WVU Football: What to expect from WVU QB Garrett Greene in 2024

Senior Quarterback Garrett Greene is receiving some national attention as he prepares to enter his second season as the full-time starter for the West Virginia Mountaineers.

Greene was recently named to the Maxwell Award preseason watch list.

The Maxwell Award is given each year to college football’s most outstanding player. This type of recognition comes just one year after many regarded Greene as the worst starting quarterback in the Big 12 Conference during last year’s preseason. 

With a full season as the starter under his belt, let’s give some predictions as to what Mountaineer fans can expect from Garrett Greene in as he would call it his, “one last rodeo.”

4 things to expect from WVU Quarterback Garrett Greene in 2024

1. Garrett Greene will improve his completion percentage 

In 2023, Garrett Greene passed for 2,406 yards and 16 touchdowns with only 4 interceptions. Perhaps the biggest knock on Greene’s ability as a passer came in regard to his completion percentage of 52.9%. Greene himself has been verbal about an improved completion percentage being a personal goal of his in 2024. 

There are 3 reasons that Greene and the Mountaineers can be confident that his completion percentage will improve. 

Firstly, as has already been stated, while Greene is entering his senior season, this is only his second season as the starting quarterback. The more that Greene has played, the more comfortable he has looked leading the offense.

In the final 3 games last season Greene had completion percentages of 63.2 and 64 percent. It is very reasonable to assume that Greene’s overall game will improve in 2024, including his completion percentage. 

Secondly, some of Greene’s struggles last season came via the short passing game. Tweaks to his mechanics and footwork in the off-season will allow him to hit on more short throws than he did a season ago.

Many of Greene’s incompletions came on rather simple, short passes in which he just missed the target. Greene and the WVU coaching staff have put in the work to eliminate this weakness for Greene in 2024. 

Lastly, West Virginia returns 8 of Greene’s 10 top receiving targets from a season ago. In this era of college football with the frequency of players entering the transfer portal, that is almost unheard of. In addition to returning many familiar faces, West Virginia added both Jaden Bray (Oklahoma State) and Justin Robinson (Mississippi State) in the offseason.

This sense of familiarity with his offensive weapons will allow Greene to feel even more comfortable and complete passes at a high percentage.