Southern West Virginia News

There was one name left off West Virginia's #TakeMeHome23 signing day coverage last December – Doug Nester.
 
Yes, that Doug Nester.
 
Make no mistake, it was not a done deal that Nester was returning for a fifth college football season in 2023. When asked if he was taking part in Senior Day last year against Kansas State, he was somewhat evasive.
 
At the time, he said he would have to talk things over with his family before deciding on 2023, which is exactly what he did. 
 
"Really, I had to see what the best option was for me," he explained earlier this week. "Talking it out with them, it was an easy decision that I should come back."
 
The alternative, of course, was making himself available for the NFL Draft.
 
"I talked to coach Brown a lot and he gave me his insight, and I talked it over with my parents after that and that's pretty much how it went," Nester said, adding it felt like he was being re-recruited again.
 
"This will be my fifth year of actually playing so I was kind of to the point where I was almost done, so there was a little bit of convincing," he said. "It was really them just being honest with me. I asked them for honesty and what they thought where I'd go or anything like that and just having some deep conversations with them whether I should come back. That's all I wanted was honesty."
 
What Nester is getting is an opportunity to give pro scouts more data points to consider, possibly at right tackle this year.
 
What West Virginia is getting is a four-year Power 5 starting offensive lineman, including his two seasons at Virginia Tech, with nearly 45 game's-worth of starting experience. Twenty-four of those starts have come in West Virginia's system.
 
The decision to work Nester at right tackle some this year is to improve overall depth.
 
"It's nothing new to me, and I actually enjoy it a lot better," Nester admitted. "I feel like it's more natural not being inside and contained."
 
He admitted there are subtle differences between the two positions, and he enjoys the one-on-one aspect of playing outside out in the open where everyone can see him.
 
"Tackles in general, you are more on an island of you versus the man in front of you," he said. "At guard, you are usually on double teams or working with somebody. I just find it enjoyable going against another man one-on-one."
 
Last year, Nester was next to tackle Ja'Quay Hubbard when he played right guard, and now he's working at the same position. He said it's not a big deal.
 
"The chemistry is there, so it's not really that hard, but just figuring out how we each play the different positions has been a little difficult challenge the past couple of days," Nester explained. "We're just developing depth right now and just trying to find out where everybody fits best for this upcoming season."
 
What is a big deal is West Virginia having its starting offensive line from last year's season finale at Oklahoma State returning intact. There is All-America candidate Zach Frazer anchoring things at center. At left guard is emerging sophomore Tomas Rimac and at left tackle is budding star Wyatt Milum.
 
Brandon Yates, who is getting some work at center this spring to reduce Frazier's workload, returns, as does Hubbard. Getting Yates some reps at center has actually gone well, according to Nester.
 
"Cadence is a little different, so we have to get used to that, but besides that, he's intelligent enough and he knows our calls," Nester admitted. "We all know what to do because we've all been playing together now for three years."
 
The senior mentioned Dylan Ray, son of former Mountaineer offensive lineman John Ray, Maurice Hamilton, Charlie Katarincic and Johnny Williams IV as some young players to keep an eye on. Specifically, Nester noted Williams IV's athleticism and Katarincic's impressive football IQ.
 
The Kenova, West Virginia, resident is also excited about the playmakers West Virginia has returning at running back, paired with a couple of mobile quarterbacks to protect for the first time since he's been here. 
 
"We have four or five different running backs who can do anything you want, and we also have Garrett (Greene) and Nicco (Marchiol) who can make athletic plays whenever they need to," he said. "We all have high expectations, and we talk about it a lot how we have to come in and be the leaders of this offense because we all have that experience."
 
Nester also listed a couple of things that he's working on this spring to develop his overall game.
 
"I needed to improve my twitch off the ball and my hands in pass pro, so we've all had different stuff we've been working on," he said. "It's not really different, scheme-wise, that we've had to change."
 
In the meantime, he also is getting ready for a big day in his life on Saturday, April 8, when he marries his high school sweetheart,Bryn Osburn, who played collegiate softball at Kentucky Christian. The two are getting married in Huntington.
 
"She's been down there planning the wedding. We have Easter weekend off so that's when we will get married," he said.
 
Nester said they will delay their honeymoon until July when they have some time before fall training camp begins in August.
 
West Virginia had a morning practice scheduled Saturday inside the stadium with new assistant coaches Bilal Marshall and Blaine Stewart slated to talk to media afterward. 

Original source can be found here