WVU football (commentary): Mountaineers don't have a QB controversy just yet

Brown did what he could do to stop any surge right away at his Monday press conference that begins on a bye week, which presents all that much more time for Greene to heal from the injury that kept him from attending Saturday night’s 31-26 victory over Arizona and for the pot to boil.

Asked for an injury update on the injuries that kept Greene and Wyatt Milum, two of the Mountaineers’ captains, out of action on Saturday, Brown addressed the Greene/Marchiol situation this way:

“Garrett’s struggling [with his injury] a little bit, so I’m sure you all are going to ask about the quarterbacks, but I wouldn’t waste your time because it’s not worth talking about until he’s healthy.�

Of course, there isn’t a treatment in the world that can get a player healthy quicker than having that player’s replacement do what Marchiol did. The lefty reliever completed an unbelievable 18 of 22 passes for 198 yards, with two big-time touchdown throws and any number of key fourth-down plays, the last one giving the Mountaineers a first down on third-and-9, allowing them to run out the clock.

“I thought Nicco played really under control. He didn’t do anything that hurt us, and I mean that in the most positive way,� Brown said. “We put a lot on him in our read game. We struggled with our snaps [center Brandon Yates far too often being high and outside with too many of his snaps]. Nicco had to make some difficult catches in the game. And he made the right decisions in the run game at a high percentage.

“There were a few he got wrong, but we ask him to make a lot of decisions and he did a nice job with that. He was really efficient with third downs.�

In other words, many of the things that had slowed the WVU offense far too often this season were avoided.

“I was pleased with him,� Brown said. “He’s so much better. I think about where he was in his last start last year against Texas Tech and where he was in this game, over a year later. I’m just really impressed with the progress he’s made from that ... and it’s a credit to his work.�

Brown started thinking of the ways Marchiol affected the outcome of the game.

“The third down that he converted to Hud [Hudson Clement] was one of the biggest plays we had,� Brown said. “A couple of plays later, he threw the long touchdown to Traylon Ray, which was a nice throw, too, sliding to his right, and threw a great one to Traylon after the throw to Hudson.�

But the piece de resistance was what seemed to be, but wasn’t, a relatively simple third-down throw to Jaylen Anderson, a running back who had not touched the ball all game.

It was a down-the-line-of-scrimmage throw which got to Anderson, who was wide open, and who made his way for 9 yards and the first down that allowed the Mountaineers to run out the clock.

“That last completion to Anderson was his third read,� Brown said, “for a young guy to get to his third read in a high-pressure environment — and it was the right read — is a credit to him.�

Brown was pressed about the situation at quarterback now, knowing that Greene has been his starter and had been productive and offers a flair, especially in the running game, and leadership qualities that earned him the job.

“That’s fair,� Brown said of the question. “I guess the best way to answer that is I really can’t give you an answer until Garrett is healthy ... and Garrett is not healthy right now. I think it’s hard to lose jobs when you are injured. I don’t think that’s a good practice.

“I think Nicco played really well, but I don’t have any long-term answer for you right now.�

That having been said, Brown stopped short of saying that when Greene is healthy he automatically is the starting quarterback.

“It’s a work in progress,� Brown said. “I will tell you I don’t think you lose jobs by being injured. Now, has Nicco played well enough to earn some playing time? Absolutely, but as far about being a starter, we’re not going to talk about that until [Greene] is healthy, and that is not where we are right now.�

There are arguments to be made for both Greene and Marchiol.

Greene, in his career which comes to an end after this season, has run for 1,856 yards and 25 touchdowns and thrown for 4,422 yards and 30 touchdowns, so he carries credentials to keep his job.

However, the Mountaineers are 4-4 at the present moment. That isn’t where they expected to be, and Greene has not been as dynamic as expected in his final season.

But Marchiol is penciled in as next season’s quarterback and could benefit greatly from four starts plus a bowl game, especially since WVU’s season has seen the Mountaineers unable to reach the heights they have been looking for, more from a killer schedule that has seen them lose to four teams who combined have lost only one game this season — Penn State, Pitt, Iowa State and Kansas State.

What made Marchiol’s performance on Saturday so much more impressive was that he came off perhaps his worst game as a Mountaineer when he replaced Greene following his injury against Kansas State the previous week.

He credited the bounce-back performance to having had a full week to prepare as the starter.

“From a mental perspective, having a full week and getting a hundred reps against our team, not just the scout team, shows how much a difference that makes,� he said. “Last week, I missed a full day of practice, and not doing that this week showed in our efficiency in the pass game or run game. That’s a credit to our receivers, being where they need to be, and timing is so crucial in our pass game.�

Brown expected such a performance out of Marchiol because of that, as he explained on radio before the Arizona game.

“It’s much easier to start a game. He’ll play better this week because he got all the reps and the game plan is centered around what he does well,� Brown said. “Last week, he went in the second half in a plan that was centered around Garrett’s strengths. He wasn’t ready and he didn’t play very well.

“The kid’s a winner, and we built the plan this week around what he does well. I believe today he’ll come here and do the things he does well.