From West Virginia University football coach Neal Brown’s assessment Monday, it is not looking good for quarterback Garrett Greene to return to his starting role at noon Saturday at Cincinnati.
Brown said Greene remained “doubtful” to play as he continues to recover from the head injury that knocked him out of the second half of WVU’s loss to Kansas State and left him sidelined for the Mountaineers’ win over Arizona.
Yet WVU coaches were pleased with how Greene’s backup, redshirt sophomore Nicco Marchiol stepped up in Greene’s absence against Arizona, and hope he’ll be able to keep that up against the Bearcats.
In Marchiol’s first start of the season against the Wildcats, he completed 18 of 22 passes for 198 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. His 81.8% completion percentage was the best for a WVU starter since Skyler Howard went 10 for 12 (83.3%) in a win over Texas on Nov. 14, 2015.
Brown wants to see Marchiol carry over his ability to keep the WVU (4-4, 3-2 Big 12) offense out of trouble.
“He was really efficient in the (Arizona) game,” Brown said. “He didn’t turn it over. So what does he need to sustain? He needs to sustain taking care of the football. He needs to sustain being efficient and moving the chains on third downs.”
Beyond the statistics, WVU offensive coordinator Chad Scott said he was most impressed by Marchiol’s poise.
“He was relaxed,” Scott said. “He was ready. He was prepared. He was confident in what he was seeing, the reactions he was going to get, and where the receivers and running backs were gonna be. And he went out there, played comfortable, played ball. He did a good job, and we’ve asked him to sustain the readiness he took into that game.”
That poise Scott loved shined brightest in the fourth quarter. On third and 9 from WVU’s 26 on the Mountaineers’ final touchdown drive, Marchiol hit Hudson Clement across the middle for a 17-yard gain. Two plays later, he connected with Traylon Ray for a 54-yard touchdown to make it 31-13.
Then, after Arizona cut WVU’s lead to 31-26, Marchiol completed a nine-yard pass to Jaylen Anderson on third and 7 for a first down that allowed West Virginia to run out the clock.
“He did a phenomenal job just managing the game,” Scott said. “He has several things I can talk about, but his poise is the biggest, just not panicking.”
Ray, who finished the Arizona game with two catches for a season-high 78 yards, said that WVU’s receivers have confidence in both Greene and Marchiol to lead the offense. Regardless of who starts under center, he said it’s the receivers’ job to grab those throws downfield.
“Garrett being out wasn’t a big factor because we all knew that if we put (Marchiol) in, he’s going to be able to make the same throws Garrett makes,” Ray said. “He’s going to be able to get out of the pocket like Garrett does.
“We don’t want to see (Greene) go down,” he added, “but at the same time, we know (Marchiol) can back him up.”
Marchiol, if needed to start Saturday’s game, could find a favorable matchup against the Bearcats (5-3, 3-2 Big 12). Cincinnati ranks 107th in the Football Bowl Subdivision in opponents’ passer rating at 143.42. The Bearcats defense has given up 12 touchdowns against just three interceptions and allows quarterbacks an average of eight yards per attempt, which ranks 109th nationally.
Brown said it’s up to the coaching staff to give Marchiol every opportunity to succeed.
“I think that for us, it’s about putting him in the best situation possible from a game planning perspective, and how we’re calling it,” Brown said. “If we continue to do that, then I believe he’ll play well.”
