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During Neal Brownòòò½ÊÓƵ™s first season as West Virginiaòòò½ÊÓƵ™s head football coach, his offensive line featured just one player who had been a full-time starter prior to that 2019 campaign òòò½ÊÓƵ” tackle Colton McKiviitz.

McKivitz was certainly a good one, ultimately starting 47 games in his Mountaineer career and heòòò½ÊÓƵ™s still playing in the NFL as a member of the San Francisco 49ers.

Outside of McKivitz, though, òòò½ÊÓƵU returned a total of just six starts heading into Brownòòò½ÊÓƵ™s first season in òòò½ÊÓƵ™19.

What a difference a few years makes, as Brownòòò½ÊÓƵ™s offensive line in 2022 returns all five starters from last season, and within that quintet, theyòòò½ÊÓƵ™ve started a combined 107 games in their college careers.

Offensive linemen returning òòò½ÊÓƵ” Bryce Biggs (RFr.), Tyler Connolly (Jr.), Zach Frazier (Jr.), James Gmiter (Sr.), Jaòòò½ÊÓƵ™Quay Hubbard (Soph.), Nick Malone (Jr.), Chris Mayo (Soph.), Wyatt Milum (Soph.), Doug Nester (Sr.), Jackson Oxley (Soph.), Dylan Ray (RFr.), Tomas Rimac (RFr.), Shawn See (Soph.), Jordan White (Soph.), Brandon Yates (Jr.)

Departing òòò½ÊÓƵ” Noah Drummond (Sr.), John Hughes (Sr.), Parker Moorer (Soph.)

Newcomers òòò½ÊÓƵ” Maurice Hamilton (Fr.), Charlie Katarincic (Fr.), Landen Livingston (Fr.), Sullivan Weidman (Fr.)

From left tackle to right guard, West Virginia returns four starters who each were on the field for the first snap in all 13 games of 2021.

Right tackle Wyatt Milum (6-6, 308 lbs., Soph.) is the only one who did not start every game last year, and he moved permanently into the first-team role midway through his true freshman season.

The most ballyhooed of the bunch in òòò½ÊÓƵ™21 was center Zach Frazier (6-3, 308 lbs., Jr.). The Fairmont native was named a second-team All-American last season by both the Walter Camp Football Foundation and the American Football Coaches òòò½ÊÓƵsociation.

He was also a second-team all-Big 12 choice, as voted on by the leagueòòò½ÊÓƵ™s coaches.

A four-time Class AA heavyweight state wrestling champion while at Fairmont Senior, Frazier was also a dominating two-way lineman who was a four-year starter for the Polar Bears, earning first-team all-state honors as both a junior and senior and second-team mention as a sophomore.

Recruited by the likes of Virginia Tech, Stanford and Louisville, Frazier decided to stay close to home, making the 20-mile move from the Friendly City to the University City.

He arrived at òòò½ÊÓƵU in the summer of 2020, and immediately became a key component of the Mountaineer offensive line.

He was the first true freshman offensive lineman at òòò½ÊÓƵU in at least 40 years to start a game, and he did so in nine of West Virginiaòòò½ÊÓƵ™s 10 contests in òòò½ÊÓƵ™20.

The only time he didnòòò½ÊÓƵ™t start was game number two of the season, and even then he saw considerable time on the field.

In playing 630 offensive snaps in 2020, Frazier was named a freshman All-American by ESPN and he also was honorable mention all-Big 12.

Though all his starts as a freshman came at left guard, he also rotated in at center at times.

Frazier moved over to center on a full-time basis this past season and immediately became the rock in the middle of òòò½ÊÓƵUòòò½ÊÓƵ™s offensive line. He not only started all 13 games but rarely came out, as other than a couple blowouts, he typically played every snap.

An engineering major with a 4.0 GPA, Frazier is expected to remain the heart of the Mountaineer o-line for the next two or even three years; since the NCAA didnòòò½ÊÓƵ™t count the 2020 season against a playeròòò½ÊÓƵ™s eligibility clock because of COVID, Frazier actually can continue his college career through 2024.

