play should pay dividends in a league that doesn’t feature as many physical fronts on the defensive side of the ball.
“That's where our games are going to be won,” McKivitz said.