Beanie Bishop, Doug Nester Still Motivated by 2023 Doubters: ‘We Have a Chip on Our Shoulder’

FRISCO, Texas – WVU players and coaches have been very honest about how being picked to finish last motivated them to prove people wrong throughout the 2023 season. In fact, it was such a driving force of West Virginia’s success that two former Mountaineers are still bringing it up while attempting to impress NFL scouts.

Beanie Bishop and Doug Nester are both at the East-West Shrine Bowl and explained to Nick Farabaugh, representing WV Sports Now at the East-West Shrine Bowl, how the number 14 is still stuck in their minds.

Bishop, in particular, feels like the 2023 Mountaineers embodied the blue-collar attitude of West Virginians. “Just the state of West Virginia has the blue-collar, hard working, so we kinds took that motto. Guys ranked us 14th. We had a country singer come in there and he just lit that fire during fall camp,” said Bishop. He then detailed some of what was said to the team. “This is disrespectful. We got two new teams that just came from playing Group of 5 football and ya’ll ranked them to finish in front of us is a slap in the face.”

And Beanie was far from done with those comments. The consensus All-American even brought up the anonymous coaches who predicted WVU to be one of the worst teams in the country. “They told us it was also team coaches in the Big 12 that was anonymous, of course wouldn’t say their name. They said we was a MAC football team, a MAC defense. We got guys that are too small and things like that. And for us to be disrespected like that, we have a chip on our shoulder and that’s why you see us play so angry and aggressive.”

Bishop is clearly still keeping what was said about his last college team in mind as he now looks to take that aggressive mentality into the NFL.

But he wasn’t the only former Mountaineer to unload about those who doubted West Virginia. Nester also unleashed with a very similar rant when asked what helped get him to this point.

“They came out with the Big 12 where they chose us. That’s really where it set off. I mean, choosing us 14th when some teams joining the league had never been in the Big 12. It was like a slap in the face for us and we felt that a lot, and it was kinda like a disrespect to us. So I think that’s what really drove us. It was just that number 14. Just all throughout the year.

The fact WVU was motivated by being projected to finish in last place isn’t surprising and has been well documented. But to hear key members of the 2023 team continue to be upset about it, even as they are focused on pursuing their own individual dreams to reach the NFL, shows that may be something that will stick with them for years and add fuel to their fire as professionals.