Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks
Campus Connection: WVU's Grier Top QB Says Athlon
May 11, 2018 08:23 AM | Football, Blog
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - College football's No. 1-rated starting quarterback resides in Morgantown, West Virginia - at least that is the opinion of Athlon Magazine, which recently unveiled its ranking of all 130 starting quarterbacks from 130 to 1.
Senior Will Grier is coming off a 2017 season that saw him complete 64.4 percent of his passes for 3,490 yards and 34 touchdowns with just 12 interceptions. Grier led the Mountaineers to a 7-3 record and a spot in the Top 25 before suffering a broken finger on his passing hand in the first quarter of WVU's home loss to Texas.
West Virginia also dropped its final two games of the season against Oklahoma and Utah in Zaxby's Heart of Dallas Bowl with Grier out of the lineup.
Of course, some schools have yet to name a starting quarterback so Athlon's list had to take that into account.
"You feel real good about a fifth-year guy because they act like a fifth-year guy and everything is slower for him and he makes everyone else around him better," West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen said about Grier last month.
The guy on the other side of the ball going up against Grier earlier this spring, defensive coordinator Tony Gibson, agrees with Holgorsen.
"Some quarterbacks won't even try and attempt throws that Will makes," he said. "We're in great position and this guy just puts it right where you need to put it where only his guy can get it. How good (is the WVU defense)? I don't know because there are times when Will made us look bad. Hopefully, we don't play anybody like him."
Athlon had this to say in picking Grier No. 1: "The Big 12's unquestioned No. 1 quarterback resides in Morgantown this season. Grier – a Heisman candidate and a likely All-America pick – is at the controls of one of the nation's top offenses. After sitting out 2016 due to transfer rules, Grier threw for 3,490 yards and 34 touchdowns in 11 appearances for West Virginia last fall. Additionally, the North Carolina native's eight completions of 60 yards or more ranked third nationally among all FBS quarterbacks. Grier missed two full games due to a finger injury suffered against Texas on Nov. 18 but will be back at full strength for 2018."
Just behind Grier in Athlon's QB ratings are Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, Penn State's Trace McSorley, Arizona's Khalil Tate and UCF's McKenzie Milton.
This year's other potential Big 12 starting quarterbacks on Athlon's list include Baylor's Charlie Brewer (No. 32), Iowa State's Kyle Kempt (33), Texas' Sam Ehlinger (34), Oklahoma's Kyler Murray (35), Kansas State's Skylar Thompson (54), TCU's Shawn Robinson (70), Oklahoma State's Dru Brown (77), Texas Tech's McLane Carter (97) and Kansas' Peyton Bender (108).
As for the other two Power 5 teams on this year's schedule, Tennessee's projected starting quarterback Keller Chryst, a graduate transfer from Stanford, is ranked No. 72 and Ryan Finley of NC State is ranked No. 13.
Finley has posted back-to-back 3,000-yard passing seasons and could be the best quarterback the Mountaineers face in 2018.
More Friday WVU sports notes …
* Another list, this one by NFL.com draft expert Chad Reuter, who came out with his preliminary list of the top college players heading into the 2018 season. He has wide receiver David Sills V at No. 17 and quarterback Will Grier at No. 18 among his top 50 players.
You can read his full list here: http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000931599/article/top-150-college-football-players-to-watch-in-2018-nos-150
* Season tickets for the 2018 Mountaineer football season are on sale to the general public right now and can be purchased by logging on to WVUGAME.com or by calling the Mountaineer Ticket Office, toll-free, at 1-800-WVU GAME.
This is the year five Big 12 teams come to Morgantown, headlined by College Football Playoff participant Oklahoma on Friday, Nov. 23.
By the way, have you looked closely at West Virginia's November football schedule? The Mountaineers are at Texas on Saturday, Nov. 3, play TCU in Morgantown on Saturday, Nov. 10, go to Oklahoma State on Saturday, Nov. 17 and conclude the regular season with Oklahoma on Friday, Nov. 23 in Morgantown.
Wow, talk about challenging!
* With the schedule Dana Holgorsen's teams regularly face in the Big 12, plus the Power 5 non-conference games lined up this year against Tennessee and NC State and future teams coming on board down the line, it makes you wonder what the records of some of West Virginia's best-ever teams would have been playing this type of schedule.
