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5 Storylines To Watch For the 2017 WVU Football Team

By Phil Poling

Nov 7, 2015; Morgantown, WV, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers wide receiver Jovon Durante catches a pass before going out of bounds during the first quarter against the Texas Tech Red Raiders at Milan Puskar Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 7, 2015; Morgantown, WV, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers wide receiver Jovon Durante catches a pass before going out of bounds during the first quarter against the Texas Tech Red Raiders at Milan Puskar Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports /
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Oct 3, 2015; Gainesville, FL, USA; Florida Gators quarterback Will Grier (7) points against the Mississippi Rebels during the second half at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Florida Gators defeated the Mississippi Rebels 38-10. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 3, 2015; Gainesville, FL, USA; Florida Gators quarterback Will Grier (7) points against the Mississippi Rebels during the second half at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Florida Gators defeated the Mississippi Rebels 38-10. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /

Will Grier

The last time anybody saw Will Grier play a football game was for the Gators in 2015. As a true freshman, Grier started the first six games for Florida and had them heading into a matchup of undefeated’s against LSU. Grier never played in that game – or for Florida again – and ended up at WVU. Let’s take a look at the numbers he posted while playing for the Gators.

In those six games, Grier completed 65.8 percent of his passes for 1,204 yards and 10 touchdowns. He added another 116 yards and two scores on the ground. One area of his game that impressed me was how fast Grier starts. Some quarterbacks have a rough time early in games, finding a rhythm or tending to force things; Grier didn’t have that problem. In the first quarter of his games while at UF, Grier completed 20 of his 30 passes (nearly 70 percent), threw for 15 first downs and had a quarterback rating of 178.91. The second quarter of those games was just as impressive, if not more, for Grier. On double the pass attempts, Grier completed 75 percent of them for 541 yards and four touchdowns. On those 60 pass attempts, 25 were completed for first downs, while 14 hit for big plays (15 yards or more). If Grier can produce at this type of clip under Dana Holgorsen, there’s no telling the heights this team could reach.

The last time Holgorsen had a big-armed quarterback, the Mountaineers were basking in Florida celebrating an Orange Bowl victory. They’ve been a run-heavy team the last few years, but changes are expected with Grier at the helm. Howard struggled attacking defenses over the middle with his arm due to his lack of size, listed at a generous 6’0. Grier is listed at 6’1″, but had no issue where Howard struggled. The first two highlights of this video should comfort all Mountaineer fans.!

The first play saw Grier deliver a dime to an open receiver down the seam, while the second saw him escape suffocating pressure and scamper in for the score. Most of the plays in that short video were against SEC teams Kentucky, Missouri, Ole Miss and Tennessee. So if you’re reading this getting excited about Grier and next year’s offense, it’s never too early!

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