No, his numbers aren't eye-popping and no, he's not one of the top quarterbacks in the country but West Virginia quarterback Garrett Greene has the makings of turning into a star quarterback over time.
Because he exited the Backyard Brawl with an ankle injury and missed the Texas Tech game, Greene only played one full game (Penn State) through the first month of the season. Over the last three weeks, we've seen No. 6 carry the offense and if you're Neal Brown, it's a beautiful sight to see.
After having pocket passers operating the offense for the first four years of his tenure, Brown finally has someone back there that can evade pressure and make something out of nothing. It also makes the offensive line look a whole lot better because they're not giving up nearly as many sacks with him running the show.
Don't get me wrong, there is still plenty of room for Greene to improve but he's well on his way to being a really good college quarterback. Is he going to be a top-10 signal caller in the country next year? Probably not, but I'm not going to put a ceiling on the kid. I just know that you can win a bunch of football games with him as your quarterback.
Next season, Greene will have a full year of starting under his belt and will have developed a strong chemistry with the young receivers on the roster that will be returning in more prominent roles. Factor in the dynamic trio of backs West Virginia has and all of a sudden, this team looks like it's building toward something. At least on paper.
Greene is a fighter and is tough as nails. In a lot of ways, reminiscent of Skyler Howard, just more athletic. And if you can recall, Howard won 10 games for the Mountaineers. He was the last mobile quarterback WVU had and in his first full year as the starter, he went 8-5. He started the tail end of the 2014 season similar to how Greene took over for JT Daniels at the end of last year. With the remaining schedule the Mountaineers have (BYU, at Oklahoma, Cincinnati, and at Baylor) reaching eight wins is certainly within reach, especially if you throw the bowl game in there.
What makes Greene really standout is his ability to protect the football. Sure, he'll make a bonehead decision every now and then but what college quarterback doesn't? He's thrown two picks this season and you can't even blame him for one of those as the ball bounced right off of Jaylen Anderson's chest and into a Houston defender. It was a well-thrown ball.
But the main point I'm trying to get across here is WVU can accomplish things with Garrett Greene that it hasn't been able to do in nearly a decade. He has the IT-factor.
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