Mountaineers Excited the Season is Moving Forward - Testing Negative

As college football programs around the country were starting or preparing for fall camp, the 2020 season was still hanging in the balance, and for so many programs, it all ended abruptly and seemingly with no warning.

West Virginia University football head coach Neal Brown made it a point to say his peace following the first day of fall camp, asking, "What's the plan if we don't play?" Then proceeding to explain the collateral damage from a mental health standpoint while also believing the structure the program provides is also beneficial in remaining COVID free.

Despite two of the Power Five conferences postponing their seasons to the spring, the Big 12 Conference announced its plans to move forward towards the 2020 season and released a revised 2020 conference schedule the next day.

"I'm excited about it – that we're staying course," said Brown. I really believe that we need to play as long as we can continue to do it in a safe manner. I think the collateral damage could be potentially worse if we don't play."

Brown added, "I really believe in the safety protocols that we've been going through."

West Virginia rolled into fall camp healthy with no positive cases on the team, and after the first week of fall camp, tests remain negative. However, the general student population is starting to roll into Morgantown, and it will be a big test for the Mountaineers.

"As we continue to get those negative test results back, then, that shows we're doing the right thing," said Brown. "The real challenge is going to be when more and more students return to town – we know that. We know that's coming."

As we all hold our collective breath the coming weeks in the hopes teams can remain disciplined and isolated, the Mountaineers will start week two of fall camp on Monday.

"We got to continue to train our guys, but we are excited to play," continued Brown. "That's why we coach. That's why the guys are here, outside of academics, but that's why they're here is to play the game of football. So, we're excited about the opportunity to play. Now that we have a schedule and we know what it looks like, we can plan and prepare to get ready for September 12th (Eastern Kentucky) and then the 26th (Oklahoma State)."

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