West Virginia Football: 5 breakout candidates for spring 2019
By Phil Poling
The Mountaineers have some fleshing out to do along the offensive line heading into the 2019 season, and there are expected to be at least two position battles in the spring. The right side, assuming it stays consistent with last season, will have Josh Sills at right guard and Colton McKivitz at right tackle.
Chase Behrndt is the expected starter at left guard. He’s added depth there and at tackle the past two seasons, including three starts in 11 appearances on the field.
After McKivitz and Sills, Behrndt is the most experienced lineman on the Mountaineers. Losing senior Yodney Cajuste creates a massive whole at left tackle, but it also depletes any sort of leadership from that side of the line. With no center set in stone yet, either, Behrndt could be looked to to fill that role.
The ‘Eers do, however, return a stable of running backs who know how to move the ball in chunks. Martell Pettaway had the best yards-per-carry average on the team last season at 6.4, while Kennedy McKoy was right behind him at 5.5 yards-per-attempt. The two combined for over 1,400 yards and 14 scores.