MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — There’s a seat in the West Virginia coaches’ box reserved for offensive coordinator Joe Wickline. That’s newsworthy because during 34 seasons of college coaching, Wickline has coached precisely one game from upstairs.
More precisely, one half.
When Oklahoma State faced Washington State in Seattle for the 2008 opener, Mike Gundy encouraged his offensive line coach to try working from the box. When Wickline agreed—on the condition that each of the five linemen had his own set of headphones—he established a protocol by which each player would return to the bench after a series, put on the headphones, grab a water bottle and listen up.