COMMENTARY
It’s rare a commitment to the WVU football program makes national news, but when Hamilton (Ariz.) quarterback Nicco Marchiol announced last week his pledge to the Mountaineers, it was a major coup many didn’t see coming.
Arizona State, Michigan State and Florida State was at the forefront for most of Marchiol’s recruitment, but after a visit to WVU for camp earlier this month, the Mountaineers surged ahead and grabbed the 4-star prospect and possible future at QB.
Marchiol will likely be the only quarterback in the class of 2022 and will join 2021’s Will Crowder and 2020’s Garrett Greene on the roster next summer. According to rivals.com, the average national quarterback-propsect rank for those three is 15.
While the future is bright for the Mountaineers at the quarterback position, many are looking past the present. Despite being benched in the Liberty Bowl against Army last season, Jarret Doege will likely takes the reins heading into the season-opener at Maryland on Sept. 4.
Doege started the final three games in 2019 and all 10 games in a shortened 2020, and while he hasn’t put up the prolific numbers players like Geno Smith and Will Grier did during their careers, Doege is more than serviceable to get the Mountaineers where they want to go in Year 3 under head coach Neal Brown.
No doubt, Doege struggled in the bowl, forcing Brown to make a switch to Austin Kendall, who ended up being one of the heroes in a 24-21 win.
Yet, his overall body of work — believe it or not, spans across four seasons at Bowling Green and WVU, and Doege will only be a junior in 2021 — is impressive, throwing for 7,446 yards and 60 touchdowns with a career completion-percentage of 64%.
With his overall body of work, Sporting News named Doege one of the top 25 quarterbacks in the nation heading into this season, coming in at No. 23. He is fourth in the Big 12 behind Oklahoma State’s Spencer Sanders (20), Iowa State’s Brock Purdy (10) and Oklahoma’s Spencer Rattler (1).
Now in his third year under Brown, Doege will have star running back Leddie Brown to lean on in the run game, as well as a veteran offensive line that is expected to take a big step forward. The wide receivers room is filled with experience, as is the current group of tight ends.
The offense isn’t loaded with superstars with the exception of Brown, but it certainly has the pieces to put Doege in a position to succeed.
He won’t do much to “wow” anyone, but doing the little things well while avoiding the mistakes that got him benched in the bowl — taking sacks and turnovers — could help the Mountaineers take the next step they need to under Neal Brown.
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