Football season serves as a light in challenging year for West Virginia

There were long layoffs, testing, disruptions, postponements, cancellations, isolation, more testing and plenty of uncertainty were the cocktail that made up the year across the college football landscape.

That was no different at West Virginia, who experienced both a postponement and a cancellation of a game as well as hurdles to clear in order to just get to play the virus shortened 10-game campaign.

But looking back on it, despite the hardships it was the right call to hold the season in the first place even with all of the hurdles that had to be jumped through and the toll it took on players and coaches alike. That’s because the season at least gave those in college sports an alternative.

“Playing was better. You’re always going to remember this year, that’s what I told the players,” head coach Neal Brown said. “And what better way to remember it than with a bowl win here.”

A ton of credit has to be dished out across the board for even getting the season in despite it often looking early on that it would never be a possibility. It took effort from all of those both in the medical field and with college athletics to devise plans that would allow the team to safely operate.

It wasn’t foolproof, but what is in times like these?

The opportunity to play the game was a mental break for so many young people that had to deal with the struggles and strains of the quarantine period that came before it.

“I just really believe playing football was the right thing to do. That quarantine time was really hard. My antenna is always up for mental health but that was a really difficult time,” Brown said. “Playing was a positive experience but it was tough.”

Electing to play the games meant that players had to largely isolate themselves from seeing family or friends or returning home for essentially a seven-month period when they returned to campus until the end of the season.

Brown saw the toll that was taking with his own team toward the end of the year but after being afforded two different breaks after the Iowa State game they returned energetic.

“My home is in Morgantown now. Their home is wherever they’re from and you take a kid that’s not able to go to their home for seven months that wears on you,” Brown said.

But now with the 10-game schedule in the books and the Mountaineers coming off a 24-21 win in the Liberty Bowl to finish the slate at 6-4, there are certainly no regrets. It wasn’t always easy, but football was an outlet for the coaches as well as so many of the players on the team.

This past year wasn’t always easy, but football certainly made it a little easier as players could put their focus into the game they love instead of all the other worries in life. That alone made this year a success.

“I had a couple deaths in my family. Had a couple things go sideways for me. Really just being able to persevere. Football definitely saved my life this year,” he said.

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