MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — With three practices under their belts, Neal Brown gave his latest assessment of his team Monday, and made a noteworthy announcement about an addition to the support staff.
Here are the biggest takeaways from Brown’s time with the media.
Welcome back, Rasheed Marshall
Former West Virginia quarterback Rasheed Marshall has returned to the Mountaineers. The 2004 Big East Player of the Year has joined WVU’s support staff as the director of player relations.
“He’s really the liaison between our players and our support staff. He’s the liaison between housing and admissions,” Brown said. “He’s here for the players. He’s going to work a lot with our Fifth Quarter program, preparing them for life after football.”
Former Mountaineer Osman Kamara previously served as the director of the Fifth Quarter Program, and now works for Oregon in a similar role.
Fans can read more about this addition in the link above.
Thoughts on the first three practices
The offense won the day Tuesday and Thursday, but Brown was not overly pleased with the group on Saturday when the team practiced inside the stadium. On the other side, the head coach thought his defense had their best day of the spring on Saturday.
Multiple players have stood out to Brown through the first three practices. Transfer wideout Devin Carter leads that group.
“He’s made a lot of plays, a lot of contested catches,” Brown said, adding later that the Mountaineers wanted to bring Carter in to be the team’s top wide receiver, and he has played like it to this point.
Fellow wideout Preston Fox has also stood out.
Defensively, Sean Martin, Lee Kpogba and Aubrey Burks have also caught the head coach’s attention. Kpogba is expected to be the leader of the defense in his second year with the program. Martin is one of the players tasked with replacing the production of Dante Stills.
The future of college football Pro Days
It was recently announced that beginning in 2024, the Big 12 Conference will hold a conference-wide Pro Day for football players at Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas.
It’s a move that will change how players in the conference will perform in front of pro scouts just before the NFL Draft.
“I think that it’s going to make it a marquee event,” Brown said. “That’s going to be an event, and it can’t do anything but help.”
Brown noted that 29 of the 32 NFL teams will be present at WVU’s Pro Day on Monday. He expects all 32 pro teams will be represented next year at the Big 12 Pro Day, likely with multiple representatives from each team.
The WVU head coach did note, though, he’s unclear on exactly how the event will work. He’s also unsure if league members will still be allowed to hold their own pro days on their own campuses.
“I think the Big 12 deal is great,” Brown said. “What I’m unclear of is, everybody that’s draft-eligible, do they get invites? Or is it going to be only a certain number of guys from each school or how’s that going to work? I don’t know the answer to that…I want everybody that’s draft-eligible to have an opportunity in front of pro scouts.”