MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Former Texas Tech assistant coach Neal Brown will make his return to Lubbock Saturday afternoon when the Mountaineers visit the Red Raiders.
WVU starting quarterback Jarret Doege grew up in Lubbock and was a fixture at youth camps at TTU.
“I had a good relationship with the Doege family,” Brown said. “And I knew he was a competitor and I knew he loved football at a young age. It worked out when we got here at West Virginia when he was looking for a place leaving Bowling Green.”
West Virginia could surpass their rushing yard output from a season ago Saturday afternoon. In four games, the Mountaineers have rushed for 757 yards. They amassed 879 yards in 12 games last season. Leddie Brown has emerged as the clear feature back in his junior season.
“He was our starting running back towards the end of last year, probably the last four games. But he shared carries. This year, we have two guys that are really carrying the load. But he is the clear cut number one running back.
“His practice habits, and the way he has practiced over the last six weeks are really a major reason why he is having success on game day. And we are much improved up front as well.”
Texas Tech is coming off a bye week after three consecutive losses to Texas, Kansas State and Iowa State. The Red Raiders’ lone win was a 35-33 triumph over Houston Baptist in their opener. Head coach Matt Wells says many of Tech’s defensive issues have come before the ball is snapped.
“There were times that we struggled at Iowa State getting lined up and that can’t be who we are,” Wells said. “We need to put a better product on the field and everything pre-snap that is controlled by us, we need to get the call in, we need to get aligned and in the right set and run to the football playing with tremendous effort and energy. That usually solved a lot of your issues on defense.”
Wells highlighted many reasons for West Virginia’s (3-1) improvement in Neal Brown’s second season, particularly on the defensive side of the ball.
“You start up front with the line. Those guys are playing with tremendous confidence. You see them flying around. The Stills brothers first of all stick out. (Jeffrey) Pooler sticks out and number-90 (Akheem Mesidor) comes in and what a game he had against Kansas.”
Time to trick-or-treat after next game
For the fourth time this season, WVU has drawn a noon kickoff time at Milan Puskar Stadium. The Mountaineers will host Kansas State next Saturday (October 31) in a contest that will be televised by ESPN or ESPN2.
WVU trio nets Big 12 honors
WVU running back Leddie Brown (195 yards, 2 total TD) has been named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week. Defensive lineman Akheem Mesidor (6 tackles, 2 sacks) is the Newcomer of the Week and linebacker Josh Chandler-Semedo (9 tackles) is the league’s Defensive Player of the Week.