West Virginia’s McKivitz graded as one of the best tackles in college football

West Virginia offensive lineman Colton McKivitz is heading into his redshirt senior season and through his first three seasons, has proved to be one of the nations best tackles.

According to Pro Football Focus, McKivitz has only allowed eight sacks on 1,459 passing snaps over the last three years. Essentially, he’s giving up a sack every 182.4 plays, that’s insane. His pass block grade sits at 84.9, while his run block grade is at 70.2. So, if there’s any room for improvement it’s certainly in the run game, although tackles are more concerned about pass protection.

Yesterday, McKivitz was named to the Outland Trophy Award watchlist and earlier in the month was named the Mountaineers’ lone preseason First Team All-Big 12 member.

The former Union Local HS (Belmont, OH) product has come a long ways since landing at West Virginia. He’s now put himself on the big boards of NFL scouts and GM’s to be a potential first round pick in the 2020 draft.

During his time at West Virginia, he’s had to endure a lot of change and not just at head coach. He’s also had three different position coaches; Ron Crook, Joe Wickline and now Matt Moore. When asked about the coaching changes he responded, “It’s just part of the college game. I was told in recruiting that you probably won’t have the same coach during your four to five years. That’s just the way it is.”

With a player that’s been through so much change, but has still been able to continue to develop each year is extremely impressive. Can McKivitz be a first team All-American? Yes. Can McKivitz be a first round draft pick? Yes. His road to that path begins in nearly a month when the Mountaineers kick the season off against Janes Madison on August 31st.

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