What Neal Brown Said at Big 12 Media Day

The WVU head football coach fielded questions from the media in Las Vegas.

Austin American Statesman-USA TODAY

West Virginia head coach Neal Brown answered a handful of questions at Big 12 Conference media day, a few more than he received last year which he joked about in his closing statement. Below, you'll find what the head ball coach had to say.

Opening statement

“Excited about the 2024 season. Offensively, we return one of the most dynamic playmakers in the country in Garrett Greene. We return an offensive line that we’re extremely proud of. We also have a tight end that led us in receiving in Kole Taylor. And then a really good one-two punch at running back in Jahiem White and CJ Donaldson. And then a young receiving crew that we think is going to make a huge jump. Defensively, we return most of our defensive line that was highly productive in sacks and TFLs and playing the run. A young linebacker group that we feel like is going to be much improved. And the secondary is kind of the question mark for us and we went out and addressed that in the portal. Looking forward to getting that group complete and working with them in fall camp. A lot returning from a group that won nine games and finished off with a big win against North Carolina in Charlotte.”

Building identity and character in the program

“The character piece, a lot of that happens through recruiting and making sure you have processes and systems in place to make sure that you’re bringing in the right type of people with character and then you try to develop that character once you’re on campus. The identity piece for us is something we’ve really spent a lot of time on over the last 19 months of who we need to be to be successful at West Virginia. I felt like we found that and our team has bought into it.”

Expectations for Jaden Bray

“He scored a touchdown against us last year, so as soon as he went in the portal we felt like we needed to get him on our team. Jaden is really talented. I thought he was slowed by injuries last year. He had a couple really big games. He’s a tremendous humanbeing first of all. He’s been a great addition to our locker room. The type of character he has, the way he was raised. Those are all real positives. And he’s long, he can jump, and he can run. Now, for us, it’s about getting that production from a week in, week out perspective. I’m excited to coach him. He’s been a joy since he got there in January and I think he’s sitting on really not just one but two quality, high production years.”

Being picked 14th last year, 7th this year in the Big 12

“Yeah, there’s no question that we rallied around that. 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. 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.”

How much beating Penn State would mean for WVU and the Big 12 

“The Penn State game is huge for us. That’s a regional rivalry and that’s not a rivalry that’s gone in West Virginia’s favor  very often, so that’s a great opportunity for us. It’s the FOX noon kickoff, the Big Noon show will be there so we’re fired up about that. Our fans will be ready too and I think we’ll show really well on national television. But it’s not just a big game for West Virginia, you’re correct. It’s a big game for our league. It’s an opportunity for our league in this new Big 12 without a couple schools that have been a part of the Big 12 for a long time and that first weekend on a marquee stage to show what kind of football that we play in this league. Whether it’s West Virginia or any other program in the Big 12 gets those kind of marquee wins, our brand will continue to grow and then we’ve got to make some noise in the playoff. Commissioner (Brett) Yormark spoke about this yesterday. We are the most competitive league. I would say we are the deepest football league in the entire country. TCU had a nice run, but we’ve got to have more wins in the playoff once we get in.”

Splitting the carries with so many options

“Offensive football is about getting your best players the football anyway possible. We have Jahiem White coming back who I think is dynamic. He finished the year off really strong and he’s only going to be a sophomore. I think he’s ready to take the next step and really be a premier player. CJ Donaldson was kind of beat up last year. He’s a big, powerful running back. I really think he’ll go back and show and remind our fanbase and college football fans across the country what he showed as a freshman and the type of potential he has. And then Garrett Greene is an elite runner. We also have some receivers who will get involved too with Rodney Gallagher, DayDay Farmer. There’ll be enough touches to go around.”

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