One, he wants his guys to take care of the football and, two, he wants them to be able to run the ball better against the premier teams in the conference. Last year, the Mountaineers ran it against the teams they were supposed to and struggled to run it against the stronger defenses.
Having a starting offensive line returning intact should help, as well as a running backs room that includes Tony Mathis Jr. and promising youngsters Justin Johnson Jr. and Jaylen Anderson.
But what is going to separate this year's offense from the others recently is what happens behind center.
There was a three-way quarterback competition during the spring featuring holdovers Garrett Greene, Will Crowder and true freshman Nicco Marchiol. Georgia transfer J.T. Daniels was added to the mix in May, and Brown said, so far, Daniels has been tremendous in summer team activities.
"I think it's important for people to understand that he's got to go and win the job," the fourth-year coach said. "That's something that we were really clear with him during the recruiting process is nothing was going to be handed to him, and he's got to go and win the job.
"I'm really proud of how he's handled it," he added. "He wasn't here during the spring because he had to get his degree from Georgia, and he came in during the middle of May, and he's gone to work. He's done a really good job of connecting with our team. He's done a really good job of kind of directing our offseason throwing sessions, so I'm pleased."
Last year, Daniels won all seven games he started at Georgia, completing 69% of his pass attempts for 1,953 yards and 17 touchdowns before getting injured. Prior to that, Daniels spent two seasons at USC playing in Graham Harrell's system where he completed 61% of his passes for 2,887 yards and 15 touchdowns.During his collegiate career, Daniels has thrown 32 touchdown passes compared to only 16 interceptions and will reunite with his old offensive coach, Harrell, at WVU.
"He's really smart, one of the top recruits in the country coming out of high school way back in '17, starts as a freshman at USC – I think only the second one in program history – and then he goes to Georgia and he's 7-0. He didn't lose. The key for him is going to be his ability to stay healthy," Brown noted.
Brown said decision making is always high on his list when evaluating quarterback competitions.
"You've got to be able to take care of the football and just leadership and being able to direct the guys in the huddle. I've said this for a long time being on the offensive side of the ball, quarterback competitions, when they're won it's evident and your team knows it," Brown said. "It's not like you have to go out and make a social media announcement and you've got to stand up in front of the team and say 'he is going to be our starter.' When a quarterback wins that competition, it's very clear."
Quarterback play is often measured by an offense's ability to score touchdowns. WVU got 19 through the air and 19 on the ground last season, but also had to settle for 23 field goal attempts, making 19.
Harrell came in this spring making it clear to his guys that his goal is to score as many touchdowns as possible. The quarterback most capable of leading the team into the end zone is going to end up as West Virginia's game-one starter on Sept. 1 in Pittsburgh.
"Everyone wants to talk about quarterback competitions, but at the same time, they are really probably the easiest to choose because it is so clear," Brown said.
Brown indicated the quarterback battle that took place in the spring will simply add another competitor to the mix when the team begins preseason work in early August.
"We had an opportunity at mid-year to go after some transfer quarterbacks," Brown explained. "We knew we needed to add some experience at that position, but I thought if we added a guy at mid-term it would really stunt the development of our young guys.
"We really believe in our young quarterbacks," he continued. "We have Garrett Greene, who is only going to be a redshirt sophomore who is a really athletic kid with a live arm. Will Crowder is going to be a redshirt freshman who is really intelligent and is a dual threat. And then we have one of the top quarterback recruits in the country that joined us in January in Nicco Marchiol. He's got a huge upside and so we wanted to go through spring and let those guys get the reps and see.
"Now, J.T. joins the mix this summer and when we start practice here in 19 days, we're going to have a true competition. I think it was vital for those guys' development – the other three quarterbacks – to be able to go through spring ball and get those much-needed reps," Brown said.
As for Harrell remodeling the Mountaineer offense, Brown said he's really pleased with what his new coordinator has been able to accomplish in such a short period of time.
"Schematically, we'll be very similar," he said. "The thing that Graham is going to be able to do that I didn't do as good a job in the last two years is being full-time there. He's got a really confident – not arrogant – but confident demeanor, and he's got a great feel for game day. Not only was he a great player, but he's been really proven at North Texas and USC as an offensive coordinator.
"We return seven of our top offensive linemen, two of our top receivers, we've got a really good running back room and we've got some veteran tight ends. We've got talent and experience on that side of the ball, and we feel really good about the pieces we have," Brown concluded.
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Brown Excited About Talent and Experience Mountaineers Have On Offense - West Virginia University Athletics - WVU Athletics
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