Neal Brown found himself in a unique situation on the recruiting trail in his first year at West Virginia.

That’s because Brown and his coaching staff purposefully delayed the number of commitments that the program took before and during the season in order to get a gauge on what the real needs were on the roster. It’s something that Brown believes is impossible to get a clear idea on until being able to see his football team go through the rigors of a nine-game conference schedule.

The Mountaineers were stuck on a dozen commitments from August until mid-November, but things have picked up of late with three commitments since Nov. 12. And things are likely going to pick up even more over the final two weeks ahead of the Dec. 18 early signing period.

Saving those spots allows the Mountaineers to have more to hand out down the stretch which is an advantage as the program looks to piece together the first full class of Brown’s tenure.

“We’ve got some spots and we’re in a position where we can finish really strong,” Brown said. “And that’s the intention.”

That starts this weekend with several official visitors on campus and will spread into next weekend with much of the same. The reception of players in the 2020 class has been positive toward the program in large part because they could see the improvement down the stretch run and the coaching staff showed little hesitation in playing younger players that deserved the opportunity.

“That gives them hope and they understand we’re going to play the best players,” he said.

The coaches have spent most of the week on the road in order to travel around the country visiting players that are already committed or they’re trying to get in the boat. Then, the players return the favor by coming to campus for an official visit which gives them 48-hours to tour campus.

The plan is to hold several scholarships for potential transfers, but Brown wants to sign the majority of the 2020 group during that early signing window which runs until Dec. 20.

Recruiting season is in full bloom and Brown is hoping that the West Virginia class ends with the same momentum that the 2019 season did on the field.

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