Seahawks Officially Name Geno Smith Starting QB to Open Season

After starting throughout the preseason, West Virginia product Geno Smith has officially been named the Seahawks starting quarterback to open the regular season by head coach Pete Carroll.

This news was tweeted by the NFL’s official account soon after Seattle’s preseason finale. Despite bringing in Drew Lock, the younger option, Smith was able to perform well enough to win the job. Lock throwing three interceptions to close the preseason also likely helped Smith’s case to deserve the keys to the Seattle offense.

Pete Carroll names Geno Smith as Week 1 starter vs. Broncos. pic.twitter.com/zVu3m9Vl7z

— NFL (@NFL) August 27, 2022

All in all, Smith threw for 256 yards combined in all three preseason games. And while he did fail to record a passing touchdown, he did run one in against the Steelers. In contrast to Lock, Smith managed to not throw any picks and take care of the football well.

It now remains to be seen if Smith can accomplish something he hasn’t been able to do again since his rookie year (a season he did manage to throw over 3,000 yards in 16 games) – go through an entire full season as an NFL stater.

Smith was inducted to the WVU Athletics Hall of Fame earlier this year. He remains as one of the most prolific players in school history as the all-time passing yards and passing touchdowns leader with 11,662 yards and 98 touchdowns. He played from 2009-12 before being a second round selection by the New York Jets.