MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Unlike other football players, the goal for an offensive lineman is to avoid detection from fans during a game. It means they’ve kept the quarterback clean, the running backs are getting to the second level and the referee hasn’t called out their name due to a penalty.
West Virginia offensive lineman Josh Sills took the goal of anonymity to another level against Baylor, playing so well that not even his own head coach noticed him.
Sills, who has started at left guard all season for the Mountaineers, was flipped to right guard on the second possession of the second quarter against the Bears and played there the rest of the game. When asked about the move during his Tuesday press conference, West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen seemed a bit… surprised.
“I didn’t know we did that,” Holgorsen replied. “Are you sure we did that?”
At first, it seemed like Holgorsen might be having fun at the expense of a reporter, which he is sometimes wont to do.
“At right guard?”
OK, this is not a drill. Holgorsen really didn’t notice that Sills switched positions.
But Holgorsen’s surprise shouldn’t necessarily come as a surprise. Offensive line coach Joe Wickline has the authority to sub in who he wants, and made the call to flip Sills to the right side in place of Isaiah Hardy while bringing Chase Behrndt off the bench to play left guard.
“[Coach Wickline] just looked at me and said ‘You’re going to right this series,’” Sills said. “Alright, that’s fine.”
One series turned out to last the rest of the game.
Sills was not completely out of place. He started four games at right guard last season, and practiced there some in the spring. His four starts are still the most by any current Mountaineer at the position, with Hardy and Behrndt each starting three games this season.
“It’s not much of a difference other than stance,” Sills said. “Other than that, it’s pretty easy. I’ll play wherever they play me.”
That much Holgorsen knows to be true about his most flexible offensive lineman.
“Sills is a versatile player who can go back and forth,” Holgorsen said. “There’s five other guards who can’t do that.”
Offensive coordinator Jake Spavital said there’s a reason coaches have so much trust in Sills.
“People think it’s pretty easy just to move from the left side of the line to the right side of the line, but there’s actually a psychological effect of that and the practice reps aspect,” Spavital said. “But he’s had plenty of reps there, and with his demeanor, it’s an easy transition for him. You can bump Josh and get people into the game who are more comfortable at that left guard position.”
That seemed to be true for Behrndt, who had played sparingly since struggling against Texas Tech.
“He did [play better at left guard],” Spavital said. “We’ve been putting a lot of numbers out there. I’m very pleased with where Chase was. We’ve been challenging those guys week-in and week-out. They’re going to screw up at times, but their intentions are right and they’re playing hard.
“Playing one week, then off the next week, then playing the next week, that can be a psychological thing as well. But they’re great team players.”