NFL draft highlighted need for coaching change at WVU

MORGANTOWN — As always, there were many takeaways from the weekend’s National Football League draft, but the largest, if you were looking at through one blue and one old gold eye from West Virginia, was that it showed conclusively why a coaching change had to be made.

Quite simply the evidence piled up over Neal Brown’s six years as Mountaineer coach that he was not bringing in the top line quality players that are necessary to compete in today’s high power, high-cost game.

In a world where Ohio State was having 14 players selected in the draft, where Georgia had 12 and Oregon had 10 this year, WVU had four players taken in the draft … over the past five years combined.

In the 2019 draft — the year Brown was inheriting the team from Dana Holgorsen — WVU had five players drafted into the NFL. That would be quarterback Will Grier, tackle Yodny Cajuste, wide receiver Gary Jennings Jr., tight end Trevon Wesco and linebacker David Long.

This year there was offensive tackle Wyatt Milum.

No and.

Just Milum.

In 2024 there was center Zach Frazier.

Again, no and.

In 2023 it was Dante Stills. No and.

In 2022 it was … well, no one.

And in 2021 it was linebacker Tony Fields alone.

You can not compete in today’s world without a smattering of NFL talent throughout your lineup.

The last two years the Mountaineers opened the season lining up against Penn State. The Nittany Lions had five players drafted in this year’s NFL draft cycle, including first-round draft picks Abdul Carter and Tyler Warren.

In 2024 Penn State had eight draft choices, against two of them first round picks.

That’s 13 players drafted in two years. You have to go back to 2017 to find the last 13 players drafted from West Virginia.

Over the years WVU has gone into gunfights with Penn State, Oklahoma, Texas, Oklahoma State, Iowa State and the lines with a sword, not a six-shooter.

It seemed as though they were so intent on building facilities, improving nutrition, using every gimmick any salesman could sell them that they weren’t buying up the necessary talent to produce a ranked team, a Big 12 contender.

Neal Brown was wonderful in character building, in image building.

But not in team building.

That’s why there was such a strong push for Rich Rodriguez, who in many ways is viewed as the anti-Neal Brown. He came to WVU and built a national contender.

Granted it wasn’t in the Big 12 then, but if you’ve been watching closely, the Big 12 is really no bigger than the Big East was back then. The Big Ten and the SEC have soared out of sight.

This year the SEC had 79 players drafted by the NFL, the Big Ten 71. The Big 12 — true, with fewer teams — had 31. Even the ACC had 42 players drafted.

Look at this way, in the SEC Georgia, Texas and Ole Miss had 33 players drafted while the Big 12 had only 31 — and that doesn’t even count Alabama. It’s no different in the Big Ten, where Ohio State, Oregon and Michigan had 31 drafted … And the next team neighboring state Maryland, which had six drafted to one for WVU.

You wonder why Rodriguez is bringing in about 65 new players this year?

Everything about recruiting talent has to be restructured to compete on a national level.

That’s just the way it is.

•••

Here’s a couple of guys who weren’t drafted who you probably will want to root for to beat big odds and make it onto an NFL roster.

Garrett Greene has a free agent deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but not as the quarterback he was at WVU but as a wide receiver.

This says two things about Greene and the mess WVU is in. The first is that — as athletic as he was and as determined as he was — was miscast in trying to lead the Mountaineers back to the glory years. The second is that he has talents that, if he can get the experience, that might carry him into the role he was probably best cast for in the first place, that being as a speedy, tough wide receiver.

And another former WVU athlete may just find his way into the NFL through the free agent route. One-time basketball center Jimmy Bell Jr., who actually spent about a week of spring practice with the football team, has signed on as a free agent with the Los Angeles Chargers after having had a decent basketball season at Mississippi State.

Football was Bell’s first love and at 6-9 and 330 pounds, he looks like the offensive tackle the Chargers are going to give him a chance to be.

•••

In all, over the years, WVU has had a dozen first -round draft picks. Here they are and note that years ending in ‘6’ have been very good for them, which could signify a strong showing in next year’s draft:

1936: Joe Stydahar, OT, Bears, 6th overall pick; 1956: Joe Marconi, RB, Bears, 6th pick; 1958: LB Chuck Howley, Bears, 7th pick; 1966: Dick Leftridge, RB, Steelers, 3rd pick; 1986: Brian Jozwiak, OT, Kansas City Chiefs, 7th pick; 2000: TE Anthony Becht, Jets, 27thpick; 1990: LB Renaldo Turnbull, Saints, 14th pick; 2005: DB Adam “Pacman” Jones, Titans, 6th pick; 2012: DE Bruce Irvin, Seahawks, 15th pick; 2013: WR Tavon Austin, St. Louis Rams, 8th pick; 2015: WR Kevin Jones, Bears, 7th pick; 2016: S Karl Joseph, Oakland Raiders, 14th pick

•••

Which were WVU’s best drafts ever?

Well, in 1989 the Mountaineers had 8 players drafted, all in the 6th round or later: 6: DB Bo Orlando and RB Craig Taylor; 7: RB Undra Johnson; 8: DT Chris Parker; RB A.B. Brown; DB Alvoid Mays; 9. DT Pat Marlatt, and 11. T Brian Smider.

Then, in 1990, WVU had 7 drafted: 1. LB Renaldo Turnbull; 2. WR Reggie Rembert and DE Mike Fox; 7. LB Basil Proctor; 9. T Jack Lind and T Ronnie Brockman; 12. QB Major Harris.

Yes, that Major Harris. 12th round. Think Shedeur Sanders had a long wait?