WVU Football
Neal Brown Hints What’s Stopping Him from Naming Starting QB for Baylor
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Even though Neal Brown declined to name his starting quarterback, he did offer some hints about what he needs to see from both throughout the week.
Despite refusing to elaborate on which quarterback has the edge at the start of the week, Brown did reveal that Garrett Greene practiced on Monday and was able to throw effectively. He also said that he needs see Greene take part in 11-on-11 work before being able to deem him a viable option.
Neal Brown: Update on QB Garrett Greene, who practiced today + jokingly telling @MikeAsti11 not to ask about the situation. He knew it was coming. pic.twitter.com/DyAwbXtQe7
— Jonathan Martin (@JonathanKMartin) November 11, 2024
“Garrett practiced today. We’ll see how he does tomorrow when it’s 11-on-11 stuff, but we’ll see how the week goes on him,” said Brown.
“We’ll get both quarterbacks ready. I’m not really going to say anything. He practiced a little bit last Wednesday, but this was the first he’s really practiced. He’ll practice tomorrow and then we’ll make some decisions as the week goes, but we’re not going to comment on it.”
Brown emphasized that Greene hasn’t experienced any real action in almost a month. Greene exited WVU’s loss to Kansas State at halftime and hasn’t been healthy enough to return since.
Prior to his injury, which has been officially classified as an upper body injury but is believed to be a concussion, Greene was enduring a season full of too many mistakes. In seven games, Greene has 1,352 yards passing yards, but only nine touchdowns to eight interceptions, which is double his 2023 total. He also has 471 rushing yards and three touchdowns on the ground.
A win is a win, but Brown still left Cincinnati disappointed with one key aspect of his team. West Virginia beat the Bearcats on Saturday afternoon, 31-24, but the big number on the scoreboard was thanks to multiple defensive touchdowns, not an offensive showing to be proud of.
Even while being happy about holding on for the win, Brown couldn’t ignore the noticeable struggles on the offensive side of the ball. A couple weeks after Nicco Marchiol performed admirably in Arizona, he was only able to total 174 yards against Cincinnati.
Marchiol completed 9-of-15 passes for 156 yards through the air and then added 18 yards on the ground. It also took until the final minutes of the first half for the WVU offense to find the end zone, granted that came after a pick-6 from earlier in the game.
Brown referred to the offensive play as “flat out not good enough” before labeling it one of their worst showings in years. But winning is the most important thing, something both Brown and Marchiol noted while crediting the defense.
“Any time you can get two turnovers and turn them into touchdowns. Really happy with our defense and our defensive staff, they won the game for us today,” said Brown.
Marchiol said “it starts with me” whenever asked about what went wrong on offense and thanked his brothers for having his back repeatedly after the game.
WVU fans shouldn’t expect to know the starter until later in the week or possible even Saturday morning. Brown admitted he sees no benefit in tipping his hand to his opponent and prefers Baylor to have to practice for both players.
For a related story, oddsmakers are unsure how to predict WVU football vs. Baylor this week.
