West Virginia Coaches Caravan Comes to Wheeling
Brown brings hope to ’Eers football
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WHEELING -- Newly hired West Virginia University football coach Neal Brown walked into River City's banquet hall on Monday evening to the loudest applause of the night.
As the WVU Coaches Caravan made its first stop this year in Wheeling, Brown was joined by the school's rifle coach Jon Hammond, women's basketball coach Mike Carey and men's hoops coach Bob Huggins.
The Mountaineer -- West Virginia's mascot -- also made an appearance.
The 260-plus fans who were in attendance looked on with smiles as Huggins provided laughs to go around.
There was also a sense of hope in the air as Mountaineer Nation looks toward a bright future in athletics, especially football, and it was clear that the fan-base has welcomed Brown with open arms.
"The people here are very supportive," Brown said. "West Virginia athletics and football in particular mean a great deal to this area.
"This is an area that is really important to us in Morgantown. The Ohio Valley has some really good talent as far as football goes."
That Ohio Valley talent has already made its impact on the current WVU football roster with Union Local grad Colton McKivitz and Meadowbrook alum Josh Sills both on the offensive line.
"Those two are two of our better offensive linemen, if not our best offensive linemen," Brown said.
"They are both really about doing things the right way. They are tough kids and play the game the right way."
As far as recruiting goes, Brown understands that there is talent not too far from home and he plans to keep it that way.
"I think that we do a great job of keeping kids who can play in our state and keeping them home," Brown said. "Not only that, we need to keep the kids in our geographic footprint. West Virginia football really needs those guys and we need to do a good job of recruiting them and getting them started."
Brown has already recruited one of his own coaches from his staff at Troy as he brings along defensive coordinator Vic Koenning.
In his last three years at Troy, Koenning's defense allowed just 20.8 points a game and was ranked second in the country with 106 forced turnovers.
With high-powered offenses lighting up the scoreboard on a weekly basis in the Big 12, Koenning could be a difference maker.
"(Having Koenning) is big because we've had so much success on defense at Troy," Brown said. "He has a long history of playing high quality defense and we fully expect to do that here, too."
Off the field, Brown has had the privilege to spend some time with Huggins. The two just returned from a trip to the Kentucky Derby and Brown looks to build on what Huggins has started at West Virginia.
"(Huggins) is what West Virginia athletics is all about," Brown said. "I have a ton of respect for him and he has done things the right way.
"He is a guy I definitely think has set the bar high in our athletics department."
Huggins is coming off of one of his worst seasons in his coaching career. He wrapped it up with one word -- "miserable."
As the season progressed, WVU dismissed several players from the team including Esa Ahmad and Wesley Harris for violating team policies.
Despite the loss, the team seemed to come together as one as it defeated No. 24 Iowa State before taking down Oklahoma and Texas Teach -- which played for the National Championship -- in the Big 12 Tournament.
"Our attitudes were better (late in the season)," Huggins said. "(Early in the season) guys didn't want to get coached.
"They wanted in the game but didn't want to practice.
"Guys like Chase Harler got an opportunity to play down the stretch. When we've had good teams, we've had good people."
As all coaches are focused on improving their respective programs, WVU athletics director Shane Lyons firmly believes times are changing for the better.
"Great things are happening in Morgantown," Lyons said.
"But it takes all of West Virginia showing up on the good and bad days. It takes all of us in the state of West Virginia."
Hammond and Carey also made their visit to Wheeling memorable. Hammond described the feeling of coaching for a national title last year and Carey and Huggins exchanged remarks that left the crowd howling with laughter.
"This is the time of year we can get out and meet the fans," Huggins said. "We get to spend time with the people and I've really enjoyed it."
The fans enjoyed it, too. As "Country Roads" played in the background, they walked away with memories, autographs, pictures and most importantly -- hope.