{"id":21972,"date":"2019-06-27T09:00:09","date_gmt":"2019-06-27T13:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lwosoncfb.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/?p=21972"},"modified":"2019-06-24T23:06:09","modified_gmt":"2019-06-25T03:06:09","slug":"mountaineers-neal-brown-winning-on-recruiting-trail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/2019\/06\/27\/mountaineers-neal-brown-winning-on-recruiting-trail\/","title":{"rendered":"Mountaineers\u2019 Neal Brown Winning On Recruiting Trail"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Head Coach <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/coaches\/neal-brown-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Neal Brown<\/strong><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/lwosoncfb.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/2019\/01\/05\/neal-brown-era-begins-in-morgantown\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">took over the West Virginia football team in January<\/a>, already several months behind on the 2020 recruiting cycle.\u00a0 As we wrote previously, Brown did a remarkable job <a href=\"https:\/\/lwosoncfb.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/2019\/02\/08\/mountaineers-national-signing-day-recap-brown-held-serve-and-added-bodies\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">holding serve on the 2019 class<\/a>.\u00a0 Since then, he has added a few pieces to that class, including <a href=\"https:\/\/lwosoncfb.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/2019\/06\/08\/mountaineers-add-five-star-receiver\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">former five-star receiver<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/george-campbell-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>George Campbell<\/strong><\/a> from Florida State and <a href=\"https:\/\/lwosoncfb.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/2019\/01\/17\/austin-kendall-will-transfer-to-morgantown\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">four-star transfer<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/austin-kendall-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Austin Kendall<\/strong><\/a> from Oklahoma.\u00a0 While Brown has faced some attrition to the transfer market, the <a href=\"https:\/\/lwosoncfb.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/2019\/06\/06\/the-sky-is-not-falling-in-morgantown\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">negative reaction to the same has been overblown<\/a>.\u00a0 In the meantime, the Mountaineers\u2019 Brown has been winning on the recruiting trail.\u00a0In just six months, he has built an impressive start to the 2020 class.<\/p>\n<h2>Mountaineers\u2019 Neal Brown Winning On Recruiting Trail<\/h2>\n<h3>The Family Approach<\/h3>\n<p>As we expect to cover in more detail in a future article, Coach Brown has made clear that he focuses on family, faith, and football.\u00a0 He is building a team, and he is willing to share his efforts with fans, recruits, families, and the media.\u00a0 His tweets certainly offer a substantial look at his personal style and values.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Coach Brown hosts the D-Line this time for a night of bonding \ud83e\udd1d<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/HailWV?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#HailWV<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/bu9mjXhI9U\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/bu9mjXhI9U<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; West Virginia Football (@WVUfootball) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WVUfootball\/status\/1138944169756504064?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">June 12, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p>&nbsp;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>He attends youth development camps and recruiting camps. \u00a0And by all accounts, he is heavily involved in all of them. \u00a0In fact, he even spent time enjoying the game with local youth at a recent event.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Grading the last QB on the video &#8211; good job avoiding the rush, but can\u2019t throw off his back foot! Looks washed up to me! Fun day with our youth and middle school campers. Looking forward to day 2 tomorrow.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Mountaineers of all ages are important! <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/HailWV?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#HailWV<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/8vAoopOCVe\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/8vAoopOCVe<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; West Virginia Football (@WVUfootball) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WVUfootball\/status\/1138219509347770370?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">June 10, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Recruits have been responding extremely well. \u00a0Take, for example, this tweet from defensive line prospect <strong>Quay Mays<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I can definitely say <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NealBrown_WVU?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@NealBrown_WVU<\/a>  <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/coachalpogue?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@coachalpogue<\/a>  <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CoachLesley_WVU?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@CoachLesley_WVU<\/a> are special people family is big at WVU\u203c\ufe0f<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/TrustTheClimb?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#TrustTheClimb<\/a>\u203c\ufe0f\u203c\ufe0f <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/kbs3PralBg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/kbs3PralBg<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Quay Mays (@mays_quay) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/mays_quay\/status\/1140624887444377600?