Redshirt Senior Enters the Transfer Portal

Morgantown, West Virginia - Taijh Alston, a redshirt senior from Lumberton, North Carolina, has decided to leave the West Virginia football program and enter the transfer portal. Alston, a defensive lineman, had 18 tackles, 3 tackles for loss and 2 sacks this past season for the Mountaineers. During his long career in Morgantown, he has played in 28 games, has 56 career tackles, 15 tackles for loss and 8 sacks. Alston will have one year of eligibility remaining. Alston had the following to say in his farewell message to West Virginia: "Mountaineer Nation, thank you for being the most passionate fans in college football. Y'all showed love to me and provided and advantage every time I stepped on the field. Thank you Mike Joseph and Vince Blankenship for helping me come back from my injury to play the game I love. Thank you to all my brothers at WVU for pushing me every single day. With that being said, I have entered my name in the transfer portal for my last year of eligibility."

Colorado Could Soon Join Big 12

Morgantown, West Virginia - Deion Sanders was recently hired as the next head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes and one sportscaster believes that this could lead to the school moving conferences. Tim Brando, who has had a long, distinguished career at CBS Sports, ESPN and SiriusXM, recently said that he believes that Colorado could soon move to the Big 12 after Deion Sanders was hired. According to Brando, "Primetime" has been breaking barriers his whole career and the next one will be joining the Big 12. "He's still breaking barriers. Watch them move to the Big 12 Conference next!" Colorado was a part of the Big 12 for many years before moving to the PAC-12 and has been rumored for many months to be interested in re-joining the Big 12. Brett Yormark, the Big 12's new commissioner, has said numerous times that he wants the conference to be "younger and more hip", and adding Colorado led by Deion Sanders would do just that. https://twitter.com/TimBrando/status/1599473485083947008?s=20&t=gteXcSrEVO_lPBnSmU594g

JT Daniels’ Outrageous Demands in the Transfer Portal

Morgantown, West Virginia - Last offseason, JT Daniels was one of the hottest players available in the transfer portal. A former five star quarterback, Daniels drew attention from several programs looking for an experienced, proven leader that could push their team over the hump. Ultimately, it came down to Missouri, Oregon State and West Virginia for his services. According to donors at Oregon State, Daniels had several major demands from their program if he was going to consider going there. Daniels reportedly asked for a four bedroom rental home, a personal chef and a six-figure endorsement deal. Daniels ended up choosing West Virginia University, where he was the starting quarterback for most of the season before being replaced by backup Garrett Greene. Daniels, who today announced his intention to enter the transfer portal again, will now attempt to play for his 4th team during his college career after playing at USC, Georgia and West Virginia. During his year with the Mountaineers, was 200 of 327 for 2,107 yards, 13 touchdowns and 9 interceptions in ten starts. Although terms of his NIL deal with Country Roads Trust was never revealed, he was rumored to have earned close to $500,000 or more for his year in Morgantown. https://twitter.com/PacFight/status/1600200231445929985?s=20&t=VuhsyCPNYpTc2Y7zyoqCoA

Top Five Realistic Players West Virginia Could Land in the Transfer Portal

Morgantown, West Virginia - The transfer portal officially opens tomorrow. Instead of being able to leave a school at any time, players now have to enter the portal within set dates. The first window opens tomorrow, December 5th, and closes 45 days later on January 18, 2023. West Virginia has several key holes to fill and Neal Brown and his coaching staff will be responsible for filling those needs prior to the start of next season. Here are the players that the Mountaineers are most likely to target in the coming weeks: Jonquis "JQ" Hardaway, CB, Cincinnati - Former 4 star quarterback out of Alabama, Hardaway recently entered the transfer portal after Luke Fickell left the program for Wisconsin. West Virginia offered Hardaway out of high school and is very interested in getting him on this second go around. Gilbert Frierson, CB, Miami - A graduate transfer, Frierson started all 11 games and finished with 53 tackles, including nine tackles for loss, two sacks, four pass breakups and a fumble recovery in 2020. Last season he started three of his 12 games and finished with 41 tackles, 3 1/2 tackles for loss and a sack. Nick Oliveira, OL, Cincinnati - Another former Cincinnati commit, Oliveira, a 6'5 280 pound offensive tackle was recently offered by the Mountaineers. Oliveira is a New Jersey native so West Virginia will have to battle Rutgers for his services. Deandrae McCray, Wide Receiver/Running Back, Austin Peay - McCray, a talented athlete out of Tallahassee, Florida, had 75 receptions for over 1,000 yards and nine touchdowns this last season. West Virginia recently offered. DJ Oliver, Running Back, USF - 6'0, 240 pound running back from Port Saint Joe, Florida, Oliver was recently offered by the Mountaineers after USF's former head coach Jeff Scott was fired.