Of West Virginia's 10-plus-win football teams, Don Nehlen's 1993 squad probably faced the most grueling slate of games against No. 17 Louisville, No. 4 Miami and No. 11 Boston College during the regular season.
Nehlen's undefeated 1988 team played just two nationally ranked opponents during the regular season - No. 16 Pitt and No. 14 Syracuse - before meeting No. 1-ranked Notre Dame in the national championship game in the Fiesta Bowl in Tempe, Arizona.
The 10-win team with probably the softest schedule was Jim Carlen's 1969 squad that faced just two teams with winning records that year - 11-0 Penn State and 6-4 Richmond.
In fact, No. 5 Penn State was the only ranked opponent Carlen faced during his four seasons coaching at West Virginia.
Syracuse was 5-5 and declining in 1969 under longtime coach Ben Schwartzwalder; Pitt was suffering through the Carl Depasqua years and Maryland was downright awful under first-year coach Roy Lester, like Schwartzwalder a WVU grad.
Kentucky won just two games and Tulane three while Southern Conference basement dwellers VMI and William & Mary won a combined three games between them that season.
If West Virginia is going to win 10 or more games these days, it is going to have to earn it!
* Twitter has a new user! Marc Bulger finally broke down and created an account to help promote The Marc Bulger Foundation, which benefits men and women in uniform. In just a couple of days, Marc has already accumulated nearly 2,000 followers.
Now, we've just got to get him to tweet a little bit more!
* Lance Frazier was recently named head football coach at Kennett High in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. Frazier was a standout defensive back for coach Rich Rodriguez at West Virginia before spending a number of seasons in the NFL and Canadian Football League before retiring in 2012.
Most recently, Frazier was an assistant coach at Newark High in Newark, Delaware.
He also works at Kirk Middle School as a behavior interventionist. Lance continues to remain active with his alma mater as a member of the West Virginia University Alumni Association, Delaware Chapter.
* Bruce Irvin will be the first member of his family to earn a college degree when he participates in Saturday's West Virginia University commencement ceremonies at the WVU Coliseum. Irvin was named Walter Payton Man of the Year for the Oakland Raiders last December for his community endeavors, and he was also recently listed as one of the NFL's top 100 players, according to the website NFL.com.
* According to published reports, sophomore forward Teddy Allen is planning to transfer to Wichita State.
* The NBA announced its list of the 69 players officially invited to take part in this year's draft combine on Thursday, May 17 and Friday, May 18 at Chicago's Quest Multisport.
Senior guard Jevon Carter and sophomore forward Sagaba Konate were invited from West Virginia and comprise 10 players from the Big 12 at this year's combine. The others are Udoka Azubuike, Devonte' Graham, Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk and Malik Newwan from Kansas, Mohamed Bamba from Texas, Zhaire Smith from Texas Tech, Kenrich Williams from TCU and Trae Young from Oklahoma.
Konate is one of several underclassmen without representation participating in this year's combine who can return to college if they chose to do so.
Players will play five-on-five games and perform strength and agility drills during the two-day event that will be televised nationally on ESPN2.
The combine is considered the first step in the draft process for NBA hopefuls.
* West Virginia University Director of Athletics Shane Lyons was in Charleston earlier this week to discuss the sports gaming bill passed by the West Virginia Legislature during its recent regular session. The meeting, which included Marshall athletic director Mike Hamrick and representatives from professional sports leagues and West Virginia's casinos, was organized by Governor Jim Justice.
The governor is considering calling a special session later this month to adjust the law, which comes ahead of a U.S. Supreme Court decision later this year considering the expansion of legalized sports betting.
* Earlier this week, the Mountaineer Athletic Club had strong turnouts in Wheeling, Parkersburg and Martinsburg as part of its annual spring tour of the state. Following a week off, the tour continues with golf at Pete Dye Golf Club in Bridgeport May 20-21, and then a two-city swing in the southern part of the state in Princeton on Tuesday, May 22, and in Beckley on Wednesday, May 23.
The MAC caravan will wrap up on Thursday-Friday, June 7-8, in Charleston with the 36thannual WVU Classic.
