Photo by: WVU Athletic Communications
Makane’ole Happy To Be Back On Offensive Line at WVU
August 07, 2025 04:59 PM | Football
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Kimo Makane'ole has decided to give offensive line one more try this year at West Virginia University.
Makane'ole, pronounced Mah-Kahn-E-ola, spent four years at LSU where he played three of those at offensive line. Last year, he switched to defensive line, appearing in 10 games and making one tackle against Nicholls.
Kimo spent the first 14 years of his life living in Hawaii before moving to Niceville, Florida, where he developed into one of the top two-way prospects in the Sunshine State. During his senior season, he blocked for a Niceville High offense that averaged 45.4 points and 431 yards per game.
"I was very grateful to play in Florida because you are going against the top guys," the soft-spoken senior admitted after Wednesday's practice. "There were a lot of recruits, and I wasn't really used to that."
The nation's No. 27-rated offensive line prospect and the No. 73-rated player in Florida signed with the Tigers in 2021. He played 30 offensive line snaps as a redshirt freshman in 2022 with 14 of those coming in the Citrus Bowl win over Purdue.
Two years ago, he appeared in four games as a backup offensive lineman, including getting a career-high 17 snaps in a home victory against Army. The majority of his playing time came in nonconference play, however.
Now at West Virginia, he's back where he feels most comfortable on the offensive side of the ball. Presently, he says he is working primarily at right guard.
"I've always been an offensive lineman," he said. "I played both ways back in high school, but I was focusing on offensive line because that's really what I want to focus on. That's also my future as well. I definitely want to show the guys and the coaches what I can do."
Makene'ole said Morgantown and the Mountaineer program were welcoming to him from the moment he stepped on campus for his official visit in January. It was the first time he had ever experienced snow.
"When I first got here, I had never seen snow before, and on my official visit, I jumped (in the snow) and made a little angel, which was cool," he said. "I'm a guy down south and also an island boy. Experiencing that was amazing."
He said he made instant connections with coaches Rich Rodriguez and Jack Bicknell Jr. Then, he got to know offensive tackle Nick Krahe and center Landen Livingston during his visit.
"This whole team is like a family," he said. "We're all really close. It doesn't matter where you're from, we're all family here.
"I feel like I fit pretty well, and I'm really happy to be here. It's really different here in Morgantown," he added.
As is the tempo of the offense in which he's playing.
Kimo believes his athleticism will be beneficial to the way Rich Rodriguez wants to play at WVU.
"The tempo here, I'm used to it," he said. "I like how fast we go, especially with my athleticism playing D-line and now switching back to O-line, they trust me to do my job and also to be a leader as well. I'm really a tempo kind of guy and I want to help the guys around me to have a high tempo and a high motor.
"I'm very versatile. Wherever coach Rodriguez or coach Bicknell want me, I'll be there," he added.
Makene'ole has had lots of help getting to this point in his career. He has an older brother who played college football at New Mexico working him out when he was younger and today continues to work him out during the offseason as a personal trainer.
"Me and him would go into the weight room and see how much weight we could put on the bar," Kimo recalled. "Sometimes, he would be O-line, and I would be D-line, and we would switch it up and do little one-on-one reps. It helped me out. I love my brother."
Maken'ole also credits West Virginia strength and conditioning coach Mike Joseph for helping him get ready for training camp. "He's making us eat the right things, making sure we're hydrated and making sure we have the right mindset as well," he observed.
Through spring ball and the first eight practices of fall training camp, Kimo doesn't detect much difference between the former teammates he had at LSU compared to his current teammates at West Virginia.
"We have a lot of good players here who came from the SEC. I'm helping them get better and they are helping me get better," he concluded.
The Mountaineers concluded practice No. 8 Thursday morning up on the Steve Antoline Family Practice Field with about 20 minutes of it being live scrimmaging. Rodriguez said afterward that he thought the defense was the aggressor during today's workout.
He said he wanted to do a little more scrimmaging today, but they are down to just two healthy running backs right now, Jahiem White and Diore Hubbard.
The team is still awaiting the eligibility status of 6-foot-2, 228-pound senior running back Tye Edwards, a Northern Iowa transfer. If Edwards is cleared, he could give the Mountaineers a bigger, more physical presence in the backfield that will be extremely helpful in short yardage situations.
SMU transfer Jaylan Knighton is also awaiting a determination on his eligibility status.
The coach said his recruiting staff is actively pursuing running backs in the transfer portal.
"Whoever we add right now, you are going to sort of force-feed them and figure out what they can and cannot do and kind of go from there," he explained.
Rodriguez mentioned Thursday that Noel Devine's son, Andre, will be a late addition to the roster. He played for Rodriguez last season at Jacksonville State.
After a Friday morning practice in shorts, the squad will have its first major scrimmage of the fall on Saturday morning.
