WVU OL Nick Krahe Details Challenges of Transition to Guard Under Rick Trickett

Now fully entrenched as a leader on the offensive line, Nick Krahe opened up about a recent change in his game after a recent WVU football practice.

Krahe, one of West Virginia’s most veteran players, has been working to transition from left tackle to left guard, something influenced the arrival of offensive line coach Rick Trickett.

Fully believing in the vision of his 78-year-old highly accomplished position coach, Krahe has embraced the switch, granted he also can’t deny it’s been challenging, too.

“I think it’s been good. It’s been a little more challenging because I think once you move inside, everything kind of happens at a faster rate compared to tackle. But I know Coach Trickett is definitely helping me make the change over there, and I’m excited about it,” Krahe said on Monday, August 10.

Krahe even compared moving from tackle to guard to moving from one side to the other, meaning right to left at the same position.

“I would say moving from tackle to guard is harder than left to right because obviously you know the offense, you know the position that you’re playing, but when you’re going from one position to another, it’s a different thing,” he added. “You’re going to do different things on different plays. But I think it’s helped because now I know what the tackle is doing every play, and now I know what the guard’s doing every play. It helps me put together what we’re doing and why we’re doing it.”

WVU quarterback Scotty Fox Jr. sings “Take Me Home, Country Roads” with teammates after the Gold-Blue Festival in April, 2026. (WVSN photo by Kelsie LeRose)

Nick Krahe committed to the Mountaineers ahead of the 2023 season as a consensus three-star recruit. He starred on both sides of the ball in high school, playing at both offensive guard and tackle, providing him some background to become more versatile.

During his first two seasons with WVU, Krahe redshirted and then made it onto the field as a member of the special teams unit before starting at tackle under Rodriguez in 2025.

Find more coverage of the WVU football program at WV Sports Now.