WVSports.com looks at the weekly press conference from West Virginia head coach Neal Brown and determines the five most interesting topics of discussion.
We examine what was said as well as what it means for the football team both this week and moving ahead as the Mountaineers navigate the 2023 schedule.
Next up is a home contest with Texas Tech and Brown discussed that matchup as well as how his team is looking heading into the Big 12 opener.
1—Quarterback spot. West Virginia redshirt junior quarterback Garrett Greene was injured after five plays against Pittsburgh and didn’t return due to an ankle injury. The plan this week is to give Greene practice off Monday and Tuesday and then determine where he is at in his return process although Brown admitted that it’s too early to say to make a call on his status.
Brown confirmed that Greene isn’t going to play Saturday against the Red Raiders unless he can prove that he can get out there and move around and use his best attribute, his athleticism. It remains to be seen how he will respond to treatment throughout the week, but Greene is doing all he can to suit up.
If Greene isn’t under center the job will be redshirt freshman Nicco Marchiol’s after he came into the game and finished off the win over Pittsburgh. He completed 6-9 passes for 60 yards and a touchdown despite operating on a limited call sheet given his lack of practice reps as the backup. Brown insisted that the team has plenty of trust in Marchiol under center and he should perform much better if called upon considering he is going to get all of the starter reps in practice for the next few days while Greene looks to try to battle his way back into possibly playing this weekend.
Marchiol has high end ability and can run the football in a physical style while showcasing the ability to throw the ball well between the hashes and deep. He will need to focus on timing, but the overall expectation is that if he is called upon the product should look much better.
If Marchiol is the starter, true freshman Sean Boyle would assume the backup role.
2—Texas Tech. Brown is 0-4 against the Red Raiders in his tenure atop the program, including 0-2 at home. Over those four games, the Mountaineers are getting almost doubled up on the scoreboard with the average being 35.7 to 18.5 in favor of the Red Raiders.
This is the third of a three-game home stand that could go a long way toward shaping the rest of the season and while the Mountaineers came out of the first two 2-0, the third represents the start of Big 12 Conference play and an opportunity for West Virginia to prove some people wrong. It will be a Gold Rush game in the stadium and a 3:30 p.m. kick and Brown urged the fan base to create the same atmosphere that was in the stadium for the Backyard Brawl this past weekend.
The story this week is simply the fact that the Red Raiders have had their number and last season’s game was as bad as Brown’s teams have looked since he arrived in Morgantown as they struggled with the overall tempo and pace of Texas Tech. This is a golden chance for West Virginia to rewrite the narrative against a very good Texas Tech team that could shift things. Opportunities like this don’t come every day, so the Mountaineers must be ready to take it.
3—Moving on. West Virginia won the Backyard Brawl 17-6 in a game that likely wasn’t as close as the scoreboard indicates given how physical and hard-fought the Mountaineers were. The atmosphere in the stadium was a clear indication that it was an important game for a lot of obvious reasons but now that one is in the books the coaches must direct the team to what comes next.
The good news is given the struggles against the Red Raiders, as mentioned above, Brown isn’t going to have to do a lot when it comes to finding motivation for his football team after the emotional rivalry matchup.
Texas Tech is the only team that Brown has yet to beat in the league and just watching the film last year was enough to motivate the team at large. That should allow this team to focus at home.
4—Other injuries. Outside the obvious one under center, West Virginia came out of the Backyard Brawl relatively unscathed on the injury front. Some exceptions to that include junior running back Justin Johnson who tried to go last week in practice but wasn’t full speed and was held out against the Panthers and redshirt senior cornerback Montre Miller who will need surgery and miss the remainder of the year due to that.
The question with Miller now becomes if he will be able to acquire a petition from the NCAA in order to play next season and while he does have a good case it’s hard to tell how it will unfold. Still, the rest of the roster should be good to go for the start of conference play with most players on the mend.
5—Brooks a challenge. Brown made it no secret that he believes that Texas Tech running back Tahj Brooks is a special player and one of the best in the Big 12 that nobody talks about. The Texas native is averaging 7.2 yards per carry and 89.3 yards per game this season and it will be key for the Mountaineers to keep him in check in this contest. Brooks is the leading rusher for the Red Raiders and could present problems for the Mountaineers defense when looking to slow down the up-tempo attack.
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