Quick Hits: Importance of the Backyard Brawl, Secondary Concerns, Injury Update + More

WVU head football coach discusses this week's game against Pitt.

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We're on to Week 3 as the West Virginia Mountaineers prepare to do battle with their fiercest rival, the Pitt Panthers, this Saturday at 3:30 p.m. EST. Monday afternoon, WVU head coach Neal Brown met with the media to give final thoughts on the win over UAlbany, and to discuss the upcoming Backyard Brawl.

Facing Pitt in the Backyard Brawl

“Huge game, obviously one our fans always circle. Backyard Brawl, one of the best rivalries in all of college sports. I don’t think there’s any doubt about that. First time back in Acrisure Stadium since the disappointment back in ’22. That’s still very fresh on our minds. I respect the rivalry. We have a tremendous amount of respect for the Pitt program and for really what Coach (Pat) Narduzzi’s done there. They’re playing well. They’re 2-0 coming off a huge win in Cincinnati. They’re 2-0 and probably haven’t played their best. They’re going to have a lot of confidence going into the game.”

What he’s learned about the Backyard Brawl

“The crowd will be into it. It’ll be a great atmosphere. It was a great atmosphere last time we were there. Great atmosphere here last year. There’s a lot of familiarity. It’s probably a little bit different than it was 20 years ago. We know a lot of guys on their roster, they know a lot of guys on our roster. This is one that’s extremely important to the fans. Our players understand that. This is a game that’s of super high importance to our fanbase. For us in here, we respect the rivalry, but for us, it’s about getting to 2-1 and getting another win as we get into conference play. Our guys are very aware of the emotions that are going to be in the building.”

Why the pass coverage was poor vs. UAlbany

“First of all, we’ve got to play with better technique. At corner, we just didn’t play very good. We’ve got guys that can play and they’ve played well before. Trying to do too much, eyes aren’t in the right spots, and then we just didn’t play good team pass coverage. We’re primarily a zone team and our underneath droppers just weren’t where they’re supposed to be. I’m talking a lot about our MIKE, our WILL, and our SPEAR. We’ve got really firm rules about where they’re supposed to be and they just weren’t there. And some of it was they were just looking in the backfield too much. We coach them to sprint to their drop and then look back. Disappointing, but correctable at the same time.”

The plan if Edward Vesterinen can’t play

“If he’s not able to go then T.J. Jackson, who has probably been our most productive d-lineman through two weeks, he’ll get the start. We’ll miss Eddie. We’ll miss his leadership, the motor he plays with, but we’ve got guys up there. Asani Redwood’s reps will increase. Sean Martin’s got some flexibility to play the field and the boundary. Hammond Russell’s role will increase and I’ve been really pleased with how he’s played through two weeks. We hate it for Eddie, but we’ve got a room there that we’ve got enough guys that are quality players to be able to pick up the slack.”

The upcoming interruption of the Backyard Brawl

"We've got to get our schedule fixed and we're in the process of doing that. But yeah, I think it's a series that needs to be played. It's important. I think Pitt wants to play it. We want to play it. College football is so up in the air nobody really knows what the future looks like, but if we stay on this we can play nine conference games and you play another Power Four, I think it makes sense for us to play the game. Close proximity, it's a great TV audience, the fans on both sides are excited about it. If you look at us moving forward, as soon as we get through this little run here - to me it's nine conference games, it's Pitt, it's an FCS, and it's a group of five and preferably the FCS and the group of five need to be at home. That gives us an opportunity to give us seven home games every year which is what we need to do."

How much Rodney Gallagher will continue to play both offense/defense

“I think what the other team does determines how many snaps he’s going to play on defense. As he continues to progress on defense, and he’s getting better every week…it’s all new to him. Really encouraged by his growth on defense. He’s got some natural coverage skills. He had one ball caught on him the other night and really, that was because he should have been shaded outside, he was shaded inside. If he was outside, he may have had a pick. He had a great back on the ball and had a PBU. I’m excited just watching him continuing to grow. And then offensively, he just missed a few explosive plays. I think we targeted him five or six times. His snaps on offense and how we get him touches that’ll continue to evolve.”

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