Is Jarret Doege the Answer for West Virginia?
The first year of the Neal Brown era in Morgantown has not been easy for fans to stomach. The 2019 season was labeled as rebuilding year before it ever began.
Despite lower expectations, however, the lack of production from the offense through nine games has not gone unnoticed.
Starting quarterback Austin Kendall has had brutal season littered with small successes, but has lost the faith of the fan base almost every time he heads out to the field. Of course, when an offense is struggling as bad as this one, everyone wants to place the blame solely on the quarterback. The thing is, that’s the least of this offense's issues and head coach Neal Brown agrees.
“The same things that plagued Jarret [Doege] are the same things that plagued Austin [Kendall],” Brown said after the Mountaineers' 38-17 loss to Texas Tech. “We dropped the ball, we didn’t do a great job in pass protection. I’ll say this, I wish quarterback was our problem, that would be an easy fix,” he adds.
And to be completely honest, he’s right.
The offensive line has been inconsistent and unable to provide protection in the pass game or pave way for a viable rushing attack. They lack a mean streak. The physicality is not where it needs to be. This coaching staff has talked about it time and time again, the offensive line is getting whipped up front in one-on-ones and are not physical enough.
To add to the issues, the wide receivers have been painfully hard to watch. Drop after drop have plagued even the fairest of Kendall's passes. It’s not just drops, but it’s also running the wrong routes, having two guys in the same area of the field, not knowing how to get open and perimeter blocking. It’s everything. A lot of this has to do with the situation they’ve been in. In an ideal situation, most of these guys play their four games, redshirt and use this year to develop. Due to the lack of bodies and returning experience, they’ve been thrown into the fire and are showing growing pains.
Given the offense's recent struggles and a growing demand for something and somone different, Austin Kendall may have to re-win his starting spot.
Bowling Green transfer Jarret Doege entered the game late in the third quarter against Texas Tech and looked comfortable in his two drives. He completed 11 of 17 passes for 119 yards and a touchdown to true freshman running back Tony Mathis. The game appears to come easy to him. He makes his reads, has great pocket presence and when he airs it out —the dude has some zip on it.
As for Kendall, he’s a serviceable quarterback, one that can win you games, but will need help to do it. If you surround Kendall with better play at receiver and better protection, many of his deficiencies would be otherwise hidden. When there’s virtually no rushing attack and no consistency anywhere else among the offense, you’re asking a hell of a lot out of the signal caller. As mentioned earlier, the receivers struggle to get open, so in many instances Kendall has to force balls into tight windows just to attempt to make something happen.
So, here’s the thing - is one quarter of football enough to say Doege is the guy moving forward? Is it fair to expound on his potential as a starter based his stats acquired during garbage time? Texas Tech dropped eight and only rushed three, allowing Doege more than enough time to scan the defense and find small, five-yard gains with ease. How can he handle the blitz? How will he attack zone coverage? How well can he read a defense? How efficient is he throwing downfield? These are all questions that need to be answered and will only be answered by him playing.
Should he play? Yes. Should he start? No.
Starting Kendall, at least for now, is the best option. It’s a bit of a stretch at this point, but if somehow West Virginia wins its final three games, the idea is that Doege will play in that bowl game.
And if Doege looks good or even better than Kendall, how much longer can coach Brown keep the Bowling Green transfer off the field?
