MORGANTOWN — West Virginia held Fan Day on Saturday and drew a robust crowd of Mountaineer fans who populated Milan Puskar Stadium to get autographs and then watch an open team practice.
“I thought Fan Day went really well,” WVU coach Neal Brown said Wednesday. “I commend our people, I thought they did a really nice job with that. I appreciate the fans, there were a lot of kids and a lot of smiles, that’s always a big positive.”
Brown said Saturday was important both for fans to get to interact with the team — the entire event was free of charge — and for the team to see how much WVU means to the fans.
“I think it’s really important for our players to get exposure,” Brown said. “Our players, especially our newcomers, get a chance to see what it means to people. That was real positive.”
In addition to fans, the Mountaineers also hosted players’ families on Saturday.
“A huge part of success is the people behind our players,” Brown said. “We had over 500 family members who had a meal with us on Saturday. I think it’s important too that there’s a lot of intermingling there between players’ families with our fans. These guys are 18-22 (years old) and they’re approaching manhood, but at the end of the day, every one of those players is somebody’s son, somebody’s nephew, somebody’s grandchild.”
Older Offense
For the last couple of seasons, WVU’s offensive line has been far and away the most experienced group on offense. They are again this year, but not nearly by as big of a margin.
“It’s totally different from last year,’ offensive line coach Matt Moore said. “Last year, we had to be good at running the ball. We weren’t real sure with a new quarterback and a bunch of new receivers.”
With quarterback Garrett Green in his second season as a starter and the bulk of the team’s receivers returning, Moore feels a lot better about the offense going into 2024 than he did in 2023.
“Last year, I knew we were going to be good up front,’ he said, “but the rest of it kind of came along later in the season. I feel better about our whole offensive group.”
Unranked in Coaches Poll
The preseason Coaches Top 25 Poll was released on Monday with the Mountaineers not debuting as a ranked team. WVU received 22 votes, effectively landing in 32nd place.
“If you just look at our resume, how we finished the year, the number of quality wins we had and what we have coming back on both sides of the ball,” Brown argued, “if you just put blind resumes up, that resume is getting in the top 25.”
WVU finished the 2023 season ranked 25 in the final poll in January.
“What gives? I don’t know,” said Brown, who votes in the poll. “To me, it goes back to some of our better players being undervalued, especially (quarterback) Garrett Greene.”
Donaldson and White on Doak Walker list
WVU running backs CJ Donaldson and Jahiem White were both named candidates for the Doak Walker Award, presented to the nation’s most outstanding running back.
Donaldson, a junior, ran for 798 yards and 11 touchdowns last season. White, a sophomore, led the Mountaineers with 842 rushing yards while scoring four times.
2023 award recipient Ollie Gordon III from Oklahoma State is also among the list of candidates.
