Here we go again, folks.
For the last three seasons in Morgantown, ever since the departure of Will Grier, the Mountaineers have been in the midst of a quarterback battle. The first being prior to the 2019 season between Austin Kendall and Jack Allison, and most recently in 2020 between Austin Kendall and Jarret Doege. Despite the experienced Doege returning for a third season in the Old Gold and Blue, which includes 13 starts for WVU under his belt, the general consensus among fans and those in the media is that redshirt freshman Garrett Greene will push him for the starting job this offseason. So with that, we are officially heading into a third straight season with some uncertainty at quarterback.
If you were to scroll through social media, you would see that many fans are excited for Garrett Greene and hope that he will see the field as early as September 4th against Maryland. Though that is certainly a possibility, it is just hard to imagine given the current circumstances.
Doege’s experience between Bowling Green and WVU is something that will swing the odds in his favor and be what ultimately wins him the job going into the season. However, there is a big difference between winning the job and keeping it. Over his 13 starts we have seen great Jarret Doege, we have seen middle of the pack Jarret Doege. Only on a couple occasions have we seen the bad Jarret Doege, being against Iowa State and Army to close out the 2020 season. Head Coach Neal Brown has went on record to say that Doege has been the “most improved” play this spring, which is an encouraging sign. But will this be enough to produce significantly better results on the field?
I have thoroughly enjoyed Doege as WVU’s starter, and he honestly hasn’t been as bad as many fans make him out to be. He will undoubtedly open up the season as the starting quarterback, but the firepower sitting behind him in Garrett Greene will be just too much to hold back.
We have seen WVU’s offense with Doege. While it is good, Greene brings with him an element that could make it so much better. His legs pose to be a serious problem for opposing defenses, and can open up big plays down the field. Though the Mountaineers will see a couple or more wins with Doege under center this season, there will come a time that the offense will need that added threat.
So here it is, folks – what I see to be the inevitable quarterback situation at WVU this season…Doege wins the job and has a few solid games to begin the year. The Mountaineers will run into the better defenses the Big 12 has to offer and the offense will once again suffer many of the same problems it encountered last season. Either against Iowa State or a team that has the same caliber of defense, we will finally get our first taste of Garrett Greene. Being as talented as he is, we should expect him to take a strong hold of the role then, and become the starting quarterback for the rest of the season and moving forward.
Everything surrounding the quarterbacks this spring just has the feel that the job is slowly beginning to teeter in the favor of Greene. Though none of the coaches will come right out and say it during their press conference, “Greene Fever” is certainly in the air and it is beginning to rampage through the Mountain State.
