CHARLESTON, W.Va. — With the season opener against James Madison University looming, West Virginia University football head coach Neal Brown said he’s not worried heading into his first fall leading the Mountaineers.
“Whenever the depth chart comes out, we’ll probably have four true freshmen and then two deep in the secondary. We’re going to have three new starters on the offensive line. We’re only going to line up and play one receiver that’s had any game action,” he said. “I think we’ve got some talent. It’s just some young, inexperienced guys. but the concern is how do they react when they are in a sold-out stadium and how do they react when there is some adversity.”
Brown’s comments on Thursday’s MetroNews “Talkline” come as the Mountaineers prepare for their Aug. 31 opener against the James Madison Dukes.
Brown said fans should not be worried ahead of the season getting underway, adding “there’s a lot more things to worry about, probably, for most of our fans.” He also said questions will be answered during the season.
“There’s a lot of unknowns for me sitting here as a head coach It’s going to be the first game that I’ve coached here at West Virginia,” he said. “It’s going to be the first game for that so many of our players have played, so I think there are a lot of unknowns.”
Brown said the team will improve throughout the season, but patience from fans will be necessary.
“Our fans should be excited because the group we’re going to put out there is going to play extremely hard,” he said. “Are they going to look just like the group that just left? No, because that group has nine guys that are still in NFL camps right now, five of those guys are drafted.
“We’re going to play the game the right way. We’re going to play extremely hard, we’re going to play extremely physical, and we’ll be a fun group to watch,” he added.
West Virginia Univesity announced Wednesday the season opener is officially sold out. The game is scheduled for 2 p.m.