* The baseball team got an important midweek victory over Virginia Tech on Wednesday and now turns its attention to a critical three-game series at TCU this weekend. Injuries have played a role in the Horned Frogs' 27-18 record so far this year, but TCU is playing better of late having won eight of its last nine, including taking two out of three from Texas Tech.
West Virginia, 25-21 with seven games still remaining on the regular-season schedule, needs every victory it can get from here on out to remain in contention for an NCAA Tournament berth.
Losing two out of three at Kansas last weekend dropped West Virginia's RPI to 45 heading into this Wednesday's game against the Hokies.
WVU saw its 21-year NCAA Tournament drought end last year.
* Breaking down West Virginia's resume with two weeks left in the regular season, the Mountaineers are 9-1 in games against group 4 teams with RPIs 151 or lower, 6-4 against group 3 teams ranked 101-150, 5-3 against group 2 teams ranked 51-100 and 5-13 against group 1 teams ranked in the top 50.
The Mountaineers' best victory so far this season was their 1-0 triumph over No. 9 Texas Tech in Lubbock earlier this season. WVU's other top 50 wins have come against No. 20 Oklahoma State, No. 21 Texas and No. 23 Jacksonville.
What's left for West Virginia are No. 66 TCU, No. 199 Marshall and No. 54 Baylor to conclude the regular season.
And finally, veteran Mountaineer women's track and field coach Sean Cleary has two athletes with a legitimate shot of winning individual titles at this weekend's Big 12 outdoor championship in Waco, Texas.
Madelin Gardner, from Williamstown, has the top mark in the conference in the pole vault heading into this weekend's action with a vault of 14 feet, 5 ½ inches.
That's the sixth-best mark in the country so far this year.
Also, Australian Amy Cashin is the meet favorite in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with the ninth-fastest time in the country this week.
WVU has had just one outdoor winner since joining the Big 12 in 2012 - that being Kaitlyn Gillespie, who won the women's 10K at the 2015 outdoor championships in Ames, Iowa.
Have a great weekend and Happy Mother's Day to all of the moms out there!
Senior Will Grier is coming off a 2017 season that saw him complete 64.4 percent of his passes for 3,490 yards and 34 touchdowns with just 12 interceptions. Grier led the Mountaineers to a 7-3 record and a spot in the Top 25 before suffering a broken finger on his passing hand in the first quarter of WVU's home loss to Texas.
West Virginia also dropped its final two games of the season against Oklahoma and Utah in Zaxby's Heart of Dallas Bowl with Grier out of the lineup.
Of course, some schools have yet to name a starting quarterback so Athlon's list had to take that into account.
"You feel real good about a fifth-year guy because they act like a fifth-year guy and everything is slower for him and he makes everyone else around him better," West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen said about Grier last month.
The guy on the other side of the ball going up against Grier earlier this spring, defensive coordinator Tony Gibson, agrees with Holgorsen.
"Some quarterbacks won't even try and attempt throws that Will makes," he said. "We're in great position and this guy just puts it right where you need to put it where only his guy can get it. How good (is the WVU defense)? I don't know because there are times when Will made us look bad. Hopefully, we don't play anybody like him."
Athlon had this to say in picking Grier No. 1: "The Big 12's unquestioned No. 1 quarterback resides in Morgantown this season. Grier – a Heisman candidate and a likely All-America pick – is at the controls of one of the nation's top offenses. After sitting out 2016 due to transfer rules, Grier threw for 3,490 yards and 34 touchdowns in 11 appearances for West Virginia last fall. Additionally, the North Carolina native's eight completions of 60 yards or more ranked third nationally among all FBS quarterbacks. Grier missed two full games due to a finger injury suffered against Texas on Nov. 18 but will be back at full strength for 2018."
Just behind Grier in Athlon's QB ratings are Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, Penn State's Trace McSorley, Arizona's Khalil Tate and UCF's McKenzie Milton.
This year's other potential Big 12 starting quarterbacks on Athlon's list include Baylor's Charlie Brewer (No. 32), Iowa State's Kyle Kempt (33), Texas' Sam Ehlinger (34), Oklahoma's Kyler Murray (35), Kansas State's Skylar Thompson (54), TCU's Shawn Robinson (70), Oklahoma State's Dru Brown (77), Texas Tech's McLane Carter (97) and Kansas' Peyton Bender (108).
