I’m sure Neal Brown knows exactly who will start at quarterback for West Virginia University when they host Baylor today. I’m sure the team knows it, too, by who has taken the most snaps in practice, if not by Brown outright telling them.
But is the identity of that starter – either Garrett Greene or Nicco Marchiol – known yet outside of the WVU football complex?
Nope.
And Brown is making sure that’s the case.
“I think that you want them to have to prepare for both, for sure,” Brown said. “Not that they’re drastically different, but they’re different … just the fact that one’s right-handed and one’s left-handed makes a difference in how you’re going to call the game.
“That’s part of the reason we’re not (publicly naming a starter), so they don’t know,” Brown added. “I’m not trying to hide that.”
But he is hiding who will take the first snaps under center today. And you know what? I don’t blame him.
There are very few places you can keep secrets anymore. Back in the day when I started in this business – the nascent stages of the internet when news cycles hadn’t yet become 24-hour perpetual motion machines – what was said in an interview room in Morgantown might have taken a little while to reach the ears of someone in, say, Miami or Syracuse.
These days? It’s available as quickly as someone can search for it on social media. Shoot, most college programs post their media interviews on their own websites the same afternoon they’re conducted.
The point is, if there are any secrets Brown can keep from the opposition, he should keep them.
These last three games mean a lot more than just numbers on a win-loss record. If Utah happens to beat Colorado and WVU wins out, the Mountaineers could actually sneak into the Big 12 championship game. Who would have thought that was a possible scenario for this team after back-to-back losses to Iowa State and Kansas State?
Bowl game positioning is at stake. A bowl game selection, period, is at stake. And depending on how many of these last three games are wins, more than a few jobs could be at stake.
This is a point of the season where any advantage is a good one. And if Brown can engage in a little espionage to keep Baylor coach Dave Aranda on his heels even just a little bit, it’s worth making a few guys on a message board angry that they don’t know who’s throwing the passes yet.
The most Brown has divulged is that Greene is cleared and available. He was available last week in an emergency scenario after missing a game and a half with a head injury.
Aranda sees a difference between Greene and Marchiol. He told reporters this week that Marchiol is a quarterback that is more comfortable sitting in the pocket and throwing. Greene is more of a freelancer.
He’s right. Greene is more of a dynamic playmaker, but that has also led to some questionable decision-making that turned into turnovers. Marchiol is a little safer, but he’ll give you games like his 18-for-22 day against Arizona, and also give you games like his 9-for-15 day against Cincinnati.
And because Brown is staying mum on his starter, Aranda has to prepare for the possibility of both. One may never see the field, but Aranda had to waste time this week getting ready for him.
This is the time of the season where the slightest advantages can become huge, so if you’re champing at the bit to know who WVU’s quarterback is this week, forgive Brown for zipping his lip. And forgive him later if he still has the opportunity to play coy with this lineup.
Right now, any edge is a good one.
-by Derek Redd
