Big 12 Coach Slams WVU: 'They Look Like a MAC Team'

Neal Brown is entering a crucial season in 2023 having recorded three losing seasons through his first four years on the job. With still a fairly young defense, a new starting quarterback, and four of the top receivers from last year gone, it's going to be an uphill battle for the Mountaineers.

Recently, Big 12 coaches anonymously spoke about every team in the conference heading into the season in Athlon Sports' preseason preview. The opinion on West Virginia is...an interesting one.

“This might be the worst roster in the league. They have some talent, but they’re not physical at all. They’re really small, especially compared to the old WVU teams. … The defense is legitimately bad. They look like a MAC team compared to the rest of the league, and he [Neal Brown] didn’t fire his coaches. He’s a really loyal guy, but it’s also a sign he knows it’s a personnel issue. They lost [QB] JT [Daniels] and [offensive coordinator Graham] Harrell. I think you can say that experiment didn’t work out like they thought it would.”

Brown received criticism this offseason from a portion of the fanbase for not making any significant changes to the coaching staff but in his defense, putting your job security in the hands of folks you don't have several years of experience with is a risky move. Plus, no coordinators/assistants would leave their current job to come and be a part of a staff at WVU that is in hot water.

The start to the 2023 season is challenging with games against Penn State and Pitt but fortunately for Neal Brown, he will face all four of the Big 12's newest members, meaning there should be an opportunity to pick up 2-3 wins that weren't on the schedule in years prior. If he can navigate this team to a seven-ish win season, it should cool the temperature of his seat considerably.

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