Trust in WVU evaluation process critical to building culture
West Virginia has developed a trusted process when it comes to evaluating fits for the program.
That extends from high school recruiting to the transfer portal and while there are some differences between the two, the gist is the same.
And the decision maker at the end is always head coach Neal Brown.
It makes sense considering he is atop the program, but he also is able to look at things from an elevated point of view as opposed to just a specific area or side of the ball like many coaches often do. That isn’t a bad thing, it’s quite literally their jobs, but Brown is able to remove some of that bias.
And through some trial and error as well as some poor decisions, the Mountaineers have been able to develop a process that they’ve really believed in over the past two years.
“You look at character, academics and athletics. There’s some really non-talent things from an athletic perspective that we look at. Those have been a good evaluation tool for us,” Brown said.
West Virginia evaluates character both on and off the field, with the former weighted towards those players that play with maximum effort and toughness. That has become so critical to building the roster that the Mountaineers will take the player that shows those traits over one with similar talent.
Those are things that often show up in the winter and summer and eventually spill over into the season when there are challenges. The coaching staff is targeting players that understand discipline, accountability and mesh with the culture already established in the program.
“Those things are really going to make a difference especially in the number of close games we play,” Brown said.
Brown looks at the roster from an individual room perspective and while there is always some risk involved with some players, you don’t want to add too much in one individual room. He compares it to a financial portfolio where some risk is good because there’s big rewards, but you don’t want the entire thing littered with question marks.
And if you do decide to take those risks, it’s important to make sure that there is good leadership in the room you’re doing it so others can take that player under their wing.
Live evaluations in the instance of high school prospects are also critical because it affords coaches the opportunity to see not only a player’s physical tools but how they take coaching.
“We talk about that in our staff room these are the type of players we want; these are the type of players that will get our ass beat,” Brown said.
From a transfer portal perspective things often happen so fast it’s akin to speed dating. The scouting department does the leg work on prospects weighing the football and character components and then individual coaches get to look over the film and make determinations on pursuing them.
West Virginia wants to find the right mix of potential and production depending on the number of years the player has left and are up front about the expectations each target from the portal should have in the program. Not everybody is going to be a starter and as long as that is clearly defined, it helps transfer targets understand if the program is for them or they want to look elsewhere.
But while coaches identify targets, it’s again Brown that has the ultimate say something that can be frustrating at times if they elect to bypass a talented prospect that doesn’t check the other boxes.
“We’ve trimmed some fat, and we don’t bring guys that have been cancers at other places no matter their talent. And if a guy is not a fit for us, Coach Brown sometimes makes me mad and he’s like nope,” secondary coach ShaDon Brown said. “I know the player is good but he’s looking at it from a 30,000-foot view of what is that guy and his character and whatever he is bringing going to do to our locker room?”
And ultimate if it doesn’t enhance it, the Mountaineers move on to others. But West Virginia believes that the process has helped to cultivate the current state of the locker room which is as strong as it’s been since Brown arrived in Morgantown.
Now that doesn’t mean the process will always hit. That’s the risk of recruiting in general as players either rise above or sink below expectations often. There’s a lot of factors that play into that, but it’s critical for the Mountaineers that they trust their instincts and what’s got them to this point.
“You’ve got to be able to be OK if that player goes somewhere else and you’ve got to be OK if they’re successful. You have to believe in the process as you’re using it,” Brown said.
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