(Photo by WVU Athletics)
Since Neal Brown took over the Mountaineer Football program in 2019, four different signal-callers have started a game for the Old Gold & Blue. While none of them have been necessarily memorable so far, they have all contributed good and not-so-good moments for the program.
Based on visual evaluation and the “vibes” around the team with each quarterback, I have ranked them from worst to best. Everyone will have wildly different opinions on this topic, so there will likely be a plethora of disagreements.
That’s the fun of this hobby, though. Sports always open up fun discussions – especially Mountaineer Athletics.
Without further ado, here are the starting quarterbacks under Neal Brown ranked…
4. J.T. Daniels (2022)
Stats: 2,107 yards, 13 TDs, 9 INTs
Daniels started off the 2022 campaign with a lot of promise. Putting together solid performances against both Pitt and Kansas, the Georgia transfer seemed destined to be the next great Mountaineer quarterback paired with Graham Harrell.
As we all learned, however, that quickly fell off the tracks.
Daniels saw his season come crashing down following abysmal outings against Texas Tech and Iowa State. He was finally benched in WVU‘s 23-20 win over Oklahoma and never saw the field again. The former five-star is now a Rice Owl and will quickly become an afterthought for most Mountaineer fans.
3. Austin Kendall (2019-2020)
Stats: 2,153 yards, 14 TDs, 10 INTs
Kendall was the first “big” player that Neal Brown landed in Morgantown. Coming from Oklahoma, the former four-star prospect was expected to be a huge boost for the beginning of Brown’s tenure. Despite getting off to a good start, injuries and misfortune quickly derailed Kendall’s time as a Mountaineer. After being replaced by Jarret Doege on November 16, 2019, he would never start another game for WVU.
He wouldn’t go away quietly, though, as he helped the Mountaineers overcome an 11-point deficit to defeat Army in the 2020 Autozone Liberty Bowl.
2. Garrett Greene (2020-Present)
Stats: 664 yards, 5 TDs, 3 INTs, 613 rushing yards, 9 TDs
We haven’t seen a lot of Garrett Greene. After sitting behind Jarret Doege for two seasons, his time finally arrived when J.T. Daniels was benched in last season’s matchup against Oklahoma. Greene came in and led the Mountaineers to their first victory over the Sooners since joining the Big 12.
He’s fast, has a strong arm, is a fan favorite, and will have a legitimate chance to be the starter in 2023. His sample size is too small to put him at the top of this list, but he could easily become Neal Brown’s best starting quarterback at WVU with a little more time.
That is if Nicco Marchiol doesn’t come in and blow us all away.
1. Jarret Doege (2019-2021)
Stats: 6,453 yards, 40 TDs, 19 INTs
To say Jarret Doege is NOT a hot commodity in Morgantown would be an understatement. Often being compared to a statue, the Bowling Green transfer quickly became the punchline of jokes for WVU fans. He was about as mobile as a knee-replacement patient, but that doesn’t keep him from owning the title as Neal Brown’s best starting quarterback.
West Virginia enjoyed a lot of fun wins under Doege. His first game was a 24-20 upset win over nationally-ranked Kansas State in Manhattan. He even led WVU to wins over Virginia Tech, a solid Iowa State team, and Texas during his last season in Morgantown. That’s enough to at least make him a somewhat memorable quarterback for Mountaineer fans.
Statistically he was OK. Was he grabbing national headlines with incredible performances? Hell no. Doege more times than not did just enough to lead his team to victory. You really can’t ask much more from a quarterback.
Though this list is depressing for the most part, the quarterback room at WVU is now littered with talent. All it will take is one guy to take off and make us forget all about the quarterback woes over the last four seasons.
If I were a betting man, I’d say there’s a very good chance of it happening.
The next great WVU quarterback is on the roster right now. I won’t venture to say who it is, but they will reveal themselves in 2023.
