Neal Brown Feels the Disrespect Again

West Virginia knows they're a top third of the Big 12 team, but no one believes it.

Candice Ward-USA TODAY Sports

When the Big 12 released the preseason poll a year ago, it lit a fire under West Virginia head coach Neal Brown. The motivation and determination to get the program turned around was already there, but to be picked to finish dead last in the league did not sit well with him whatsoever. He passionately expressed his reasons as to why that would not happen, even calling it a "lazy" evaluation. He was right as the Mountaineers finished fourth in the Big 12 and had a 9-4 overall record to go with it.

This summer, the media picked WVU to finish seventh behind Utah, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Kansas, Arizona, and Iowa State. While it's not 14th, it's still not what you would expect for a team that finished in the top five of the conference a year ago and if it weren't for a Hail Mary and a botched punt return, the Mountaineers could have been playing in Dallas for the Big 12 title.

“Yeah, there’s no question that we rallied around that (last year). I said up here a year ago when we were picked 14th, I said we wouldn’t be there and our team proved me right. I said that a year ago because I knew what we had on both fronts. To win in college football you got to be really talented at skill positions and you have to have some difference makers there, but you got to win in the trenches. And I knew that we had those type of guys. They were experienced and had been productive. That is something we rallied around, that 14.

"Now, it’s similar," Brown continued. "We’re sitting here we’re coming off 9-4 and I look at most of these preseason top 25 (rankings) and we’re not in it. With the team that finished strong last year that returns a lot of production and that has one of the most dynamic players in all of college football in Garrett Greene…we were the number one Power Four rushing offense in the country last year and we’re picked seventh in the league. And we’re not in these preseason top 25s, so I think there’s a similar dynamic that works with this team too and on a personal level, I believe some of our players are undervalued. Garrett Greene, he’s not getting talked about as much as some others and his production speaks for itself. Wyatt Milum, we feel like he’s as good or better than any offensive lineman in the country. I could go on and on. I just think some of our players are being undervalued as well.”

READ MORE ABOUT WVU ATHLETICS

WVU's Top Rated Player on College Football 25 Is...

Jersey Numbers for WVU Newcomers, Changes for a Pair of Returners

WVU Releases 2024 Preseason Depth Chart