MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia coach Neal Brown had plenty of good things to say about both quarterbacks in the Mountaineers’ upcoming matchup with Iowa State during Monday’s Big 12 coaches teleconference.
Brown confirmed that Austin Kendall missed practice last Sunday due to a cut that opened up on his previously stitched-up throwing hand. Kendall needed stitches after getting cut by a helmet in the Missouri game. He played the Texas game with a heavy wrap on his right hand.
“There is zero questions about his toughness,” Brown said. “Just the first three games and the amount of hits he took and he didn’t miss time for any of those. He missed practice Sunday, but he’s a tough guy. I’m not disappointed in how he played.”
Kendall threw four interceptions against the Longhorns, but completed 31 of 46 passes for a career-high 367 yards and three touchdowns.
“He gave us a chance,” Brown said. “When you drop back and throw that many times, you put yourself at risk for turnovers. He was a victim of bad luck on two and maybe a third. I didn’t give him a good play call on one. At times he played as well as he has all year. His mindset will be really good this week.”
Brown absolutely raved about the quarterback the Mountaineers will be facing this week. Iowa State sophomore Brock Purdy is leading the Big 12 in passing with an average of 315.6 yards per game. No Cyclones quarterback has led the league in passing yardage since 1997.
“I’m super-impressed,” Brown said. “He’s in the conversation to be the best quarterback we’ve played, and we’ve played two really good ones already.”
Behind Oklahoma Jalen Hurts, Brown says no offensive player in the Big 12 has looked better than Purdy.
“Outside of Hurts, he is in contention to be one of the top offensive players in our league, for sure,” Brown said. “Purdy is faster than some of the other dual-threats we have played.”
Purdy is Iowa State’s leading rusher after going off for 102 yards on 12 carries in last week’s 49-24 win against TCU. He averages 4.5 yards per carry.