MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — What was good enough for West Virginia in Neal Brown’s first season at the helm isn’t going to cut it in Year 2.
“A 5-7 record is not good enough,” Brown said in a season wrap-up press conference on Friday afternoon. “That doesn’t meet the standard here. I’m well aware of that. But we were only favored in two of the 12 games. And I was pleased with how we finished the season. I’m excited about the future. I’m excited about where we’re going.”
The Mountaineers will need to replace both starting offensive tackles, both starting cornerbacks and their starting punter and long snapper. But outside of those positions, West Virginia stacks up well going into next season in terms of production.
Now those players need to take the next steps forward in their development.
“It’s going to be a huge offseason for us,” Brown said. “We’ve got to be focused on being one of the most improved teams in the country next year.”
It’s no mystery where West Virginia needs to make the most progress.
“The key area of improvement offensively is run-game production,” Brown said. “If we want to make strides offensively, we’ve got to be able to run the ball better.”
The Mountaineers were 129th out of 130 FBS teams with 2.6 yards per carry, making it almost literally impossible to run the ball worse.
“Defensively, we’ve got to increase our takeaways,” Brown said. “Those are the two biggest statistical pieces we need to see improvement in.”
The Mountaineers tied for 101st nationally with 14 takeaways. Brown’s final team at Troy ranked third in the country with 31 takeaways.
West Virginia’s secondary figures to be more adept forcing turnovers next year as safeties Tykee Smith, Sean Mahone and Kerry Martin Jr. return to the lineup after closing the season with several solid performances. All three had big plays in West Virginia’s season-ending win at TCU.
There were fewer outward signs of future growth from the offensive front.
“There’s a recruiting piece and development piece. We have to get stronger on the interior part of the offensive line,” Brown said. “Some of that is youth and time will solve that. Some of it’s technique. There’s a strength component, and pad-level component, an explosive component. We’ve got to get better at that. That’s why the offseason is so critical.”
Not everything is the offensive line’s fault, either.
“We’ve got to do a better job finishing runs at running back,” Brown said. “We have to do better in space at running back. We can get a little better than that. But we’ve got to recruit guys that can compete for playing time. The more competition you have in the room, the more push there is to get everyone better. We’ve got to get some bigger, more explosive guys in that room.”
Brown said the coaching staff has to improve, too.
“We have to look at schematically what we can do about it,” Brown said. “When you’re as poor as we were in that area, everything’s on the table. There is a clear gap between that and anything else we have to get better at offensively.”
George Campbell applying for extra year
Brown confirmed that wide receiver George Campbell is petitioning the NCAA for a sixth season of eligibility due to his injury-plagued career at Florida State. Campbell missed the entire 2016 season and played only four games in 2017 due to injuries.
“We’re pretty certain he’ll be approved,” Brown said.
However, there’s a chance Campbell won’t be using that extra year.
In his first post on Instagram, Campbell wrote, “Thank you Mountaineer nation, I am forever grateful. This has been a great experience and I wouldn’t change it for anything in the world. It’s time to start this new chapter in my life and I pray God continues to guid me and allow my story to impact others.”
Brown pointed out that Campbell ranked second on the team in community service points this season.
“I’m supportive of George,” Brown said. “We thought it was going to be a one-year deal. He exceeded expectations. He gave stability to that receivers’ room. He was our best player on special teams. We got significant production from him late in the year.
“I think he’s just scratching the surface. If he comes back, he can mold into a high-level receiver. But I’m completely supportive of whatever decision he makes.”
Campbell finished the season with nine touchdowns and 469 yards on 17 receptions.
Haskins, Stilley in transfer portal
Sophomore center Adam Stilley and junior tight end Jovani Haskins are both in the transfer portal, Brown announced.
Stilley, a walk-on from Martinsburg, has been in the program three years and decided to move on for a chance to actually get on the field. He turned some heads in training camp, but ultimately did not play this season.
“He’s worked hard and been nothing but great here,” Brown said.
Haskins, who already transferred to West Virginia from Miami, entered the portal on Friday. Brown said he had not sat down to talk with Haskins yet having spent the rest of the week on in-home recruiting visits.
Haskins had an underwhelming season, giving way to Mike O’Laughlin as West Virginia’s starting tight end. His decreased playing time was exacerbated by penalties and missed assignments when he did get the opportunity to play.
Brown looking for continuity
Don’t expect any changes on Brown’s coaching staff in his first offseason.
“That’s the intent,” Brown said. “You never know what will happen in the next two months. But that’s the intent.
“I tell my staff that I’m for them personally, but my greater responsibility is to our university and the football program. So my hope here is that it’s a working environment they want to be part of. They see where we’re going and how we go about getting there, and we’re giving them an opportunity to grow in the profession.
“We want to continue to develop them as coaches to whatever their end goal is, whether it’s coordinator or head coach.”