Neal Brown’s New Contract

Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports Morgantown, West Virginia - West Virginia's new director of athletics Wren Baker has now landed in Morgantown and will officially start his duties on December 19th, but in addition to getting acclimated with the area, Baker has big, major decisions to make over the next several weeks. The hard work starts now for Wren Baker. Baker must decide the next steps with head coach Neal Brown. Brown, who is currently under contract until 2026 and is owed approximately $16 million by the university on that deal, will be back in 2023, but his actual future with the team is very much up in the air. Bringing Brown back next season buys Baker time, but it certainly doesn't mean that Brown is safe. In fact, Wren Baker's top priority over the next couple of weeks is likely to find a way to negotiate Brown's contract to make it more favorable for West Virginia University. Neal Brown did not want to be fired after a 5-7 season. Being fired after four seasons of mediocrity would nearly be a death sentence for his future as a Power 5 head coach and he firmly believes that he can turn things around next season for the Mountaineers. Because of this, West Virginia University has the leverage and power now. Unlike two years ago, when Brown's name reportedly came up for other jobs such as Auburn and South Carolina, no one is going to come searching for him after a 21-25 start to his time at West Virginia, regardless of how respected he is in coaching circles. Brown has to succeed at West Virginia now or his time at this level is likely over for the foreseeable future. Baker should - and almost certainly will - have the following open, honest discussion with Neal Brown. "Neal, we will support you and do everything we can to help make you successful next season, but you have to work with us on this contract. You have had four seasons here and if you don't get it done in Year Five, we will have to let you go. You will be evaluated on a week to week basis and there's a very good chance that you won't meet our expectations. If you don't, we do not want to owe you $16 million in unearned salary. We are giving you this year to prove yourself and earn your future with the university. Adjusted Contract Terms That Makes Sense For Everyone Involved 1 year deal that pays Neal Brown $5 million a year with a $5 million contract buyout. Brown would get a slight bump in his yearly salary and if he's successful next season, a new contract will be negotiated. If he's not successful and does not meet the expectations of Baker, he will be fired and the university will owe him a much more reasonable $5 million. Why would Neal Brown accept these terms? He's betting on himself. He understands that he's failed over four seasons and doesn't deserve his current contract. In addition, he is grateful to the university for another chance to prove himself at the Power 5 level. In addition, if he doesn't accept these terms, West Virginia could always fire him and destroy his future. West Virginia doesn't want to pay the enormous buyout and Neal Brown doesn't want to be fired. No one wants it to come to this and that's why Brown will be amenable to accepting an adjusted deal. Neal Brown Might Have to Make Changes to His Coaching Staff Brown hired a bunch of his buddies to be on his staff and has been reluctant to make changes or fire anyone during his career, despite them under-performing with the Mountaineers. After a brief evaluation of the program, Baker will want to surround Brown with new energy and proven assistant coaches who have been successful at the Power 5 level. This means that Brown will have to fire a few of the assistants on his current staff. Offensive line/associate head coach Matt Moore, secondary coach ShaDon Brown, inside linebackers coach Jeff Koonz, tight ends coach Sean Reagan and even defensive coordinator Jordan Lesley will at the very least have their performances evaluated.

