Andrew Warwick Came to WVU to Help Shed Its 'Winningest Team to Never Have Won It' Label

Oh yeah, Mountaineer fans are going to love this guy.

WVU Athletics Communications

Before coming to West Virginia to serve as the linebackers coach on Zac Alley's defense, Andrew Warwick called the shots as the defensive coordinator at Wofford, an FCS school in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

You might think leaving a job where he had full control of one side of the ball to lead just a single room is a bold move, but not necessarily if you want to continue to climb the ladder in the profession. The moment WVU called, he knew right away he wanted to be a part of this staff.

“Look around. I mean, come on," Warwick said when asked about why he made the move. "I was at Wofford before; I really enjoyed it. It’s a great institution, a lot of great people. This is nothing negative about that, but when you look around here, like, this is what I tell the guys: this is the type of place you want to play at. This is the type of place you want to coach at. I came running. This is big-time football with a storied program — the winningest team to never have won it. To have a chance to come here and be a part of a staff and a head coach that allows me to be who I am and embraces that, and a standard…yeah, I’d love to be a part of the staff that can change that narrative as we’re trying to push for it. It’s a place you want to coach at. It’s a place you want to play at. This place is…it’s a no-brainer.”

This was the first time that Warwick was made available to the media since he was hired a year ago, and with just one press conference, I think it's safe to say he won over a bunch of Mountaineer fans. He clearly wants to be here, believes in the vision and future of this team, and understands the importance of WVU athletics to those in the state. Also, he's authentic. There's no sugarcoating anything, and he doesn't really dance around questions. He's a straight shooter.

Warwick said another reason he came to WVU was because of the standard that is set here and how similar it is to what he experienced during his time as a GA on Dabo Swinney's staff at Clemson.

“Once you’ve seen it at a high level and you have a high standard, you never want to go back. We experienced that when we were there, and I’ve been craving it, trying to get back to that and trying to implement that at every place I’ve been. To go back to the question earlier, why am I at West Virginia? Because I know that’s the same standard. And when you find people that have it and know what it is, you run to them, and I know we have that here.”