Backyard Brawl has special meaning to Greater Johnstown graduate Loe

Sep. 1—The Backyard Brawl has added significance to Greater Johnstown High School graduate Exree Loe, a redshirt senior linebacker on the West Virginia University defense.

"It means a lot and it's very personal to me," said Loe, who initially made a verbal commitment to the University of Pittsburgh when coach Pat Narduzzi took over the Panthers program entering his junior season with the Trojans. "I was getting recruited by them. We ended up parting ways. It's more than just a game to be honest."

There is another reason Thursday's 7 p.m. contest between the Mountaineers and Pitt Panthers at Acrisure Stadium means so much to Loe, who played in 10 games for West Virginia during the 2021 season and made seven starts. Loe suffered a season-ending knee injury in a November loss at Kansas State.

"It was a long recovery, mentally, because you're not 100%, and you're not doing everything you're used to doing," Loe, a sixth-year player, said during a telephone interview on Wednesday. "Getting back in feels good. Getting my feet back under me and feeling back to normal is a blessing to be where I'm at."

The West Virginia University depth chart lists Loe second at weakside ("will") linebacker behind redshirt sophomore Lance Dixon, a transfer who spent the 2019 and 2020 seasons at Penn State.

Loe has played in 42 career games with the Mountaineers, including 11 starts.

The former Trojans two-time, all-state player was recruited as a defensive back even though Loe stood out both at cornerback and wide receiver. The Tribune-Democrat named Loe its offensive player of the year when he was a senior in 2016.

Loe moved to linebacker for the Mountaineers as a redshirt freshman in 2018. Overall, he has made 132 tackles, forced three fumbles and broke up three passes during four seasons. Loe redshirted in 2017.

"It helps a lot because I know what I have to do in order to get my body back to where it needs to be for the next game," said Loe, who gained another year of eligibility remaining because of the COVID-19 pandemic during the 2020 season. "I know what needs to be done as far as film study. I'm a veteran after playing the game the last five years."

The 6-foot, 214-pound Loe has diligently rehabbed his knee. The Mountaineers held out Loe from contact work during spring practice and he followed the plan until receiving clearance to resume practice.

Recently, Loe received praise from Mountaineers coach Neal Brown after an intrasquad scrimmage.

"One guy that I thought did well starting at linebacker was Exree Loe, coming off the injury," Brown said during a video clip that Loe retweeted. "Really showed some flashes in the scrimmage."

Loe anticipates a lot of interest in the Backyard Brawl throughout his hometown.

"Knowing that a lot of people from Johnstown will be watching the game really excites me," Loe said.

He feels the Mountaineers might be overlooked by fans and prognosticators, many of whom picked West Virginia in the lower half of the Big 12 preseason rankings.

"I feel like we're going to be a slept-on team, just like we always are," Loe said. "We have to go in every week with a chip on our shoulder and prove people wrong."

Mike Mastovich is a sports reporter and columnist for The Tribune-Democrat. He can be reached at 814-532-5083. Follow him on Twitter @Masty81.