West Virginia hoping Daniels, Harrell a match made in heaven

Aug. 23—With a new coach in 2019, West Virginia also unveiled a new mantra: Trust the Climb. If the Mountaineers fail to live up to expectations again in Neal Brown's fourth season, that will truly be put to the test.

West Virginia finished 6-7 overall and 4-5 in Big 12 play a season ago, and the campaign was punctuated by an uninspiring 18-6 loss to Minnesota in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl.

In three seasons under Brown, West Virginia is 17-18 overall and 11-15 against conference foes.

Much of last year's struggles were attributed to the Mountaineers' plodding offense, specifically the lackluster play of quarterback Jarrett Doege.

Doege was serviceable statistically, throwing for 3,048 yards and 19 touchdowns to 12 interceptions, but he led an offense that ranked 88th in the nation in both yards and points per game.

With All-Big 12 running back Leddie Brown having an explosive season of 223 carries for 1,065 yards (4.8 average) and 13 touchdowns, the offense's inability to open up the field was head scratching at times.

Neal Brown made the necessary moves in the offseason, as offensive coordinator Gerad Parker left to become the tight ends coach at Notre Dame, and Doege transferred to Western Kentucky — though he recently reentered the transfer portal.

West Virginia tabbed Graham Harrell as its new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, who served the same role at the University of Southern California. Win or lose, the offense is bound to be more exciting.

Harrell brings an Air Raid offense to Morgantown he learned while quarterbacking Texas Tech under Mike Leach — a system he flourished in: He ranks fourth all-time in career passing yards (15,793).

The hole left by Doege's departure was filled by Georgia transfer JT Daniels, who played under Harrell at USC from 2018-19. Daniels was the top quarterback recruit in the country entering high school, and he won the job immediately, passing for 2,672 yards, 14 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 11 games as a freshman.

However, Daniels suffered a season-ending injury early in his sophomore season and transferred to Georgia a year later. Daniels won the starting job entering the 2021 season, but a nagging oblique injury allowed Stetson Bennett to earn playing time.

The two would vie for playing time the rest of the way, but Bennett would eventually take control and lead the Bulldogs to the National Championship over Alabama. Bennett announced he was coming back to Georgia, and Daniels entered the portal.

It's an unlikely reunion, but Brown hopes the pairing of Harrell and Daniels is a match made in heaven.

Daniels will benefit from five returnees on the offensive line: sophomore left tackle Wyatt Milum (6'6", 308 pounds), redshirt junior left guard James Gmiter (6'3", 310), sophomore center Zach Frazier (6'3", 306), junior right guard Doug Nestor (6'7", 320), redshirt sophomore right tackle Brandon Yates (6'4", 308).

At the skill positions, top receiver Winston Wright is gone, but junior wideouts Bryce Ford-Wheaton and Sam James return. Ford-Wheaton caught 42 passes for 575 and three touchdowns last year, and James made 42 grabs for 505 yards and five TDs.

Standout back Leddie Brown is in the National Football League now, presently trying to make the Los Angeles Chargers as an undrafted free agent. Tony Mathias is the leading returner at the position with 312 yards rushing, but no backs on the roster have ever found the end zone.

West Virginia enters the season with four All-Big 12 preseason picks in Nestor, star defensive tackle Dante Stills, cornerback Charles Woods and placekicker Casey Legg.

The Mountaineers defense has regularly been one of the best in the nation in recent years, but it took a step back in 2021, finishing 45th in points per game allowed (23.8) and 37th in yards per game (350.6).

Woods and Stills will be relied on heavily in the secondary and on the line, respectively, as Neal Brown was forced to bring in a host of transfers to that side of the ball to fill the remaining gaps.

Murray State transfer Marcis Floyd and JUCO product Hershey McLaurin were brought in at safety, and transfers Wesley McCormick of James Madison and Rashad Ajayi of Colorado State enter the fold at corner.

Linebacker sees a similar reshuffling, as Jasir Cox (North Dakota State), Lee Kpogba (Syracuse) and Tirek Austin-Cave (Miami) will play alongside returning contributor Lance Dixon.

The line will be anchored by the All-Big 12 first-team performer Stills, who finished with 36 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, seven sacks, six hurries, one forced fumble and one interception last year.

The Mountaineers lost Akheem Mesidor to the portal (Miami), but Taijh Alston and Jared Barlett return.

West Virginia and Pittsburgh renew the Backyard Brawl, one of college football's greatest rivalries, in Pittsburgh to open the season. The Mountaineers follow with winnable home games against Kansas and Towson before heading to Lane Stadium to face Virginia Tech.

The rest of Big 12 play entails Texas (away), Baylor (home), Texas Tech (away), TCU (home), Iowa State (away), Oklahoma (home) and Kansas State (home).

With how open the Big 12 is this season, anything from 4-8 to 8-4 is possible. For Brown to keep his seat from heating up, he'll hope it's closer to the latter.

Alex Rychwalski is a sports reporter at the Cumberland Times-News. Follow him on Twitter @arychwal.