MORGANTOWN — Neal Brown is a different sort of dude.

Too many coaches wrap themselves into a football cocoon, so serious about it that they can’t show the public a human side of themselves.

Brown is different. He takes his football seriously, but understands family and children and what fans want and need and what this state university means in this state. He lives in the present, builds toward the future but also likes to connect with the past.

For quite some time leading into Saturday’s Blue-Gold Football Game, he was looking for something to make it special, to tie them to the history of the program and to give them something to either remember or tell their children about.

As they tossed that football around in meetings, Blaine Stewart, the tight end coach who grew up in the Pat White-Steve Slaton era as the son of football coach Bill Stewart, suggested that they get maybe Pat White and Pat McAfee back into town.

White and McAfee. Bells went off in Brown’s head. Why couldn’t they be honorary coaches for the spring game?

Not just in name, not to just fly into town, walk to the center of the field and flip a coin, but to really do some coaching, to meet the players, to get themselves back where they belong. White had kept his contacts with the school open but had other things keeping him away.

McAfee, well let’s just say that for a while there he and the school were not on speaking terms, but things were different now and they were thrilled with the invitation.

White, of course, is coaching in the NFL and McAfee is the hottest item on ESPN after a career as a punter for the Indianapolis Colts.

He noted that he spent the night “drinking some Morgantown water”, as he put it, and even got the whole bar singing “Country Roads.”

It gave Brown a chance to draw the past into his program. Add their presence to Hall of Fame coach Don Nehlen, who 40 years ago created the tie between WVU Children’s Hospital and the spring game, to say nothing of being the winningest coach at the school and being responsible for the school’s unique logo and you had yourself something special.

Someone asked Brown in his post spring game press conference about how their presence could help recruiting … and, of course it could, but he opted to choose a different way to look at it.

“From a recruiting standpoint, I hadn’t thought about it a whole bunch,” he said. “It was more to me about whatever your dreams are, whatever you want to pursue, whether it’s in the game of football or outside, those dreams can be realized here at West Virginia, right here in West Virginia.”

It’s only a matter of time before the school grabs a tape of that and uses it to recruit … not only football players, but students.

“Sitting in Zach Frazier’s uncle’s house last night,” Brown continued, having been there for the watch party to see his All-American center get drafted, “with Dante Stills being there and he went to the NFL and had a great rookie season. Now Zach is the 51st pick in the draft. And you have Pat McAfee coming in and he has what’s probably the most popular show in the country right now.

“To me, I’m going down to visit with some people at the cancer gala tonight at the Greenbrier, some who’s who of West Virginia people; the thing I try to tell our players is any dream you have, anything you want to achieve in life, you can achieve that right here at West Virginia University.”

Brown, since his arrival, has built West Virginia pride in his players and made them part of the community through charitable work, through speaking at schools, through visits to the hospital. He took them to learn about coal mining by going down into a mine.

He makes them dress on game days, present themselves well to their fans with the “Fan Walk,” and can be seen with his family out and about, attending basketball games and baseball games.

“In fall camp, we spend a lot of time educating them. Coach Nehlen was here today and it’s always great to have him. I thought it was cool, 40-year celebration of the connection between our spring game and the Children’s Hospital.

“Having him here is always special. We don’t take him for granted at all. It was cool to me before the game that a ton of our players were waiting in line to talk with him. It’s a neat thing.”

Brown has seen a number of former WVU players coming back to the school as his career as Mountaineer coach went on.

“We have an open door to have guys back. We love to have them back. What happens is (as to why some don’t come back) is life. It goes on. I think Pat White has four kids. He has a ton going on and it meant a lot for him to come. I think it showed what West Virginia means to him.

“Then Pat McAfee was at the draft yesterday. For him to come back and make a special stop. He’s got a whole lot going on business wise and personal. He’s got a baby. For them to invest time back in here, that meant a lot to everyone associated with our program.”

The players loved it, meeting with a football legend far ahead of his time in Pat White and with McAfee, a national celebrity.

Quarterback Garrett Greene, who came is similar to White’s in the way he can take off and run for big yardage, was thrilled by the visit from White.

“He’s a legend,” Greene said. “Kind of right when I committed here, I started watching his stuff and the things he could do was so electrifying and so much fun to watch. I told him that today, that he’s a legend and someone I look up to.

“He told me I’m a fun player to watch and he enjoys watching me. That was really cool to hear from someone I hold so much respect for.”

And McAfee?

“It was great. It’s kind of building back a bridge that some people burned with him. This was his first time back in forever. It was really cool to see him interact with me, our players, our coaches and the fans loved having him and I think he’ll be back.”

After a night back downtown, McAfee guaranteed he’d be back.