MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia has accomplished a lot since the start of spring football practice on Wednesday, March 24.
 
The Mountaineers got in 15 full practices, separated by a six-day pause for Easter, giving the coaching staff plenty of opportunities to experiment and evaluate. WVU also announced two incoming transfers on the defensive side of the ball – Penn State linebacker Lance Dixon and Illinois State cornerback Charles Woods – giving it two more players in two areas of critical need.
 
Emerging running back Leddie Brown got lots of work in the passing game while backup running backs Tony Mathis Jr. and A'Varius Sparrow performed well in the live scrimmage reps they received this spring. Wide receiver Devell Washington made the switch to will linebacker and Akheem Mesidor got lots of reps with his hand on the ground lined up next to Dante Stills.
 
Quarterbacks Jarret Doege, Garrett Green and Will Crowder took plenty of valuable reps, and it looks like the Mountaineers finally have a reliable offensive line with the possibility of developing some depth there before the start of the season.
 
Also, WVU Director of Athletics Shane Lyons recently added two years to coach Neal Brown's contact, inking him through the 2026 season.
 
So yes, it's almost a 180-degree difference from where West Virginia was at this same point last year with everything shut down because of COVID-19. 
 
There is certainly a lot of momentum happening over at the Milan Puskar Center right now.
 
"I'm excited," Brown said following last Saturday's Gold-Blue Game before a strong turnout of 8,312, which is basically what the team drew for last year's regular season games because of COVID-19 restrictions. "I really believe our program is on an upward trajectory. I like this team we have right now.
 
"For the staff and the players, the extension is probably as much about them than me just because our players have bought in," Brown continued. "I think the chemistry within our staff and the type of people we have is going to allow us to build what we want to do here, which is build a championship program of which everyone can be proud."
 
On Saturday, Brown talked about playing cleaner football this spring, and that was clearly the case in the three officiated scrimmages. In 2020, Brown's young team ranked near the bottom of the Big 12 in penalty yardage averaging 74.1 yards per game. 
 
Only Texas was worse, averaging 77 yards per contest.
 
Penalties were much improved during the two closed scrimmages, as well as last Saturday's spring game when the ones, twos and threes were flagged only five times.     
 
"We wanted to play clean football," Brown explained. "I hope a defining characteristic of our program is we don't beat ourselves. What does that mean? Well, it means not having selfish penalties, reducing your procedure penalties, not having missed assignments, making sure you communicate well and, most importantly, you take care of the ball offensively. I thought we accomplished that."
 
Brown wanted his quarterbacks to show growth and development. For returner Doege, that meant improving his accuracy on deep balls and becoming more nimble in the pocket. For promising freshmen Greene and Crowder, that meant becoming more comfortable running the offense and avoiding the big mistakes that can lose football games.
 
All three made progress in their areas of emphasis.
 
"I thought Jarret was really solid," Brown said. "He's got to continue to improve in the pocket. He threw a couple of nice deep balls, and in the one-on-one period the one he threw to (Isaiah) Esdale was a perfect pass. That was something we really focused on this spring was his ability to be more accurate on deep balls, and I feel much better about that after 15 practices.
 
"Garrett was anxious at the start, and that's kind of the way he's been in all of these scrimmage situations, real anxious at the start, but I thought he settled down and threw a great ball to Kaden Prather," Brown said. "I thought Will Crowder came in and did some nice things with a touchdown to Sam Brown, and with limited opportunities, he's done well this spring."
 
Brown was also pleased with the cross training that took place at several different positions to enhance the team's depth. That included putting Mesidor down next to Stills at defensive tackle, swinging James Gmiter over to center to get some snaps, getting Virginia Tech transfer Doug Nester some work at guard and tackle, and the position-swapping the linebackers and safeties did this spring to familiarize themselves with other positions.
 
Versatility is the name of the game today.
 
"You get 85 scholarships, but with the rules it's impossible to get there so your depth is not going to be what it used to be," Brown admitted. "Your best players have got to be versatile enough to be able to move around and play a couple of different positions. If you get into an injury situation where a backup has to come in and play, the backup needs to play the position they are most comfortable with and the more skilled guy can play multiple positions. That's what we're trying to do, and I'm pleased with what we got done as far that goes."
 
A number of players were recognized by the coaching staff for their exemplary work in different areas.
 
Greene and freshman bandit linebacker Eddie Watkins Jr. were honored for their excitement and enthusiasm this spring – a highly valued trait in Brown's football program.
 
Players cited for their attitude and effort included center Zach Frazier, cornerback Nicktroy Fortune, special teams performer J.P. Hadley, tight end Mike O'Laughlin and freshman defensive lineman Edward Vesterinen, whose last name everyone might want to practice pronouncing.
 
Morgantown's Nick Malone, sophomore offensive lineman Tyler Connelly and sophomore will linebacker Drew Joseph were the team's most exceptional walk-on players this spring.
 
Offensive lineman Jordan White, Greene, wide receiver Reese Smith, bandits Lanell Carr and Taurus Simmons and cornerback Jackie Matthews were named the team's most improved first-year players.
 
The players demonstrating the most improvement overall included sophomore running back Tony Mathis Jr, sophomore offensive lineman Parker Moorer, Mesidor and senior bandit VanDarius Cowan.
 
Naim Muhammad, who blocked four kicks this spring, was lauded for his scout special teams work while wide receivers Winston Wright Jr. and Isaiah Esdale, defensive lineman Dante Stills and special teams performer Malachi Ruffin were named the team's most productive players this spring.
 
That's a lot of names the coaching staff felt compelled to recognize at halftime of Saturday's Gold-Blue Game. Those guys, and others, are going to form the nucleus of this year's football team. In addition to the two transfers announced so far, the Mountaineers will welcome eight freshmen later this summer.
 
Spring Valley offensive linemen Wyatt Milum and Brunswick, Ohio, resident Tomas Rimac might be physically capable of getting into the mix at offensive line, while touted running back recruits Jaylen Anderson and Justin Johnson Jr. will battle Mathis and Sparrow for backup roles behind Brown.
 
And more players could be added to the mix with Brown wisely holding on to some scholarships after the two signing periods. It's certainly going to be an intriguing May, June and July leading into August training camp this fall.
 
"I wanted to challenge our best players to continue to use spring ball as a way to get better and improve," Brown explained, "When I say that, I'm talking about a Leddie Brown, who didn't get tackled one time this spring, but I wanted him to get better and I thought he did that. He has become such a better pass receiver and he's so much better in pass protection.
 
"Josh Chandler learned the will and mike (linebacker) positions and was able to step into the (mike position) now that Tony Fields left," Brown said. "From a leadership perspective, some of those guys really bought into using these practices to improve. That's what satisfies me most."
 
Brown also quickly added that his young football team still has plenty of room for growth and development.
 
"We've got to punt the ball better. We've got to continue to work up front. We're a lot better than we've been during any point in our tenure here, but we're still not where we need to be either. Defensively, we've got to develop some depth in the secondary. That's the issue right there," he concluded.