Older West Virginia fans may remember Eugene Napoleon from the late 1980’s. Napoleon ran for 1,001 yards and 3 touchdowns in his three years at Morgantown. On National Signing Day last Wednesday, Feb. 1, West Virginia got 26 recruits. One of those recruits is Brandon Napoleon, a quarterback/cornerback from St. Peter’s Prep. school in New Jersey. Napoleon followed in his father’s footsteps and signed his letter of intent to be a Mountaineer.
Napoleon sat down with Ohio Valley Athletics and discussed his decision process, his thoughts on realignment, Twitter, NCAA sanctions and much more.
Ohio Valley Athletics: Your father Eugene played for the Mountaineers from 1987-1989 and rushed for 1,001 yards and 3 touchdowns. How much influence did your father play in you attending WVU?
Brandon Napoleon: My dad had no influence at all. He always said go with my heart and make my own decision. I grew up loving West Virginia and would always play as them in the video games. I just always wanted to go there if they offered me a scholarship.
OVA: I’ve read that you made your decision back in June of 2011 to attend WVU. Did making the decision before your senior year put less pressure on you?
BN: That was my plan to commit early. It gave me time to focus on my high school team and my grades. It was a focus thing with me.
OVA: North Carolina, Rutgers, Indiana, UConn were also pursuing you. Being a New Jersey guy, did Rutgers or any of the other schools ever stand a chance, or were you pretty set on WVU?
BN: After the Rutgers spring game I was going to commit. I called my mom, my mom said to wait. I then went to UNC and I verbally committed there, but it wasn’t official. That Friday, I was going to go down to make it official, but my dad told me that West Virginia wanted me to come visti. That Friday, I went to WVU and made it official.
OVA: You were a standout cornerback and quarterback in high school. At West Virginia, you’ll be playing cornerback. How do you think the adjustment from high school to college will go?
BN: I feel it will kind of be the same. It’s the same principals as you flip your head and what not. The speed and size of the players will make me have to adjust. Prep school got me prepared and I hope to be on the field early.
OVA: I follow you on Twitter and you are very active on it. We have seen in the past athletes tweet something and catch backlash for not thinking before they hit send. How careful are you about that and has anyone warned you about the possible consequences?
BN: My dad always says watch what you put on Twitter, so that’s why it’s clean. I don’t curse or anything like that, that’s not how I am. I learned from Yuri White, a standout cornerback from New Jersey who lost his scholarship for saying stuff that he shouldn’t have on Twitter.
OVA: When you sat down with Coach Holgorsen, what was it about him that sold you on him and the program?
BN: He was just a honest and very genuine guy. He was very straightforward with me and I appreciated that.
OVA: If you had to compare your style of play to one football player, who would it be?
BN: I would compare myself to the “Honey Badger” Tyrann Mathieu. I’m aggressive, fast and I just want to get the ball in my hands at all times to make plays.
OVA: Have you talked to Darwin Cook, Terence Garvin, Pat Miller or any other of the veteran Mountaineers yet and if so, what advice have they given you?
BN: I talked to Stedman (Bailey), Tavon (Austin), Geno (Smith) and Terence Garvin. They gave me good advice. They told me to work hard and you get on the field if you work hard. They just said to ball out and have fun. They also said to make sure I hit the film room and weight room.
OVA: How do you feel about the conference realignment and playing in the Big 12 as soon as July?
BN: Playing in the Big 12 would be good. There are great teams, great competition, traditions and we get to travel to new places. We would also be the first team to switch from Big East to the Big 12 which would be kind of cool.
OVA: What are your feelings concerning all of the scandals at the Universities and players receiving improper benefits? Do you think college players should be paid?
BN: I just think that if high school players are going out and someone offered you money, you don’t think about the future, you just want to help you and your family. They are just kids. The colleges should be held responsible. The colleges should have something taken away, not the players like Reggie Bush how he lost his Heisman Trophy. The schools should pay the consequences and not the athletes. I don’t know if they should be paid. I’d like to get paid, but I don’t know if the NCAA would follow that.
OVA: This is your chance to introduce yourself to Mountaineer Nation. What do you have to say to them about your arrival and this upcoming year?
BN: Thanks you Mountaineer Nation. Thank you for everything. Hopefully you follow me on Twitter if you don’t you can now (BrandonWVU_CB). Thanks for the hospitality so far and lets go Mountaineers!
Photo Credit: The Victors Voice
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