MORGANTOWN — The first thing you notice about West Virginia University freshman offensive tackle Mike Calicchio is the shadow. In the late afternoon, it arrives long before he does, stretching across half of Milan Puskar Stadium, or so it seems.

He is a man to look up to.

Way up.

I don’t want to say that he’s tall, but if he doesn’t keep brushing his hair an eagle tries to make a nest of it.

That isn’t dandruff on his head, either. It’s real snow.

By now you may be wondering just how big Mike Calicchio really is and, for that matter, who he is.

Normally, when you have questions like that you are directed to the roster in the WVU media guide, but this walk-on isn’t even listed there. He is on the roster that is handed out at practice daily, but his height is listed as 6-foot, 5-inches tall.

This is what he says about that:

“I was 6-5 as a high school freshman. I sort of hit a little growth spurt the next four years.”

So how tall is Mike Calicchio?

“6-10,” he answers.

He also weighs 295 pounds.

If he makes this team, he will be the tallest player ever at West Virginia. And, despite a lack of experience, he just may make the team.

“It’s been a long process,” Calicchio said.

He grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y., which is not exactly a hotbed of college football. To make matters worse, the big man went to a small Catholic high school, where he didn’t start playing football until a couple of years ago and there wasn’t much competition.

“In high school, you touch kids once and they’re down,” he admitted. “Here, they’re just as big as you are.”

Of course, he played basketball for a year in high school, but it wasn’t his thing.

“I kind of love the physicality of football,” he said.

After high school, he wanted to continue playing, but wasn’t really ready for the college level, so he attended Valley Forge Military Academy in Pennsylvania, a school that has sent a number of players to WVU over the years including the great Gary Stills.

Defensive line coach Bill Kirelawich saw this mountain of man there and recruited him.

If nothing else, he could scare the opponents just by getting off the bus first.

And Calicchio wasn’t the biggest player on his team. Not even close.

“There was another kid there that was 360,” Kirelawich said. “I sat at a table with them both and I’m used to being around big people but this one time I felt small.”

While he latched onto Calicchio, he could not get the other guy into WVU because of grades ... and the cost of feeding him.

There is football ability in Calicchio’s family. His brother was a captain at UMass, and, when you grow up with a mother, father and six brothers and sister in a two-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn, you learn how to block to get in the food line and learn quickness to muscle your way into the bathroom.

Calicchio grew up as part of what is probably a typical Catholic family and is strong in his beliefs.

His arms carry eight tattoos, all of them religious, including one of Jesus Christ.

The tattoos, of course, serve only to make him that much more noticeable in a crowd, as if you could miss seeing the Empire State Building if they moved it to downtown Morgantown.

Calicchio is hoping that size counts.

He says he gets his size from his mother’s side of the family. While she is only 5-6, his uncles on that side are all 6-7 or more.

It isn’t always easy growing up different than other kids.

“It wasn’t that I was teased a lot,” he said, kids being smarter than to pick on someone who is definitely not their own size. “I wouldn’t say it’s a burden, but you have to grow into your body. It’s easier to be shorter when playing games.

“I’m only 19. I’m still growing into my body.”

He sees his size as an advantage.

“I have been given a gift and a blessing to be this size and to be able to come in and compete at this level. There’s some great athletes here. Coach (Dave) Johnson a great coach. I can see myself being better already. I believe I can compete at this level.”

There is another vision, too, one off in the future.

Highly touted freshman Quinton Spain, who stands 6-6 and weighs 330 pounds, has begun working out with the Mountaineers after getting an OK from the NCAA Clearing House.

“I’ve seen Big Q. He’s a big guy himself. He was quite a recruited player out of high school. I’ve seen him and he looks great already, great feet,” Calicchio said.

Imagine the bookend tackles WVU could put on the field down the road.

“We’re young,” Calicchio said, “and we have great offensive tackles now. Don Barclay is a great player and only a junior. We have to compete sooner or later so we have to step it up now.”

E-mail Bob Hertzel at bhertzel@hotmail.com.