Photo by: WVU Athletic Communications
Comfortable and Confident Milum Anchors What Could Become An Elite Mountaineer Offense
July 25, 2024 10:00 AM | Football, Blog
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – For as well as he's performed the last three seasons, it's hard to believe that senior left tackle Wyatt Milum didn't fully feel comfortable playing college football until late in his junior season.
You read that right – late in his junior season!
As a freshman in 2021, when he started eight games at right tackle, Milum said he would sometimes look to the guy lined up beside him, his former Spring Valley High teammate Doug Nester, to ask him what the play was because he had forgotten it.
This was a player who was a Freshman All-American, mind you!
Two years ago, when he started all 12 games at left tackle, Milum said he would sometimes get so amped up for games that he felt it hurt his performance. This continued into his junior season last year before he took to heart some advice he received from teammate Tomas Rimac.
"Before a game I would ask Tomas, 'Do you get nervous before games?' He would say, 'No, because I think of them as just another practice.' Well, I started to think of it like that," Milum admitted earlier this month in Las Vegas during Big 12 media days. "That helped me stay calm and play better out there."
Yes, just because these guys are big and strong, that doesn't necessarily mean that they don't have doubts, worries or anxieties. The helmets and pads they wear can conceal an awful lot.
Milum's coach, Neal Brown, thought he was the best offensive tackle in the Big 12 last year, despite him earning second team honors, and he believes he is the best returning tackle in the country this fall.
And there are a lot of people out there who feel the same way.
College football magazine mogul Phil Steele has Milum rated the fifth-best professional tackle prospect in next year's draft, behind just LSU's tandem of Will Campbell and Emery Jones Jr., Arizona's Jonah Savaiinaea and Minnesota's Aireontae Ersery.
Steele also lists Milum on his Offensive All-America Third Team.
Pro Football Focus' Trevor Sikkema rates Milum the ninth-best tackle prospect and the top tackle coming out of the Big 12.
The website NFLDraftBuzz.com rates Milum the 108th-best overall player in the draft heading into the season and compares him to Arizona's Jordan Morgan, taken 25th overall in the first round in last year's draft, and Alabama's Alex Leatherwood, taken 17th overall in the 2021 draft.
Milum has started 32 of 36 career games, including 31 straight, and has allowed zero sacks and just nine pressures in 337 snaps last season, according to Pro Football Focus.
He graded out at 92% or better in 11 out of 12 regular season games last season and helped pave the way for a Mountaineer ground attack to average nearly 230 yards per game, ranking third among power conference programs.
He is West Virginia's top pro prospect and is expected to continue the Mountaineers' recent tradition of producing NFL-caliber offensive linemen that began with Colton McKivitz in 2020 and continued with second-round pick Zach Frazier last year.
Milum's background as a small-town local product and his career arc are very similar to those two, and he has discussed the draft with Frazier to get his thoughts on what he needs to do when the time comes.
"Yeah, I've talked to him, and he has helped me understand about the process, the Combine and the training involved," Milum said. "He's helped me understand the different language NFL teams use compared to what we use. I think that will help me prepare better. He's gotten me in touch with the right people he trusts, so that's helped me a lot."
The Kenova resident lists athleticism and consistency as the two most important attributes pro scouts are seeking, and he has both in abundance. His background in high school as a coveted four-star prospect also includes baseball, which demonstrates his versatility and athleticism.
Milum's body has transformed from a lanky 300-pounder as a freshman to a chiseled, muscular 317-pounder as a senior. He admits this is the biggest and strongest he's ever been, which is a product of Mike Joseph's cutting-edge training techniques and also Milum finally growing into manhood.
"This is heaviest I've ever lifted," he noted. "Over the past couple of years, that's where I can tell I'm getting a lot stronger."
Hall of Fame coach Don Nehlen always used to tell his players that "stronger means more confident" and he wasn't against having his guys thinking they were lifting more than they actually were.
"It's a mind game," Nehlen once explained.
The confidence Milum and his Mountaineer teammates have in this year's offense is off the charts, despite the impression of being undervalued a little bit by outsiders.
Brown talked about this during his morning session with reporters during media day and Milum picked up on it later in the afternoon.
"We definitely feel undervalued because coming in preseason they have us seventh," he explained. "We have a bunch of returning players on offense, plus, the people we've brought in on defense. Our offense was one of the best in the country last year, so I don't know how they came up with their rankings but, yeah, we feel undervalued."
Brown believes his offense, with Milum anchoring things up front, has the potential to be elite.
Despite losing Frazier and Nester, otherwise, the group returns intact with backups Brandon Yates, Ja'Quay Hubbard and Nick Malone having lots of experience. Yates is expected to take over at center for Frazier with Rimac and Milum securing the left side.
