Save Doege, Play Trey

Jarret Doege is the real deal.  In his two starts and one quarter this season,  Doege has thrown for 660 yards, 5 touchdowns and 0 interceptions.

The most impressive part of Doege’s brief experience as the quarterback of the Mountaineers is that he hasn’t made any bad throws or mental mistakes.  He is confident in the pocket, an excellent downfield passer, deceptively elusive and he is experienced.  

With two full seasons remaining, Doege has already started 19 collegiate games (5 as a Freshman and 12 as a Sophomore at Bowling Green and 2 at West Virginia) and Neal Brown already knows what he has in him.  Brown has a talented, extremely seasoned quarterback capable of leading the Mountaineers for the next two seasons, and he really doesn’t need to see him play against TCU in the team’s finale to know that.

Playing Doege in the final game obviously gives the Mountaineers the best chance to win, but it’s also a risky proposition that simply isn’t worth it.  A win against TCU would be great, but it’s also completely and utterly meaningless, and an injury to Doege would set the Mountaineers back another season.

Trey Lowe, the Redshirt Freshman from Collierville, Tennessee, is currently the 3rd string quarterback for the West Virginia Mountaineers behind starter Jarret Doege and Austin Kendall.  Just as Neal Brown knows what he has from Doege, he knows what Austin Kendall offers.  No one knows what Trey Lowe brings to the table and West Virginia really needs a viable backup quarterback in case Doege is injured at some point next season.  Kendall is a step backwards and Freshman Garrett Greene won’t be ready yet.  Trey Lowe makes the most sense as Doege’s backup for the next two seasons.

During his high school career, Lowe finished as the all-time passing leader at Bolivar High with 5,568 yards and 53 passing touchdowns and he rushed for 25 career touchdowns and had 78 total touchdowns

Lowe is an exceptional athlete, but many have questioned Lowe’s ability to throw the ball downfield.  During his brief time last season and the downs he’s played this year, he has not been given the opportunity to throw the ball, which has led to questions whether he was a capable passer or not.

That is until former West Virginia wide receiver Ricky Johns, who recently entered the transfer portal, posted a video from a WVU practice revealing that Trey Lowe’s arm is an absolute weapon and his ability to throw downfield should not be questioned:

Although this is just practice and it’s unclear who is playing defensively, Trey Lowe can absolutely throw the ball downfield and he put the ball precisely where it needed to be to be caught by the wide receiver.

Hopefully Trey Lowe remains in Morgantown and continues to grow within Neal Brown’s system because he clearly has the talent to be a truly great quarterback for the Mountaineers.  To keep him in Morgantown, Brown must give him a real chance to prove himself and there is no better opportunity than West Virginia’s final game against TCU.