Can WVU Keep Rolling With This Offensive Line, or is a Shakeup on the Table?

Originally posted on West Virginia Mountaineers on SI
By Schuyler Callihan | Last updated Sep 17, 2025 11:28 AM ET

We knew there would be some bumps along the way with this West Virginia offensive line that lost all five starters from a year ago, in addition to a handful of key backups. The starting group has five guys who played at five different programs, who each played in a completely different system from the one they're in now.

All that being said, it's been a much harder watch than expected through the first three games of the season.

PFF grades for each starter (Overall | Pass Pro | Run Blocking)

Keep in mind that the average grade is 60.

LT Nick Krahe: (66.3 | 70.3 | 61.9) - 4 pressures allowed

LG Walter Young Bear: (52.7 | 55.9 | 52.1) - 6 pressures allowed

C Landen Livingston: (55 | 77 | 49.5) - 2 pressures allowed

RG Kimo Makane'ole: (47.6 | 52.4 | 44.7) - 7 pressures allowed

RT Ty'Kieast Crawford: (60.7 | 59 | 61.6) - 7 pressures allowed

Rich Rod's evaluation

"Our guys don't have a lot of game experience, particularly up front on the o-line, but they're all freshmen in the system. Sometimes I forget when I go, this is happening, we need to do this or make this adjustment, and I'm like, well, shoot, these guys haven't made any adjustments yet. They're all truly like freshmen, except for a couple guys that played for us at Jax State. They're not seasoned veterans in this is the thing we do to fix that or fix this. That's the hardest part when you're playing with so many new guys, particularly in your first year. Year two is going to be a whole lot easier, and year three, you'll have more of it."

My two cents:

Where do Rich Rod and Jack Bicknell go from here? Do you make changes now or continue to ride with the same five? It's easy to say, well, the group in there just isn't getting it done, and there needs to be some new blood.

But if you make even one change, you risk further complicating things. It may not have looked or felt like it, but the o-line played pretty well down the stretch against Pitt. They held up just long enough in pass pro for Nicco Marchiol to go 9-for-11 on the final two drives of regulation and also helped pave the way for Tye Edwards to have a breakout, 141-yard, three-touchdown game.

Mixing things up right now doesn't make a whole lot of sense, especially after the way they closed out the Backyard Brawl. The more reps they get in practice and the more games they play together, the better they should understand one another and move in unison.

However, there does become a point where, if improvement doesn't happen, then Bicknell will be forced to shake things up. The right side of the offensive line, in particular, has to play much better. Kimo Makane'ole and Ty'Kieast Crawford have combined to allow 14 pressures through three games.

This article first appeared on West Virginia Mountaineers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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