WVU QB Battle: Who's Ahead After One Scrimmage?

Was there any separation in the quarterback battle in Morgantown?

Decision-making is going to be what ultimately decides the quarterback battle at West Virginia between Nicco Marchiol and Garrett Greene. Head coach Neal Brown and quarterbacks coach Sean Reagan have made that very clear dating back to spring ball.

Talent can only take you so far at this level. Making the right decisions across the board is what makes a quarterback successful on the big stage. From knowing when to run, getting the ball out quick, understanding when it's okay to take a shot downfield or into tight windows, and making the right calls in the RPO game. There's a lot more to it than just trying to find an open receiver.

This past Saturday, WVU held its first scrimmage of fall camp and according to Neal Brown, they didn't put a whole lot of stress on the defense as far as throwing the ball. They wanted to set the tone by running it and being physical. However, they did get some work in with the ball in the air and he gave a quick recap of how it went.

"Nicco had a really good two-minute drive at the end of the scrimmage. Struggled with some decision-making early. I thought Garrett was pretty solid. He ran around made a couple scramble plays, but really just solid in his decision-making."

With it being a closed scrimmage (no media allowed), this is all we have to go off of. It's difficult to gauge who is truly ahead in the battle, if anyone is. But as far as the scrimmage goes, it sounds like both did some good things, but Greene had the better day overall.

Entering fall camp, it felt like it was Greene's job to lose. He's been in the system for a while now and has game AND starting experience. However, Marchiol is pushing hard for that starting spot after making big strides in the offseason. The biggest thing for him right now is consistency, according to coach Sean Reagan.

"He's had a pretty good fall camp so far. It's been a lot of ebb and flow for him. Ups and downs. But what he really does a good job of is when he makes a bad decision or a couple in a row, his resilience and response to that to make a good play after that, shows his maturity. Maybe some days it's fast for him. Maybe some days it's not. He's improving each and every day and proud of where he's at right now."

As far as a timeline is concerned, it doesn't seem like the staff is in any sort of rush. They want to let this thing play out until one of the quarterbacks makes it abundantly clear who it should be. I'm not expecting a decision to be made in the next few days either. They will want to see what happens in the next scrimmage to see if the answer becomes more clear, which it should.

You can follow us for future coverage by liking us on Facebook & following us on Twitter:

Facebook - @MountaineersNow

Twitter - @MountaineersNow and Schuyler Callihan at @Callihan_.