MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Watching West Virginia's offense struggle to move the football against Utah's defense in last year's Zaxby's Heart of Dallas Bowl really drove home the importance of some of the Mountaineers' top offensive players.
 
Of course, not having quarterback Will Grier behind center played a significant role in WVU's offensive woes. With Grier in the starting lineup, West Virginia was sitting at 7-3 and ranked in the Top 25 with regular season games remaining against Texas and Oklahoma.
 
Against the Sooners, who lost to Georgia in last year's College Football Playoff semifinals, the Mountaineers scored 31 points and moved the football reasonably well without Grier on the field. But facing Utah, the Mountaineers could do nothing without Grier or their best offensive lineman, Yodny Cajuste, who tweaked his hamstring in practice during the week of the bowl and was unable to go on game day.
 
Having Grier, wide receiver David Sills V and Cajuste returning for their senior seasons was a significant boost to West Virginia's offense. And while getting Cajuste back for his final year of college football didn't garner as much attention as the other two, his return was just as important because some consider him the best returning pass blocker in the Big 12.
 
He also protects Grier's blindside at left tackle, one of the most demanding positions to play in the Big 12.
 
"I go back to my redshirt freshman year when I had to play guys like Emmanuel Ogbah, Eric Striker and a lot of great guys at the defensive end position, and even though it never gets easier, I just feel like now I'm more comfortable at the position," Cajuste explained earlier this spring. "I've been playing it so long that I kind of know what to expect."
 
Which means we know what to expect from Cajuste.
 
He has a big supporter in former standout offensive lineman Dale Wolfley, whose analysis you can hear and see on a weekly basis during the season.
 
Wolfley has been a fan of Cajuste from the moment he first saw him perform as a redshirt freshman. Recently, The Wolfman broke down the value Cajuste brings to the team by tweeting, "Last (year) Yods had 339 snaps of pass protection and gave up a total of four sacks and 10 hurries for a 96 percent blocking efficiency rating."
 
Wolfley added that Cajuste has the "total package" for the NFL because of his size, (6 feet, 5 inches and 318 pounds) and his impressive athleticism, the product of once having played high school basketball.
 
Cajuste credits the hardwood for helping him in many different aspects of his game.
 
"I feel like playing basketball, I've been through it all when it comes to work ethic," he said. "I feel like it molded me into the guy I am right now. If it wasn't for that, I don't know what type of player I'd be. It helped me a lot physically, mentally and athletically."
 
Some of West Virginia's best offensive tackles through the years, guys like Rich Braham and Brian Jozwiak, were big, physical players who basically consumed the defenders in front of them and overpowered them.
 
Cajuste is much more athletic than those two, probably more in line with guard Solomon Page, who spent a number of seasons in the NFL with the Dallas Cowboys. Page was big and athletic with terrific feet, just like Cajuste.
 
All four preseason magazines on newsstands right now have Yodny on their All-Big 12 first teams, and Lindy's labeled Cajuste as its top returning pass blocker in the Big 12. 
 
He hasn't gotten the attention some of the other top tackles in college football, such as Kansas State's Dalton Risner, Clemson's Mitch Hyatt or Alabama's Jonah Williams, have received but Cajuste is just as important to his team's success.
 
All you need to do is watch about a quarter's-worth of last year's bowl game for a reminder.
 
Cajuste and right tackle Colton McKivitz are the two most experienced guys on an offensive line some consider to be among the top three in the Big 12 this year. It's also one of the biggest groups in school history with all five potential starters weighing more than 300 pounds.
 
"It's funny because I heard that from somebody else, one of my friends," Cajuste said. "He said, 'It seems like the O-line is really big this year.' I can't really see it because I'm with the guys every day. But from somebody outside looking in … for the most part I take that and try and run with it and not get too big-headed and just keep getting better."
 
Getting better was the No. 1 reason Cajuste said he returned for his final season of college football. Last year was the first time he has played an entire season for the Mountaineers. He saw action during the first seven games of his redshirt freshman season, starting six, before heading to the sidelines with a knee injury during the Baylor game.
 
His sophomore season ended in the opener against Missouri when a knee injury shelved him for the rest of the year.
 
Last fall, he started all 12 regular season games, earning second team all-conference status, while blocking for an offense that produced a 3,000-yard passer (Grier), a 1,000-yard rusher (Justin Crawford) and two 1,000-yard receivers (Gary Jennings Jr. and Ka'Raun White).
 
"We have a great offense all around," Cajuste said. "When it comes to the running game, the offensive line, the quarterback and receivers, I feel like we're not there yet, but we're getting better each and every day."
 
Cajuste said Grier is the type of player who makes everyone around him better.
 
"When you have a guy back there that you can trust, it basically makes you want to play harder," Cajuste noted. "When you have a guy back there that you know is going to get it done it makes you want to keep him on his feet because he's going to make something happen."
 
Cajuste also believes a lot can happen for the Mountaineers this fall.
 
"We're trying to be the best that ever walked through West Virginia," he said. "I'm not going to sit here and say that's the reason I came back, but that's the goal. I feel we have to just believe how good we are and really focus on getting better each and every day and it will happen.
 
"If we put in the work the sky's the limit," he concluded.