Shocking Amount of Time Since West Virginia Football Was Last Ranked

Cover Photo by Keith Srakocic Morgantown, West Virginia - At one point in time, the West Virginia Mountaineers were a perennial Top 25 team. If the Mountaineers weren't in the Top 25, they were on the cusp of being ranked. However, it has been a very, very long time since West Virginia has been ranked. How long? Try 1,455 days since West Virginia was in the Top 25. That's right, the last time the Mountaineers were in the Top 25 was December 9, 2018. Dana Holgorsen was the head coach. Tony Gibson was the defensive coordinator. Jake Spavital was the offensive coordinator. And the West Virginia Mountaineers were relevant.  Since then, West Virginia hasn't even sniffed the Top 25. The Mountaineers, under Neal Brown, are 21-25 overall and 14-21 in the Big 12 Conference. In addition, West Virginia has zero program-defining wins and has shown little to no progress on the field. https://twitter.com/voicemorgantown/status/1599056848404914177?s=20&t=KU7I_UzMHhsDUm3jWtV70A

Pat McAfee Says Neal Brown is Going to Be Climbing Again Next Season

Morgantown, West Virginia - West Virginia announced the hiring of new athletic director Wren Baker and also revealed that head coach Neal Brown will be back to lead the Mountaineers in 2023. Today, Pat McAfee, the former West Virginia punter/kicker turned media personality, said today on his podcast that West Virginia has a real chance to turn it all around tomorrow. "Neal has a young batch that might get really good next season," McAfee said. "Honestly. Wide receivers, very good. Running back, very good. Quarterback, very good. Offensive line? We'll have to figure that out moving forward, but they'll have another year under them. Neal Brown is going to be climbing again next season. If not, he's going to be gone, and then we'll have a full coaching search with a new Athletic Director." McAfee also revealed that West Virginia's new athletic director, Wren Baker, already reached out to him on social media. "The brand new AD sent me a DM on Twitter. I haven't opened it yet. I don't want to leave him on read. I'm not yet ready to answer it."

West Virginia University Lied To You

Photo by Ben Queen/USA Today  Morgantown, West Virginia - When West Virginia University forced Shane Lyons to retire, university president Gordon Gee said that a new athletic director would be hired soon and it would be the responsibility of the AD to evaluate whether Neal Brown would return in 2023 or not. "We are supporting Coach Neal Brown and our team as we complete our season over the next few weeks, " Gee said. "We are aware there are some deficiencies, but we have not given up on the coach and the team, and they have not given up on each other. The evaluation of the football program will be the first task of our new athletic director and no changes will be made until that review has been completed." However, on the very same day that Wren Baker was hired as the new director of athletics at West Virginia, the university released a statement, saying that Neal Brown would return. To be clear, Baker doesn't even start work in Morgantown until December 19th and likely knows absolutely nothing (or very minimal) about West Virginia athletics or what has happened with the Mountaineers football program over the past four seasons. Even if he was briefed about the situation, how could he possibly make an informed decision when he hasn't even officially started working for the university! It's much more likely that Gordon Gee interviewed several qualified candidates for the AD position and one of the questions that came up was, "What will you do with our head football coach?"   Most proven, qualified athletic directors would obviously decide to fire Neal Brown and his entire coaching staff immediately. He's failed miserably over four seasons and there has been zero progress on the field. However, an AD refusing to allow Brown to remain with the team into 2023 likely eliminated several outstanding candidates. Gee wanted Brown back. It could be because of the money. It could be because he likes him and thinks he's a good man. It could be that he truly thinks that Neal Brown will get the football program back on track. But ultimately, Gee convinced Wren Baker (and half of the population of West Virginia) that somehow, despite all evidence supporting otherwise, that bringing Neal Brown back for one more year was the right move.  

What’s Next Now That Neal Brown is Back in 2023

Morgantown, West Virginia - With the hiring of Wren Baker as the new director of athletics and the announcement that Neal Brown will return in 2023. Brown, who is 22-25, is undoubtedly in the crosshairs and his evaluation will continue throughout next season.     Neal Brown Will Have to Show Real Improvement This is Neal Brown's final chance. He's had four seasons of mediocrity and disappointment, and despite what former AD Shane Lyons said recently, he's been in Morgantown four full years. Every coach in the nation has had to face the very same challenges that he has and there will be no more excuses made for him moving forward. With that said, anything less than a winning record and a bowl game would be considered failure. In fact, Baker may have even more lofty expectations for Brown. He may look at Brown's performance over the past four years and demand 7 wins or 8 wins or even 9 wins in order for him to keep his job. Brown, for the first time since arriving in Morgantown, will have real expectations. He no longer has his buddy Shane to fall back on and he doesn't have COVID or NIL or any other excuses that he can make for his poor performance. Assistant Coaches Will Be Fired Brown hiring his friends instead of real, proven assistant coaches was one of the major downfalls of his time at West Virginia. Despite an obvious need to replace assistants over the past four years, Brown has been unwilling or unable to fire any of his friends. Several assistants, namely Matt Moore (offensive line), Sean Reagan (tight ends), ShaDon Brown (defensive backs), Dontae Wright (safeties), Jeff Koonz (linebackers) are all friends of Brown who have no business coaching at this level of football. Tony Washington, Jordan Lesley, Graham Harrell, Chad Scott and Andrew Jackson should all be evaluated by Mr. Baker based on their overall performance. Lesley has had strong defensive units during his time at West Virginia, but this past season's performance was his worst yet. Harrell has likely not been given enough time to make a real determination about his future after only one season with the Mountaineers. And Washington, Scott and Jackson have been very solid assistants by all accounts. 2023 Brown will now be the leader of the program and with new, proven assistants in place, he will trust them rather than micromanaging everything. It was clear that Graham Harrell was not calling plays in 2022. That will no longer happen. Brown will be held accountable for everything that happens on the field and he will have to start holding his assistants accountable as well. West Virginia's roster is even more challenging next season than it was this year. It will be extremely difficult for Brown to meet the high expectations of his new boss and ultimately, Baker will evaluate Brown not just on next season but also on his previous four seasons. Although many are disappointed that Brown is returning in 2023, his future in Morgantown looks very, very bleak. https://twitter.com/voicemorgantown/status/1598096335257079808?s=20&t=ZkihkvMiVuhOuCOM045YBw

My Interview With Rich Rodriguez

A message from the Interviewer: Back in 2019, when I was a writer for Mountaineer Sports, I reached out to Rich Rodriguez for an interview to ask him the questions that no one else ever had. For me, the football seasons with Rich Rodriguez as coach were some of my finest memories as a West Virginia fan. Rich Rodriguez always represented passion and enthusiasm for the game, innovation and and a level of success at West Virginia that I didn’t think possible before.  When Coach Rodriguez left for Michigan in 2007, I was disappointed like every other true fan.  I hated to see him go, but I didn’t have the deep, visceral hate that some fans felt towards him and his departure from WVU.  I didn’t view it as a betrayal but rather as a business decision by someone that desperately wanted to reach his full potential in his profession. I followed him closely at Michigan.  I wanted him to be successful and win the national championship that I felt he deserved.  I have an unremitting belief in his brand of football.  When it didn’t go as planned at Michigan, I watched his Arizona teams closely.  I followed his time as an offensive coordinator at Ole Miss and saw him succeed during his return to head coaching at Jacksonville State this past season. Perhaps as a boy growing up in West Virginia, he represented something to me that not many other West Virginia-born citizens did.  He worked hard and became an enormous success doing what he loves to do.  He is a self-made, West Virginia born and bred success story.  West Virginia does not have an overwhelming number of examples of this. Bob Huggins, Nick Saban, Mary Lou Retton, Chuck Yeager, Jerry West are a few, but the list isn’t lengthy.  Rich Rodriguez exemplified what I wanted growing up.  I didn’t necessarily want to be a football coach, but I wanted to be great at a job that I loved.  I wanted to have the same passion and enthusiasm and dedication that Rich Rodriguez showed on the field and in the locker room.  I will always look up to him for that reason. When I learned that I would be interviewing Coach Rodriguez, I knew that I could take a couple of different approaches to it.  This interview was different than with previous interviewees that are universally adored like Jevon Carter, Eugene Napoleon, Damian Owens, etc.  I could bombard him with rumor-laced questions and accusations, immediately putting him on the defensive and abruptly ending the interview before it got started.  Or I could ask the questions that I truly care about and have always wondered.  I chose the latter. My goal in this interview is for all West Virginians to see Rich Rodriguez as I see him.  Admittedly and openly, I want to change a collective negative perception of someone I look up to and also did so much for West Virginia University.  I understand the difficult climb that I will face in changing your minds in any way.  I can already feel the oncoming eye rolls as I tell Coach Rodriguez how “loved and missed he is back home.” If nothing else, I got to talk to one of my heroes and express my appreciation for what he’s done for me and the university that I love so much. Rich Rodriguez is a West Virginia hero. The story of Rich Rodriguez is that of a small-town West Virginia boy who made it big doing what he loves to do.  The most successful Head Coach in West Virginia football history, he took the Mountaineer football program to heights not thought possible.  Clearly this opinion is not shared by all West Virginians.  Rich Rodriguez is one of the most polarizing figures in the history of the university.  Some people in the state still believe that he is a traitor, that he turned his back on the state and all of us fans.  This is simply not true. For anyone to hold a grudge for the way that he left the program is unfair.  Dealing with an uncooperative administration in Morgantown, fighting for improvements to the program and being denied every step of the way, Rodriguez was also pursued by several other programs at the same time. Michigan offered him everything that he wanted at WVU and more.  This was not about money, this was about winning championships.  Michigan gave him a fresh start and a better chance to compete for championships long-term, at one of the most storied, successful programs in history, without the headaches of dealing with an administration that didn’t have the same vision for success that he had.  Who among us wouldn’t have made the very same decision? Rich Rodriguez loves West Virginia and its people.  The pain in his voice when he discusses the 13-9 loss in 2007 against Pitt tells it all.  He’s still tortured by that game to this day.  If you are one of the few people that still believe that he somehow overlooked the biggest game of his life because he was focused on leaving WVU for another job, you will know how ridiculous that is when you hear the emotions he still feels about that loss. This interview isn’t about the ugly ending of the beautiful story of Rich Rodriguez, this is a celebration of one of our own and his dazzling, magnificent time at West Virginia University.  Rich Rodriguez brought us some of the best memories in West Virginia sports history. His final three seasons at WVU:  11-1 and a Sugar Bowl win against Georgia, 11-2 and a Gator Bowl win against Georgia Tech and, finally, a 10-2 record, one game away from the National Championship.  Pat White. Steve Slaton.  Owen Schmitt.  The pregame speeches.  The revolutionary, trailblazing Zone Read Spread offense. The unprecedented success.  Thank you for all of the wonderful memories, Coach Rod. Without further ado, here's my interview with Rich Rodriguez from 2019: https://youtu.be/LMVYATA0YLQ

ESPN Says Neal Brown Likely Gets Another Year

Cover Photo: Ben Queen/USA Today  Morgantown, West Virginia - Although it’s a foregone conclusion in the eyes of most West Virginia fans that Neal Brown, who is 21-25 overall during his career as the head coach of the West Virginia Mountaineers, will be fired, ESPN said, “Not so fast” this morning. According to The Worldwide Leader in Sports, Brown is likely to return for the 2023 season. “Athletic director Shane Lyons is out, and coach Neal Brown's status has been shaky for a while. But WVU will not make any decisions until the end of the season, and several industry sources are saying Brown likely will receive another year under a new AD in 2023. Brown's hefty buyout is clearly a factor, and while West Virginia will run an accelerated AD search, the timing to complete both changes by early December would be difficult.” This is certainly very disappointing news for anyone hoping that the West Virginia football program will be turned around quickly. Brown has failed miserably and given the the fanbase absolutely no reason to have hope for the future. Let’s hope that this is merely another false report by ESPN and that the horrendous tenure of Neal Brown is almost over.

