Aug 21, 2022 5 min read

West Virginia head coach Neal Brown listed the Mountaineers’ two biggest offensive priorities for the upcoming season.

One, he wants his players to commit fewer turnovers. Two, he wants them to be able to run the ball better against the premier teams in the Big 12 Conference. Last year, the Mountaineers ran it against the teams they were supposed to and struggled to run it against the stronger defenses.

Having a starting offensive line returning intact should help, as well as a running backs room that includes Tony Mathis Jr. and promising youngsters Justin Johnson Jr. and Jaylen Anderson.

But what is going to separate this year’s offense from those of the Brown era is what happens behind center.

There was a three-way quarterback competition during the spring featuring holdovers Garrett Greene, Will Crowder and true freshman Nicco Marchiol. Georgia transfer J.T. Daniels was added to the mix in May, and Brown said, so far, Daniels has been tremendous.

“I think it’s important for people to understand that he’s got to go and win the job,” the fourth-year coach said. “That’s something that we were really clear with him during the recruiting process is nothing was going to be handed to him.

“I’m really proud of how he’s handled it. He wasn’t here during the spring because he had to get his degree from Georgia, and he came in during the middle of May, and he’s gone to work. He’s done a really good job of connecting with our team. He’s done a really good job of kind of directing our offseason throwing sessions, so I’m pleased.

“He’s really smart, one of the top recruits in the country coming out of high school way back in ’17, starts as a freshman at USC – I think only the second one in program history – and then he goes to Georgia and he’s 7-0. He didn’t lose,” Brown continued. “The key for him is going to be his ability to stay healthy.”

Last year, Daniels won all seven games he started at Georgia, completing 69 percent of his passes for 1,953 yards and 17 touchdowns before getting injured. Prior to that, Daniels spent two seasons at USC playing in Graham Harrell’s offensive system where he threw for 2,887 yards and 15 touchdowns.

Harrell was a big-passing quarterback who set NCAA records in his playing days at Texas Tech. Now he’s back in the Big 12 as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at West Virginia and reunited with Daniels.

Quarterback play is often measured by an offense’s ability to score touchdowns. WVU got 19 through the air and 19 on the ground last season, but also had to settle for 23 field goal attempts, making 19.

Harrell came in this spring making it clear that his goal is to score as many touchdowns as possible. The quarterback most capable of leading the team into the end zone is going to end up as West Virginia’s starter Sept. 1 at Pitt.

“Everyone wants to talk about quarterback competitions, but at the same time, they are really probably the easiest to choose because it is so clear,” Brown said.

As for Harrell remodeling the offense, Brown said he’s pleased with what his new coordinator has been able to accomplish in a short period of time.

“Schematically, we’ll be very similar,” he said. “The thing that Graham is going to be able to do that I didn’t do as good a job in the last two years is being full-time there. He’s got a really confident – not arrogant – but confident demeanor, and he’s got a great feel for game day. Not only was he a great player, but he’s been really proven at North Texas and USC as an offensive coordinator.”

Brown likes the potential of his offense, which was inconsistent last year when the Mountaineers went 6-7 and tied for fifth place in the Big 12.

“We return seven of our top offensive linemen, two of our top receivers, we’ve got a really good running back room and we’ve got some veteran tight ends,” Brown pointed out. “We’ve got talent and experience on that side of the ball.”

The WVU defense is led by lineman Dante Stills. The line returns eight of its top 10 players.

The secondary has a lot of new parts to go with senior cornerback Charles Woods. Transfers are being counted on to help immediately.

The linebacking corps also is undergoing an overhaul, but it’s in good shape with the addition of Jasir Cox from FCS national champion North Dakota State, Lee Kpogba from Syracuse, Tirek Austin-Cave from Miami and holdover Lance Dixon.

The defense has to be more disruptive and froce turnovers. It had only four fumble recoveries last year, and the 13 takeaways overall weren’t enough to overcome the offensive inconsistencies.