NBC Sports Analyst Explains Love of WVU QB Garrett Greene

The main reason why there’s hype around West Virginia in 2024 is because of the emergence of Garrett Greene in 2023. For the first time in his college career, Greene knows he’s the true leader of the Mountaineers before spring practices even get underway.

And after watching Greene show how explosive the offense can truly be with him under center, WVU fans are now dreaming of their quarterback being even better as he enters another season as the starter. But while it’s easy for West Virginia fans to be excited about Greene, it’s even more telling when people are bought in across the country.

Count a familiar national analyst among those who fully believes in Greene. Eric Froton of NBC Sports raved about Greene to WV Sports Now’s Mike Asti at the NFL Combine.

“What’s stands out to me about Garrett is his true dual-threat skill set. Many athletic signal callers tend to rely on their legs when they need to make a play. Greene can fire a crisp 12-yard out on the field-side to Kole Taylor on 3rd and 10, or he can call a RPO and rip the defense for an explosive play on the ground,” Froton explained.

He then even added a prediction of sorts for the West Virginia offense in the first season of the new 16-team Big 12.

“I think 35 PPG is possible for WVU in the new, wide-open, Big 12.”

Froton’s analysis seems to be right on the money based on what Greene put on film when healthy in 2023. Scoring 35 points every game is a high bar, but the offense did show that potential at times with Greene.

WVU quarterback Garrett Greene scrambles 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)

He’s also not the only national analyst to be high on Greene. Max Chadwick, a college football analyst with PFF, feels Greene is the most underrated college quarterback playing today. “Garrett Greene is the most underrated quarterback in college football entering next year,” said Chadwick directly recently.

That statement by Chadwick came just a few days after PFF ranked Greene in the No. 7 spot on their list of the top returning quarterbacks. Greene is ranked just one spot lower than Ole Miss’s Jaxson Dart and one spot higher than the quarterback he will face to open the season in a rematch from last year.

WVU’s Garrett Greene Among Highest Graded Quarterbacks in Country

But despite the praise and increased expectations, Greene is not a perfect player or a finished product. What Froton did not mention is what WVU head coach Neal Brown has brought up repeatedly – Greene needs to play smarter moving forward if the Mountaineers are going to contend for a Big 12 championship. This was most evident in one of West Virginia’s worst losses of 2023 when Greene took his helmet off after a go-ahead touchdown, an error in judgment that resulted in a penalty and set up a game-winning Hail Marry.

“The rule is clear, don’t take your helmet off,” said a dejected Brown after that game.

Moments like that tough night in Houston should help prepare Greene for this fall and get his game to another level. Because if Greene can reach the heights of what some are saying, the sky could be the limit for the Mountaineers as a team.

Throughout the 2023 season, one that did see him miss some time due to injury, Greene passed for 2,178 yards, ran for 708 more and recorded 28 touchdowns with only five turnovers. Greene also threw for 228 yards and a touchdown while adding 64 more yards on the ground in WVU’s Duke’s Mayo Bowl win over North Carolina.

For a related story, Garrett Greene explains what being called the “ultimate competitor” means to him.