West Virginia football: Game-by-game predictions for 2020 season
By Phil Poling
West Virginia football will officially kick off the 2020 season on Sept. 12 against. Will this be the beginning of a resurgence?
College football is actually happening in the fall of 2020 amid the Coronavirus pandemic, and the Big 12 is one of three Power-5 conferences participating. That’s right, Mountaineer fans, football is back.
Many are eager to watch second-year head coach Neal Brown back in action, but things will be a bit different from his first campaign.
For starters, his defensive coordinator has changed. Following allegations of mistreatment by a few current players, Vic Koenning was put on administrative leave before mutually parting ways with the program.
Being in the midst of a pandemic made hiring his replacement a major process, so Brown decided to re-shuffle his hand defensively. Former WVU assistant Jeff Casteel was hired as a defensive analyst, but instead will coach the linebackers. That decision pushed Dontae Wright to the secondary to oversee the safeties, a position he’s familiar with having coached them at Western Michigan. Former Mountaineer, Jahmile Addae, is back in the Mountaineer secondary, now coaching the cornerbacks. Jordan Lesley will continue working with the defensive line.
However, some believe it’s about the Jimmys and the Joes, not the Xs and the Os. In other words, players matter more than coaches. In some instances this can be true. In addition to coaches moving around, West Virginia’s dealt with replacing some Jimmy’s and Joes, too.
Four-year starter along the offensive line, Colton McKivitz, graduated and went to the NFL. A veteran secondary departed Morgantown, too, with Hakeem Bailey, Josh Norwood, and Keith Washington all moving on. George Campell and Reese Donahue are two more seniors that’ll be missed, but the Mountaineers still under Brown’s tutelage should be enough to get the job done.
Leddie Brown. Sam James. Dante and Darius Stills. Those are the Mountaineers you’re likely already familiar with. Prepare to become acquainted with a handful of new ones, as the 2020 WVU football roster is stocked with youthful talent itching to get an opportunity.