The right side of the line could wind up being Hubbard and Malone, or possibly Jacksonville State transfer Xavier Bausley. The coaches have also been heaping praise on redshirt freshman tackle Johnny Williams IV since his arrival from Northeast High in Macon, Georgia, two years ago.
"Yates, Hubbard and Nick Malone, they all played last year and have played a lot of football, so we're not missing anything. We're going to continue to be just as good or maybe even better this year," Milum predicted.
That includes the skill positions where quarterback Garrett Greene and his 29 combined touchdowns running and passing return. Greene (6.6 career yards per carry average) and sophomore Jahiem White (7.7 yards per rush in 2023) give the Mountaineers perhaps its most explosive playmaking backfield tandem since Pat White and Steve Slaton in the mid-2000s.
Milum sees a well-rounded offense that also includes some playmakers in the passing game with tight end Kole Taylor and wide receivers Hudson Clement, Traylon Ray, Preston Fox and Rodney Gallagher returning.
Oklahoma State transfer Jaden Bray is going to be a big boost as well.
"Everyone knows what we're getting with Garrett," Milum pointed out. "The wide receivers are connecting this year and their overall chemistry (is outstanding). The wide receivers were so young last year and just the growth and experience they have now, plus Garrett having a full year under his belt now and the confidence that comes with that."
For the Mountaineer offense to reach its full potential and become elite, Milum believes it all starts up front.
"We've got to be able to run the ball consistently and be explosive," he said. "If we can protect Garrett and our running backs and our wide receivers block on run plays, if we can do all those things and the little things, I think we are going to have an elite offense."
Regardless, Milum said he appreciates playing with Greene, White, CJ Donaldson Jr. and the offensive talent that has been assembled here over the last couple of years.
"I love having them as teammates, and I love blocking for them and protecting them," he said. "The one thing about playing with Garrett, if we mess up and miss our block, he'll make you right. He's so athletic and he's got that poise that I really can't describe it. He's just that type of player."
The team is currently concluding its summer conditioning work in preparation for the beginning of fall training camp beginning on Wednesday, July 31.
West Virginia's highly anticipated season opener against Penn State at Milan Puskar Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 31, will be televised nationally on FOX as part of its Big Noon Kickoff coverage.
The Nittany Lions are once again expected to be ranked near the top 10 to begin their 11th season under veteran coach James Franklin.
Season and mini-season tickets for this year's seven-game home schedule that also includes conference contests against Kansas, Iowa State and Kansas State are currently on sale and can be purchased by logging on to WVUGAME.com.
You read that right – late in his junior season!
As a freshman in 2021, when he started eight games at right tackle, Milum said he would sometimes look to the guy lined up beside him, his former Spring Valley High teammate Doug Nester, to ask him what the play was because he had forgotten it.
This was a player who was a Freshman All-American, mind you!
Two years ago, when he started all 12 games at left tackle, Milum said he would sometimes get so amped up for games that he felt it hurt his performance. This continued into his junior season last year before he took to heart some advice he received from teammate Tomas Rimac.
"Before a game I would ask Tomas, 'Do you get nervous before games?' He would say, 'No, because I think of them as just another practice.' Well, I started to think of it like that," Milum admitted earlier this month in Las Vegas during Big 12 media days. "That helped me stay calm and play better out there."
Yes, just because these guys are big and strong, that doesn't necessarily mean that they don't have doubts, worries or anxieties. The helmets and pads they wear can conceal an awful lot.
Milum's coach, Neal Brown, thought he was the best offensive tackle in the Big 12 last year, despite him earning second team honors, and he believes he is the best returning tackle in the country this fall.
And there are a lot of people out there who feel the same way.
College football magazine mogul Phil Steele has Milum rated the fifth-best professional tackle prospect in next year's draft, behind just LSU's tandem of Will Campbell and Emery Jones Jr., Arizona's Jonah Savaiinaea and Minnesota's Aireontae Ersery.
Steele also lists Milum on his Offensive All-America Third Team.
Pro Football Focus' Trevor Sikkema rates Milum the ninth-best tackle prospect and the top tackle coming out of the Big 12.
The website NFLDraftBuzz.com rates Milum the 108th-best overall player in the draft heading into the season and compares him to Arizona's Jordan Morgan, taken 25th overall in the first round in last year's draft, and Alabama's Alex Leatherwood, taken 17th overall in the 2021 draft.
Milum has started 32 of 36 career games, including 31 straight, and has allowed zero sacks and just nine pressures in 337 snaps last season, according to Pro Football Focus.
He graded out at 92% or better in 11 out of 12 regular season games last season and helped pave the way for a Mountaineer ground attack to average nearly 230 yards per game, ranking third among power conference programs.
He is West Virginia's top pro prospect and is expected to continue the Mountaineers' recent tradition of producing NFL-caliber offensive linemen that began with Colton McKivitz in 2020 and continued with second-round pick Zach Frazier last year.
Milum's background as a small-town local product and his career arc are very similar to those two, and he has discussed the draft with Frazier to get his thoughts on what he needs to do when the time comes.
"Yeah, I've talked to him, and he has helped me understand about the process, the Combine and the training involved," Milum said. "He's helped me understand the different language NFL teams use compared to what we use. I think that will help me prepare better. He's gotten me in touch with the right people he trusts, so that's helped me a lot."
The Kenova resident lists athleticism and consistency as the two most important attributes pro scouts are seeking, and he has both in abundance. His background in high school as a coveted four-star prospect also includes baseball, which demonstrates his versatility and athleticism.
Milum's body has transformed from a lanky 300-pounder as a freshman to a chiseled, muscular 317-pounder as a senior. He admits this is the biggest and strongest he's ever been, which is a product of Mike Joseph's cutting-edge training techniques and also Milum finally growing into manhood.
"This is heaviest I've ever lifted," he noted. "Over the past couple of years, that's where I can tell I'm getting a lot stronger."
Hall of Fame coach Don Nehlen always used to tell his players that "stronger means more confident" and he wasn't against having his guys thinking they were lifting more than they actually were.
"It's a mind game," Nehlen once explained.
The confidence Milum and his Mountaineer teammates have in this year's offense is off the charts, despite the impression of being undervalued a little bit by outsiders.
Brown talked about this during his morning session with reporters during media day and Milum picked up on it later in the afternoon.
"We definitely feel undervalued because coming in preseason they have us seventh," he explained. "We have a bunch of returning players on offense, plus, the people we've brought in on defense. Our offense was one of the best in the country last year, so I don't know how they came up with their rankings but, yeah, we feel undervalued."
Brown believes his offense, with Milum anchoring things up front, has the potential to be elite.
Despite losing Frazier and Nester, otherwise, the group returns intact with backups Brandon Yates, Ja'Quay Hubbard and Nick Malone having lots of experience. Yates is expected to take over at center for Frazier with Rimac and Milum securing the left side.
The right side of the line could wind up being Hubbard and Malone, or possibly Jacksonville State transfer Xavier Bausley. The coaches have also been heaping praise on redshirt freshman tackle Johnny Williams IV since his arrival from Northeast High in Macon, Georgia, two years ago.
"Yates, Hubbard and Nick Malone, they all played last year and have played a lot of football, so we're not missing anything. We're going to continue to be just as good or maybe even better this year," Milum predicted.
That includes the skill positions where quarterback Garrett Greene and his 29 combined touchdowns running and passing return. Greene (6.6 career yards per carry average) and sophomore Jahiem White (7.7 yards per rush in 2023) give the Mountaineers perhaps its most explosive playmaking backfield tandem since Pat White and Steve Slaton in the mid-2000s.
Milum sees a well-rounded offense that also includes some playmakers in the passing game with tight end Kole Taylor and wide receivers Hudson Clement, Traylon Ray, Preston Fox and Rodney Gallagher returning.
Oklahoma State transfer Jaden Bray is going to be a big boost as well.
"Everyone knows what we're getting with Garrett," Milum pointed out. "The wide receivers are connecting this year and their overall chemistry (is outstanding). The wide receivers were so young last year and just the growth and experience they have now, plus Garrett having a full year under his belt now and the confidence that comes with that."
For the Mountaineer offense to reach its full potential and become elite, Milum believes it all starts up front.
"We've got to be able to run the ball consistently and be explosive," he said. "If we can protect Garrett and our running backs and our wide receivers block on run plays, if we can do all those things and the little things, I think we are going to have an elite offense."
Regardless, Milum said he appreciates playing with Greene, White, CJ Donaldson Jr. and the offensive talent that has been assembled here over the last couple of years.
"I love having them as teammates, and I love blocking for them and protecting them," he said. "The one thing about playing with Garrett, if we mess up and miss our block, he'll make you right. He's so athletic and he's got that poise that I really can't describe it. He's just that type of player."
The team is currently concluding its summer conditioning work in preparation for the beginning of fall training camp beginning on Wednesday, July 31.
West Virginia's highly anticipated season opener against Penn State at Milan Puskar Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 31, will be televised nationally on FOX as part of its Big Noon Kickoff coverage.
The Nittany Lions are once again expected to be ranked near the top 10 to begin their 11th season under veteran coach James Franklin.
Season and mini-season tickets for this year's seven-game home schedule that also includes conference contests against Kansas, Iowa State and Kansas State are currently on sale and can be purchased by logging on to WVUGAME.com.
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