The quarterback position in football at any level comes with added pressure, since the operation of the offense solely relies on it. However, for WVU football, when they needed a new player to step up under center in the last two games, redshirt freshman signal caller Nicco Marchiol has answered the call and has done what he needed to do to win.
Marchiol made his first true career start on Saturday against Texas Tech in replacement of the injured junior quarterback Garrett Greene, but nerves were unavoidable for him.
"I personally think if you’re not nervous, you don’t love what you’re doing. You have to have that fear of failure, that fear of letting those guys down around you," Marchiol said. "Ecstatic to come out with my first win, first home win."
It took detailed preparation to defeat Texas Tech 20-13 and Marchiol understands what it takes on the practice field before the game and in the film room to play successful football in the Big 12 Conference.
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"This is one of the best leagues in the nation and you have to prep every week for it. We’ve done a good job locking in on those critical moments," Marchiol said.
Greene, the regular starter for West Virginia's first three games, was the emergency backup quarterback for the Mountaineers after spraining his ankle against Pittsburgh two weeks ago, but WVU head coach Neal Brown said he would only go in if he was needed and that hopefully he can be fully healthy next weekend.
"He worked really hard this week and he would have been ready on emergency like if something happened to Nicco [Marchiol], he would have gone into the game," Brown said.
"If he didn't need to go in the game, I didn't think it was fair to him. While he would play and he wouldn't have been a danger to himself, he couldn't have played in the way we're accustomed to him playing. We needed him to be ready to go if we needed him, thankfully we didn't. I'm hoping that he can get out and be closer to himself."
After Greene was ruled out and Marchiol took the reins, he finished his first start with more importantly the win, but he also went 12-for-21 passing, with 78 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. The redshirt freshman had a huge impact on the ground too, with 15 attempts for 72 yards, each of which were team highs.
Marchiol himself will admit it wasn't a good performance in the passing game from him but making it count in critical moments on third and fourth down is what gave West Virginia the edge.
"Obviously not a good quarterback performance on my part. What matters is those critical moments that we practice. Those 'have to have it' moments on those third and fourth downs," Marchiol said.
Handling the pressure that comes from crucial and decisive moments in the game has been an impressive quality of Marchiol's and not many players, especially quarterbacks, at this level can say that they thrive off the pressure in those moments.
"[Defensive Lineman] Sean Martin comes off the field and got after me a little bit, got me fired up. This is it, this is on you, this is your offense now. I feel like I perform better when there’s that tension," Marchiol said.
Along with Martin, Marchiol's supporting cast, like starting tight end Kole Taylor who caught his lone touchdown pass on the day, had positivity for the young quarterback's first career start and the intangibles that he brings to the field.
"Nicco [Marchiol] did a great job. He commands the offense, he’s just a natural leader. He didn’t make the best of plays or when somebody didn’t make a play for him, myself included, he did a good job picking up his teammates," Taylor said.
For Brown and the West Virginia offense, there's still that element of always improving every game but Marchiol could be the catalyst to what the WVU offense wants to be.
"I thought Nicco [Marchiol] did some good things. For a guy making his first start, we’ve got to be better around him," Brown said.
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