Tonight, West Virginia Mountaineers Pitt will face off against the Panthers for the 191st year of the Backyard Brawl.

First-year WVU head coach Darian DeVries did a pretty good job in his pre-Brawl press conference, being careful not to say anything that could be used against him heading into the matchup.

But Pitt head coach Jeff Capel wasn’t as successful.

Capel was asked about his initial thoughts on this West Virginia team and his response was that he will never hear the end of this from Mountaineer fans, especially if they come away from Pittsburgh with a win on Friday night. Below is the answer to that question, along with several other WVU-centric questions he has been asked.

“Obviously they’re different than when Coach (Bob) Huggins was there. He’s in his first year of getting his guys in there. They seem to be more offensively focused than Coach Huggins teams, probably just two games in. They still play good defense, but they are not as physical and durable as these teams, at least in the two games they have played. “They were really good in the two games they played, but that seems to be the difference.”

“He’s really good. I love everything about it. I was a fan last year, watching him from afar while he played for his dad at Drake. He has the ability to score goals but I think what stands out is that he has a great feel for the game. He really knows how to play. He definitely knows the system and that’s why he’s off to a great start. He’s a really good player, a smart player. “He seems like he’s very competitive, and in the two games we watched, we saw that he enjoyed playing basketball.”

“This is a competitive game. They understand this. They understand the rivalry between Pitt and West Virginia, but some of our friends think this will be their first experience. I think it is beneficial for our football teams to play with each other. They had a chance to feel it there, and the players on our team last year also understood it. This is a big game. We are excited about this. “We are honored to be a part of this.”

Capel wasn’t trying to disrespect this year’s team, as it was a nod to the level of physicality that previous WVU teams played with. However, it will certainly make the rounds on social media, and you can almost guarantee that those on the WVU roster took exception to that comment.

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