WVU offensive tackle Colton McKivitz gets it.
The Mountaineer offensive line will be without Rimington finalist Tyler Orlosky at center. Former guard Adam Pankey is now trying to make it with the Green Bay Packers. And the team is very light at the tackle position.
So if you call the West Virginia O-line a concern, he'd probably understand.
"Well, I think we're building that camaraderie, getting the older guys to bring the younger guys along," McKivitz said this past Friday. "We're a little low on tackles, but it's our job to get the younger guys up and going. It's kind of like what Marcell [Lazard] did with me and some of the other guys. It's our role to get them confident and working harder to get stronger and faster. All those things are needed for the upcoming camp."
Indeed, veteran offensive line coach Joe Wickline has a challenge. Last season's line was ranked among the top five nationally by ProFootballFocus and was No. 2 in the Big 12 in fewest sacks allowed. Having a similar performance of the latter in 2017 will be key with Florida transfer Will Grier starting.
Yet there are obstacles. Lazard, who would have been a redshirt senior, took a powder. That left McKivitz, who probably would have started at right tackle anyway, as the only letterman returning there. And he's a redshirt sophomore. Behind McKivitz appears to be redshirt freshman Josh Sills.
And check out the rest of the depth chart. Aside from McKivitz, you'll find but three other returning lettermen in standout left guard Kyle Bosch, right guard Grant Lingafelter and left tackle Yodny Cajuste. Keep in mind Cajuste suffered a season-ending knee injury in the season opener against Missouri last season.
Oh, and with Orlosky now battling in the Philadelphia Eagles camp, redshirt sophomore Matt Jones is penciled in as the tentative WVU starter at center.
"We always mess with [Jones] that he's the captain at center and he played six snaps last year," McKivitz said. "We're just trying to bring him along and get him good with the playbook. It's us having confidence in him. It's his call. We go off of him. We tell him what we see and then he makes the call. We have to stick with it."
Wickline's son Kelby, a 6-foot-4, 281 pound redshirt sophomore, has been working at tackle after transferring from a junior college. McKivitz said the younger Wickline and Sills have been working hard.
"They are maturing pretty quick," said the tackle. "They have a good understanding of the playbook. They are learning the major stuff pretty quick. That's helping a lot. It's just about getting stronger in the weight room, seeing what a play looks like and how it works."
Accelerating the process is something McKivitz knows intimately.
"When I first got here, I was pretty light," he said. "[WVU coach Dana] Holgorsen always called me the long-haired basketball kid. Back then it was more about putting on weight. Now, though, it's more about building muscle mass."
McKivitz is now listed at 6-7, 307 pounds.
"Last year I wasn't expecting anything," he said. "I was expecting a fill-in role. But this year has a different feel. I'm confident. I already know what's going to happen. It's just building that extra confidence in the weight room and then on the field. I know what the playbook is. It's just studying it more."
The redshirt sophomore said he's taking practice steps on the left side, just in case. The right side, though, is where he said he's more comfortable.
"It's nice knowing that's where I'm penciled in," McKivitz said. "I think I'm doing pretty well. I always stop in and see Wick. He's always a fun guy to be around. It's just getting that chemistry between us and building it."
McKivitz, by the way, said he's been sticking in Morgantown more this summer. Last year he'd go home to Jacobsburg, Ohio, every weekend, see the family and fish.
Now, though, his WVU duties have increased. He has to help protect Grier. And he has to help "Wick" overcome the challenges.
"We're pretty confident," McKivitz said. "We'll find out in the upcoming camp. We'll continue to build that. Week One [versus Virginia Tech] we'll find out."
Contact Mitch Vingle at 304-348-4827 or mitchvingle@wvgazettemail.com. Follow him on Twitter @MitchVingle.