Spain: Big country, bigger man
February 18, 2009 by Mike Casazza
Check out No. 76. He blocks out a defender and may very well block out the sun … or at least grow to that point, which is the beginning of a trend, it seems, at WVU. A junior in high school, he’s already 6-foot-6 and 345 pounds, to say nothing of the Mountaineers’ first committment for the 2010 class.
Another thing that Spain hopes to bring to West Virginia is his versatility. This past season the junior played both ways for the Petersburg football team and it ended up paying dividends.
“They like him both on offense and defense, but I think they are leaning towards offense, but they really like the way he plays defense too. He will be the only senior on my offensive line this season so I’m looking for him to step up,†Scott said. “This year, I really want him to bring a ‘meanness’ to the field and he’s got that in him. I’m going to cut him loose.â€
The big man plays basketball as well at Petersburg (Va.) High, which seems like a pretty good idea for a guy that size who needs to be mobile with swift feet. That said, it sure looks like WVU will move away from the svelte, not-dwarfish-but-not-gigantic linemen made popular with the previous regime.
Take a peek at the 2009 recruiting class— Nick Kindler, 6-5 1/2, 273; Ryan Spiker, 6-4 1/2, 295; Pat Eger, 6-6, 252; Jordan Weingart, 6-2, 290; Cole Bowers, 6-5 1/2, 280. Big guys who can and will get bigger. It begins the move to the straight-ahead style of the running game. Â