Can Will Grier Be The Best Quarterback In College Football In 2018?
Sean Taylor
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2017 is a great year for Big 12 quarterbacks. Baker Mayfield of Oklahoma and Mason Rudolph of Oklahoma State are two of the best quarterbacks in the country. Will Grier is the next best quarterback in the conference. Though he won’t get nearly the exposure the rest of this season that Mayfield and Rudolph get, that will change when they graduate.
It was reported last week that most expect Grier to return for his senior season in 2018. If that is the case then Grier should aim beyond being the best quarterback in the Big 12. Can Will Grier be the best quarterback in college football in 2018?
Grier burst onto the scene during his freshman year at Florida. He was 6-0 six games into his redshirt freshman year. The Gators were riding high and thought they had their long term answer at quarterback.
After testing positive for a banned substance and being suspended, Grier transferred to West Virginia University. Since moving to Morgantown and working with Dana Holgorsen and Jake Spavital Grier has transformed into one of the best quarterbacks in college football.
Grier ranked third in the nation in passing yards with 3,440 yards, which puts him just behind Rudolph and Mayfield. With 34 touchdown passes Grier trails only Drew Lock of Missouri.
One area where Grier needs to improve is taking care of the football. He has thrown 12 interceptions. While 34 touchdown passes and 12 interceptions is not a bad ratio, he has crippled the Mountaineers chances in big games with turnovers. To get to the upper echelon, this is undoubtedly something that he needs to work on.
Another reason to believe Grier can be one of the top quarterback in the nation in 2018 is because there will be a mass exodus of NCAA football’s best passers. Six of college football’s top ten passes are graduating. Then you have Josh Rosen of UCLA and Sam Darnold of USC who are locks to enter the NFL Draft. The only two top ten returning quarterbacks are Will Grier and Drew Lock.
That’s not to say others couldn’t emerge. There are other good quarterbacks returning next year including Trace McSorley of Penn State, Nick Fitzgerald of Mississippi State and Kelly Bryant of Clemson.
Grier’s ability to make plays with his arm and legs make him special. Additional to that next year’s Mountaineer teams will be much more geared to compete as 2017 was somewhat of a transitional year. If the Mountaineers can content for the Big 12 title Grier will get plenty of exposure.
If Grier can return and be one of the best quarterbacks in 2018, he could push the Mountaineers to the top of the conference and position himself as a top draft pick in 2019. That could leave him as one of the best quarterbacks in WVU history.