As for the other two Power 5 teams on this year's schedule, Tennessee's projected starting quarterback Keller Chryst, a graduate transfer from Stanford, is ranked No. 72 and Ryan Finley of NC State is ranked No. 13.
Finley has posted back-to-back 3,000-yard passing seasons and could be the best quarterback the Mountaineers face in 2018.
More Friday WVU sports notes …
* Another list, this one by NFL.com draft expert Chad Reuter, who came out with his preliminary list of the top college players heading into the 2018 season. He has wide receiver David Sills V at No. 17 and quarterback Will Grier at No. 18 among his top 50 players.You can read his full list here: http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000931599/article/top-150-college-football-players-to-watch-in-2018-nos-150
* Season tickets for the 2018 Mountaineer football season are on sale to the general public right now and can be purchased by logging on to WVUGAME.com or by calling the Mountaineer Ticket Office, toll-free, at 1-800-WVU GAME.
This is the year five Big 12 teams come to Morgantown, headlined by College Football Playoff participant Oklahoma on Friday, Nov. 23.
By the way, have you looked closely at West Virginia's November football schedule? The Mountaineers are at Texas on Saturday, Nov. 3, play TCU in Morgantown on Saturday, Nov. 10, go to Oklahoma State on Saturday, Nov. 17 and conclude the regular season with Oklahoma on Friday, Nov. 23 in Morgantown.
Wow, talk about challenging!
* With the schedule Dana Holgorsen's teams regularly face in the Big 12, plus the Power 5 non-conference games lined up this year against Tennessee and NC State and future teams coming on board down the line, it makes you wonder what the records of some of West Virginia's best-ever teams would have been playing this type of schedule.
Of West Virginia's 10-plus-win football teams, Don Nehlen's 1993 squad probably faced the most grueling slate of games against No. 17 Louisville, No. 4 Miami and No. 11 Boston College during the regular season.
Nehlen's undefeated 1988 team played just two nationally ranked opponents during the regular season - No. 16 Pitt and No. 14 Syracuse - before meeting No. 1-ranked Notre Dame in the national championship game in the Fiesta Bowl in Tempe, Arizona.
The 10-win team with probably the softest schedule was Jim Carlen's 1969 squad that faced just two teams with winning records that year - 11-0 Penn State and 6-4 Richmond.
In fact, No. 5 Penn State was the only ranked opponent Carlen faced during his four seasons coaching at West Virginia.
Syracuse was 5-5 and declining in 1969 under longtime coach Ben Schwartzwalder; Pitt was suffering through the Carl Depasqua years and Maryland was downright awful under first-year coach Roy Lester, like Schwartzwalder a WVU grad.
Kentucky won just two games and Tulane three while Southern Conference basement dwellers VMI and William & Mary won a combined three games between them that season.
If West Virginia is going to win 10 or more games these days, it is going to have to earn it!
* Twitter has a new user! Marc Bulger finally broke down and created an account to help promote The Marc Bulger Foundation, which benefits men and women in uniform. In just a couple of days, Marc has already accumulated nearly 2,000 followers.
Now, we've just got to get him to tweet a little bit more!
Well, I finally broke down and entered the world of social media. Looking forward to sharing exciting news about myself and my foundation!
— Marc Bulger (@MarcBulger10) May 7, 2018
* Lance Frazier was recently named head football coach at Kennett High in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. Frazier was a standout defensive back for coach Rich Rodriguez at West Virginia before spending a number of seasons in the NFL and Canadian Football League before retiring in 2012.
Most recently, Frazier was an assistant coach at Newark High in Newark, Delaware.
He also works at Kirk Middle School as a behavior interventionist. Lance continues to remain active with his alma mater as a member of the West Virginia University Alumni Association, Delaware Chapter.
* Bruce Irvin will be the first member of his family to earn a college degree when he participates in Saturday's West Virginia University commencement ceremonies at the WVU Coliseum. Irvin was named Walter Payton Man of the Year for the Oakland Raiders last December for his community endeavors, and he was also recently listed as one of the NFL's top 100 players, according to the website NFL.com.