That eligibility extension is true for three other òòò½ÊÓƵU starting offensive linemen who also were on college rosters in 2020 òòò½ÊÓƵ” left tackle Brandon Yates (6-4, 302 lbs., Jr.), left guard James Gmiter (6-3, 305 lbs., Sr.) and right guard Doug Nester (6-7, 323 lbs., Sr.).

The eligibility for each actually can be moved back a year, meaning Yates can play through 2024, while Gmiter and Nester have eligibility through 2023, if they want to use it.

Thus the Mountaineersòòò½ÊÓƵ™ five starting offensive linemen can return intact not only for the 2022 season but also for the 2023 one as well.

While Frazier has started 22 games in his college career, those beside him at the guards have even more experience. Gmiter has 25 college starts to his credit, and Nester has 30. Yates totals 22, all at left tackle.

A product of Bethel Park (Pa.) High School, where he was a Class 6A all-stater, Gmiter came to òòò½ÊÓƵU initially as a defensive lineman. But after redshirting in 2018, he moved to offensive line the following spring and immediately found a home.

He played in all 12 games for West Virginia in the 2019 season, starting 10 of them òòò½ÊÓƵ” six at left guard and four at right guard òòò½ÊÓƵ” for a total of 580 offensive snaps.

Gmiter was ticketed for the starting lineup at left guard heading into the 2020 season, but a combination of illness, injury and the emergence of Frazier moved him into a backup role.

He still saw plenty of action in òòò½ÊÓƵ˜20 òòò½ÊÓƵ” 270 snaps in eight games with two starts òòò½ÊÓƵ” and by 2021, he was again a full-time starter at left guard.

A alum of Spring Valley High School outside of Huntington, Nester was a four-star recruit in high school who had dozens of Power 5 offers from the likes of Ohio State, Penn State, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee and plenty of others.

He eventually signed with Virginia Tech and found an immediate opportunity in Blacksburg.

He played in 11 games and started 10 as a true freshman in 2019, and then started seven games at right guard as a sophomore. Nester wasnòòò½ÊÓƵ™t content at Tech, though, and sought a transfer after the 2020 season.

He quickly focused on returning to West Virginia, picking a Mountaineer program with plenty of familiar faces from his Spring Valley days, as former Timberwolvesòòò½ÊÓƵ™ Graeson Malashevich and Owen Chafin already were at òòò½ÊÓƵU prior to Nesteròòò½ÊÓƵ™s arrival in January of 2021.

They were soon joined by three others òòò½ÊÓƵ” Milum, redshirt freshman offensive lineman Bryce Biggs and incoming freshman right end Corbin Page.

Nester started all 13 games for West Virginia last season and now has started a total of 30 games between his time at VT and òòò½ÊÓƵU.

Yates also returns plenty of experience for the Mountaineer line.

Though most of his youth was spent in Middleton, Delaware, Yates moved with his family to Las Vegas during his high school years, where he developed into an all-Southeast Region honoree at Liberty Baptist High School.

Picking òòò½ÊÓƵU over a variety of Pac-12 and other west coast offers, Yates redshirted his first year at West Virginia in 2019, and then ultimately won the battle over Parker Moorer for the starting left tackle position in 2020.

Yates played in all 10 games that season, starting nine of them. Then this past year he started all 13 games for the Mountaineers at left tackle.

Milum was the youngest member of West Virginiaòòò½ÊÓƵ™s starting o-line in 2021, but the true freshman quickly moved up the ladder.

His rocket rise through the ranks came as no surprise, though, as the four-star recruit at Spring Valley had an incredible offer list in high school that included not just òòò½ÊÓƵU but also Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Penn State, Virginia Tech, Clemson and basically every Power 5 program.

Milum chose the home-state Mountaineers, arriving last summer and soon proved his recruiting ranking wasnòòò½ÊÓƵ™t hype.

Though Moorer started five early-season games at right tackle, Milum also saw regular time in rotation at the position in those contest.

Then in the second half of the season, the true freshman took over the full-time starting job, and he got better and better with each outing.

While Frazier broke the barrier as the first òòò½ÊÓƵU true freshman offensive lineman to start a game in over four decades, Milum followed one year later by being the second.

