Neal Brown to Adjust Playing Time to Help Pass Defense

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – WVU head coach Neal Brown and West Virginia fans agree on one thing – doing the same thing again and again and expecting different results is insane. And on Monday, Brown announced he’s going to stop the insanity when it comes to the Mountaineers’ defensive secondary.

During his weekly press conference on the heels of allowing another 300 plus-yard passer, Brown said backup cornerbacks Jacolby Spells and TJ Crandall “are going to play more” in an effort to find a fix.

To put it bluntly, Brown said he’s going to play new guys in the secondary and stop rewarding those who aren’t playing well with playing time.

WVU HC Neal Brown says he’s going to play new guys in the secondary and stop rewarding guys who aren’t playing well with playing time.

— Mike J. Asti (@MikeAsti11) September 16, 2024

While it isn’t clear which players will lose playing time in the process, star transfer Garnett Hollis is one corner who has been exposed frequently so far this season.

Once again, Brown admitted the pass defense has been a major issue, something he also brought up the week earlier.

“We have to assess it. I think all things. When you don’t cover it very well three weeks in a row, it’s an issue. I’m not hiding from it, it’s an issue,” Brown said.

Brown stood by his comments from the off-season a lot the secondary being deeper than last season, saying that’s what they were showing him at the time.

“We got some guys who aren’t playing to what they’re capable of,” Brown added about what frustrates him the most. He referred to the lack of consistency as the biggest problem.

The overall pass defense allowed Pitt quarterback Eli Holstein to pass for 301 yards a week after surrendering an historic performance by Albany signal caller Myles Burkett.

WVU Secondary Exposed Further By FCS School

By throwing for 306 yards, Burkett accumulated the most passing yards ever produced by any FCS opponent against a WVU team. In fact, Albany becomes the first FCS program to ever reach and surpass 300 yards through the air against the Mountaineers.

The previous high was 280 yards from Liberty in 2015 right before they moved up to the FBS level.

When asked for a comment about the secondary having another rough game, Brown said they didn’t play fast enough. He also added that stats don’t lie about allowing 300 yards passing.

Back to Saturday and the most recent rough outing for the WVU defense, West Virginia led 34-24 towards the end of the fourth quarter against Pitt, but then ended up walking off the field a loser nonetheless. “You should never lose a game when you’re up 10 late,” said Brown during his postgame press conference.

And since Pitt’s comeback win was largely due to the struggles of WVU’s secondary, Brown added a “let’s just say what it is, we haven’t defended the pass really good” as well. Holstein completed 21-of-30 passes for 301 yards and threw three passing touchdowns in the game.

For a related story, WV Sports Now’s Mike Asti offered his takeaways from WVU’s loss to Pitt in the 2024 Backyard Brawl.