Neal Brown Discusses Timeline for QB1 Decision

West Virginia doesn't have a starting quarterback at the moment. That will be determined at some point in the future by head coach Neal Brown, but don't expect that to happen anytime soon. At least that's the plan.

"First of all, I want to set our expectations. I don't plan on making a decision on this until we get into fall camp. That's what I've shared with both of them,' Brown told the media on Monday. "We're playing the long game on this. We'll split the reps with Garrett [Greene] and Nicco [Marchiol] through the entire spring and there's going to be some ups and downs with that. We'll carry that competition into the summer and the fall. Now, if it's just really clear, then we'll make a choice. But I don't foresee that happening."

Greene showed a little bit of what he's capable of toward the end of the season with a strong finish to the Iowa State game and then leading the Mountaineers to a win over Oklahoma in relief of a struggling JT Daniels. In that game, Greene completed 12-of-22 pass attempts for 138 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 119 yards and two scores on 14 carries.

The following week, Greene earned his first start against Kansas State but didn't have nearly as much success throwing two interceptions on the day and averaging just 1.4 yards per attempt on 12 carries. He did, however, make a few big plays through the air to keep WVU within reach, throwing three touchdown passes.

Those struggles carried into the final game of the season at Oklahoma State, but he didn't have a chance to bounce back as he was knocked out of the game with a head injury. This forced Nicco Marchiol into action, marking his first career game against a Power Five opponent. It wasn't a sharp outing but he didn't need to do much thanks to a dominant rushing attack. Marchiol finished 2/9 for 29 yards and added another 32 yards on the ground.

It took Greene some time to develop as a passer, but now entering his fourth year in the program, he has a better understanding of how to read coverages and pick up blitzes. He came from a run-heavy/option offense in high school that didn't ask him to go through as many reads or progressions as he has to go through in this offense at WVU, so it was a big adjustment.

Marchiol comes from a true spread offense that prepared him to hit the ground running in Morgantown. He had the benefit of sitting and learning the system for a year and even though there's a new coordinator in place, the scheme will remain the same for the most part. Coming out of high school, Marchiol was a consensus four-star recruit and chose West Virginia over Arizona State, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Louisville, LSU, Michigan, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Nebraska, Ole Miss, Penn State, Rutgers, TCU, USC, and Utah.

You can follow us for future coverage by liking us on Facebook & following us on Twitter:

Facebook - @MountaineersNow

Twitter - @MountaineersNow and Schuyler Callihan at @Callihan_.