EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the final installment of three columns that focused on the ‘summer of change’ and how WVU fits into it all.
MORGANTOWN – To paraphrase the late, great singer Dinah Washington, whose signature hit was “What a Difference a Day Makes,” West Virginia football can best say “What a Difference a Year Makes.”
In this summer of change in college sports, little has changed more than the way West Virginia’s football program looks from last year to this year.
As Washington sang it:
What a difference a day makes,
twenty four little hours,
He brought the sun and the flowers,
Where it used to rain.
Indeed, what a difference a year has made, 12 little months brought sunshine and flowers where it once rained.
When Mountaineers football hit the summer of ’23, it had no respect.
Neal Brown’s job as head coach was less secure than a Boeing exit door, the team was about to be picked 14th and last in the Big 12 Conference preseason poll, and quietly the types of The media was already beginning to compile lists of potential coaching replacements.
Today, however, Brown enters the summer with a contract extension through 2026, his team arrives after a 9-win season after surprising everyone with a solid performance, they have sent center Zach Frazier to the NFL with the Pittsburgh Steelers as second-round picks and Mountaineers names are starting to appear on NFL Draft picks.
Respect is growing, he acknowledges, but maintains that it is a work in progress.
“Respect this year is average,” he said, sitting in his office overlooking the playing field of the Puskar stadium in Milan. “All the national magazines are coming out. We’re not in the preseason Top 25 any more than we are. “I don’t know how many nine-win teams aren’t in the Top 25, but we’re outside of most of them.”
And yes, they are no longer considered the bottom of a changing Big 12, but they are not considered a championship contender either.
“Most of the top 12, we’re kind of in the middle of the pack. It’s not like we’re on top of this preseason stuff,” Brown said. “It’s different than a year ago, yes… But I still don’t think, especially nationally, that we’re on people’s radar like we should be.
“There is still the hunt. Not that we have arrived, by any means.”
A year ago, the most familiar name was Frazier on the Mountaineers, a fixture at center and an All-American, but let’s face it, a star center doesn’t sell out.
This year, however, there are players with a touch of notoriety.
Quarterback Garrett Greene, seen as a liability at the start of last season, is now a known commodity. Freshman running back Jahiem White came out of nowhere to become the best freshman running back in the country.
All-conference teams are starting to take notice of Wyatt Milum, an offensive tackle, and safety Aubrey Burks.
The change seems to be happening since the Dana Holgorsen debacle that left the closet empty.
“We are entering year 6,” Brown said. “The first year, 2019, is a team that you inherited. Your first recruiting class is 2020. You sign them in December and then you have COVID.
“So really Frazier and a few others are our first recruiting class that has gone through a cycle. “Zach had a four-year plan, while many others had a five-year plan.”
Now, Brown is playing with players he has brought in and developed. A coaching change usually takes a while to take hold.
So this year our first recruiting class is in its fifth year, the second class is in its fourth year and the players have developed and created an awareness of themselves.
But there is a way to go.
“Wyatt Milum is as good as any offensive tackle in the country and he’s getting some recognition, but I think it’s even better than the recognition he’s getting,” Brown said. “I think Sean Martin has a chance to become a potential first-round pick. I think he has those kinds of traits.”
Martin is a boy born in West Virginia. Milum too. Frazier too. So was Doug Nester, who transferred. The days of Holgorsen avoiding West Virginians as recruits are certainly over.
“I think Aubrey Burks has a chance to be involved. You look at the two running backs, Jahiem White and CJ Donaldson; Look at Tomas Rimac… We have some guys that are showing up on NFL Draft lists and some of these preseason lists.”
And then there’s the poster child for disrespect toward WVU players in quarterback Garrett Greene.
“I think Garrett is interesting,” Brown said. “His stats on him last year are really good. I think people recognize him as a good player, but I don’t think he’s getting the recognition he deserves.
“Part of that is because there are a lot of high-quality quarterbacks in our league, but I like our player.”
Brown is not shy about praising Greene and predicts stardom.
“I think it’s an opportunity for Garrett. I think he’s sitting on a great jump, especially throwing the ball,” Brown said.
What’s really intriguing about Greene’s picture is that he may be suffering through no fault of his own.
Think about it this way. How could people be looking at Greene if Houston hadn’t pulled off a miraculous Hail Mary pass against WVU to win that game, the play coming just after Greene had thrown what would have been a game-winning touchdown pass to Hudson Clement with 21 seconds left?
How could he be graded coming into this season with a 10-win season, not 9, and with a game-winning touchdown pass on his resume?
“It’s fair to think it would be different,” Brown said. “But I think the Oklahoma State game is more of my interest. I think if we win that game we will end up playing in the championship game.”
That game followed the Houston game and became a shootout with the Cowboys winning, 48-34, as WVU’s defense let Ollie Gordon run wild for 282 rushing yards and four touchdowns to top 249 passing yards, two touchdowns and 117 rushing yards from Greene.
Those two games turned what could have been an 11-win season into nine wins.
“Quarterbacks, right or wrong, are always judged by their wins and I think if we were on a 10 or 11 win team, his national recognition would be a little bit higher, but I think they’re undervaluing him,” Brown said.
“What he did last year, both running and throwing, was special and I think he’s going to make another jump from completion percentage, which will make him more effective on third down and we’re going to score more touchdowns in the red zone because It will be more precise.
“I think he’s going to take a big leap. I don’t see him getting… Like Phil Steele magazine, he wasn’t even among the top 4 quarterbacks in our league and I don’t understand that if you look at the numbers.
And that bothers Brown because he works hard to get his players the recognition they deserve.
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