West Virginia defensive lineman Hammond Russell IV (99) goes in for a stop during Saturday’s game against Robert Morris.(Photo by David Pennock)

MORGANTOWN — If you look at West Virginia defensive lineman Hammond Russell IV, it’s hard to picture him at any other position other than lineman. He’s 6-foot-3 and 312 pounds.

He actually started his football career as a quarterback in high school. Russell was 185 pounds in his freshman year. In Week 8 of his sophomore year, Russell weighed in at 195 and switched to D-line.

From sophomore to junior year, Russell went up to 245, and senior year was at 275, looking more like a Power Four defensive lineman.

“I got better each year in high school,” Russell said. “Then, coming into college, everything was brand new. All I knew in high school was to run straight. Once I got to college, I learned how to strike.”

Against Robert Morris, the argument could be made that Russell had the best performance of any other player. He had two sacks, 2.5 tackles for loss and forced a fumble. Like the defense, his outing was overshadowed by the quarterback, fumbles and Rodriguez’s return.

Russell made an impact off the field, but he’s made an even bigger difference for WVU in the offseason.

When Rodriguez was hired in December, Russell had a meeting with Rodriguez. Rodriguez told Russell his plan and how he wanted to win right away. Russell was bought in, but knew some of the players already on the roster were good enough to win with.

“Let’s keep the new guys, and definitely the guys who can play ball,” Russell said. “That was important to me, because this guy doesn’t know what to do, that’s been there in this program. We can stick around. They can talk to Coach Rod, and we can get as many guys and help, and get as many players as we can get out of the portal or whatever else.”

Russell immediately went to work, maintaining players like quarterback Nicco Marchiol, running back Jahiem White and defensive lineman Eddie Vesterinen. He also helped recruit new transfer portal players, too.

“He not only stayed, but he helped encourage some of the other guys to stay, too,” Rodriguez said. “‘Hey, let’s stay together.’ He didn’t have to do that. After I got to talk to him, I said, ‘Hey, I would appreciate your help,’ but he was already helping, telling guys, “Hey, stay here with the new staff and build this thing,’ what have you. He was one of the glue guys back in January, I guess, or December, to help some of the guys on the staff. We really appreciate that.

Russell is a glue guy. Most of the nucleus of the 2025 wouldn’t be around if it weren’t for Russell.

He’s pretty quiet, at least during his press conference, but his personality has been talked about quite a bit and won over his teammates.

“I would say our main star is Hammond Russell,” Vesterinen said. “He’s a big joker on our D-line. We like to joke about him. He kind of brings everyone together on the D-line. He has taken a vocal leadership role on the D-line unit.”

There’s a lot of pressure on the defensive line this year. Over the past couple of years, sacking and pressuring the quarterback has been one of the weaknesses.

Rodriguez brought in UTSA pass rusher Jimmori Robinson to help, but his availability is up in the air still because of academic eligibility issues. Rodriguez said more information on Robinson will come in the next couple of days. Without Robinson, the rest of the line has to step up.

Right now, Russell’s the leader of the room, and could easily be one of the bigger leaders on the team. He shows it on the field, but what he does in the locker room could have a greater impact in 2025.

“He’s been here a long time,” Rodriguez said. “He played pretty well. Everybody loves him. He’s got a great personality.”