Morgantown, West Virginia – To be clear, Jarret Doege is the starting quarterback for the West Virginia Mountaineers for the next two seasons. There is no quarterback controversy and true freshman Garrett Greene is not ready to take over the team quite yet.
But Garrett Greene is the future. He has a swag, a confidence, a competitive edge that will make him a very special player at West Virginia University.
Greene, a freshman from Tallahassee, Florida, ran the Mountaineers offense in the 4th quarter of their blowout win against Eastern Kentucky and he looked sensational. Head Coach Neal Brown – although obviously impressed with his young quarterback – wants to temper expectations.
In Brown’s teleconference today, he said the following of Greene: “I was glad we got to play him. That was the hope going into the game, that we’d get to play him some. He was up and down. He only really had one bad decision.”
Brown was a bit unsettled by Greene’s decision to taunt the Eastern Kentucky defenders on a run: “The time I got on him was just because I thought he kind of danced on the sideline a little bit, which when you’re up by that score, you don’t need to do that.”
However, that is part of Green’s competitive fire and Brown admitted that, saying, “But he played the game with great energy. He has extreme competitiveness, which is a positive. I thought he got the ball of his hand. He ran the ball pretty effectively. His first play wasn’t good…he got hit and I think he learned from that.”
Greene’s teammates have taken noticed of his ability and his leadership skills. Redshirt sophomore wide receiver Bryce Ford-Wheaton said of his teammate: “I could tell the first time that I ran a route for him that he’s going to be special.” Sam James, West Virginia’s most talented wide receiver said of Greene, “He’s going to be tough.”
Greene went 3-4 passing for 24 yards and rushed 5 times for 33 yards in his first collegiate action, but we’ve only just seen the beginning of what he can do. Greene’s athleticism and ability to run the ball will open up Neal Brown’s offense and make the Mountaineers offense very difficult to stop.
For now, Garrett Greene will have to wait his turn, but his turn is coming…and it’s going to be spectacular.
