Garrett Greene is Getting a Handle of the Offense

West Virginia redshirt freshman quarterback Garrett Greene's reps have increased as he starts to better understand the offense.

Despite head coach Neal Brown stating there will be no depth chart released coming out of spring practice, Jarret Doege is undeniably West Virginia’s starting quarterback heading into the 2021 college football season.

Redshirt freshman Garrett Greene is expected to play behind Doege this fall and is currently going through his first full spring practice as a Mountaineer. Last season, as a true freshman, he was third on the depth chart, and now, with the departure of 2019 starter Austin Kendall, he sits firmly behind Doege.

“Him [Greene] and Doege have been great in preparing, and they’re going to push each other in a very positive way,” said Co-offensive coordinator Gerad Parker. “It his first run at really getting meaningful reps - special throw day one, and there’s been a couple of moments where we’ve thrown it to the wrong people and had some moments quarterbacks have, but he’s handling it good.”

West Virginia quarterback Garrett Greene going through drills during day two of the spring practice period / Christopher Hall - Sports Illustrated: Mountaineer Maven

Green saw a little bit of action during his freshman season. He took the field and the waning moments of the season opener against Eastern Kentucky, and at one point, lowered his shoulder after keeping the ball on the option read and absorbed a hit that caught the eyes of Mountaineer fans. The passion and intensity are polarizing, and watching an undersized quarterback take on a linebacker will get anyone on their feet.

However, it was a teaching moment. Naturally, no one wants to see their quarterback taking a hit, and as much as we all love to see the quarterback deliver a blow, it is an unnecessary extra yard. He finished the day going 3-4 passing for 24 yards and had 33 rushing yards on five attempts. That was enough for some that when Doege, at times, struggled, voiced it was time for the true freshman to take over the reins of the offense, primarily for the youngster to be a threat with his feet. Fans pushing for Greene to play gained momentum when he appeared for one play, rushing for seven yards against Iowa State, but the old saying goes, “It’s not a threat if they know it’s coming.”

“He [Greene] knows the offense well enough now to where he has answers not only when it goes right, but he’s able to realize ‘I know exactly what I did wrong,’ and that’s a lot of playing that position,” said Parker. “He’s got great energy and ‘Juice,’ and the guys love him, and like I said, him and Doege’s relationship has really helped him learn faster and push. It will be fun to see him come along.”

The annual Gold and Blue Game is scheduled to kickoff Saturday, April 24, at 1:00 pm.

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