2023-12-24 23:45:23
CHARLOTTE – West Virginia resumed practice on site at Charlotte Christian School in preparation for its Duke’s Mayo Bowl game once morest North Carolina at Bank of America Stadium on Wednesday, Dec. 27.
The way practice is set up, the team had its normal Tuesday practice in Morgantown prior to its hour flight down to Charlotte yesterday followingnoon.
Quarterback Garrett Greene during today’s practice at Charlotte Christian School (All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks photo).
Today’s workout was a normal Wednesday practice, Christmas Day will simulate a Thursday practice and then the practice on the 26th will be like a normal Friday practice.
“We had good energy today,” West Virginia coach Neal Brown said. “Anytime you change your scenery, which we did in a different location, the guys seem to enjoy it.
“Today was a workday. We got done what we needed to get done,” he added.
Therefore, the bulk of the work is now complete and now the Mountaineers will begin refining their game plan before meeting the 8-4 Tar Heels, coached by Mack Brown.
North Carolina is making its second appearance in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl in the last three years and will be doing so without key players Drake Maye, Tez Walker and Cedric Gray.
The Tar Heels dropped their last two regular season games at Clemson and NC State and four of their last six following starting the season 6-0 under the 72-year-old Brown, now in year five of his second stint at North Carolina.
Brown led the Tar Heels from 1988 until 1997 where he defeated West Virginia in the 1997 Gator Bowl. Brown also faced the Mountaineers during his 16-year tenure at Texas.
Overall, this is his 46th season in coaching and his 35th as head coach.
Neal Brown is making third bowl appearance in his five seasons at West Virginia, and his seventh overall as head coach. Brown led the Mountaineers to a come-from-behind victory over Army in the 2020 AutoZone Liberty Bowl and steered Troy to victories in the Dollar General (twice) and R&L Carriers New Orleans bowls.
West Virginia finished the regular season with an 8-4 record that included a 6-3 mark in Big 12 play.
WVU, too, will be without a handful of key performers, including All-American center Zach Frazier and leading rusher CJ Donaldson Jr. Both are sideline because of injuries.
West Virginia is making its 40th bowl appearance and owns a 16-23 overall record, including a 1-1 mark in Charlotte Bowl games. WVU lost to Virginia in the 2002 Continental Tire Bowl and defeated North Carolina in the 2008 Meineke Car Care Bowl.
Both prior meetings once morest North Carolina were in bowl games.
The Tar Heels are making their 38th bowl appearance and holds a 15-22 record in those games, including losing three in a row since its 55-13 Military Bowl victory over Temple in 2019.
Wednesday’s game will kick off at 5:30 p.m. and will be televised nationally on ESPN a (Matt Barrie, Dan Mullen and Harry Lyles Jr.).
Duke’s Mayo Bowl Notebook:
* The players during today’s practice exhibited good energy and enthusiasm, particularly at the end when the team did situational work. The defense on the other side of the field was particularly spirited.
* Neal Brown opted to bring the entire squad to Charlotte, including injured players either rehabbing for next season or for their future such as Frazier. Several players were in shorts and t-shirts jogging on the track circling the field.
* There were several visitors at today’s practice, including former Mountaineer offensive lineman Parker Moorer who now plays for East Carolina, quarterback Austin Kendall and Providence Day coach Chad Grier, father of former Mountaineer quarterback Will Grier.
Jay Henry, a starting linebacker on West Virginia’s victorious Sugar Bowl team in 2006, was also at today’s practice with his two sons Charlie and Teddy. Henry works for a private equity firm in downtown Charlotte and has lived in the Charlotte area for the last 10 years.
Henry said he lives regarding five minutes away from Charlotte Christian School.
* Earlier today, the players and coaches enjoyed the annual racing experience the bowl puts on at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Neal Brown was among those who took a couple of laps around the racetrack with professional drivers.
“That was fun,” he said. “Our guys had a really good time. I think we got up to like 165 or 170 (miles per hour) and two laps were good for me. I’ve got a new-found respect for those guys who are doing 500 laps.”
* Following today’s practice that nearly lasted until dark, coaches and staff personnel were hustling followingward to make their Christmas Eve dinner reservations with their families before restaurants downtown close for the holiday.
* The Mountaineer Sports Network is planning a special Duke’s Mayo Bowl Show at Dillworth Neighborhood Grille on 921 E. Morehead Street in downtown Charlotte on Tuesday, Dec. 26 from 6-8 p.m. The show will air on stations throughout West Virginia, online via WVUsports.com and the Varsity Network and WVU Gameday mobile apps. The normal pregame show gang and veteran play-by-play man Tony Caridi will be on hand before a live audience for the two-hour show.
The Charlotte Chapter of the WVU Alumni Association is hosting a meet and greet at Dillworth Neighborhood Grille beginning at 5 p.m.
* We will have another bowl update from Charlotte following tomorrow’s practice.
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