Morgantown, West Virginia – While it’s clear to most on-lookers that redshirt freshman quarterback Garrett Greene should be playing significant playing time for the West Virginia Mountaineers this season, head coach Neal Brown doesn’t see it that way.
Instead, Brown continues to go with redshirt senior Jarret Doege as his starter. Next season, the quarterback situation will get even more interesting.
Jarret Doege, believe it or not, has yet another season of eligibility remaining due to the COVID rules and will almost certainly return next season. Doege is unlikely to garner any attention from the NFL. His poor downfield throwing, atrocious pocket presence and complete lack of mobility make him a real liability for any team, and he’s certainly not a NFL-caliber in any way.
With that said, the quarterback room in Morgantown is going to be very crowded next season. Garrett Greene and Will “Goose” Crowder will return and high school phenom Nicco Marchiol will be a freshman at West Virginia.
The best possible solution for the Mountaineers would be for Neal Brown to somehow convince Jarret Doege to move on. Doege’s ceiling has already been reached and it’s clear that he will not take West Virginia to the next level. Why would Brown waste another season with Doege?
Greene appears to have an uphill battle with his head coach. Brown clearly doesn’t think that Greene is disciplined and struggles with him not making the correct reads as a passer. Brown likes everything on his team to be safe and certain, and Greene is not that.
If Brown is never going to allow Greene to be Greene, he should notify him immediately so that Greene can explore other options. That’s extraordinarily disappointing because Greene is super talented, but it’s the reality of the situation.
Freshman Goose Crowder looked like he could be the type of quarterback that Brown likes and trusts: a stiff, immobile quarterback who will sit in the pocket and make smart reads.
Marchiol is the type of player that wants to play now and he may very well be ready to play as a freshman, but knowing Neal Brown, he will go with Doege for another year and stunt the growth of the three young, talented quarterbacks behind him.
