West Virginia football: What are realistic expectations under Neal Brown?
By Phil Poling
Neal Brown is entering his first season at the helm of West Virginia football. What are realistic expectations for his Mountaineers in year one?
Taking over for Dana Holgorsen as WVU football’s head coach will be difficult. But where first-year head coach Neal Brown finds his biggest challenge is replacing quarterback Will Grier. He’s got options, but on the cusp of the first regular season game he still doesn’t have a definitive answer to the question, “Who will start at quarterback?”
Along with Holgorsen and Grier, the ‘Eers replaced nearly their entire staff and will have new faces at some of the most important positions. In addition to Gary Jennings and David Sills, West Virginia lost Marcus Simms to the NFL’s Supplemental Draft. They did add a few pieces via the transfer portal, but lost key cogs from last year’s roster.
West Virginia’s schedule is one of the toughest all-around campaigns in college football in 2019 with 11 Power Five games. They’ll travel to Missouri to square off with the Tigers before hosting NC State in the non-conference slate. Their only non-Power Five opponent — James Madison — is a perennial contender in the FCS.
The Mountaineers finished 8-4 a season ago, but with a seemingly entirely new program – from top to bottom — 2019 could be a roller coaster. Let’s take a look at what their offense might look like come Aug. 31.