Freshman Phenom? WVU’s Kevin Brown Squats Eye-Popping Weight

Rich Rod's massive building block

Brown was committed to Penn State for well over a year, so when Rich Rodriguez took the job, the thought of actually landing him never really came to anyone's mind, including his own. In the summer, Rodriguez had Brown come down to visit and work out, which caught him by surprise.

"Guys like him a lot of times don’t want to work out. Well, Kevin was just the opposite," Rodriguez said. "I mean, he was doing every drill and all that, and it hurt my feelings even more after watching him work out because I mean, this dude, he was a monster, right? All I did was, like, we’ve got to get him somehow because you saw him at camp and he was everything you thought he would be. At least he came here, and I was just like, let’s keep plugging away and plugging away. And then when they had their change-up there (at Penn State), it gave us a little bit of a crack."

What the expectation should be for Brown in 2026

For a while, it felt like the Mountaineers were positioning him to be the starter from day one. A true freshman starting along the offensive line is rare, but we've seen it here in recent years with Zach Frazier and Wyatt Milum, albeit under a different coaching staff.

Brown will undoubtedly have a chance at winning the starting job at right tackle, but WVU did a good job in the transfer portal over the past couple of months, providing some insurance and perhaps buying some time for the youngster to get acclimated to the college level.

UConn transfer Carsten Casady, on paper, looks like the favorite to be the starter, having logged several starts over the past few years and being elite in pass protection. WVU also has JUCO transfer DeShawn Woods, and Malik Agbo, who returns from last year's squad.

In all likelihood, Brown will be in the rotation with a chance to start later in the season.