MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Early in training camp, it feels safe to say West Virginia offensive line coach/co-offensive coordinator Matt Moore knows who his starting five will be on the offensive line.
Left tackle Colton McKivitz and right guard Josh Sills are the no-doubters after both made the Outland Trophy watch list. No one has pushed center Chase Behrndt and right tackle Kelby Wickline from the spots they earned this spring. And while left guard Michael Brown is still a raw football player, his brute strength and incremental improvement have kept him running with the top line.
“I feel much better about my group up front,” Moore said. “They really like each other. They’re going to play hard for each other. We’re really talented in a couple spots. We’ve just got to fill it in in a couple other spots. I think it’s there.
“It ain’t about your good plays, it’s about your bad plays not being terrible. We’re working on keeping bad plays from being 5-yard losses and sacks.”
For this year to be a success up front, Moore says one of the three unknowns – Behrndt, Wickline and Brown – has to step up.
“One needs to be great, and the other two need to be good,” Moore said.
Moore also knows he needs more than five linemen to get through a season, particularly when the biggest concern for the 345-pound Brown is his conditioning. And that is where the greatest challenge will lie for Moore this August.
During Saturday’s open practice, West Virginia’s second-string offensive line consisted of left tackle Junior Ubezu, left guard James Gmiter, center Adam Stilley, right guard Blaine Scott and right tackle John Hughes.
Of that group, Stilley is the most ready to play right now.
“Stilley is our second-most reliable snapper. He’s just missing about six inches,” Moore said of the 6-foot sophomore from Martinsburg. “But I won’t hesitate to put him in a game.”
Redshirt freshman James Gmiter is Moore’s August do-it-yourself project. Gmiter moved over from the defensive line in the spring, but Moore is already looking to get him onto the field to rest Brown on the occasional drive.
“Gmiter is one of the strongest, most explosive guys in program, but has always been D-line,” Moore said. “This is practice 17 of him ever being an O-lineman. His strength and ability is no-doubt. It’s just learning where you put your feet that’s different. But I can already tell he’s filling in the position. He’s the guy I’m trying to develop to split those reps with Mike.”
Gmiter is a 6-foot-3, 300-pounder from Bethel Park, Pa.
Hughes is another player who Moore feels could be ready to plug in if needed by the start of the season. The 6-foot-5, 298-pound sophomore joined the program after a season at Navarro (Texas) Junior College.
“John Hughes is a really good get for us. He can play guard or tackle,” Moore said. “He hasn’t had the full year of training. He’s not going to be as strong as I want him to be. But is he going to be strong enough to get the job done? We’ll find out. He’s definitely athletic.”
Schematically, Moore said the unit will be built with a run-first mentality.
“It’s all about our backs on offense,” Moore said. “We’re going to develop the offensive line around what those guys are really good at. We may have come up with a couple schemes we’ll try this fall.”