The business major wound up playing in 622 snaps in 12 games (he missed the contest at Baylor because of an injury), starting eight of those, including the last seven.

Also like Frazier, Milumòòò½ÊÓƵ™s play earned him freshman All-American notice from the Football Writers òòò½ÊÓƵsociation of America, as well as The Athletic and ON3.

Milum has such lock on the starting right tackle spot that Moorer, realizing he likely was not going to move back in front of Wyatt on the depth chart, transferred to East Carolina at the end of the 2021 season, where he hopes he has a better opportunity to win a starting position.

West Virginiaòòò½ÊÓƵ™s offensive line may be more experienced, but it definitely still has strides to make, though it did show improvement over the course of the 2021 season.

In the Mountaineersòòò½ÊÓƵ™ 2-4 start to the campaign, they topped 95 rushing yards just twice òòò½ÊÓƵ” both in the wins over LIU (198 yards) and Virginia Tech (180).

In the 4-3 second half of the season, òòò½ÊÓƵU eclipsed the 100-yard rushing mark four times, all wins òòò½ÊÓƵ” 229 vs. TCU, 122 vs. Iowa State, 158 vs. Texas and 261 vs. Kansas.

For the year, West Virginiaòòò½ÊÓƵ™s offensive line allowed the most sacks of any team in the Big 12 (2.92 per game) and its season-long rushing average of 123.4 yards per game was also last in the league.

In addition, òòò½ÊÓƵU needs to develop better depth in its offensive line going forward.

Nick Malone (6-5, 290 lbs., Jr.) is the most experienced of the backups, having played in 15 games in his Mountaineer career.

The Morgantown High product saw regular action as a blocking tight end, though his typical spot is at guard and tackle.

Jordan White (6-2, 294 lbs., Soph.) and Jaòòò½ÊÓƵ™Quay Hubbard (6-5, 316 lbs., Jr.) also saw action in multiple games in reserve roles this past season.

A product of DeMatha Catholic (Md.) High School, White is capable of playing either center or guard.

Hubbard, a native of Sharpsville, Pennsylvania who transferred to òòò½ÊÓƵU in 2020 after spending one year at the University of Virginia, worked as a backup to Yates at left tackle last season.

Donavan Beaver (6-6, 310 lbs., Jr.), Tyler Connolly (6-5, 346 lbs., Jr.), Chris Mayo (6-4, 291 lbs., Soph.) and Shawn See (6-10, 362 lbs., Soph.) also saw some game reps this past season and hope to move up the depth chart in 2022.

Tomas Rimac (6-6, 305 lbs., RFr.) was a true freshman who redshirted this past season.

The Brunswick, Ohio, native was often praised by òòò½ÊÓƵU head coach Neal Brown during press conferences, and he appears to have a bright future, likely at guard.

Biggs (6-4, 297 lbs., RFr.), who is another of the Mountaineersòòò½ÊÓƵ™ Spring Valley alums, also redshirted last year as a true freshman and now this spring will try to position himself for future playing time.

Dylan Ray (6-5, 280 lbs., RFr.), the son of former òòò½ÊÓƵU offensive lineman John Ray, and Jackson Oxley (6-2, 285 lbs., Soph.) are two young walk-on offensive linemen who will be trying to work their way up the depth chart this spring.

West Virginia signed four high school offensive linemen who will be true freshmen in 2022 òòò½ÊÓƵ” Maurice Hamilton (6-4, 335 lbs., Fr.), Charlie Katarincic (6-5, 285 lbs., Fr.), Landen Livingston (6-4, 290 lbs., Fr.) and Sullivan Weidman (6-6, 300 lbs., Fr.).

None has enrolled at òòò½ÊÓƵU yet, as each is slated to join the program this summer.

With all five starters returning from last season, the likelihood of the Mountaineers having to use any of those four true freshmen in game action this fall is probably slim, as òòò½ÊÓƵU hopes to develop each member of the quartet to improve its o-line depth for the future.

In addition, West Virginiaòòò½ÊÓƵ™s coaches have not dismissed the idea of adding to the offensive line group with another newcomer òòò½ÊÓƵ” likely a transfer òòò½ÊÓƵ” to provide both competition to the starters as well as depth behind them.