This offseason West Virginia went out and added depth to their quarterback room by signing transfer Ryder Burton.
Burton spent a season at BYU where he redshirted. He entered the transfer portal in late April and not short after committed to WVU and eventually signed.
“Ryder (Burton)’s been, he’s been an improvement to the room that’s for sure,” quarterbacks coach Tyler Allen said. “He probably learned the whole offense in two weeks which is really hard to do. He’s a really smart kid and really he’s up here all the time. And he’s got he’s got (a) really good ball, just arm talent you know he’s got really good arm talent. So, I think that he’s be a guy that can improve through his career here and have a chance later down the road.”
Coming out of Springville, Utah, Burton was a three-star prospect and ranked as the No. 16 overall best prospect in Utah by 247Sports.
One aspect that Allen as well as head coach Neal Brown hammered on with Burton, is his ability to run the offense. Beyond providing basic depth, Burton is viewed as a viable third option who can run the offense, so West Virginia will not have to play conservative with backup QB Nicco Marchiol if he is needed.
“For being the third quarterback right now, like I was talking to some people yesterday (Friday) and I said this like he can go out and if Nicco (Marchiol) plays, we can go do what Nicco does best which is we can call some run plays for him we can move him out of the pocket because Ryder can come in and and he can run our offense,” Brown said.
Marchiol stepped in to play last season in higher and lower leverage situations as well as when starting QB Garrett Greene got hurt during the backyard brawl. In the games Greene was injured, Marchiol closed out a win against Pitt and would help the team win the next game against Texas Tech, throwing two touchdowns and two interceptions in that span.
“If Ryder had to play, we could function the offense as well and he’s shown that over the span of fall camp. And so we feel good about where the (quarterback) room is right now, we really do. And that’s a big [reason] why we had to go get him,” Allen added.
Brown also mentioned how a season under his belt at the college level has helped the young quarterback not just in his play, but his preparation. The redshirt freshman may not seem immediate playing time or opportunities, but coaches seem to be confident in his abilities if he is needed. Another season in college football and one in the Mountaineers offensive system should be crucial in his development, possibly allowing him to be an option at starter down the road.
