One of the top-rated recruits in West Virginia football's 2025 class, defensive lineman Taylor Brown, is starting to turn a corner. He didn't see any action last season as a true freshman outside of the season opener against Robert Morris, but to be fair, none of the d-linemen that he came in with sniffed the field either. Now that he has been on campus and in Zac Alley's system for over a year, he is inching closer to carving out a role on defense. It may or may not happen this fall, but as of today, I have him listed as the No. 4 option at nose tackle behind Nate Gabriel, Will LeBlanc, and Jaylen Thomas. He has the ability to play defensive tackle as well, and there, I have him listed third behind Corey McIntyre Jr. and KJ Henson.He still has plenty of time to rise, and let's be honest here...we have no clue where he actually is on the depth chart. Only the coaches know that, and it literally changes every day. But the point is, he's got time to work his way into the rotation, especially with opportunities in the first two weeks of the season against non-Power Four competition.One of the leaders up front, Nate Gabriel, was asked about what he's seen from Brown over the offseason, and he couldn't have been more excited to talk about his progression.“Definitely a lot of improvement in the weight room. His numbers in the weight room is phenomenal. I mean, almost a 700-pound squat, bench went up phenomenally, clean went up — his strength numbers definitely went up. On the field, he’s definitely more physical. (He’s) awakening that dawg side, awakening that tank in him for sure.”A little background on Taylor BrownWest Virginia University defensive lineman Taylor Brown | Christopher Hall – West Virginia on SIBrown is a tremendous athlete who can move really well for a near 300-pounder. A lot of that really showed on tape when he was playing left tackle in high school (in addition to d-line) and would be the lead blocker out in space and just plow through the poor defender. That speed is probably the most eye-popping thing with his game. He has a knack for being able to chase guys down and get to the quarterback before he turns the corner on a scramble out of the pocket.In his senior year at Dr. Henry A. Wise Jr, High School in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, Brown logged 22 tackles, including 15 solo, 11.5 tackles for loss, three hurries, and two sacks. He picked the Mountaineers over offers from Buffalo, James Madison, Marshall, Memphis, Pitt, Temple, and several others.Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow