WACO, Texas — The West Virginia Mountaineers closed out the season with a win at Baylor to finish 8-4 on the season and 6-3 in the Big 12 Conference. This, of course, completely shattered the expectations that the Mountaineers had coming into the season as they were projected to finish dead last in the conference, but this was way too close of a game against a 3-8 Baylor team. Here are my immediate thoughts following the game:
Garrett Greene is Special
His elusiveness in the open field and ability to escape pressure in the pocket are the very reasons that the West Virginia offense is playing as well as they are. Not only is he threat to take it to the house on the ground on virtually every play, he’s throwing the ball incredibly accurately downfield.
Jahiem White is Also Special
CJ Donaldson is an outstanding running back, but if West Virginia has to choose between keeping him or Jahiem White in the offseason, is there really any doubt who they should choose at this point? Retaining Jahiem White is absolutely key for the Mountaineers next season and they will have to be ready to pay him because there will be top programs from around the country lining up ready to give him major money.
I’m Still Not Sold on West Virginia’s Secondary
Yes, Beanie Bishop leads the nation in pass breakups and the West Virginia defensive backs have played better than expected, but how would this secondary do against a really good passing attack? I believe it would be an absolute disaster.
Should Neal Brown be back in 2024?
I don’t think he should have been back in 2023, but it would be very difficult to fire a coach after going 8-4 overall and 6-3 in the Big 12 when that team was projected to finish 14th in the conference. With that said, Brown will be back if Kentucky doesn’t come calling. I don’t believe he’s the the long-term answer, and if they underperform next year and Jimbo Fisher is still out there and interested in the position, West Virginia must make the move to bring Jimbo home.
This was Neal Brown’s year to prove himself and he’s proven nothing
After four disastrous seasons, this was Neal Brown’s year to prove himself. Yes, he exceeded the horrendous expecatations that had the Mountaineers finishing in last place in the conference, but seven wins against seven really bad or mediocre teams proves nothing. A win against Penn State, Oklahoma or Oklahoma State would have meant something, but beating a bunch of 6-6, 5-7 and even worse teams means nothing.
