Approximately 1,500 Took Part in Fan Day Saturday Inside the Stadium

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Saturday was for the fans.

West Virginia coach Neal Brown, coaches and players spent about an hour and a half up on the concourse visiting with about 1,500 Mountaineer fans who came out to get autographs and pictures with the players and coaches.

The longest lines appeared to be for coach Brown, the quarterbacks and the defensive linemen, particularly senior Dante Stills.

Afterward, fans were invited to stick around and watch the team's two-hour workout inside the stadium and then the players and their families were treated to lunch up in the Caperton Indoor Practice Facility.

Brown said that today was about striking a balance between giving the fans something interesting to watch and not revealing too much of what they're doing in preparation for the season opener against Pitt in the 105th Backyard Brawl.

"It's really good for our players to have the interaction with our fans," he noted. "I know across the country a lot of schools are not doing Fan Days or open practices, but it's as good for our players as it is for our fans - especially in our state where this team, the program and the players mean so much to the state. (The players) need to see this interaction.

"Some of these people drive three and four hours, either got up early or came in last night just, to have something signed or to have a little interaction," Brown added.

At the same time, the coach realizes there are some things he doesn't want to reveal in an open practice as his team moves closer toward its season opener on Sept. 1 in Pittsburgh.

"It's an open practice so we have to be careful what we're doing," he explained. "This wasn't a normal practice for us, but it was important that we got stuff done. We did a lot of half-line, some one-on-one reps and a little bit more individual than we normally would and we needed to do that.

"It wasn't a wasted day by any means, but Sunday and Monday are going to be critical evaluation days for us," he added.

Sunday's and Monday's practices will be closed with lots of heavy work in the practice plan ahead of Thursday's scrimmage, the team's second of fall camp. Brown indicated the team will not have on-field activities this Tuesday and next Wednesday's workout will be a light one.

"We're going to go really hard, full-padded practices on Sunday and Monday, and then we're going to have another full scrimmage on Thursday and those three practices are going to be critical for us," he said.

Brown said teams typically experience their most growth and development between their first and second scrimmages, particularly the newer players.

"It's starting to slow down a little bit for those guys that have never played at this level for an extended period of time," he said. "They're not thinking as much, but rather reacting."

Soon after the second scrimmage is when the coaches will begin narrowing things down and figuring out who is going to get the majority of the practice reps for the opener.

"You will have some battles that will go a little bit longer, but for the most part, you are going to know who you are playing with," he said.

The first day of the fall semester begins on Wednesday, Aug. 17, but Brown said the team will continue in training camp mode.

The Athletics Communications Staff made available linebacker Lance Dixon, left tackle Wyatt Milum and wide receiver Reese Smith to the media following today's practice. You can watch videos of those interviews on our official Youtube channel (youtube.com/wvusports) or below on WVUsports.com.

Schedule

Approximately 1,500 Took Part in Fan Day Saturday Inside the Stadium

Players Mentioned

Lance Dixon

Wyatt Milum

Reese Smith

Dante Stills

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