Excitement surrounds this year’s West Virginia football team, with expectations high following last season’s 9-4 finish.
The 2023 WVU team posted nine wins for the first time in the Neal Brown era and the first time since 2016.
West Virginia was tabbed seventh in this year’s Big 12 preseason poll after being named last in last year’s poll.
Brown feels the enthusiasm and is excited to kick off the 2024 season.
“We’re looking forward to it,†Brown said. “We have a great opportunity. We’re a team that returns a lot of production, both sides of the ball. We feel like [quarterback Garrett Greene is] one of the most dynamic players in all of college football. We’ve got a great one-two punch at running back, with Jahiem White and CJ Donaldson.
“We return five of our top seven offensive linemen, with Wyatt Milum being one of the top linemen in the country. Kole Taylor, a second-team All-Big 12 tight end, comes back. We played a bunch of young receivers last year. They’re all back and made big improvements.â€
The Mountaineer defense returns valuable pieces after finishing fourth in the Big 12 in rushing defense (143 yards per game) and fifth in total defense (381 yards per game) last season.
WVU brings back players like safety Anthony Wilson and Bluefield product Sean Martin.
Wilson is the Mountaineers’ leading returning tackler after recording 80 total tackles last season.
Martin posted 27 total tackles and five tackles for loss in 2023.
“Our defensive line returns a lot of production,†Brown said. “The linebackers are a group that we feel like we’ve recruited well and are ready to take the next step. In the secondary, which is an area where we needed to improve, we added several players in the portal.â€
WVU capped off the 2023 season with a 30-10 Duke’s Mayo Bowl victory over North Carolina.
It marked the Mountaineers’ second bowl victory in the Brown era.
The sixth-year coach wants his team to manage expectations while looking to make noise again this year.
“Each year is a new year, and it starts in January,†Brown said. “That’s the approach we’ve had the whole time. We’re 0-0, and we’re going to be 0-0 at the end of fall camp. What we do through the winter into spring through the summer into fall camp is preparing for the season. That’s what our guys have been working at, and we feel good about how our preparations have been.
“We feel good about the direction that we’re going with this team and this program. We have to go out and play.â€
White and Donaldson each finished in the top 10 in rushing yards and yards per game in the Big 12.
The two-headed dragon in the background, combined with the dynamic legs of Greene, leaves Brown optimistic about the offense’s capabilities this fall.
“There’s enough carries to go around,†Brown said. “[White and Donaldson] have been really productive. They’re two of our better players. We’re going to figure out ways to get them both the ball and figure out ways to play them at the same time. We don’t perceive it being a problem. It’s more of a benefit than an issue.â€
West Virginia ranks 16th nationally, according to On3, in transfer portal ranking.
Fourteen players make up this year’s Mountaineer transfer portal class.
“We brought in two wideouts with length and speed and needed to get taller. [So, we got] Jayden Bray and Justin Robinson,†Brown said. “We brought in a local product from South ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä back to the state in Xavier Bausley. He’s got a chance to help us this year and can be a great player moving forward. We added a pass rusher in Ty French, who moved up from FCS, that has an elite skill set.
“We added Reid Carrico, who’s going to be a great linebacker and special teams player for us.â€
Brown added that he’s excited about the secondary pieces added from the portal after bringing in Ayden Garnes, Garnett Hollis, Jaheem Joseph, Dontez Fagan, Kekoura Tarnue and TJ Crandall to that group.
WVU’s defense finished eighth in the Big 12 last season in passing yards allowed, giving up 237 per game.
However, Brown anticipates a big jump from the former Bluefield Beaver standout, Martin, and credited his practice work in the spring.
When asked which position group excites the Mountaineer coach, he couldn’t limit himself to just one group.
“I’ll give you two, one on each side of the ball,†Brown said. “Our linebackers are young. Trey Lathan, Josiah Trotter and Ben Cutter are guys that I think are going to make a good jump and it’s going to be fun to watch. Then, our receivers corps, who was really young [last season]. They all played and got better. It’s time for them to make another step.â€
Greene finished seventh among Big 12 quarterbacks in passing yards, racking up 2,406 yards in 12 games last season.
The Florida native wanted to improve in his short field throwing this off-season.
“The big [weakness] was the short intermediate throws,†Greene said at Big 12 Media Days in Las Vegas. “The last two or three months [I’ve been] working a lot with David Morris down at QB Country [and] honing in on my feet and the small mechanics that lead to big jumps in that.â€
Brown felt the energy from Mountaineers fans throughout the offseason and preseason.
He wants the fan base to feel excited about the opportunities the Mountaineers face, and invested in them.
“Some of our best players are West Virginians,†Brown said. “We’ve got Wyatt Milum, who’s got a chance to be a first-round draft pick, from Kenova. We’ve got Sean Martin, who’s a leader on our defensive line and from Bluefield. He’s got a chance to be an early draft pick. We’ve got great come-up stories in Hudson Clement [from Martinsburg], Preston Fox, Caden Biser and Nick Malone [from Morgantown].
“These are West Virginians that are playing at an extremely high level.â€
