hershy112 said:

Mike,

How has Jenkins looked so far in practice? How has his transition been with Bedenbaugh’s style? I feel like he had the talent coming in as a freshman, but wasn’t well coached. I’m anxioius to see how he does with the new staff.

Honestly, I don’t know. We really only get to see a stripped-down part of practice. It’s busy and it’s good for video and photography, but not too useful for my steno pad. Hard to draw many conclusions from the same drills you see every other day.

That said, Jenkins seems like a certain first-teamer who’s repping with that top five every time we see him. I think he limps from time to time when he’s walking in and out of interviews, but what’s that mean?

Now, he’s not a new guy. He’s not new to the team and he’s not new to Bedenbaugh. He was ever-present last season and if he wasn’t right there, leaning in as he was leaning on his crunches so that he might listen and learn, then he was talking to his fellow linemen on the side and giving and getting what he could give and get.

The general feeling, though, is that he’s only going to help the Mountaineers up front because he is perhaps better suited for this style than the one that preceded it.

“I did learn a lot standing and watching last season; I did observe a lot,” Jenkins said. “But you know, you learn a lot more when out there on the field. I still ask as many questions as I can in the meeting room, and with the coaches on the field.

“We’re not running power anymore like we did in the old offense (under former Coach Bill Stewart and coordinator Jeff Mullen). There’s a lot of inside, outside zone. The reads for us are a little easier offensively. It’s just a little different, not too much different.”

So, what is different from last year?

“Josh brings a different attitude to the offensive line,” Braun said. “He’s gets after people.”

Jenkins said what he sees from the Mountaineers’ front in spring ball is a byproduct of maturity.

“We have nastiness now,” he said. “People are out there practicing every day wanting to get better individually and as a unit. The effort is tremendous, and Coach Bedenbaugh pushes people.

“It’s just great to see, getting after it. When you play as physical as we’ve been playing, it makes things a lot easier. We’ve been young and made mistakes and now that we’re older, we’re playing more physical.

A year ago, Jenkins said he was in the wrong place at the wrong time when he was injured in the Gold-Blue Game. The opposite may be true this time around.