MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Most of the offseason was spent critiquing West Virginia’s offensive line and what the cornerback spot would look like defensively, and for good reason.
Last season, the Mountaineers struggled up front offensively, and heading into this year, had to replace their two best and most consistent players in tackles Colton McKivitz and Kelby Wickline.
At corner, Keith Washington’s and Hakeem Bailey’s eligibility finished up after a season where they were clearly the top two options at the position.
Eight games into the 2020 campaign, the verdict is out on both units, and many are pleasantly surprised at the results.
The interior of the offensive line took a major step forward, including veterans Michael Brown and Chase Behrndt, while the newcomers and youth — center/guard Zach Frazier, left tackle Brandon Yates and guard/tackle Parker Moorer — have exceeded early expectations.
“Communication is better, chemistry is better. We’re just better up front than we were a year ago,” WVU head coach Neal Brown said Tuesday. “I don’t think we’re at a point where we want to be or where we envisioned us being, but we’re better. A lot of that credit needs to go to (offesnive line coach) Matt Moore. I think he’s done a great job teaching, both fundamentally, chemistry, communication, all that stuff.”
Moorer wasn’t in the rotation early this season, but with an injury to John Hughes at right tackle, the redshirt-freshman earned significant snaps last week against TCU. During his redshirt year in 2019, Moorer worked primarily at tackle but moved to guard during fall camp. That versatility helped him find the field.
“He has been improving tremendously,” Moore said of Moorer. “He’s been getting better, getting better and getting more comfortable at his position. I just felt like this week, he was ready, and with John Hughes being dinged up and not at full speed, he got a chance to step in there in the second half and played really well. He had a couple of knock-downs and played with a lot of passion and played really hard.”
Brown said the key for the three young guys is they love to play football, which, surprisingly, isn’t always the case.
The same can be said at cornerback, which still has concerns with depth, but the top two have shined early in their careers.
Nicktroy Fortune played sparingly as a true freshman last year and Dreshun Miller battled an injury he struggled to overcome. Both were thrown into the fire this season and have answered the bell.
They’ve started all eight games, respectively, and have helped the Mountaineers (5-3, 4-3 Big 12) become the No. 5-ranked team for total defense (274 yards) and No. 4-ranked for pass defense (161.5) nationally.
“I credit [cornerbacks coach Jahmile Addae] for helping those guys really improve,” Brown said. “Nicktroy and Dreshun have basically played exclusive at that position. I think we’ve done a really good job schematically, especially in 1-on-1 situations. We’ve played more man-coverage as the year’s gone on, which shows the confidence we have as a staff with Dreshun and Nicktroy.”
Tweet @SeanManning_1
