West Virginia left tackle Quinton Spain isn’t one of the household names on the Mountaineer offense. However, the redshirt-sophomore has plenty of potential to become one of the greats.
“He’s unbelievably talented,” WVU offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh says. “He’s a big, physical, athletic guy that can be as good as anybody I’ve coached.”
Standing both tall and wide at 6’5’’ 335 lbs., Spain has the size as well as the talent. He was the second-ranked recruit at guard coming out of Petersburg High School in Virginia. After redshirting his first season, Spain was limited by constant position changes in 2011.
“I may have moved him around a little bit too much,” Bedenbaugh says. “He played left tackle, left guard, right guard, and right tackle. As easy as that may seem to somebody on the outside, that’s tough for anybody and especially (for) a redshirt-freshman.”
With the departure of previous starting left tackle Don Barclay, Spain gets the task of protecting quarterback Geno Smith’s blind side. While Bedenbaugh loves Spain’s size and athleticism, he says the tackle’s greatest strength can be his approach.
“It’s hard to go through him, it’s hard to go around him. When that kid uses great technique, he’s not gonna get beat.”
With all this high praise from Bedenbaugh, it’s easy to forget Spain was used mostly in a backup role in 2011. The coach still emphasizes the redshirt sophomore has plenty of work to put in before he becomes a top-notch player.
“He’s not there right now,” Bedenbaugh says. “He’s working towards being great. He improved throughout the spring.”
The coach still says he thinks there is a 100% chance Spain winds up reaching his full potential if his work ethic remains.
“He doesn’t know how good he is yet,” Bedenbaugh says. “As long as he works hard – putting in the time, putting in the effort – he’s gonna be a great player. No doubt.”