Wyatt Milum, West Virginia’s starting offensive tackle, has 32 career starts as he enters his senior season in 2024. He played 337 snaps as a junior, allowing zero sacks and nine quarterback pressures. He will enter this year as a top pro offensive lineman prospect, with Phil Steele naming him a preseason All-American and adding him to the Outland Trophy watch list.
That type of resume can turn a lot of heads as an offensive lineman, but his natural talent on the field doesn’t stop his jitters from getting out of control at times.
As a freshman, despite achieving Freshmen All-American status, he often relied on former high school classmate and Mountaineer lineman Doug Nester for plays. He’d become frightened or distracted at the moment and forget about the phone call.
Last season, he had an emotional conversation with teammate offensive lineman Tomas Rimac, which finally helped him overcome his nerves.
“Before each game, I would ask Tomas, ‘Do you get nervous before games?’ He’d answer, “No, because I consider them just another practice.” “Well, I started to think of it like that,” Milum told the press during Big 12 Media Days. “That helped me stay calm and play better out there.”
Milum will be expected to lead the WVU offensive line in 2024, so he will need to channel his inner strength and overcome nerves. His offensive line coach, Matt Moore, discussed his transition into that role during spring ball this summer.
“So Wyatt is really starting to come out of his shell,” Moore told me. “He’s always been a shy, humble, and unassuming boy. With Frazier and Doug gone, he’s really starting to come out of his shell this off-season. Doug was sort of the mouthpiece, and Frazier was kind of the, ‘hey look what he’s doing’ type. Wyatt has learnt from both of them, and he is now doing a little bit of both.”
