West Virginia redshirt junior quarterback Garrett Greene returned from an ankle injury that essentially cost him the past two games to lead the Mountaineers to a 24-21 road win over TCU.
But it was something that almost didn’t happen.
Greene practiced a little bit Tuesday this past week but didn’t practice on Wednesday. At that point head coach Neal Brown was planning on going with backup quarterback Nicco Marchiol as Greene was only operating at around 75 percent while the redshirt freshman was healthy.
That way Greene would have around two weeks to prepare for the next matchup against Houston.
However, at the end of practice Wednesday it was Marchiol that rolled his ankle and by Thursday morning it was clear that he was going to be limited himself.
Thursday is typically used as a walk-through day where quarterbacks don’t throw but when it became apparent that Marchiol was going to be limited Brown approached his starter.
“You didn’t throw yesterday, let’s see what it looks like. If you can push off your back foot to throw it. If you can show me, this is your opportunity. If you can show me, you can play and be close to 100 percent then it’s your chance,” Brown recalled.
After throwing the ball well, Greene worked extremely hard over the past 72 hours in order to get back on the field and earn the start against the Horned Frogs. While the original plan was for the left-handed Marchiol to be in that position, the Mountaineers made a 180-degree shift Thursday.
In his return, Greene completed 10-21 passes for 142 yards, but it was what he did with his legs with 80 yards and 2 touchdowns that came as a surprise.
“The joker is tough. He’s tough and he’s a winner and he just found a way,” Brown said.
During the game, Greene said that his ankle felt 100 percent, but he needs to get better at getting into a groove earlier in the games. He cited the work he did with the recovery team to get back into that position and earning the role Thursday reminded him of his time in high school.
“I threw well enough to earn the start,” he said.
If there was any doubt, his 35-yard touchdown run was evidence that he was healthy as he turned on the jets and scored a by pulling away from the defense.
“When I stepped up there’s a lot of green grass in front of me, so I just kept moving,” he said.
Greene admitted to pressing in the first half, but in the second he trusted the players around him to make plays and was letting the football go in their direction.
Now with time to rest until the Oct. 12 matchup with Houston, Greene will have even more time to recover and put himself in position to improve even further. It’s fair to wonder if West Virginia wins this football game without Greene under center and it’s interesting to think it almost didn’t happen.
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