WVU HC Neal Brown Noncommittal When Asked About QB Situation

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The only negative of Nicco Marchiol playing so well against Arizona for Neal Brown is that it’s led to a bit of a quarterback controversy, or at least the possibility of one heading into a bye week. But as predicted, Brown was noncommittal about truly discussing West Virginia’s quarterback situation during his Monday press conference.

When prompted with a question about if Marchiol’s success makes his decision about who to start more difficult, Brown shut down even being at the point he can discuss that in earnest. Brown noted that Garrett Greene is not healthy enough at this time to be an option and said he would not be able to practice on Monday if practice was being held – the team was provided the day off due to the long road trip and bye week.

He added that “it’s too early to tell” if Greene will be cleared to play on Nov. 9 at Cincinnati. Brown did emphasize he does not believe a player should lose his job because of an injury.

WVU HC Neal Brown says he doesn’t have an answer about who is the QB1 right now because he doesn’t know Garrett Greene’s status yet. He did also say he doesn’t believe in losing a job due to injury.

— Mike J. Asti (@MikeAsti11) October 28, 2024

While it wouldn’t make sense for Brown to announce anything two weeks before kickoff of their next game, Marchiol’s play is why it’s a topic of conversation. Brown also offered his thoughts on how Marchiol performed again on top of what he also said after the game.

“Pretty pleased with how Nicco played. I thought he played under control. He didn’t have a big negative play,” said Brown.

Marchiol, who was experiencing a homecoming having played high school football in Arizona, completed 18-of-22 for 198 yards and a couple touchdown passes in West Virginia’s 31-26 win over the Wildcats. He also added 39 yards on the ground.

“He’s so much better player than the last time he started a game. So last time he started a game was Texas Tech, and that was in September, I guess, a year ago. And he’s matured, he’s been patient, and he’s gotten better. And I’ve said that a lot, y’all heard me talk about that in the spring, and you heard me talk about it in fall camp, and then he showed that today.

“And he didn’t play very well in the second half of the Kansas State game, which was a tough setting for him, but I thought he really stepped up today when we needed him, and he played really well,” Brown said during his postgame press conference at Arizona Stadium.

“Offensively, I thought we really controlled the game. It got a little interesting late, but I thought we controlled the game. We were really efficient,” Brown added.

Marchiol also discussed being confident in his abilities, especially after a full week of practice. He did admit to having to catch himself from looking for his parents in the stands and being distracted by his friends and family being at the game.

“Timing is so crucial in our pass game and location. I think we just executed on all fronts at that,” said Marchiol about being so efficient and posting an 81.8 completion percentage.

As for Greene, the senior has 1,352 passing yards, 471 rushing yards to go with 12 total touchdowns and eight interceptions, exactly double his total in 2023. Brown previously snapped and referred to any question about Greene being benched for play, not injury, as a “non starter” when asked leading to the trip to Arizona.

For a related story, WVU fans praised Nicco Marchiol while watching him impress against Arizona.