NILES, Ohio — Josh Krok has had a week now to get used to the idea of being a Mountaineer after officially committing to WVU last week. The offensive lineman from Niles-McKinley High in Ohio said it didn’t take long for word to spread around town that he was committing to the Mountaineers.
“It isn’t a very big place, so I’ve been hearing a lot from everybody and they’re enjoying it,” Krok said. “It’s a big football town down here.”
Football, meanwhile, is in Krok’s genes as his 6-foot-9, near 300-pound frame is no doubt a partial credit to his grandfather who was a standout at the college level as well at nose tackle.
“He played for Syracuse in college,” Krok said. “He was in the Sugar Bowl and Gator Bowl, and was an All-American.”
Despite his size, mobility hasn’t been a big issue for the future Mountaineer, as he’s still relatively lean.
“I’ve never really been slow or clumsy growing up,” he said. “I’ve always been bigger than most of the people that I’m around, but I’ve trained to increase my agility and it’s worked out pretty good for me so far.”
It’s worked out so well, in fact, that he has spent some time playing center field in baseball in the past.
“There really hasn’t been a disadvantage (to my frame) so far,” Krok said. “When you’re 6-foot-9 (at the high school level), it makes you stay low on blocks. When I get to college and play against bigger people, that part of staying low won’t be as rough.”
Still, that’s not to say Krok isn’t aware of several things he needs to work on during his senior season prior to making the jump to the college level in 2014.
“I’m definitely going to keep working on my foot-work, my hand placements and just my overall blocking technique,” Krok said.
What he won’t have to work on, though, is finding a school. West Virginia was one of the first BCS level schools to offer him — something that stood out in his mind when it came down to make a final decision between West Virginia, Louisville and Cincinnati.
“I liked the people that I saw on campus at WVU and the coaches,” Krok said. “They were all approachable and they seem like good people. I really liked the campus, too. I went pretty much everywhere with Coach Crook, and everything was really nice. The campus is pretty big, which is why I like it.”
So, for now, the focus for Krok will be on his senior season with Niles, where expectations are high again after an 8-3 campaign in 2012.