Social media a key component with West Virginia football, college football

Whether it’s Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok or whatever else is the next platform coming down the pike, the applications are at the center of college football.

Whether it’s for branding purposes or to reach prospects themselves, it provides a window in order to attract the attention of potential recruits and the fanbase alike.

West Virginia heads coach Neal Brown certainly understands this and doesn’t shy away from it.

Brown has a video department geared toward capturing the day-to-day in the program with much of that turned around into packages for the fanbase or recruits to get a peek behind the curtain. The goal is for those parties to take ownership of the football program and actively engage them.

It raises the excitement level and grabs the attention of potential prospects which is only a plus when it comes to building a program over the long haul.

“You have to use it,” Brown said.

The exposure is invaluable, especially when the fanbase is involved. The usage of social media is something that has been apparent in recruiting as well to generate that same level of excitement as the coaches are active tweeting the now familiar “Let’s Go!” when the program lands a commitment.

Another perhaps unintended consequence of a social media driven world is the access that it provides college coaches when it comes to film. In the past, coaches would have to visit schools individually and discuss potential underclassmen with individual high school coaches and get film from there.

Now, prospects are so visible on social media that coaches are a click away from being able to watch tape on underclassmen which leads to scholarship offers.

“We have more information on the student athletes because of it the video access has changed dramatically,” Brown said.

It also gives college coaches a look behind the curtain on the type of person that each player is on how they conduct themselves on various platforms. That used to be something that could be difficult to ascertain at times and often took talking to those close to the prospect to get an idea.

Now, social media typically lays it all out there for everybody to see.

It’s a changing environment on the recruiting trail but one where coaches are left little choice but to adapt if they want to stay ahead of the curve. That is no different at West Virginia.

“It’s definitely changed,” Brown said.

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