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D-lineman opens MetroNews countdown of 10 Most Pivotal Mountaineers

Today begins the MetroNews countdown of the 10 Most Pivotal Mountaineers for the 2015 football season. These aren’t necessarily West Virginia’s “best” 10, or the ones appearing on those bloated preseason watch lists, but they’re the players whose production will be most crucial to filling roles and answering preseason questions.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Compliments from teammates being standard operating procedure, you saw heavy doses of reality tempering the praise for West Virginia’s Noble Nwachukwu back in 2013.

“He’s an explosive player. If he wants to—if he puts his mind to it—he can get around anybody. Guys can’t block him,” said defensive lineman Kyle Rose. “But it’s just a matter of who shows up. He can be the most dominant player on the field, or he can struggle.”

Nwachukwu was a redshirt freshman that season, having turned on the juice during an overtime win at TCU. He was disruptive and alive, the type of effort teammates and coaches wanted to see more consistently.

During 2014, Nwachukwu began delivering. He made made eight tackles for loss and 34 overall, entrenching himself as a starter for all 13 games.

Stadium announcers across the Big 12 still pause before garbling his last name, but as more sacks come, the pronunciation is sure to follow. Now’s the time for Nwachukwu’s next-level jump as WVU seeks better defensive line play.