West Virginia quarterback Garrett Greene struggled on Saturday in a 28-16 loss to top-ranked Big 12 opponent Iowa State.
The senior signal caller threw two interceptions in crucial moments, which the Cyclones converted 14 points off. Fans may have wanted to see redshirt sophomore Nicco Marchiol, who was extremely solid in the time he had to play against Oklahoma State the previous week, get a chance.
However, WVU head coach Neal Brown said post-game that he never considered changing the quarterback in Saturday’s loss. On Monday, he gave insight into Marchiol’s probability of returning to the field.
“I think if you go across the country, everybody’s enamored kind of with a backup quarterback, and we’re very fortunate here because we have one that can play,” Brown said. “So, are there scenarios where he could play? Yes, there are definitely scenarios where he could play.”
On the season, Marchiol has completed four passes on five attempts for 22 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. On the ground, he’s added 63 rushing yards and a touchdown.
In terms of replacing Greene outright, Brown said that Greene hadn’t played bad enough to lose his job but does see Marchiol being a starter at some point, as well as being used in certain packages.
“Has Garrett (Greene) done enough to lose his job? I would say no. Did he play as well as he needed to on Saturday for us to win I would say no to that as well,” Brown said. “Garrett’s our starter. Nicco (Marchiol) is a really good player. I really believe that he’s going to be the starter at some point, but Garrett hadn’t done anything, he’s played well enough. He’s got to make better decisions. One of the interceptions was clearly pass interference, so I don’t really blame him. The second one was a really poor decision, a really poor decision. But Nicco’s got a bright future we can win games with him. Are the scenarios where he could play in packages? Yes.”
Greene and West Virginia will look to bounceback this week with another ranked Big 12 opponent coming to Morgantown for a night game, No. 17 Kansas State. The game will kickoff at 7:30 p.m. EST and be televised on FOX.
