West Virginia coach Neal Brown talks Penn State, his quarterback situation, and more

Penn State and West Virginia are set for a primetime showdown on Saturday night in State College. On Monday, Mountaineers head coach Neal Brown kicked off a week of pregame media obligations for both sides by speaking with reporters for about a half hour in West Virginia. His entire opening statement focused on the No. 7 Nittany Lions, who welcome WVU to town for a 7:30 p.m. matchup on NBC.

“Game week is finally here, and this is what it’s all about,” Brown said. “Great venue. Looking forward to it. I have a ton of respect for Coach [James] Franklin. Offensively, they’re multiple and have done a really good job of running the football. The strength of their group is the offensive line. Two tackles that will be draft picks, one of them may be the first one taken, and the running back room is special. They’re fast and big. I think the guy who doesn’t get mentioned enough is their center. Quarterback, not sure who we’ll see. [Beau] Pribula, we recruited him really hard. [Drew] Allar played really well last year. He proved himself last year. Receiver, they lost a lot but are really talented and added good speed through the portal.

More: Where will every Penn State football transfer suit up this fall?

“Defensively, I think Manny [Diaz] is one of the top coordinators in the country. I’m probably being conservative, but they have nine draft picks on their two deep on defense. They’re talented everywhere. I think it starts up front. At end, they have three guys who are big-time too. Interior is really good. They’re quick and they move. At safety, they have four guys who will play, and at corner, they have the [Kalen] King kid, who is a first-round pick. Very talented group, and their special teams are always solid. Singleton’s a threat anytime he touches it. For us, it’s about getting ready to go play in a tough venue. Our guys are excited about it and we’ll be ready.”

Brown won’t name a starter before kickoff

Junior Garrett Greene and redshirt freshman Nico Marchiol were the top two quarterbacks during camp. Brown is not ready to name a starter with game week underway. He joked that since the program has waited this long to make an announcement, it might as well continue waiting. The leader of West Virginia said last week that the team knows who the winner is. But, it’s not going to be shared in public prior to kickoff.

“They know,” Brown told reporters this week when asked if a winner was picked. “We just haven’t done anything real formal with it, but I think they have a good understanding. Here is the thing; we’ve got two really good quarterbacks. I feel good about both of them. One of them is a little bit further ahead, and that’s kind of where it is, but I don’t know if it really helps us to share a whole lot, but I think the team has got a good feel for it.”

Greene completed 43 of 78 attempts for 493 yards, five touchdowns, and three interceptions last season. Marchiol was 4 of 13 for 61 yards and a touchdown in 2022.

More from Neal Brown on Penn State

Brown was asked plenty of Penn State questions on Monday. Highlights include:

On the Lions’ record-setting six players on Bruce Feldman’s Freaks List:

“When you watch [Chop] Robinson, who we saw in high school, he’s special. He has size, speed, and athleticism. [Abdul] Carter is wearing the same number as Micah Parsons. He’s a freak. He deserves to be high on that list.”

On if there is an optimal time to play the Lions:

“This is the best team they’ve had in a long time. They’re extremely talented. As a team, this is a tough opener, not only because of the talent but you’re also going on the road. Fall camp is sped up. You have to work noise and crowd going into Week 3 of fall camp, because you can’t just do it game week.

“So, all of your preparation is sped up because you have to go play in a loud road venue. We don’t have the benefit of the jump of making a big jump from Week 1 to Week 2, [so] we have to be ready to go. We pressed on the gas and were physical. We’re not easing into this. We have to be ready to go from the first kick.”

More: Buzzworthy: Projecting Penn State special teams position battles

On expected Penn State starting quarterback Drew Allar:

“We watched a bunch of high school tape. And, when he played last year, they let him play. He’s super talented and more athletic than people give him credit for. He’s got a huge arm. Can make all the throws. Whoever starts will be making their first stop ever. There is pressure that goes along with that, so we have to pressure and disguise some things.”

On Nittany Lion running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen:

“The thing that sticks out to me with Singleton is you don’t see the speed and the strength combination. You see guys who are fast, or big and strong, but you don’t see the combo. He can break one tackle and go to the house, and that’s scary. Allen is talented and versatile. They’re really good. They’ve gotten a lot of press and they deserve it.”

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