Spring is frequently greeted with open arms by many, with flowers in bloom and mild weather returning after the gloom and frost of winter. Neal Brown, the head football coach of West Virginia, is one of them.
“This is one of my favorite seasons,” Brown remarked on Friday at a press conference.
For Brown, however, the thrill of the season is more related to his program’s annual Spring Football workouts than it is to the weather. Monday, March 25, is when the Mountaineers’ spring sessions will start. On Saturday, April 27, at Milan Puskar Stadium, there will be the yearly Gold-Blue Spring Football Game.
“It’s a great opportunity to teach, you don’t really have the pressure of getting prepared for a game, practices, you’re not going back to back,” Brown stated. “So it’s always been one of my favorite times.”
After the Duke’s Mayo Bowl victory in December, which ended the 2023 season 30-10, Brown is eager for the supporters to witness the advancements made. He acknowledged the advancements made by the various program support staff members.
“We’ve had a productive winter, and I really give a lot of credit to our support areas,” Brown stated.
“You’re going to notice some significant difference in bodies — in body compositions and body weights.”
Brown stated that the squad’s improvement in the tiny elements of the game, which he believed harmed the team last autumn, will be a top goal this spring.
“This is a real focus on fundamentals,” he stated. “We made strides last year, but we’ve got to continue to grow, and one area we really have to do that is from a fundamental perspective.”
During these drills, the coaching staff will also assess which players, whether experienced or not, have the potential to advance up the depth chart and earn playing time for the Mountaineers come fall.
Brown said, “It’s a personnel evaluation.” “We’re not necessarily going to come out of this with who the starters are going to be, but we need to find out who we can count on.”
