80 Ryan Nehlen

Hometown: Morgantown, WV

Career: 2009-Present

Record: 28-11, Bowl Record: 1-2

Today’s selection was made based on potential and legacy. Let’s face it, Ryan Nehlen has not shown much on the field to this point in his career. He worked hard this past season to earn playing time in Coach Holgerson’s spread passing game, but just could not crack the starting line-up. With the departures of Devon Brown, Willie Milhouse, and Brad Starks, Nehlen will have a solid shot at playing time this coming season. Also, I could not resist the opportunity to give a tip of the hat to Mountaineer coaching legend Don Nehlen. So Ryan got a little boost here from his grandfather.

Memorable Game: Ryan Nehlen showed a glimpse of his potential during the Bowling Green game this past season. He ran his routes well and made the most of his targets from Geno Smith. Nehlen caught his lone career touchdown against the Falcons. WVU’s offense would man-handle the outmatched Bowling Green secondary and secure a 55-10 victory in the driving rain.

Competition: The #80 features few players of note and none with as famous a grandfather as Nehlen’s. Honorable mentions include: Carlos Osegueda, Todd Fisher, and Jeff Seals.

Teaser: Tomorrow starts a long run of offensive linemen. Linemen will dominate the majority of the selections in the 70s, 60s, and 50s. When I tried to come up with a good teaser for tomorrow’s selection, I could not help but think of the movie Van Helsing. Like the movie, this player is just a plain old-school enforcer. It also helps that his name sounds very similar to Van Helsing (that should be a dead give-away).