How WVU is Aiming to Unlock the Next Level of Garrett Greene

West Virginia can contend for the Big 12 if their senior quarterback improves in a few areas.

Sep 30, 2023; Fort Worth, Texas, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers quarterback Garrett Greene (6) throws a pass before the game against the TCU Horned Frogs at Amon G. Carter Stadium. Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports / Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

West Virginia has received a ton of attention this offseason and rightfully so. Some believe the Mountaineers have a crack at reserving a spot in Dallas for the Big 12 championship with Oklahoma and Texas now off to the SEC, and an experienced dual threat quarterback leading Neal Brown's squad.

Garrett Greene took the conference by storm in 2023 after sitting behind the likes of Jarret Doege and JT Daniels for the first three years of his career. He had been sprinkled into the offense here and there in previous years, primarily on run plays, so there were still a lot of question marks about him as a passer going into his first year as QB1.

Greene did an exceptional job of taking care of the football, throwing only four interceptions on the season. And you can really count it as three considering one of them was a perfect throw that should have went for a touchdown against Houston, but popped off of Jaylen Anderson's chest and into the hands of a Cougar in the end zone.

Keeping the turnovers to a minimum is half the battle, though. If you're not completing passes at a high percentage it can really hold your offense back. Greene made several nice throws throughout the season, but rarely did we see him get on a hot streak and complete a string of passes. To do that, you have to hit the easy stuff and at times, Greene had a difficult time with that. As head coach Neal Brown would constantly remind him, every throw doesn't have to be a fastball. You can flip in a changeup every now and then, and especially so when you're throwing the ball underneath.

This spring, new quarterbacks coach Tyler Allen discussed what areas of Greene's game they're heavily concentrating on.

"He's been getting all this PFF hype on Twitter and how great he is, well, he's got a lot to improve on. He can make a huge jump and he knows that, we know that. He was the 101st quarterback in the country in completion percentage at 53%. This past January I made him go get a cut up of all his bad throws and his good throws. We went through and watch them together and took notes of every bad throws and what was wrong and what showed up consistently. His drop mechanics were different every time, he was in an inconsistent base every time. Really on that intermediate, quick game his feet were inconsistent every time. So one thing we really focused on this spring was a consistent drop. If you watch him throw three hitches last season, they're probably three different drops that he took. Another key improvement is everyone would say how great he was downfield throwing the ball, he also missed a lot of stuff and that's on him. And then touch on the ball is another one."

The truth of the matter is if Greene flips the switch and turns into a 65% passer, West Virginia's offense becomes that much more dangerous. If the worst case scenario happens and this is just what Greene is - a 53% passer - then you're going to be asking a lot out of the running game and the defense to keep you in the hunt in one of the most competitive conferences in college football. Good luck.

For the Mountaineers to make any sort of noise this fall, that completion percentage has to be noticeably higher. However, it's not just about completing passes. It's also about throwing guys open and placing the ball in a spot where they can do something after the catch.

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