MORGANTOWN ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” Any football season that comes to an end in these days of ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œhere today, gone tomorrowÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ is hectic, but Rich Rodriguez replacing Neal Brown as West VirginiaÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s coach set in motion a game of musical chairs that is just now beginning to take shape.
Some of the most intriguing reactions to RodriguezÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s move into the coachÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s office that overlooks the playing field at Milan Puskar Stadium are:
- The inevitable run of players into the transfer portal, including the loss of wide receiver Hudson Clement, a budding star who with quarterback Garrett Greene took over the Frisco Bowl loss to Memphis with a career performance that included 11 catches for 166 yards and two touchdowns.
- Greene having announced his intention to enter the NFL draft now that his eligibility is gone, but not as the quarterback he was at WVU. Instead, he announced he would be a wide receiver, a decision that should set off conversations that go deep into the nights of Mountaineer fans.
As expected, the transfer portal has been filling up with starters, the two most recognizable being the aforementioned Clement and CJ Donaldson, the 240-pound running back who figured, perhaps, to be eligible to gain the most from RodriguezÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s promise to toughen up each player that remains.
Clement, who burst onto the scene last year with a huge debut against Duquesne, had all the makings of a star, and he burst out in the Frisco Bowl with a scintillating performance. What would make a sure star of a home-state kid, who set Martinsburg on its ear with his high school stardom before walking on at WVU, no one knows, but had Brown decided to feature Clement in his offense all season, he well may have developed into an All-American-like performer.
Clement led WVU in receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns in 2024, finishing with 51 catches for 741 yards and five touchdowns.
Clement and DonaldsonÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s departures came after super freshman linebacker Josiah Trotter, the kind of tough guy Rodriguez could hone for a long NFL career, went into the portal and transferred to Missouri. Also, starting linebacker Trey Lathan and starting offensive guard Tomas Rimac opted to leave.
But let us dig into the announcement from Greene that he is heading to the NFL draft, not as the quarterback he was at WVU, but as a wide receiver, certainly making many who felt Nicco Marchiol should have replaced him vocally louder in such a belief.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œPlaying quarterback at West Virginia University was an incredible honor that I will cherish the rest of my life. I would like to thank coach Brown, all of the staff members I worked with and my teammates who made my five years in Morgantown so memorable,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ Greene wrote in his social media announcement of his future intentions.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œMy family has always been there for me in both good and challenging times, and I know they will continue to be there for me in the future. Thank you for your love and support. Most importantly, I want to thank God for the abilities he has blessed me with and the opportunity to praise him both on and off the field.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œHaving sung Country Roads for the last time as a Mountaineer, I would like to announce my entry into the 2024 NFL draft as a wide receiver. I look forward to this next chapter of my career and the opportunity to continue playing the game I love at the highest level.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
Greene was, probably unknowingly, echoing the words once said by singer Johnny Cash:
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œYouÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™ve got to know your limitations. I donÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t know what your limitations are. I found out what mine were when I was 12. I found out that there werenÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t too many limitations if I did it my way.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
Greene got all he could out of being a quarterback at WVU, giving Brown the style of play he wanted from the position, but his passing ability wasnÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t of the same consistency necessary to move forward into the NFL.
For his career, Greene completed 398 of 700 passes, which comes to 56.8%. In an era when NFL quarterbacks complete 60% to 70% ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” four of whom surpass 70% ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” Greene is smart enough to know that that is his major limitation.
Add to that the fact that he is shorter than 6 feet in an era when most quarterbacks are 6-3 to 6-5, and you have not a quarterback at all.
In the NFL, with his ball-carrying skills, he projects a potential wide receiver/kick returner, taking advantage of his speed, elusiveness and toughness.
The thing that kept Brown from reaching expectations at WVU was two-fold, mostly a defense that just could not defend the pass probably at No. 1, but without the reliability in the passing game at quarterback to make it top-level.
While reports were that Marchiol, in practice, was improving as the years went by, he never showed himself to be a very large step up from Greene.
Had Brown discovered quarterback gold, perhaps GreeneÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s greatest contributions could have been at wide receiver, giving the Mountaineers a more consistent attack and allowing them to win some of the games in which they gave up 30 or more points.
This season, however, WVU was 0-6 in games in which it gave up 30 or more points. Last season, the Mountaineers went 1-4 in such games.
One would expect that GreeneÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s post-WVU career might have benefited most by him having dedicated himself to playing wide receiver at this level.
As for player turnover, that is going as it almost always does with a coaching change. The WVU starting offensive lineup had five seniors who are now gone, and it appears at this time that only sophomore running back Jahiem White and junior receiver Preston Fox are still around.