Makane'ole, pronounced Mah-Kahn-E-ola, spent four years at LSU where he played three of those at offensive line. Last year, he switched to defensive line, appearing in 10 games and making one tackle against Nicholls.
Kimo spent the first 14 years of his life living in Hawaii before moving to Niceville, Florida, where he developed into one of the top two-way prospects in the Sunshine State. During his senior season, he blocked for a Niceville High offense that averaged 45.4 points and 431 yards per game.
"I was very grateful to play in Florida because you are going against the top guys," the soft-spoken senior admitted after Wednesday's practice. "There were a lot of recruits, and I wasn't really used to that."
The nation's No. 27-rated offensive line prospect and the No. 73-rated player in Florida signed with the Tigers in 2021. He played 30 offensive line snaps as a redshirt freshman in 2022 with 14 of those coming in the Citrus Bowl win over Purdue.
Two years ago, he appeared in four games as a backup offensive lineman, including getting a career-high 17 snaps in a home victory against Army. The majority of his playing time came in nonconference play, however.
Now at West Virginia, he's back where he feels most comfortable on the offensive side of the ball. Presently, he says he is working primarily at right guard.
"I've always been an offensive lineman," he said. "I played both ways back in high school, but I was focusing on offensive line because that's really what I want to focus on. That's also my future as well. I definitely want to show the guys and the coaches what I can do."
Makene'ole said Morgantown and the Mountaineer program were welcoming to him from the moment he stepped on campus for his official visit in January. It was the first time he had ever experienced snow.
"When I first got here, I had never seen snow before, and on my official visit, I jumped (in the snow) and made a little angel, which was cool," he said. "I'm a guy down south and also an island boy. Experiencing that was amazing."
He said he made instant connections with coaches Rich Rodriguez and Jack Bicknell Jr. Then, he got to know offensive tackle Nick Krahe and center Landen Livingston during his visit.
"This whole team is like a family," he said. "We're all really close. It doesn't matter where you're from, we're all family here.
"I feel like I fit pretty well, and I'm really happy to be here. It's really different here in Morgantown," he added.
As is the tempo of the offense in which he's playing.
Kimo believes his athleticism will be beneficial to the way Rich Rodriguez wants to play at WVU.
"The tempo here, I'm used to it," he said. "I like how fast we go, especially with my athleticism playing D-line and now switching back to O-line, they trust me to do my job and also to be a leader as well. I'm really a tempo kind of guy and I want to help the guys around me to have a high tempo and a high motor.
"I'm very versatile. Wherever coach Rodriguez or coach Bicknell want me, I'll be there," he added.
Makene'ole has had lots of help getting to this point in his career. He has an older brother who played college football at New Mexico working him out when he was younger and today continues to work him out during the offseason as a personal trainer.
"Me and him would go into the weight room and see how much weight we could put on the bar," Kimo recalled. "Sometimes, he would be O-line, and I would be D-line, and we would switch it up and do little one-on-one reps. It helped me out. I love my brother."
Maken'ole also credits West Virginia strength and conditioning coach Mike Joseph for helping him get ready for training camp. "He's making us eat the right things, making sure we're hydrated and making sure we have the right mindset as well," he observed.
Through spring ball and the first eight practices of fall training camp, Kimo doesn't detect much difference between the former teammates he had at LSU compared to his current teammates at West Virginia.
"We have a lot of good players here who came from the SEC. I'm helping them get better and they are helping me get better," he concluded.
The Mountaineers concluded practice No. 8 Thursday morning up on the Steve Antoline Family Practice Field with about 20 minutes of it being live scrimmaging. Rodriguez said afterward that he thought the defense was the aggressor during today's workout.
He said he wanted to do a little more scrimmaging today, but they are down to just two healthy running backs right now, Jahiem White and Diore Hubbard.
The team is still awaiting the eligibility status of 6-foot-2, 228-pound senior running back Tye Edwards, a Northern Iowa transfer. If Edwards is cleared, he could give the Mountaineers a bigger, more physical presence in the backfield that will be extremely helpful in short yardage situations.
SMU transfer Jaylan Knighton is also awaiting a determination on his eligibility status.
The coach said his recruiting staff is actively pursuing running backs in the transfer portal.
"Whoever we add right now, you are going to sort of force-feed them and figure out what they can and cannot do and kind of go from there," he explained.
Rodriguez mentioned Thursday that Noel Devine's son, Andre, will be a late addition to the roster. He played for Rodriguez last season at Jacksonville State.
After a Friday morning practice in shorts, the squad will have its first major scrimmage of the fall on Saturday morning.
Players Mentioned
RB
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RB
/ Football
OL
/ Football
OL
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RB
/ FootballRich Rodriguez | Dec. 3
Wednesday, December 03
Reid Carrico | Nov. 29
Saturday, November 29
Jeff Weimer | Nov. 29
Saturday, November 29
Rich Rodriguez | Nov. 29
Saturday, November 29
