Brunswick alum Tomas Rimac a steady presence on the WVU line

There are times when Tomas Rimac catches himself looking into the future or back into the past, but for the most part the 2021 Brunswick High graduate does a remarkably good job of staying in the present. Now in his third season starting at left guard for the West Virginia football team, the 6-foot-6, 318-pound Rimac has great memories of his hometown and still returns whenever he has time, just as he has dreams of one day playing in the NFL. Right now, though, he's a redshirt junior wearing No. 55 for the Mountaineers, who will bring a 1-2 record into their Big 12 opener Saturday at home vs. Kansas (1-2). "This was definitely the right choice for me," Rimac said Wednesday in a phone interview. "I have no regrets coming to West Virginia. It's my second home now. Maybe even my first, being here so much. "Being a college player, you're obviously thinking about (the NFL) at times. But if you look too much into it, you overthink it. In my mind I'm thinking, 'Put your head down, go to work and get better every day.' If I'm good enough, I will make it to the NFL." Now 21, Rimac redshirted his first season at West Virginia and played in every game in 2022, including five straight starts to end the season. Scheduled to earn a degree in sports management in December, he was a first-team Academic All-Big 12 selection. Rimac won the same academic honors last year while starting all 11 games in which he appeared. He missed two others and had offseason surgery to repair a ligament in his knee, but still finished second on the team in West Virginia's "great block" category with 63 while not allowing a sack. Now in his fourth year in Morgantown, Rimac still has fairly long black hair and now sports a full black beard. He's every bit as physically imposing as he was at Brunswick, where in 2021 he was named Gazette Senior Male Athlete of the Year and Gazette MVP in track and field after winning a Division I state title in the discus and placing second in the shot put. No longer able to simply dominate an opponent physically, Rimac considers himself a much more polished offensive lineman due to improved footwork and technique. "Coming in here, I was humbled," he said. "In high school you're used to physically overpowering people and not thinking too much about technique. Then you get humbled and realize you have to focus on footwork and technique. "The offensive line has to work as one. If the left side is doing one thing and the right side is doing another, it's going to be a bad play. You need to have all five guys working together. We have a saying: 'If we're wrong, we're all wrong together.'" Rimac can remember his first year at West Virginia like it was yesterday, though he appeared in just two games before being redshirted. "The time has flown by," he said. "Redshirting my freshman year was the slowest year of my life, but sitting her now it's surreal thinking about how it's gone this fast. I'm just grateful for every opportunity it's brought me." Those opportunities include his education. After he gets his sports management degree in December, Rimac plans to pursue his MBA, with the ultimate goal of one day working as an athletic director or in an athletic department at the college or high school level. "I want to be involved in sports," he said. "If you love your job, it's not really a job." With a full scholarship through the 2025-26 school year, Rimac's ideal job would be as an NFL lineman, but right now he's cherishing his time at West Virginia and still working to get better. "I'm way more mature as a player, even from last year," he said. "I've grown into more of a leadership role for the younger guys and I'm taking on more responsibility. "Football and life go hand in hand. Football builds character and trust in the people you're working with. That really relates to the real world, just being responsible and mature in every-day life." Rimac's life still includes trips to Brunswick, though his free time is limited by the demands of college football. "Sometimes it feels like (a job), especially in the morning when it's hard to get out of bed," he said. "Then you realize how many people would die to be in the position you're in. You can't take it for granted. You have to appreciate it every step of the way." Rimac holds similar views when it comes to his hometown, as his family still lives in Brunswick. "I didn't appreciate it when I was younger, because when you're young you're mainly thinking about yourself," he said. "Looking back on it now, knowing how Brunswick is such a welcoming and supportive community, I feel very grateful to be a part of that. I can go back any time and I'm welcomed with open arms." Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4046 or rnoland@medina-gazette.com. Follow him @RickNoland on X.