WVU Football Legends Make List of Best CFB QBs of 2000s

Two WVU football legends made a recent list of the best 100 quarterbacks of the 2000s. Pat White and Geno Smith, who each led the Mountaineers to big wins while putting up crazy numbers, both made the cut.

Below is what Bill Connelly of ESPN had to say about the West Virginia signal callers.

32. Pat White, West Virginia 
Years: 2005-08
Stats: 6,049 passing yards, 65% completion rate, 56 TD, 23 INT, 4,480 rushing yards, 47 rushing TD

“Few tandems have left more of a mark than Pat White and Steve Slaton did. From 2005-07, the duo combined for 7,429 rushing yards, 89 rushing TDs, a 33-5 record and two BCS bowl wins. Only injuries could slow White in Rich Rodriguez’s system.”

Courtesy of WVU Athletics

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79. Geno Smith, West Virginia 
Years: 2009-12
Stats: 11,662 passing yards, 67% completion rate, 98 TD, 21 INT, 4 rushing TD

“A perfect template for Dana Holgorsen’s air-it-out attack in the early 2010s, Smith led WVU to an Orange Bowl title in 2011 and briefly into the top 10 in 2012, producing seven 400-yard games along the way.”

Courtesy of WVU Athletics

Former WVU offensive coordinator Graham Harrell and former Marshall quarterback Byron Leftwich also made the list.

41. Graham Harrell, Texas Tech 
Years: 2005-08
Stats: 15,793 passing yards, 70% completion rate, 134 TD, 34 INT, 12 rushing TD

“What Daniel was to Mizzou, Harrell was to Tech, teaming with all-world WR Michael Crabtree to win 20 games in 2007-08 and briefly moving the Red Raiders to No. 2 in the polls. He averaged 55 passes and 439 yards per game in 2007, one of the great volume-shooter performances ever.”

51. Byron Leftwich, Marshall 
Years: 1998-2002
Stats: 11,903 passing yards, 65% completion rate, 89 TD, 28 INT, 6 rushing TD

“An old-school gunslinger, Leftwich led the Thundering Herd to two conference titles and produced two enduring memories: leading a 30-point comeback over East Carolina in the 2001 GMAC Bowl and, the next year, nearly leading one against Akron with a broken leg.”

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