Spring teaches valuable lessons, but focus shifts for West Virginia
Spring ball is now in the rearview mirror and West Virginia head coach Neal Brown found out some valuable things about his football team over the course of the 15 practices.
For now, this version of the Mountaineers is similar to the one that surpassed expectations last year in the sense that it’s a hungry football team that wants to compete at every level.
That was evident how the players handled business across the first 14 practices of the spring and it’s a group that likes to practice.
“Been stressing to our coaching staff that we want the best people that love football,” he said.
The winter program benefited his team as well and West Virginia emerged from that bigger and stronger on both of the line of scrimmages. Across the board, the Mountaineers are a team that embraces physicality and that revealed itself throughout the spring as well.
“We tackle. We’ve tackled a bunch. We’re better,” Brown said.
West Virginia also has developed some depth on the offensive and defensive lines, while the linebacker group has as much competition as it has at any point under Brown. The young wide receivers on the roster also have taken steps forward in their second year in a major role which has eased most of the concerns there.
So overall, the program exits the spring in a good spot but there are still some pitfalls ahead. West Virginia must navigate the next few days when it comes to the transfer portal but due to scheduling won't have to do that for long.
The spring window will remain open until April 30 which puts college programs in a difficult position with players electing to move on this late in the game. Brown is not a fan of the second window but understands where the priority must be when it comes to his team moving forward with spring ball done.
“Most important thing is to continue to hold our roster together and we’ll look to add some pieces potentially in May,” he said.
The Mountaineers have already started with that last part adding Charlotte cornerback transfer Dontez Fagan over the weekend. The senior cornerback spent one year with the 49ers where he played 623 snaps and posted strong coverage numbers with 21 tackles and an interception overall to go along with 5 passes defended.
The Oklahoma native entered the portal this past week and quickly scheduled a visit to campus in order to fill a need in the secondary. He has one year left and that likely isn't the last addition the program will make in the coming weeks.
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