AUSTIN, Texas — “Next man up” is the ultimate football mantra. In a sport where injuries are inevitable, that’s the attitude every player must adopt.
Even with that being the reality, it was easy to recognize junior Kelby Wickline was being placed in an unenviable situation against Texas on Saturday afternoon. Starting left tackle Yodny Cajuste, a preseason all-Big 12 selection who has played virtually every meaningful snap for the Mountaineers this season, was abruptly and shockingly ejected from the Texas game for what officials perceived to be a punch following a first-quarter extra point attempt.
Cajuste gave an extra shove to a Texas player a hair after the whistle, but the interpretation of a punch was inexplicable even to FOX Sports rules analyst Dean Blandino, who was the former NFL head of officiating.
“To disqualify a player, you want to see a punch. This looked like an open-hand shot after the play,” Blandino said on the FOX broadcast. “You want to penalize a player, that’s fine. But to throw him out of the game, that just seems like too much.”
The call was so questionable, if not flat-out wrong, but was no matter. Wickline still needed to be ready to go. And upon a video review of the game, it was clear that he was more than up to the task.
Of the 51 snaps of which Wickline had a Longhorn to block, his man got the best of him on five run plays and two pass plays. On both pass plays, the Mountaineers were throwing quick passes in the opposite direction, so neither resulted in quarterback Will Grier feeling any pressure. As a whole, the Mountaineers allowed just two hurries.
Wickline’s primary matchup was with Texas defensive end Charles Omenihu. Omenihu is no chump. He contemplated entering the NFL draft before returning for his senior season, and ranks second in the Big 12 with seven sacks.
Though he got the best of Wickline on those five run plays, Omenihu was largely held in check. He finished the game with two tackles, one of which was for loss, before exiting with an injury early in the fourth quarter.
Omenihu’s star power might explain Texas defensive coordinator Todd Orlando’s decision to rarely challenge Wickline with added pressure, twists or stunts. The Longhorns only made Wickline deal with two defenders on two occasions.
On one of those occasions, both got past him but did nothing because of the quick pass. On the second, Wickline alertly switched to a blitzer from his original assignment and kept Grier clean. The latter was the type of heads-up play you’d expect to see from a coach’s son. His dad, of course, is WVU offensive line coach Joe Wickline.
Wickline’s only major miscue was a penalty for illegally being downfield on a short pass play. Fortunately, he had an opportunity to atone immediately. On the very next play, Wickline and tight end Trevon Wesco combined to pancake Texas linebacker Marquez Bimage to help clear the path for Martell Pettaway’s 55-yard touchdown run.
The most telling moment of trust in Wickline came on the game’s most significant play. On West Virginia’s game-winning 2-point conversion, Grier ran his quarterback keeper to Wickline’s side. Wickline took care of Texas defensive end Ta’Quon Graham, assuring that Grier would reach the end zone untouched.
Fittingly, Wickline was the first player to embrace Grier in the post-conversion celebration out the side of the end zone.
“[When you] lose your All-American tackle, it doesn’t bode well for what could happen,” WVU head coach Dana Holgorsen said. “It was one of the things that happened throughout the course of the game that we had to overcome. I think that’s what good teams do. People step up … Kelby Wickline went in there and did a nice job.”
