A Couple Mountaineers Make Annual College Football ‘Freaks’ List

Bruce Feldman calls a couple Mountaineers freaks, and he means it as a compliment. Two WVU players made the 2024 edition of Feldman’s annual Freaks List.

First, West Virginia’s QB1 Garrett Greene comes in at No. 86.

“The former star baseball catcher from Florida took over the starting quarterback job and sparked the Mountaineers to a nine-win season in 2023. Greene proved to be one of the best-kept secrets in college football as a dual-threat quarterback at a program that has had some spectacular ones during the past three decades,” said Feldman about Greene.

“He produced almost 3,200 yards of total offense with 16 passing touchdowns and 13 rushing TDs, rushing for 772 yards. The 5-11, 204-pounder ran a fast 10-yard split of 1.48 this offseason, which is three-hundredths of a second faster than any quarterback has run at the NFL combine. Greene had a 2.58 in the 20. His pro agility shuttle was excellent at 4.02. He had a 6.68 3-cone time (only three quarterbacks have ever done it faster at the combine).”

WVU quarterback Garrett Greene slides out of bounds against UNC in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C. on Dec. 27, 2023. (Mitchell Northam / WV Sports Now)

In addition to Greene, a more expected selection, is FCS transfer Ty French at No. 94.

“The 6-1, 234-pound French was No. 74 on last year’s list while at Gardner-Webb. He left the FCS program in North Carolina as its all-time leader in sacks (34 1/2) and tackles for loss (61). This offseason after enrolling at West Virginia, he has squatted 535 pounds, benched 420 (up 40 pounds from last year), broad-jumped 10-3, had a 1.56-second 10-yard split and clocked a 4.23 in the short shuttle,” explained Feldman about why French cracked the top 100.

In other news as far as the whole team being recognized, the first coaches poll of the 2024 season was released on Monday by USA Today. West Virginia did not crack the top 25, but did receive 22 vote points from the coaches. Here’s the full list by USA Today.

For a related story, veteran Aubrey Burks explains what he likes the most about his new role on the defense.