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Neal Brown Encouraged, but Not Satisfied With QB Play

The battle between Austin Kendall and Jarret Doege is in full swing

The quarterback situation for West Virginia heading into the 2020 season is much like the state of the season itself - a lot of unknowns and uncertainty.

Oklahoma transfer Austin Kendall played much of the 2019 season injured, and it showed on the field. He missed a lot of throws and often forced balls into tight windows. You can partly blame that on a young receiving corps trying to find its footing, but he was far from efficient. 

Bowling Green transfer Jarret Doege took over at quarterback in the final month of the season and finished with a 2-1 record with road victories over Kansas State and TCU. Although he seemed to give the offense a jolt, there were still some errant throws and bad decisions, mainly in the TCU game where he threw three interceptions. 

This week, West Virginia head coach Neal Brown provided a small update on how the two quarterbacks have looked thus far in camp, albeit a small sample size.

"We threw a lot at them today, and for both Doege and Kendall, there were some wow moments when they spun it and put it in some tight windows and hit some home runs down the field, and there were some throws that they missed," Brown said. "I think from a constancy standpoint, it was not exactly what we want, but there were some flashes that give you a lot of hope."

Photo by Caleb Saunders - WVU Athletics

Photo by Caleb Saunders - WVU Athletics

What hurt both quarterbacks is not having the extra reps in the spring to continue to develop and improve their timing with the receivers. They really haven't been able to go full 11 on 11 in quite some time and are still working up to that.

Doege is viewed as the favorite to earn the starting job, but a healthy Austin Kendall could make for an exciting battle throughout training camp.

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