Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks
Dye Brings Winner’s Mentality To Mountaineer Program
April 08, 2019 04:00 PM | Football
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – There's something to be said for surrounding yourself with winners. That's what Neal Brown has done with Xavier Dye, West Virginia's outside receivers coach.
Dye comes to Morgantown from Clemson, the best college football program this side of Alabama.
He played for coach Dabo Swinney when people were still trying to figure out how to pronounce Dabo, and he rejoined Swinney's Tiger program two years ago as an offensive graduate assistant coach when everyone now knows how to pronounce Dabo's name.
During those two seasons Dye was with Clemson in 2017 and 2018, the Tigers lost just twice - which are the same number of games Swinney lost the prior two years.
Nineteen of Swinney's 30 career losses in 11 seasons at Clemson came during his first four years there, including an embarrassing 70-33 defeat to West Virginia in the 2012 Orange Bowl. Back then, Mountaineer fans regarded Dabo more as a cartoon character than a coach, but boy were they ever wrong with that one!
Swinney's Tigers have won two of the last three national championships and are right there with Nick Saban's Alabama Crimson Tide as the marquee program in college football. Clemson has finished in the top four each of the last four years and in the top 10 six out of the last seven seasons.
That's the consistency all programs are striving to attain.
"Of course, it's talented guys that you have, but then you have to have chemistry and a vision for the program and the guys buying in," Dye said of the winning culture Swinney has developed at Clemson. "That's the main thing. Once you get all of those guys bought in and they know what the true goals are, it's hard to beat."
And Clemson has certainly become hard to beat these days. The secret? Dye says sticking together at all times, no matter how difficult things get.
"Those guys there are a really tight group and that's what got (Clemson) over the edge," Dye explained. "You could see those games that were a little bit tighter than others and you could see guys come together and when adversity strikes it's like, 'Alright, we're good. Lock in and let's make it happen.'"
That's what separates the 10-, 11-, 12-, 13- and 14-win teams from the ones that win eight or nine each year and usually stumble when you least expect it, like last year when West Virginia lost at Iowa State and Oklahoma State, or a couple years ago when WVU was blinded by the Cowboys, or four years ago when Kansas State snatched victory from the jaws of defeat against the Mountaineers.
Penn State won all of those years against West Virginia because the Nittany Lions had better players, for sure, but they also won because they KNEW they were going to win - somehow, someway.
It may not have looked pretty – and oftentimes with Penn State it didn't – but when the clock read zero the Nittany Lions almost always had more points than West Virginia - much like Oklahoma of the present.
"There are going to be points in time during the season when you've got to say, 'Hey, we've got to lock in and we've got to get better.' It's not going to be your day every day – you wish it was – but sometimes you have to outwill your opponent," Dye said. "Those are the things coach Swinney has done a great job at Clemson."
And it's something Brown wants to build at West Virginia.
A couple of weeks ago, Brown told a gathering a media members inside the Milan Puskar Stadium team room that his football team is going to be great, it's just a matter of when. Some coaches are reluctant to make statements like that because they can wear it when things don't work out, but for those like Swinney and Brown who believe in themselves, that's not even part of their thought process.
Both are just incredibly positive, forward-thinking coaches.
"Yeah, they're great competitors and they're guys that want what's best for the players – not just for the moment but for their futures," Dye said. "They're guys that got it.
"People would say, 'Oh, (Swinney) is crazy' but he knows his vision," Dye added. "He knows what he has and the things he's done to accomplish those things. Once you get your guys bought in and everyone is on the same page, that stuff is going to happen."
Here at WVU, Brown is going through the process of determining which players are buying into his vision and which ones aren't. Sometimes, good players – even really good players – don't always share the same vision as their head coach.
But for the great teams and the great programs, the whole is always greater than the sum of its parts, according to Dye.
"(Swinney) will tell you, 'There's not one player or one coach that makes this program. It's a team sport and we're going to do what's best for the team.' He always says that and coach Brown is very similar to that," Dye explained. "At the same time, you don't want to just throw kids away either. Sometimes you have to be aware of their situation.
"They're treated differently, but fair."
Dye was a player when Swinney was just getting his feet underneath him at Clemson, and he was with him after he got his bearings and knew exactly where he was headed.
The transition from one point to the other can happen quickly or gradually, but for those such as Dabo Swinney or Neal Brown who believe in themselves and those around them, it will eventually happen.
