Anthony Becht Explains Why He Cut Fellow WVU Product Leddie Brown from XFL Team

As former Mountaineer Anthony Becht prepares for the XFL season to get underway, he had to make some tough decisions in regards to his roster.

One of the tough calls came when having to cut fellow West Virginia product Leddie Brown. WVSN’s Mike Asti joined Becht’s weekly press conference and asked the St. Louis Battlehawks head coach about how Brown looked during camp and what led to him not making the final roster.

“He’ll be next man up if someone goes down,” Becht responded before expanding on his time with Brown further. Becht made it clear he likes Brown as a running back and feels he could help the team, but that he felt the other three backs he ended up keeping offered more versatility and could be more productive in special teams too. He did classify Brown as “a strong runner” while admitting he heard mixed reviews from scouts prior to drafting him.

Becht did mention that Brown did everything asked of him throughout training camp and it was not an easy decision to leave him off the final roster.

The 2023 @XFLBattlehawks team is SET!! Thank you to each and every player🙏🏼 pic.twitter.com/EV2SW7wzfM

— Anthony Becht (@Anthony_Becht) February 9, 2023

The former NFL tight end, who is now embarking on a new career as a coach in the XFL, also touched on how he’s been progressing in his new role and how he views his coaching style. Becht said he now understands why past coaches of his may not have treated all the players equally and how each guy needs managed differently. Another key aspect of his style that he brought up is that he wants to come across as tough, but not overly tough as well.

Becht’s BattleHawks team kicks off their 2023 season on the road in San Antonio against the Brahmas. The game is scheduled for 2 pm CT (3 pm ET) will be broadcast nationally on ABC.