Kevin Brown Reveals Why Early WVU Visits Left a Bad Taste Before Rodriguez Arrived

Tuesday afternoon, Rich Rodriguez and the West Virginia Mountaineers secured a massive commitment from class of 2026 offensive lineman Kevin Brown, who is a consensus four-star recruit. He picked the Mountaineers over North Carolina, Ohio State, and several others, after recently backing off his pledge to Penn State.

Today was not only a big day for the WVU football program, but for Kevin's father, Tim, as well. He played for Rodriguez back in the early 2000s and was really hoping his son would follow in his footsteps. He explained his emotions on the Pat McAfee Show following his son's announcement.

“It’s been a tough process because the situation at West Virginia hasn’t been good for the last couple of years, and it’s been tough with the last couple of coaches. Once Rod came in, my stomach dropped because he was already committed to Penn State. It’s been heartbreaking for me since he’s been a sophomore because he committed so early. Franklin got fired, and then the situation at Penn State fell apart, so it’s been such a blessing.”

For Kevin, it all starts and ends with the man in charge of the program, Rich Rodriguez. Kevin unexpectedly talked about previous trips to WVU when Dana Holgorsen and Neal Brown were in place and how those visits did not go as he expected.

“It was not the culture we know today. We went to a practice one day, and they kicked us out. Like, not a good feeling. And then, my sophomore year, went to West Virginia on a visit, and the o-line coach didn’t even watch my film. I went to West V this summer, and holy cow, totally changed. I went to Georgia, Alabama, Auburn, and West Virginia’s facilities, coaches, and everything was just elite.”

It sounds like getting kicked out of practice happened during Holgorsen's time in Morgantown and well before he was in high school. There have been a ton of former players who said they didn't feel welcomed when he led the program. The o-line coach who didn't watch his film would have been Matt Moore, who was with Neal Brown for all six years of his tenure. He's currently the offensive line coach at Virginia Tech, but could be looking for a new job with the coaching change there.

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