* According to published reports, sophomore forward Teddy Allen is planning to transfer to Wichita State.
* The NBA announced its list of the 69 players officially invited to take part in this year's draft combine on Thursday, May 17 and Friday, May 18 at Chicago's Quest Multisport.Senior guard Jevon Carter and sophomore forward Sagaba Konate were invited from West Virginia and comprise 10 players from the Big 12 at this year's combine. The others are Udoka Azubuike, Devonte' Graham, Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk and Malik Newwan from Kansas, Mohamed Bamba from Texas, Zhaire Smith from Texas Tech, Kenrich Williams from TCU and Trae Young from Oklahoma.
Konate is one of several underclassmen without representation participating in this year's combine who can return to college if they chose to do so.
Players will play five-on-five games and perform strength and agility drills during the two-day event that will be televised nationally on ESPN2.
The combine is considered the first step in the draft process for NBA hopefuls.
* West Virginia University Director of Athletics Shane Lyons was in Charleston earlier this week to discuss the sports gaming bill passed by the West Virginia Legislature during its recent regular session. The meeting, which included Marshall athletic director Mike Hamrick and representatives from professional sports leagues and West Virginia's casinos, was organized by Governor Jim Justice.
The governor is considering calling a special session later this month to adjust the law, which comes ahead of a U.S. Supreme Court decision later this year considering the expansion of legalized sports betting.
* Earlier this week, the Mountaineer Athletic Club had strong turnouts in Wheeling, Parkersburg and Martinsburg as part of its annual spring tour of the state. Following a week off, the tour continues with golf at Pete Dye Golf Club in Bridgeport May 20-21, and then a two-city swing in the southern part of the state in Princeton on Tuesday, May 22, and in Beckley on Wednesday, May 23.
The MAC caravan will wrap up on Thursday-Friday, June 7-8, in Charleston with the 36thannual WVU Classic.
* The baseball team got an important midweek victory over Virginia Tech on Wednesday and now turns its attention to a critical three-game series at TCU this weekend. Injuries have played a role in the Horned Frogs' 27-18 record so far this year, but TCU is playing better of late having won eight of its last nine, including taking two out of three from Texas Tech.
West Virginia, 25-21 with seven games still remaining on the regular-season schedule, needs every victory it can get from here on out to remain in contention for an NCAA Tournament berth.
Losing two out of three at Kansas last weekend dropped West Virginia's RPI to 45 heading into this Wednesday's game against the Hokies.
WVU saw its 21-year NCAA Tournament drought end last year.
* Breaking down West Virginia's resume with two weeks left in the regular season, the Mountaineers are 9-1 in games against group 4 teams with RPIs 151 or lower, 6-4 against group 3 teams ranked 101-150, 5-3 against group 2 teams ranked 51-100 and 5-13 against group 1 teams ranked in the top 50.
The Mountaineers' best victory so far this season was their 1-0 triumph over No. 9 Texas Tech in Lubbock earlier this season. WVU's other top 50 wins have come against No. 20 Oklahoma State, No. 21 Texas and No. 23 Jacksonville.
What's left for West Virginia are No. 66 TCU, No. 199 Marshall and No. 54 Baylor to conclude the regular season.
And finally, veteran Mountaineer women's track and field coach Sean Cleary has two athletes with a legitimate shot of winning individual titles at this weekend's Big 12 outdoor championship in Waco, Texas.Madelin Gardner, from Williamstown, has the top mark in the conference in the pole vault heading into this weekend's action with a vault of 14 feet, 5 ½ inches.
That's the sixth-best mark in the country so far this year.
Also, Australian Amy Cashin is the meet favorite in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with the ninth-fastest time in the country this week.
WVU has had just one outdoor winner since joining the Big 12 in 2012 - that being Kaitlyn Gillespie, who won the women's 10K at the 2015 outdoor championships in Ames, Iowa.
Have a great weekend and Happy Mother's Day to all of the moms out there!
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's Basketball
Distance
/ Track & Field
Pole Vault
/ Track & Field
QB
/ Football
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/ Men's Basketball
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