For Neal Brown the past couple weeks have been some of the most enjoyable of his professional career since things come to an abrupt halt March 12.

That’s because the Mountaineers were able to first resume the 20-hour work weeks that included walkthroughs with a football and then formally open fall camp Aug. 10. After months of uncertainty and focus on things outside of the game of football, finally the spotlight has shifted back to the game itself.

“Our guys have new energy,” Brown said.

Things are expected to gradually ramp up in the coming days and weeks with a focus on being educated in how the Mountaineers will practice and prepare. It will not be a normal camp situation and instead there will be more breaks built into the schedule while also not taking the physical toll.

Part of that is due to players that are just now getting into shape instead of where they’d be at this stage of the off-season in normal conditions but a big piece as well is focused around safety.

As part of that component, players have been split into two teams created by grouping those players that live with each other and spend time with one another outside of football. The gold and the blue team helps to keep the players contained to those that they are already around in daily life.

This split practice method is designed to go on for several days as the coaches find out more about how to approach practicing while keeping social distancing and other safety policies in place. The way the split-squad practices are structured is that a young player is being paired with an older player so he can observe and learn, but also get more practice reps than normal.

Because the team of around 100 is split into two groups, coaches are running around two players at each position and work includes both a high tempo and low tempo drill. There are more breaks built-in throughout the session and there is a focus on not doing any single thing for longer than 10-minutes. That has been especially true with drills involving close proximity like the offensive and defensive lines.

“We are doing some half-line stuff, half-line run and 7-on-7,” he said.

It’s early into things, but Brown was encouraged by both of his quarterbacks competing for the starting job in redshirt junior Jarret Doege and redshirt senior Austin Kendall. Both have looked sharp in different group, while true freshman Garret Greene is somebody Brown is excited about for the future.

Other offensive players that have received praise include running back Alec Sinkfield, wide receivers Sam Brown, Sam James and Bryce Wheaton-Ford while defensively linebackers Josh Chandler, Dylan Tonkery, Jared Bartlett as well as defensive backs Tae Mayo and Alonzo Addae were highlighted.

“Those are some of the guys that kind of stuck out,” Brown said.

West Virginia is set to welcome several new transfers to the program and some of those opened camp with the Mountaineers with Maryland outside linebacker Bryce Brand, Troy punter Tyler Sumpter and Arizona safety Scottie Young all participating. Several others are going through a five-day waiting period where they will then begin testing and can practice with the team.

“Scottie made several plays today and I think he’s going to be a big contributor for us. I like his leadership, he’s a football player and I think he’s going to be a big contributor for us,” he said.

The eligibility of some of those players have yet to be determined for this fall such as Young and Virginia offensive line transfer Ja’Quay Hubbard, who is awaiting testing, but for now it’s full-steam ahead.

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