For WVU coach, most important part of the spring game was staying healthy

“We didn’t tackle as much as we have in other spring games because I wanted to come out healthy,” stated Neal Brown.

That important medical goal seemingly was accomplished, as none of the Mountaineers appeared to suffer any injuries of note in the final session of spring practice.

The crispness of the two-hour long Gold-Blue Spring Game varied. Interspersed with the 75-play scrimmage, which involved primarily “thud” tackling, were a variety of other drills and competitions. For the players, it was an enjoyable end to spring drills. For the thousands of fans in attendance, it was their only opportunity to see the Mountaineers live and in-person until the Aug. 31 regular-season opener against Penn State.

“Today was ‘to be determined’ as far as football,” noted Brown in evaluating the spring game. “There were some things I thought were really good, and some things I think we have to get better at.”

In terms of offensive statistics, there wasn’t much that jumped off the page Saturday. Freshman Clay Ash was the leading rusher for the Gold with 26 yards on six carries, while junior Jaylen Anderson was the top ground gainer for the Blue with 16 yards on four carries. In terms of quarterbacks, Garrett Greene was eight of 13 passing for 79 yards for the Gold with the leading receiver on that side being Traylon Ray, who caught four aerials for 55 yards. Nicco Marchiol did much of the quarterbacking for the Blue, and the sophomore completed 10 of 19 passes for 82 yards. Anderson and Judah Price both had three receptions for the Blue. Greene, Marchiol and Scott Kean threw one interception each, as they were picked off by Josiah Trotter, Ayden Garnes and Aden Tagoloa-Nelson respectively.

Though WVU returns eight offensive and five defensive starters from last year’s 9-4 club, the spring game was mainly about getting the younger Mountaineers opportunities to play in front of a crowd.

“Offensively and defensively, I wanted some of the guys who are stepping into bigger roles to show our fan base what to expect from them,” said Brown. “It could be guys like (true freshman safety) Zae Jennings, a new guy. He showed up quite a bit today. Maybe it’s a guy like (redshirt freshman) Josiah Trotter, who is getting better (after missing last season with a knee injury). (Sophomore linebacker) Trey Lathan is coming off an injury but is coming along.

“There were also some young offensive linemen like Johnny Williams and Nick Krahe, those type of guys, who are going to play increased roles,” continued West Virginia’s sixth-year head coach. “This spring game is the first time they’ve been put out there. I wanted to see them perform, and I thought they did a pretty good job.”

WVU returns all its top specialists from last season, but many of their backups got a chance to perform in front of a crowd on Saturday.

“I wanted to put pressure on our specialists today where all eyes were on them. It was kind of a ‘first tee mentality’,” explained Brown. “Michael Hayes came out and piped one (a 44-yard field goal), and we brought R.J. (Kocan) in, and R.J. hit from 54. That was impressive. He’s had a great spring.

“Leighton Bechdel has been in our program for a while (five years) and is a phenomenal holder, but he hit a big (49-yard punt) in front of Pat McAfee, which was pretty cool.”

McAfee was one of two former Mountaineer stars who returned to their alma mater to serve as honorary coaches during Saturday’s Gold-Blue Game. McAfee followed his All-American kicking career at WVU (2005-08) and eight-year stint in the NFL by becoming a national icon in the sports media industry. McAfee coached the Gold team, while his former West Virginia teammate, quarterback Pat White, was on the Blue sideline.

“I’m thankful for Pat White and Pat McAfee coming back,” Brown said. “Blaine (Stewart, the Mountaineers’ current tight ends coach whose father, Bill, coached both McAfee and White at WVU) definitely played a role in getting them back. We wanted to do something where they could be around our players. Pat White has been coaching (most recently in the NFL with the Los Angeles Chargers), so he hadn’t had much of a chance to get back here. We re-introduced him to our players, showed them what he did and what a special talent he was.

“Then Pat McAfee is probably the most recognizable face associated with West Virginia right now. I thought it was important to get him around our players.”

The addition of McAfee and White to Saturday’s festivities, plus a pregame concert by Morgantown native Huey Mack, brought out a crowd larger than any for the spring game since the first one Brown coached at WVU in 2019.

“I appreciate the fans. It was a really good atmosphere and a lot of fun,” Brown said.

“Overall, I was pleased with the spring. Now we’re kind of going into the next phase, which will be the next 48 to 72 hours waiting on the portal deal (whose window for football closes on April 30),” added the coach. “I’m not a fan of the spring portal. I get the portal, but you’re running out of time when you have the second window (along with the winter one from Dec. 4-Jan. 2). It is what it is, though. We just want to know the rules, and we’ll play by them.

“The most important thing is continuing to hold onto our roster, and then we’ll look to add some (transfer) pieces potentially in May.”

The current Mountaineers will finish up their academic work for the spring semester this coming week. Then they will step away for several weeks before reconvening for the start of the summer workouts immediately after Memorial Day on May 28.