ESPN Says Neal Brown is on Thin Ice This Morning

Morgantown, West Virginia - As the West Virginia Mountaineers (4-6, 2-5) prepare to take on the #15 ranked Kansas State Wildcats (7-3, 5-2), ESPN's College Gameday briefly discussed the game on the show this morning. "The Mountaineers, Pete Thamel reported this morning that they will start Garrett Greene at quarterback, who gave them a real jolt in that win against Oklahoma last week," Rece Davis said. "You know that Neal Brown is on thin ice there at West Virginia so perhaps they can get another win." Pat McAfee added, "The interesting thing here is that it's tough to win a game in Morgantown. No matter what the situation is. The athletic director was fired earlier in the week, there's a fresh energy there. Garrett Greene is a dog, this dude can run and do it all for West Virginia today." Check out the entire clip below provided by our friend Patrick Mason: https://twitter.com/patrickmason180/status/1593976718754201600?s=20&t=fUsSmxIYqib59VCKb-qX3Q

Pat White Submits His Pick for WVU’s Next Athletic Director

Pat White, a legend in his own right in Morgantown, is very vocal when it comes to WVU Athletics. With the firing of athletic director Shane Lyons, White hasn’t been shy to chime in with his opinion on the matter. Earlier today, White even shared his choice of replacement for Lyons in the Athletic Director role. Matt Borman - President of LSU Tiger Athletic Foundation   https://twitter.com/ucpatwhite/status/1592914852405616640?s=46&t=PRVhwWJRozOXLxdbudCIzg For those of you who haven’t heard of Borman before, he brings with him a tremendous background. Not to mention he also has strong connections to WVU. For starters, Borman is a West Virginia University graduate. He received his masters degree in sports management in Morgantown. Borman also spent time as the executive director of the Mountaineer Athletic Club. Leading fundraisers, he was able to help garner record-setting donations for West Virginia University Athletics. White has certainly done his research on this candidate. It’s hard to argue this, as well. Borman certainly deserves a look from the Mountaineers.

Outlet Names Potential Replacements for Neal Brown and Shane Lyons

Morgantown, West Virginia - With Shane Lyons out as the director of athletics at West Virginia, it is only a matter of time before West Virginia Head Coach Neal Brown follows suit. Sitting at 21-24, it is expected that Brown will be relieved of his duties following the 2022 season, regardless of the outcome of the team's final two games. The Athletic, a very well known outlet nationwide, has listed potential replacements for both Lyons and Brown respectively. Here is their list of replacements: Shane Lyons  Pat Chun - Washington State AD  Troy Dannen - Tulane AD Eddie Nunez - New Mexico AD Matt Borman - LSU Athletic Foundation President It should be noted that none of these candidates have any real ties to the state of West Virginia and have not been mentioned by any other outlets. Neal Brown Jason Candle (52-30 at Toledo) Sean Lewis (23-30 at Kent State) Jeff Monken (61-49 at Army)  Scott Satterfield (24-23 at Louisville)  Rich Rodriguez (7-2 at Jacksonville State) Candle, Lewis and Monken are highly-regarded coaches, but West Virginia will likely pursue a more proven head coach at the Power 5 level, particularly after the past four seasons under Brown. Rodriguez is almost certainly too divisive among the West Virginia fanbase to be hired and Satterfield's 24-23 record at Louisville is less than impressive. Overall, these five potential candidates don't appear to be outstanding replacements for Brown at West Virginia. If the university wants to fix the current situation within the football program, they will need a proven leader who has a history of turning around programs and being successful at the highest level of competition.

WVU Could Owe Shane Lyons A Lot of Money

(Photo by WVU Athletics)   West Virginia Athletic Director Shane Lyons was forced to resign yesterday, according to a story first broke by Hoppy Kerchival of MetroNews. Lyons, who has been WVU’s athletic director since 2015, was let go mostly due to his extension of Neal Brown that will ultimately cost the university nearly $20 million. Now, the university could also owe Lyons a large amount of cash. With his firing unlikely being due to something unlawful, the university will owe Lyons his remaining contract, totaling roughly $3.724 million, according to a report by WVNews. Lyons was contracted through 2026, with a salary of $895,000 in 2023 and $931,000 for the remaining years. WVU is expected to “act quickly” hiring a replacement for Lyons.