Neal Brown Noncommittal on Play Calling Duties, to be Heavily Involved in Offense

West Virginia head coach Neal Brown answered one big question that’s has been on the mind of just about everyone who pays attention to the Mountaineers since the program announced Chad Scott’s promotion to offensive coordinator.

Once it became known Scott, who served in the official capacity of run game coordinator last season, would take over for the departed Graham Harrell as offensive coordinator, many wondered who would actually be calling the plays. Brown relinquished play calling duties to Harrell throughout most of 2022, but had previously been involved in the calling of plays in prior seasons.

Brown, knowing it was something most were wondering about, addressed the issue without even having to be asked as part of his opening monologue. “We will maneuver that as we go through the Spring,” Brown said.

That’s obviously not giving a yes or no answer on if he will call the plays, but Brown did add “I will be heavily involved in the offense” when he was prompted to clarify his timetable for when he would be ready to name the main play caller known. He also disclosed that he took over some of the play calling towards the end of the 2022 season, something he was not planning on doing but felt it to be necessary once the offense started to define and struggle. Brown mentioned the final “three or four games” as the point he became more involved in the 2022 offense after previously allowing Harrell complete control earlier in the year.

WVU HC Neal Brown: “I will be heavily involved in the offense.” Brown says he was not involved as much as he had been throughout his career last season until the final few games. Won’t say he if he’s going to call plays or not.

— Mike J. Asti (@MikeAsti11) January 23, 2023

Even if Brown does call the plays, Brown reiterated that’s not all that goes into running an offense and emphasized his confidence in Scott assuming the role since he earned this opportunity. Brown also noted that Scott has been one of the most consistent pieces of the program in recent years and has excelled in the segment of the team he’s been mostly assigned one way or another – the running game and recruiting.

Asti: Promoting Chad Scott to OC Actually Makes Sense for West Virginia Football

Scott will be entering his fifth season on the WVU coaching staff. He specialized in the running game in the four previous years. As far as offensive coordinator experience, Scott served as the co-offensive coordinator for his first three years with the Mountaineers.

The running game averaged 171.5 yards per game in 2022 under Scott thanks to depth from running backs Tony Mathis, Justin Johnson, CJ Donaldson and Jaylen Anderson. They all combined for 1,793 yards and 18 touchdowns.