Andrew Warwick didn’t take long to make his case for why he’s in Morgantown.
A year after arriving at West Virginia as linebackers coach on Zac Alley’s defense, Warwick spoke publicly for the first time since being hired, and he made it clear the move from Wofford wasn’t about leaving something behind so much as chasing the kind of place he wanted to be around.
At Wofford, Warwick had been the defensive coordinator, running the show for an entire side of the ball at an FCS program in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Still, when WVU reached out, he said the answer came fast.
“Look around. I mean, come on," Warwick said when asked about why he made the move.
"I was at Wofford before; I really enjoyed it. It’s a great institution, a lot of great people.
This is nothing negative about that, but when you look around here, like, this is what I tell the guys: this is the type of place you want to play at. This is the type of place you want to coach at.
I came running. This is big-time football with a storied program - the winningest team to never have won it.
To have a chance to come here and be a part of a staff and a head coach that allows me to be who I am and embraces that, and a standard…yeah, I’d love to be a part of the staff that can change that narrative as we’re trying to push for it. It’s a place you want to coach at.
It’s a place you want to play at. This place is…it’s a no-brainer.”
That kind of blunt honesty landed well. Warwick came off as direct, confident, and fully bought in on West Virginia’s direction.
He didn’t sugarcoat the decision, and he didn’t need to. He said enough to make his priorities obvious: the program, the standard, and the chance to be part of something bigger.
He also tied what he sees at WVU to his time as a graduate assistant on Dabo Swinney’s staff at Clemson. For Warwick, that experience shaped what he expects from a program, and he said he’s been looking for that same environment ever since.
“Once you’ve seen it at a high level and you have a high standard, you never want to go back. We experienced that when we were there, and I’ve been craving it, trying to get back to that and trying to implement that at every place I’ve been.
To go back to the question earlier, why am I at West Virginia? Because I know that’s the same standard.
And when you find people that have it and know what it is, you run to them, and I know we have that here.”
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Kellys decision fits the reality of WVUs offseason roster churn, where a wave of new defensive linemen arrived and pushed the depth chart toward a tighter squeeze. He leaves having played in 49 career games with 102 tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss and three sacks, and his move gives the Mountaineers yet another sign of how much turnover still remains on the defensive front. [Read more 🡒]
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WVU Fans Already Have A Problem With EA Sports' New Roster
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The early reaction, though, is already drifting toward the familiar mix of curiosity and frustration. Along with the new additions, the update still leaves some names off the roster, and the article points out a few discrepancies in positions and ratings that are bound to catch the eye of anyone following the team closely. For a fan base that notices every detail, this kind of patch tends to raise as many questions as it answers. [Read more 🡒]