Don’t Count Mountaineers Out at Penn State
Ray Anthony Vallorani
| 
MORGANTOWN, WV—With the Spring football game this Saturday, the big question still looms “Who will start at quarterback against Penn State in the opener?” Will it be Garrette Greene or Nicco Marchiol? Whatever head coach Neal Brown decides with his offensive coordinators, it seems the running game will be heavily relied upon this fall.
Waiting in the wings to perform on the gridiron are the likes of Jaylen Anderson, Tony Mathis, Justin Johnson, Jr. and C.J. Donaldson. These four are all very capable of carrying the offense as Marchiol and Greene keep improving. All eyes will especially be on Jaylen Anderson. He had a great day against Oklahoma State in that season ending victory. He finished the game with 15 carries for 155 yards (10.3 per carry)and scored two touchdowns.
Brown will no doubt pick the best passer when choosing between Greene or Marchiol. Remember that Anderson and Donaldson were receivers in high school. My guess would be that Marchiol will be chosen as the starter even though Greene has more actual playing time.
History has proven that WVU has winning records when featuring a ground game offense.
Don Nehlen and Rich Rodriguez are good examples of that type of offense. Brown now has that at his fingertips going into the Penn State game. A solid ground offense can chew up the clock and give the Nittany Lions less time to score.
It’s quite possible the Mountaineers could upset Penn State given the right breaks. Anything is possible. Don’t count the Mountaineers starting 0-1 just yet. It’s possible Brown may not name his starting quarterback until the day before vs. Penn State.Â