MORGANTOWN — Jordan Lesley has been looking at college football from a new perspective over the last few games.
It’s something West Virginia University’s defensive coordinator appreciates. Actually, it’s something he suggested to head coach Neal Brown, that he move to the coaches’ box during games rather than remain on the sidelines. It worked out last week, as the Mountaineers put on their best defensive performance of the season in defeating Oklahoma State.
Lesley hopes it works out as well against an even more challenging foe, No. 11 Iowa State, who visits Morgantown for an 8 p.m. Saturday televised game (FOX).
Lesley said this week he had been toying with the idea of moving to the coaches’ box since last season. He held off on the move at the start of this season to get more accustomed to some of the operational changes in college football this year. When he realized the effects were minimal, he decided to head to higher ground.
Lesley said the difference in view helps him.
“It changes what the look is and how you approach each play,” he said. “You see more. You see the big picture. And you’re able to get your kids in some better positions than you normally would.
“There’s a lot of things that go on on the sideline,” Lesley added. “There’s a lot of moving pieces, so it just kind of calms things down.”
It’s not that Lesley doesn’t like the sideline. He loves the emotion found there, how it builds as the team finds a rhythm and gets big defensive stops. Coaches can get excited along with the players, which makes for a fun experience.
But there are more important things than fun when it comes to college football, he added, and having the peace of the coaches’ box allows him to focus on those pieces.
“You’re getting things lined up in your head,” Lesley said. “And that’s much easier without a lot of moving pieces.”
And don’t look at this move as an experiment, Lesley said. Rather, consider it the new norm. As he left the box following WVU’s win over Oklahoma State, Lesley ran into a Mountaineer fan on the way to the locker room. When the fan realized where Lesley was coming from, he suggested that Lesley stay in the coaches’ box.
His response: “I plan to.”
“Now that I’m there,” Lesley said, “I’m never going back.”
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With a nighttime kickoff Saturday, the Mountaineers are getting into the act fashion-wise with their new black “Coal Rush” uniforms. The new unis honor West Virginia’s mining heritage, not just with the color of the uniforms, but with several other features.
Among them are the reflective fabric in the jersey numerals, symbolizing the reflectors in the mines. The reflective safety stripes in miners’ uniforms are represented in the side panel of the black uniform pants. The helmet is matte black with specks of metallic gray in the paint to resemble the shimmer of fresh-cut coal.
WVU players are giving it rave reviews.
“I like black,” defensive back Jaheim Joseph said. “All black is just a different type of energy.”
“I’m ready to put those black jerseys on, man,” running back C.J. Donaldson said. “They look pretty cool.”
Left tackle Wyatt Milum said that, while uniforms don’t win games, a nice-looking new uniform can offer a boost for players, especially in a night game.
“I think it gives a little bit more energy going into the game,” he said, “but you still have to focus on the game.”
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WVU long snapper Austin Brinkman has been named to the Reese’s Senior Bowl Midseason All-American Team. Team members are chosen from college football players across the country who are eligible to play in the Reese’s Senior Bowl.
Brinkman is a fifth-year senior in his fourth season long-snapping for WVU’s punts, field goals and extra points. He has played in 43 consecutive games and earned three Academic All-Big 12 honors.
Brown acknowledged Brinkman’s success so far this year.
“Nobody knows the snapper unless something goes bad,” Brown said. “Thankfully, it hasn’t, but he’s elite.”
WVU’s offensive line has been named one of 22 units on the 2024 Joe Moore Award Midseason Honor Roll, as announced by the Foundation for Teamwork. The Joe Moore Award goes to the most outstanding offensive line unit in college football and is named after the former offensive line coach most noted for his stints at Pittsburgh and Notre Dame, who sent 52 players to the NFL.
— Story by Derek Redd
