MORGANTOWN — With an opportunity for a fresh start, the Yates family, including current WVU left tackle Brandon, took a three-day trip from Delaware to Las Vegas in a Chrysler Town & Country minivan and changed everything for the young football player.
Living in Delaware his entire life, Yates’ mom suggested leaving it behind for something different.
“I was thinking Texas, but my mom came up with the odd idea of moving to Las Vegas,” he said. “So we talked about that in June and moved in August. We packed up everything into one minivan and drove cross-country.”
Moving from the east coast to the western time zone was a significant life change for Yates as his football career and prospects of college were starting to grow. After he moved, many schools out west started to take notice and the offers started to roll in.
But with family roots still back east, Yates’ uncle wanted him to attend a camp at WVU before making his decision, so he flew back across the country to spend a few days in Morgantown.
While there, he realized the bright lights and crazy atmosphere of Las Vegas wasn’t exactly what he was looking for, and the laid-back Appalachian vibe suited Yates’ needs.
“The last football camp of the summer was here (in 2018), my uncle wanted me to come. So I flew back here, and I got offered,” Yates said. “It felt like being back in Delaware, so I decided to commit. My mom came with me on my trip, and she loved it here, too.
“In Las Vegas, there was a lot more to do, but I was really more focused on football. When I came back to West Virginia, it felt like home and I felt like I had been here my whole life.”
It wasn’t exactly smooth sailing, either, after he committed to the Mountaineers. Yates agreed to play for the previous coaching staff under Dana Holgorsen, but decided to stick around when head coach Neal Brown was hired.
It wasn’t about who the coach was — he was coming to WVU no matter what.
“If I wasn’t an athlete at all, I would have for sure still come here to be a student and find a successful, happy life. I didn’t see myself going anywhere else,” Yates said.
After redshirting in 2019, Yates became the starter at left tackle a couple games into the 2020 season and has started ever since, protecting the blindside of either Jarret Doege or Garrett Greene.
With three other sophomores starting on the line, including center Zach Frazier and right tackle Parker Moorer, Yates believes the offensive line is coming along.
“For me, last year we didn’t have any fans, so it felt like practice going out there. It was a different atmosphere (now),” Yates said. “The first game against Maryland was a feeling-out process for the offensive line. As we’ve gone on, I feel like we have built a better connection, and that we played with more physicality. We started trusting each other more, and communication got way better.”
TWEET @SeanManning_1