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">June 17, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p>&nbsp;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h3>The Current Breakdown<\/h3>\n<p>Based on the relationships Brown and his staff have built in such a short period, he has already formed an impressive nucleus.\u00a0 As of today, Brown has assembled the following recruits (not including blue shirts).<\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"186\">Player<\/td>\n<td width=\"102\">Position<\/td>\n<td width=\"78\">State<\/td>\n<td width=\"84\">Rivals<\/td>\n<td width=\"90\">247Sports*<\/td>\n<td width=\"84\">ESPN<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"186\"><strong>Zach Frazier<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"102\">DT<\/td>\n<td width=\"78\">WV<\/td>\n<td width=\"84\">3<\/td>\n<td width=\"90\">3<\/td>\n<td width=\"84\">3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"186\"><strong>Jairo Faverus<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"102\">CB<\/td>\n<td width=\"78\">UK<\/td>\n<td width=\"84\">3<\/td>\n<td width=\"90\">3<\/td>\n<td width=\"84\">3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"186\"><strong>David Vincent-Okoli<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"102\">CB<\/td>\n<td width=\"78\">MD<\/td>\n<td width=\"84\">3<\/td>\n<td width=\"90\">4<\/td>\n<td width=\"84\">3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"186\"><strong>Lanell Carr<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"102\">DE\/LB<\/td>\n<td width=\"78\">MO<\/td>\n<td width=\"84\">3<\/td>\n<td width=\"90\">3<\/td>\n<td width=\"84\">3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"186\"><strong>S.L. McCall<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"102\">LB<\/td>\n<td width=\"78\">IA<\/td>\n<td width=\"84\">2<\/td>\n<td width=\"90\">&#8212;<\/td>\n<td width=\"84\">&#8212;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"186\"><strong>Devell Washington<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"102\">WR<\/td>\n<td width=\"78\">MI<\/td>\n<td width=\"84\">3<\/td>\n<td width=\"90\">3<\/td>\n<td width=\"84\">3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"186\"><strong>Garrett Greene<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"102\">QB<\/td>\n<td width=\"78\">FL<\/td>\n<td width=\"84\">4<\/td>\n<td width=\"90\">3<\/td>\n<td width=\"84\">3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"186\"><strong>Reese Smith<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"102\">WR<\/td>\n<td width=\"78\">KY<\/td>\n<td width=\"84\">3<\/td>\n<td width=\"90\">3<\/td>\n<td width=\"84\">3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"186\"><strong>Chris Mayo<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"102\">OL<\/td>\n<td width=\"78\">NJ<\/td>\n<td width=\"84\">4<\/td>\n<td width=\"90\">3<\/td>\n<td width=\"84\">4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"186\"><strong>Jacob Gamble<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"102\">OL<\/td>\n<td width=\"78\">OH<\/td>\n<td width=\"84\">&#8212;<\/td>\n<td width=\"90\">3<\/td>\n<td width=\"84\">&#8212;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><em>*The 247Sports ranking is the service\u2019s specific ranking, not their composite ranking. <\/em><\/p>\n<h3>Winning on the Recruiting Trail<\/h3>\n<p>Brown\u2019s approach is gaining traction among fans, current players, and recruits.\u00a0 The early results support this.\u00a0 Brown has worked tirelessly to sell the West Virginia brand.\u00a0And he has done so by embracing the blue-collar work ethic for which Mountaineers are known.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Fired up about this team and the progress we are making! Only 87 days! <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/TrustTheClimb?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#TrustTheClimb<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/h8vu7HFg5W\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/h8vu7HFg5W<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Neal Brown (@Coach_NealBrown) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Coach_NealBrown\/status\/1136292819679752192?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">June 5, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p>&nbsp;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>So while there is still plenty of work to be done, Brown has been winning on the recruiting trail so far.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Head Coach Neal Brown took over the West Virginia football team in January, already several months behind on the 2020 recruiting cycle.\u00a0 As we wrote previously, Brown did a remarkable job holding serve on the 2019 class.\u00a0 Since then, he has added a few pieces to that class, including former five-star receiver George Campbell from [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2744,"featured_media":21042,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,6],"tags":[4835,3379,4836,4599,1712,3650,237],"class_list":["post-21972","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-big12","tag-2020-recruiting","tag-austin-kendall","tag-big-xii-football","tag-george-campbell","tag-neal-brown","tag-west-virginia-football","tag-west-virginia-mountaineers"],"modified_by":"Tony Siracusa, CFB Managing Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21972","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2744"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21972"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21972\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21042"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21972"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21972"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21972"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}