"It could be this year or it could be three years from now, you don't know," Dye said. "We've got to keep doing what we're supposed to do. We've got to get out on the recruiting trail and get some of these great players with good character so we can get to that level."
Dye comes to Morgantown from Clemson, the best college football program this side of Alabama.
He played for coach Dabo Swinney when people were still trying to figure out how to pronounce Dabo, and he rejoined Swinney's Tiger program two years ago as an offensive graduate assistant coach when everyone now knows how to pronounce Dabo's name.
During those two seasons Dye was with Clemson in 2017 and 2018, the Tigers lost just twice - which are the same number of games Swinney lost the prior two years.
Nineteen of Swinney's 30 career losses in 11 seasons at Clemson came during his first four years there, including an embarrassing 70-33 defeat to West Virginia in the 2012 Orange Bowl. Back then, Mountaineer fans regarded Dabo more as a cartoon character than a coach, but boy were they ever wrong with that one!
Swinney's Tigers have won two of the last three national championships and are right there with Nick Saban's Alabama Crimson Tide as the marquee program in college football. Clemson has finished in the top four each of the last four years and in the top 10 six out of the last seven seasons.
That's the consistency all programs are striving to attain.
"Of course, it's talented guys that you have, but then you have to have chemistry and a vision for the program and the guys buying in," Dye said of the winning culture Swinney has developed at Clemson. "That's the main thing. Once you get all of those guys bought in and they know what the true goals are, it's hard to beat."
And Clemson has certainly become hard to beat these days. The secret? Dye says sticking together at all times, no matter how difficult things get.
"Those guys there are a really tight group and that's what got (Clemson) over the edge," Dye explained. "You could see those games that were a little bit tighter than others and you could see guys come together and when adversity strikes it's like, 'Alright, we're good. Lock in and let's make it happen.'"
That's what separates the 10-, 11-, 12-, 13- and 14-win teams from the ones that win eight or nine each year and usually stumble when you least expect it, like last year when West Virginia lost at Iowa State and Oklahoma State, or a couple years ago when WVU was blinded by the Cowboys, or four years ago when Kansas State snatched victory from the jaws of defeat against the Mountaineers.
Penn State won all of those years against West Virginia because the Nittany Lions had better players, for sure, but they also won because they KNEW they were going to win - somehow, someway.
It may not have looked pretty – and oftentimes with Penn State it didn't – but when the clock read zero the Nittany Lions almost always had more points than West Virginia - much like Oklahoma of the present.
"There are going to be points in time during the season when you've got to say, 'Hey, we've got to lock in and we've got to get better.' It's not going to be your day every day – you wish it was – but sometimes you have to outwill your opponent," Dye said. "Those are the things coach Swinney has done a great job at Clemson."
And it's something Brown wants to build at West Virginia.
A couple of weeks ago, Brown told a gathering a media members inside the Milan Puskar Stadium team room that his football team is going to be great, it's just a matter of when. Some coaches are reluctant to make statements like that because they can wear it when things don't work out, but for those like Swinney and Brown who believe in themselves, that's not even part of their thought process.
Both are just incredibly positive, forward-thinking coaches.
"Yeah, they're great competitors and they're guys that want what's best for the players – not just for the moment but for their futures," Dye said. "They're guys that got it.
"People would say, 'Oh, (Swinney) is crazy' but he knows his vision," Dye added. "He knows what he has and the things he's done to accomplish those things. Once you get your guys bought in and everyone is on the same page, that stuff is going to happen."
Here at WVU, Brown is going through the process of determining which players are buying into his vision and which ones aren't. Sometimes, good players – even really good players – don't always share the same vision as their head coach.
But for the great teams and the great programs, the whole is always greater than the sum of its parts, according to Dye.
"(Swinney) will tell you, 'There's not one player or one coach that makes this program. It's a team sport and we're going to do what's best for the team.' He always says that and coach Brown is very similar to that," Dye explained. "At the same time, you don't want to just throw kids away either. Sometimes you have to be aware of their situation.
"They're treated differently, but fair."
Dye was a player when Swinney was just getting his feet underneath him at Clemson, and he was with him after he got his bearings and knew exactly where he was headed.
The transition from one point to the other can happen quickly or gradually, but for those such as Dabo Swinney or Neal Brown who believe in themselves and those around them, it will eventually happen.
"It could be this year or it could be three years from now, you don't know," Dye said. "We've got to keep doing what we're supposed to do. We've got to get out on the recruiting trail and get some of these great players with good character so we can get to that level."
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