Neal Brown on Garrett Greene: ‘We Got a Shot Every Week Because of Him’

ORLANDO, Fla. – No matter the outcome, it’s been clear Garrett Greene gives WVU a chance to win each week.

And no game embodied that more than West Virginia’s 41-28 victory over UCF. The Mountaineers needed a win after enduring back-to-back tough losses, and Greene played an energy that he was not about to let his team drop this game.

WVU head coach Neal Brown has been complimenting Greene in recent weeks, even after losses, but he went a step above that following Greene’s performance against UCF. “We got a shot every week because of him (Garrett Greene),” said Brown.

WVU HC Neal Brown: “We got a shot every week because of him (Garrett Greene).” He then went on about how he still needs to be smarter at times like handing the ball off with he got rocked.

— Mike J. Asti (@MikeAsti11) October 28, 2023

Greene finished the game throwing for 156 yards and running for 55 more. He scored each of his three touchdowns with his legs. And while Greene had a stellar game and did what he had to do to get the win, his overall statistics weren’t as eye popping as other games. But this week, he let the game come to him more than ever before. He didn’t try to do too much as much.

Regardless what his head coach may say, he’s always hard on himself and knows the offense left some plays on the field and he still made some mistakes as well, like taking a hit instead of handing the ball off.

“This offense can be as good as I let it,” Greene said while evaluating his individual play and the offense as a whole. The offense has now scored 39, 34 and 41 points over the last three games, but the group knows it can be even better.

WVU QB Garrett Greene: “This offense can be as good as I let it.”

— Mike J. Asti (@MikeAsti11) October 28, 2023

Greene also had the extra incentive of playing back in Florida in front of a lot of family in attendance, most notably his grandmother who had never seen him play in person before Saturday. He said he was giving her the game ball.

WVU is now one win away from bowl eligibility, something the program failed to achieve all of 2022. But the team knows Mountaineer Nation expects far more than just a bowl game too.

“We were going to be in attack mode,” Brown said about his mentality going into the game. And that’s the perfect mentality to unlock Greene. That’s a mentality Greene loves. WVU knows it’s a mentality that can lead them on a roller coaster ride and that ride won’t always be a smooth one, but it’s one they are growing comfortable with nonetheless.

It’s now up to Brown, Greene and the rest of the team to continue the aggressive attitude that led to win number five and try to have it create win number six, seven and counting.

West Virginia will be back at home next Saturday, hosting another new Big 12 member in BYU at Milan Puskar Stadium.