MORGANTOWN — At halftime of the Liberty Bowl against Army, WVU coach Neal Brown’s only mindset was to win the game, turning to Austin Kendall from Jarret Doege at quarterback.
Doege struggled in the first half with his decision-making, including an interception and sack/fumble that completely ended any momentum the Mountaineers’ offense could get. Kendall came in and helped lead two second-half touchdown drives, ultimately ending in a 24-21 win.
In the moment, Brown did what he thought he needed to do to win, but the decision to bench Doege, who started the previous 12 games in 2019 and 2020, made waves toward a potential quarterback battle this spring.
Kendall is now gone after taking advantage of this extra year of eligibility, entering his name in the transfer portal. Including Doege, there are three scholarship quarterbacks on the team.
Garrett Greene, who saw limited action as a true freshman last season, enrolled early last spring but because of COVID-19, didn’t get the full experience.
With his ability to run, Greene was used more as a gimmick than earning meaningful reps, but that was intentional, according to Brown.
“I think for Garrett, this is a huge spring,” Brown said. “During COVID, he had the opportunity to learn but he really missed those live reps. He got every Monday night football rep and grew. There were some ups and downs in the fall. I didn’t think he was at a position where it was fair to him to put him out there because I think you’ve got to be careful playing quarterbacks before they’re ready.
“This spring is going to be big for him. He understands what our expectations are. He understands conceptually what we’re doing both in the run and the pass game; he just needs live reps and he’s going to get a ton of them.”
The third QB is Will “Goose” Crowder, a true freshman from Gardendale, Ala. The 6-foot-2 Crowder was also able to enroll early this year.
Ultimately, it will likely be Doege’s job to lose, but Brown knows he needs to improve, especially if the offense takes the necessary steps forward Brown wants to see in Year 3.
“He’s got some things he’s got to work on for sure,” Brown said. “I think that his mobility has got to improve and listen, I don’t think anybody is going to mistake him for Lamar Jackson or anything but he’s got to continue to improve his movement in the pocket. Tom Brady is 43 years old now, I believe, and he’s still at the top of his game as far as pocket movement, and it’s movement that probably the common fan doesn’t even notice, but he is elite at moving in the pocket and I don’t think anyone would say that he’s a great athlete.
“We’ve got to improve on our ability to hit the deep ball. I thought he did a good job of taking care of the football. He didn’t play very well in the bowl game, I think that’s been noted but he didn’t lose us any games and I think that’s a step for a quarterback. Before you can win games, you need to not lose them. This spring is going to be big for him because there are certain things that he’s got to do to be able to win against the teams that we’re going to have to beat to take the next step.”
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