Neal's deal: Five key items from West Virginia football

WVSports.com looks at the weekly press conference from West Virginia head coach Neal Brown and determines the five most interesting topics of discussion.

We examine what was said as well as what it means for the football team both this week and moving ahead as the Mountaineers navigate the 2021 schedule.

Next up is the final regular season game of the year at Kansas as West Virginia attempts to get bowl eligible at 5-6. Here the head coach dove into some key topics not only for this week but the rest of the season.

1—Injuries update. West Virginia could be getting back will linebacker Lance Dixon at least for a handful of snaps if things continue to progress the way that Brown and company want it to. That would be significant considering that starter Exree Loe is out for the year after having surgery and the Mountaineers have to resort to a dime package last week to cover up some of the depth concerns.

There is hope that wide receiver Bryce Ford-Wheaton will return after leaving the game last week and the same can be said for cornerback Charles Woods after missing the game against Texas. He has practiced this week already but Brown isn’t ready to suggest that he will return.

The final player that didn’t suit up against Texas was VanDarius Cowan but Brown confirmed that it was not injury related and instead was his own decision. That leaves his return up to him and that could mean that after some difficult stretches on that front West Virginia could be getting some guys back.

2—Brown’s favorite week of the year. Thanksgiving week is one based around family, fellowship and football in the life of head coach Neal Brown and that makes it one of the most rewarding of the entire season it’s one of the few where all of that is centerstage.

The players do not have class so they spend the majority of the week focused entirely on football as well as some fun activities to reward them for their efforts and celebrate the holiday season. For example, Wednesday will provide each of the players the opportunity to have dinner at their position coaches house and then the team will come together for a dinner at the football facilities Thursday. The goal is to give them a semblance of home and provide some time outside the football field.

It’s the type of team-bonding that has been apparent under Brown since he’s arrived in Morgantown and it provides another outlet for the team to spend quality time together during the preparation for the season finale against Kansas. The Mountaineers are sitting at 5-6 and the stakes are obviously high.

3—Kansas is playing their best. The Jayhawks are 1-1 over the last two games and are starting to put together some quality football even in last week’s 31-28 road loss to TCU. Kansas was able to beat Texas 57-56 on the road and despite their 2-9 record are playing strong down the stretch. A big reason for that has been the overall buy in from the team into what head coach Lance Leipold is building.

Sophomore quarterback Jalon Daniels has been a major spark on the offensive side of things. He has been electric when it comes to making plays and the team has rallied around him by changing the demeanor of the football team given what he has been able to provide. The dual threat quarterback is throwing the ball well and isn’t strictly a runner given what he can do with his arm.

The Jayhawks will use a lot of pre-snap motion and shifts to create advantages on that side of the ball and the offensive line is starting to play their best football as well giving them a chance. The defense has had issues at times, but they do possess good players at every level of the unit.

West Virginia has to play consistent football if they want to win this game and while Kansas has struggled at times this won’t be a cakewalk that the records would suggest.

4—McLeod breaks out. West Virginia needed true freshman Saint McLeod to play a major role against Texas and he did just that playing 60 total snaps and grading out fairly well in his time on the field. The Philadelphia native played with a lot of confidence against the Longhorns and kept an even keel.

While he did over pursue at times and didn’t take great angles on some tackles, he still more than displayed that he can handle a role on this defense down the stretch run. West Virginia somewhat protected him in coverage not putting him in any man-to-man situations, but if he is asked to play a similar role against Kansas and Brown has already confirmed he will start there is reason for optimism.

McLeod is a physical option at that spear position and gives the Mountaineers some athleticism there.

5—Brown wants more explosion on offense. West Virginia has been one of the better teams nationally in time of possession in large part because the offense has been able to string together drives. The Mountaineers have played primarily a ball control type of offense this season and some of that has been by design against teams such as Oklahoma and Texas to keep them from putting up points.

But overall, Brown wants the offense to be able to score fast in the future although he does recognize that’s not exactly where they are at from a personnel standpoint. Still, it’s a welcomed admission given the fact that the slow tempo and methodical pace of the offense has been a talking point amongst fans for most of the season. It seems that the end game is to have a much more explosive unit that is going to try to score the ball quickly long term it’s just a matter of getting to that point with personnel.

Brown admitted that some of slow down has come from his involvement with checks to get the Mountaineers in the right play and a methodical approach. But that isn’t going to be the recipe for West Virginia on the offensive side of the ball as this thing continues to evolve.

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