Across the last seven games of the season, the West Virginia offense found its rhythm and the play of its leader, quarterback Garrett Greene, was a huge factor in its success and comfortability.
Greene finished as one of the nation's best quarterbacks according to PFF, where he graded out seventh among all Power Five signal-callers and worked to put his name on the map, just like he did when he was invited to the Elite 11 quarterback competition as a high schooler in 2019.
“It’s kind of a cool experience because I went there when I was a young kid,” Greene said. “It helped my confidence because I was called the worst quarterback and some thought I was overrated and should have moved to wide receiver.”
In 2023, the junior quarterback did everything to prove his place at the Power Five level at his current position and showed out as a passer despite it being the lesser of his two strengths, finishing with 2,178 passing yards and 15 passing touchdowns while only tossing four interceptions.
He also ranked top 50 nationally in passing efficiency and third in passing yards per completion, leaving his mark on the country as WVU became more comfortable each time he stepped on the field.
“You get more comfortable in the system the more you get into it. The last seven games we all felt in sync and in rhythm and the results showed that,” Greene said.
The first half of the season was not ideal with the growing pains that continued to emerge on offense, as WVU struggled with under 100 passing yards and 17 points on the scoreboard in a matchup against Pittsburgh on Sept. 16 and only scored 15 points in a season-opening loss to Penn State on Sept. 1.
Related: West Virginia offense rises with play of QB Greene
However, signs of improvement came in a 20-13 win over Texas Tech on Sept. 23 and once West Virginia embarked on the second half of the season in the team’s last seven matchups, things began to click for Greene and the offense. This includes Greene needing to overcome an ankle injury that kept him off the field for two games early in the season as well as his ever-growing relationship with head coach Neal Brown.
“As me and Coach Brown got more comfortable with me as his quarterback and him calling plays for us and as that relationship developed, he started putting more on me," Greene said. “The last month of the season there was a lot on my plate.”
This smooth transition and growth was aided by a massive change to the offensive identity in the offseason according to Brown, where he said the team decided to focus on "reinventing themselves" and this ended up playing into Greene's favor.
The Mountaineers' offense pounded the football even more in the second half and they ran the ball at an exceptional level, finishing third in the country in rushing yards per game with 234.3 on average, as well as eighth nationally with 31 rushing touchdowns, fifth nationally in total rushing yards and 12th in yards per rushing attempt across the nation.
This elite-level running attack benefited Greene's play style as a dual-threat player as well, where he racked up 708 yards on the ground and a team-high 13 rushing touchdowns. Greene said that this point in the season was when West Virginia’s offense really hit its peak.
“I think over the last seven games our offensive line really started playing at an elite level,” Greene said. “When they were playing really well, our run game was really good and the downfield passes and all the quick-game stuff fell into place after that.”
The junior signal-caller did succeed in his first season as a starter for WVU but he admits, every quarterback isn't perfect and there are some things he'd like to work on for next season.
“No quarterback is perfect. There is always stuff to work on. I have cut-ups made on all my missed throws from one direction to different parts of the field,” Greene said. “It’s tough to change mechanics, so I’m really going to start harping on that after the bowl game.”
Greene expects this and a wide variety of improvements to come easier in the offseason and into the 2024 campaign once he can get closer with his pass catchers and continue to bank on what he says he does best, playing free and easy.
“Just play free and easy because that's where I play my best,” Greene said. “My decision-making was okay this year, but really just the overall intermediate pass game fundamentals and being on good pages and close with my wideouts.”
With Greene set to make his return in 2024, he said he wouldn't choose any other place to play quarterback and he's ready to improve and win games at West Virginia in any way possible.
“The fabric of this state was a blue-collar and worker’s mentality and there are a lot of parallels between that and my last name in the Greene family,” Greene said. “I’ve really been proud of this state, and I wouldn't want to be a quarterback for anybody else. This is my home and I love it here. I’m just going to show up to work and do what I can to help the Mountaineers win.”
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