Morgantown, West Virginia – Neal Brown would be a damn fool not to start Garrett Greene next year.
With a re-tooled offensive line featuring Doug Nester and perhaps Darnell Wright, and the announcement that star running back Leddie Brown will return for his senior season, the West Virginia offense finally has the opportunity to be great.
But not with Jarret Doege leading the team. He was a fine, serviceable quarterback for most of last season, but West Virginia will not win big with him behind center for a few very important reasons: 1.) His arm strength is questionable and 2.) His mobility in the pocket is poor.
Jarret Doege is many things, but his pocket presence is atrocious. Most successful college teams use a dual threat quarterback because as the phrase dual threat implies, they are a dual threat.
Mobile quarterbacks can escape pressure and create plays when the pocket collapses and they have to make thing happen with their feet. Having a mobile quarterback is particularly important when a team has an average offensive line. A mobile quarterback adds a whole new dynamic to the West Virginia offense.
Although Garrett Greene is still very young, he is a winner, he has a different level of confidence and spunk than a typical player with little experience, and he wants to play right now.
Garrett Greene is the clearly the future of the West Virginia Mountaineers and there is no better time than now to unleash him. While Doege offers the team incredible experience, his physical limitations will cause issues for the West Virginia offense.
I fully expect Neal Brown to say that there will be an open competition in the offseason to see who the starter is for the Mountaineers at quarterback, but I truly hope that he gives Greene a fair chance to win the job. With Greene in the lineup, the possibilities are endless.
