How WVU's Wyatt Milum is becoming one of the best offensive lineman in college football

For the second straight season, West Virginia football has one of the premier offensive line talents in college football.

Last season, veteran center and Fairmont, W.Va-native Zach Frazier stood out to many as one of the top players at his position -- he proved those of that opinion correct when he became a 2nd Round NFL Draft pick this past spring, and was recently being touted by premier football analytics company Pro Football Focus (PFF) as the second-highest graded NFL rookie and fourth-highest graded NFL center so far this season.

Continuing the trend of West Virginia-bred talent excelling as premier college offensive lineman is WVU senior offensive tackle and Kenova, W.Va-native Wyatt Milum, who PFF is currently grading out as one of the best offensive tackles nationally week in and week out. Milum's pass block grade is amongst the top five of all power conference offensive tackles this season, and he has given up zero quarterback sacks, quarterback hits, or quarterback pressures. His run block grade with PFF, meanwhile sits at an extremely high 87.0.

When asked about what some of the things he has had to get right to inherit the role as the top offensive lineman on the team and develop into a player who can compete with the best in the trenches, Milum first highlighted the ability to pick apart opposing defensive fronts and what that requires.

"I would say just my IQ, like learning the game of football more," Milum said. "Just seeing, like you can just pick up tendencies. More film study, just learning what the defense is going to do, it just makes the game a lot easier when you get out there on the field. "

In particular, he noted how some of the smallest signs in a defensive front can give away exactly what he needs to know before the snap to better impose his will on whoever is lined up across from him.

"You look at the defensive lineman's hands, feet, and just really, linebackers, what they do when they blitz and stuff like that," he said.

But football awareness and film study doesn't win games alone, and there was one more really crucial facet of being an FBS offensive lineman that Milum had to work on to get to this point.

"The biggest thing I had to learn, technique," Milum said. "You got to use technique, because in high school, you don't have to use the best technique to win. In college, you got to use good technique, because there's great players in this league."

Milum recalls learning his lesson on needing to refine his trchnique the hard way during his first-ever collegiate offensive series for the Mountaineers.

"My first drive I went in I gave up a sack and I got a holding penalty," he said. "That was my wake up to college football."

And to this day, Milum still has 'improvements' he needs to make, in his own words, and there is one particular area of his game he's focused on mid-season -- one that might surprise some folks, given how dominant his pass blocking stats come across.

"The biggest thing was pass pro, just using my hands, using my length, and just striking and grabbing. Just not placing your hands on them, that's still what I'm working on today...from day-to-day practice, you try to focus on the things you need to work on, and that's what I've been working on."