WVU Football: Most Electrictrifying Players Since 2000
By Phil Poling
Geno Smith, Quarterback – Jersey No. 12 (2009-2012)
Eugene “Geno” Smith was the Big Man on Campus in Morgantown for four long years.
He played sparingly as a freshman, but threw for 24 touchdowns and only seven picks his sophomore season. As a junior, he’d improve on those numbers with a TD to interception ratio of 31 to seven.
At his peak, the Mountaineers were 5-0 to start his senior year while Smith posted astronomical numbers (cfbstats.com): 2,034 passing yards, 25 touchdowns and only one interception. That’s not for a season, it’s for only five games. The team averaged 52 points during that stretch, and Smith was the front-runner for the Heisman Trophy.
Things would crumble for the ‘Eers once entering the meat of their Big 12 schedule, losing five consecutive games just as easily as they won five, but Smith left his mark in the Mountaineer record books.
He’s the school’s record holder in every passing category: career passing yards (11,662), single-season passing yards (4,385), single-game passing yards (656), career passing touchdowns (98), single-season passing touchdowns (42) and single-game touchdowns (8). I think it’s safe to say Smith flourished under coach Dana Holgorsen.
Smith also dominated Clemson in their 2012 Orange Bowl meeting, throwing for 407 yards and six touchdowns. He went on to the NFL and was drafted by the New York Jets 34th overall in 2013.