Neal Brown Shares Thoughts About Wyatt Milum Being Drafted by Jaguars

Neal Brown may no longer be West Virginia’s head coach, but he will forever be connected to his Mountaineer players nonetheless. And after Wyatt Milum was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the third round, Brown shared his thoughts with WV Sports Now.

“Extremely excited for Wyatt and his entire family. Love the guy and what he’s about. Tremendous character and work ethic. He’s a great teammate. I really believe he’s a 1st round player and his college tape backs that up. Jaguars got a great one. He’s going to be a starter in the NFL for a long time,” said Brown.

I reached out to Neal Brown for his thoughts on Wyatt Milum being drafted in the third round by the Jaguars.

"Extremely excited for Wyatt and his entire family. Love the guy and what he’s about. Tremendous character and work ethic. He’s a great teammate. I really believe he’s a…

— Mike J. Asti (@MikeAsti11) April 26, 2025

Showing the bond between player and coach, Milum mentioned Brown when declaring for the NFL Draft.

“Coach (Neal) Brown, thank you for giving a kid from a small town, in West Virginia, a chance to live out his dream and okay college football! I will be forever grateful and blessed to have you as my head coach! I wouldn’t have wanted anyone else leading our team on and off the field!,” said Milum.

Milum was viewed as one of the top interior offensive lineman available. Based on the PFF metrics, Milum stands out due to his skills in one particular category.

PFF has Milum graded as the best run blocker on the board. To be exact, Milum holds a grade of 89.2.

To follow a solid showing at the Senior Bowl, Milum was put to the test even more at the NFL Combine.

Milum discussed representing West Virginia, his college career at WVU and why he’s ready for the NFL with reporters, including Sports Now’s Joe Smeltzer, in the video below.

After playing tackle at an elite level throughout his college career at West Virginia, NFL teams have been testing Milum at guard as well. WV Sports Now caught up with Milum in Mobile at the Senior Bowl and he explained what the adjustment to guard has been like.

“It’s different, it’s definitely a learning experience. It happens a lot quicker. The space is closed down. You ain’t on an island. So that’s really the biggest difference. And really, just getting used to it. I’ve never taken any live reps at guard. I played tackle my whole college career so just being able to come here and show I can play it, I feel like that’s important,” said Milum.

He wrapped up his college career at the conclusion of the 2024 season as one of the highest graded offensive lineman in the country. According to Pro Football Focus, Milum earned a 91.7 pass blocking grade and a 89.7 as a run blocker, the fourth-highest in the country.

Milum’s overall mark of 91.0 was the third best. And for his work, Milum was honored as a consensus All-American.

Milum earned first-team honors on four of the five teams — Walter Camp, AFCA, FWAA and Sporting News — and was a second-team All-American on the fifth team, Associated Press.

Milum was also named the Big 12 Conference Offensive Lineman of the Year this season and was named first-team All-Big 12.

Hailing from Kenova, W.Va., Milum came to WVU from Spring Valley High School in 2021. He started 43 games over the next four years, eventually transitioning from right tackle to left tackle and developing into one of the top pass protectors in the nation.

Milum did not allow a sack in either 2023 or 2024 and has not allowed a sack in 34 of his last 36 games. In 2024, Milum did not allow a quarterback hurry and gave up only seven pressures.

Find more coverage of Wyatt Milum at WV Sports Now.

For a related story, WVSN created a draft player profile for Milum.