Mountaineers Focused on Winning Remote Period
Thirteen practices were stripped away from Neal Brown and the West Virginia Mountaineers in the spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Naturally, there is no convenient time to have a pandemic, but for the Mountaineers it was a crucial phase in year two under Neal Brown.
The players have become accustomed to how the program is operating under the new staff and was hitting the ground running in the first two days of practice. It was extremely critical to get all the allotted practices considering this was one of the youngest teams in the country a season ago, and questions needed to be answered on both sides of the ball but especially at quarterback.
Nonetheless, Brown quickly adapted, but first and foremost, he made sure his players were safe. Although student-athlete activities have been suspended through May 31st, they have been able to hold team and position meetings, additionally, making player and staff mental health one of his top priorities.
From a football standpoint, coaches are not allowed to monitor any player workouts or football activities and with that, the players have to hold themselves accountable.
Brown has made it clear that he wants the program to be player-led, also recently stating that with the current situation that transition has to be quicker than anticipated with no coaching oversight.
So, for the Mountaineers to have success this fall, they have to win now.
“We need to win operating the program remotely. We need to win during this time,” said Brown. “What does that look like? I think its everybody staying healthy. I think it’s everybody staying safe. I think it's growing our relationships. I think it’s doing well academically. I think it’s making sure that we continue, from a nutritional standpoint, maintaining our body weights when we left. I think it's being in some type of shape for when we return, we don’t have to go backward, we can just hit the ground running whenever we get back.
“So, we’re focused on winning this time right now, then when we actually get back to the football aspect, we’ll start worrying about that then.”
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