West Virginia Football: Mountaineers shouldn’t be overlooked in 2021
By Phil Poling
It’s Year 3 for Neal Brown in Morgantown, which is typically put-up-or-shut-up time for head coaches in college football. Don’t expect a coaching change from West Virginia football anytime soon, though, regardless of the upcoming season; Brown’s recent extension ties him to the Mountaineers through the 2026 season. With that security, Brown’s sole job is to build a strong program, and he’s seen improvement each season.
His first campaign at WVU ended with a 5-7 record, and the team lacked a true identity. They averaged just 20.6 points per game (116th out of 130 teams) and their defense wasn’t good enough to win them any. They did, however, get plenty of young players on the field for valuable snaps.
Sophomore wide receivers Winston Wright and Bryce Ford-Wheaton contributed to the youth movement on offense in Brown’s second season, along with James Gmiter along the offensive line. And defensively, Akheem Mesidor led the Mountaineers with five sacks as a true freshman. On a defensive line that played Darius and Dante Stills.
Aside from developing talent, though, Brown’s been active in the transfer market for impact players. And he’s landed quite a few. Starting with the most recent and working our way back, offensive lineman Doug Nester from Virginia Tech is a massive snag.
Lance Dixon, once a four-star recruit, arrived with four years of eligibility from Penn State. The summer of 2020 provided the Mountaineers with their eventual-leading tackler, Tony Fields, from Arizona.
And the prior offseason they landed Dreshun Miller — the best defensive back junior college had to offer; they also snagged Temple wide receiver Sean Ryan.
With all this talent, why is Neal Brown just 11-11 in two seasons at WVU?
Good question! While Brown’s been able to attract and develop some talent, other talent has eluded him and decided to try their luck at another program. Most notably, Tykee Smith (Georgia) and Dreshun Miller (Auburn). But also guys like Jeffery Pooler, Alec Sinkfield, Ali Jennings, the list goes on. That’s college football today, though. Talent comes in and talent goes out.
There’s enough talent on the 2021 West Virginia football roster to make some serious noise, though. Not to the extent of a CFP berth, but enough talent that’ll force every opponent to take the Mountaineers seriously. We’ll break down their offense first, a unit that’s seen improvement year-to-year under Brown.