Rich Rodriguez and West Virginia just caught a big break up front
Kansas State offensive lineman Devin Vass is headed to Morgantown with two years of eligibility remaining, Vass announced via X on Thursday. Vass is the first pickup for the Mountaineers in the offensive trenches since the portal opened over the weekend.
Vass started in the final seven games of the season as a redshirt sophomore with the Wildcats, finishing 4-3 in that stretch with wins against TCU, Kansas, Oklahoma State and Colorado. Vass produced eight pressures and zero sacks in that period.
Vass joins a returning OL group led by former three-star recruit Kevin Brown, redshirt senior Landen Livingston and redshirt junior Nick Krahe.
It’s a true upgrade up front for West Virginia (4-8, 13th in the Big 12), which allowed 31 total sacks last season (second only to Colorado with 38). It also helps that West Virginia’s general manager, Chuck Lillie, spent four seasons as Chris Klieman’s director of scouting in Manhattan, and is someone who knows Vass from his recruitment out of high school.
For Vass, the move makes plenty of sense considering the moves Kansas State has made to bolster its offensive line under new position coach Mike Schmidt, hired away from San Diego State by the Wildcats this offseason. Kansas State has already won two lineman, an interior piece in Missouri transfer Keiton Jones, and Cal Poly transfer tackle Charlie Adams.
The Rodriguez era enters phase two this offseason, and Vass could play an essential role in stabilizing an offense that fielded five different quarterbacks in 2025. Amongst the conference, Mountaineers finished 15th in passing and 10th in rushing last year.
