MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Sometimes your final opportunity can turn out to be your best opportunity.
That could very well be the case for West Virginia University's graduate transfers George Campbell, Josh Growden and Reuben Jones - all of whom played important roles in West Virginia's season-opening 20-13 victory over James Madison last Saturday.
Jones was officially credited with one sack and was a half-yard away from getting another one when he hauled down JMU quarterback Ben DiNucci on the next-to-last play of the game while the Mountaineers were trying to preserve their seven-point lead. Reuben Jones
Jones said he had about 33 snaps on Saturday, roughly 15 more than the most plays he ever got in a game during his four seasons at Michigan.
Campbell's 28-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter was his only reception of the game, but it couldn't have come at a more important moment as the Mountaineers were struggling mightily to get the football across the goal line.
Futhermore, the Florida State transfer will forever be known as the first player to score a touchdown during the Neal Brown era at West Virginia University.
And Growden's consistent punting since his arrival three weeks ago from LSU has already helped solidify what was an area of great concern when preseason camp began last month.
His 40.4 yards-per-punt average on Saturday doesn't provide a complete picture of his value to the team. The first punt he got off his left foot resulted in a muffed return and fumble recovery and another one late in the game when WVU was nursing a seven-point lead traveled 60 yards and flipped the field.
He was also credited with one punt inside the 20 and was the holder on Evan Staley's two successful field goal tries.
Remove what these three guys did last Saturday and the outcome probably would have been much different.
Brown will gladly take what they did against James Madison, of course, but what he was really after when he brought them to WVU was far more than what they are capable of giving him on the football field.
He wanted thumb pointers, not finger pointers. George Campbell
"Culture was really important," Brown said Tuesday. "We were in culture building mode this summer without a doubt. When I got here I really just kind of took everything in for a few months and then we really tried to start building late in the spring and through the summer we were in the culture building process so we were really choosey about who we brought in."
That meant vetting all three players very carefully.
"They had to be guys that could help build the culture," Brown said of his No. 1 criteria when considering them. "That's why you see George Campbell, who graduated in four (years). He's a tremendous kid. I knew people who were connected with him that I trusted who attested to his character. Reuben Jones, I knew people attached to him and Josh Growden the same way, so I was really choosy."
"I definitely sensed that," Jones said. "That was literally one of the first things he mentioned when I was considering here. He was talking about how he wanted me to be a part of a good culture, come in and bring positive energy to the team. Not that he thought I was going to bring negativity to the team, but he told me it was about culture and leadership."
All three were seeking a place to grow and develop during their final season of college eligibility. When that's the case the recruiting process usually takes on a much more mature approach.
For them, it's not about taking uniform pictures for Twitter and all of the Disney Land stuff that is required to woo 18-year-olds, but rather it's an adult conversation with adults about hopes and dreams and aspirations.
It's about their hope of finally fulfilling their college football experience, and it's about Neal Brown's hope of building a classy, nationally respected football program. For Brown, it's much easier getting that process underway with older, more mature players.
"I'm kind of an older guy so when I took the visit it was more of what I wanted to see and how I felt with the culture," Jones said. "You've got to look them in the eye, hang around and get the feel of being around somebody to see how you feel about it before you make that decision."
"The opportunity I have just to get away from Florida to come up here and just put the work in … I thought if I came up here and put in the work good things could happen," Campbell explained. "I love the teammates I have here and I love the coaching staff because they are all for you, and I feel like I can do a lot of good things for this team." Josh Growden
Growden was planning to return to his native Australia and pursue other opportunities when he got a call from his punting coach back home: West Virginia was looking for a punter. Immediately.
Growden obviously checked that box and once Brown investigated him more thoroughly, he found out that Growden checked all of the others as well.
"It's pretty crazy because I was going to go back to Australia. I wasn't going to do my fifth year at LSU and this kind of popped up through my punting coaches in Australia, and they asked if I would come," Growden explained. "To be here and kind of finish out my fifth year and have a senior night where my parents can come is a pretty cool way to finish out my college career.
"I'm very happy with my decision to keep it going," Growden added.
Jones said there are still many things he hopes to accomplish on the football field, and he believes it can happen here at West Virginia.
More importantly, he believes he can help provide a foundation for future success, which is precisely for what Neal Brown was looking.
"I played with guys like (Devin) Bush, Rashan Gary, Chase Winovich and those guys at Michigan and I've been around an older team so I guess that does help," he said. "We've got a lot of younger guys here trying to feel their way so I do feel like I have that kind of knowledge being a fifth-year player and knowing a bit more.
"(Brown) told me it's about culture and leadership. "I need that. I need to be able to bring that to this team our first year' and I kind of dove both feet in to do that," Jones added. "I try to do what I can as far as leadership, helping guys and being there talking to the guys and seeing what I can do."
It's the same deal for Campbell, who was happy to score his first West Virginia touchdown last Saturday but remains realistic about what that means for the future.
"I don't want to think too far ahead or get too far ahead," Campbell said. "I just want to come back (this week), work and contribute to the team, and anyway I can help this weekend I plan on helping again."
It's easy to understand now why Neal Brown wanted these three guys in his football program, even if it's only for one year.
What they end up doing this season on the football field (and off it) will likely last much longer, which is what Brown was really looking for in the first place.
