Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks
Marchiol Demonstrated Impressive Growth in Last Saturday’s Road Win at Arizona
October 31, 2024 01:11 PM | Football
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – What a difference a year can make!
Last year, quarterback Nicco Marchiol was pressed into action when starting quarterback Garrett Greene injured his ankle on the third play of the Pitt game and had to come on in relief to manage a 17-6 Mountaineer victory.
The plan that night was to keep things conservative, rely on offensive linemen Zach Frazier and Wyatt Milum and WVU's strong running game and steer Marchiol clear of any killer mistakes. Nicco tried just nine passes, completing six, for 60 yards and a touchdown while running nine times for minus-5 yards.
A week later against Texas Tech, the plan again was to keep things simple, rely on the ground attack and not take too many chances down the field. Marchiol connected on 12 of his 21 passes for 78 yards and a touchdown; the defense was able to overcome both interceptions he threw, and he actually led the team with 72 yards rushing on 15 attempts.
The result was a 20-13 WVU win.
During last Saturday's 31-26 triumph at Arizona, the difference was profound, particularly coach Neal Brown's confidence in Marchiol's ability to operate the entire playbook.
Nicco made some critical downfield throws that were the difference in a much-needed road victory.
He completed passes in some tight windows, too, like the fourth-down hookup to Hudson Clement in the back of the end zone for WVU's second touchdown, or the critical third-down play to Clement when he had to get the ball over a linebacker and in front of the safety.
Two plays after that, Marchiol calmly eluded pressure to his right, stepped up in the pocket and fired a beautiful strike to Traylon Ray for a 54-yard touchdown – West Virginia's longest scoring pass of the season.
"The third down that he converted to Hud was big," West Virginia coach Neal Brown said earlier this week. "Then a couple plays later, he throws the long touchdown to Traylon, which was a great throw, too. He had some pressure coming to his right, and he did a nice job sliding up, and he threw a great ball to Traylon."
On the game's final drive, Nicco checked down to his third option and completed a 9-yard pass to running back Jaylen Anderson on third and 7 toward the far sideline that put the nail in Arizona's coffin.
Marchiol's passing figures included 18 completions in 22 attempts for 198 yards and two touchdowns. He targeted nine different players, including completions to running backs Jahiem White, CJ Donaldson Jr. and Anderson.
Tight end Kole Taylor caught three passes for 28 yards, and West Virginia's other tight end, Treylan Davis, hauled in another for 8 yards.
Marchiol's performance drew praise from Brown afterward and again during his Monday afternoon news conference when he met with media.
"He played really under control," the coach said. "He didn't do anything that hurt us, and I mean that in the most positive way. We put a lot on him in our read game. We struggled with our snaps, and I thought he did a great job of catching the football, which should be a given, but he had to make some difficult catches, and I thought he handled that.
"He made the correct decisions in the run game a high percentage of the time, but there were a few that he got wrong," he added. "He was really efficient on third downs, so I was pleased with him. I think about where he was in his last start against Texas Tech and where he was in this game over a year later and the progress he's made as a quarterback and as a football player, I'm really impressed with that. It's a credit to his work."
Brown broke down Marchiol's final throw last Saturday, which demonstrates his impressive growth as a college quarterback.
"We had a third-down play that was good for zone (defense), and we did a check-with-me on the sidelines. It was man, we checked to the man play, and Nicco executed it," Brown said.
"My initial thought, because of the play and the look that we got, it probably should have gone to Traylon Ray, who won on a slant on the back side of that combination," the coach pointed out. "That's really where my eyes were, and I saw him win, so I'm like, 'Okay, this is a positive play.' I'm kind of looking in that direction because Traylon is near our sideline where the ball probably should have gone. But I haven't asked Nicco about it yet.
"Then, I see the ball in the air to the right, so I really didn't have time to think about it. Jaylen makes the play, and I'm thinking we can kneel this one out thinking ahead to where the 40-second clock was," Brown said.
Anderson was Marchiol's No. 3 option on that play.
"For a young guy to get to your third read in a really high-pressure environment, that's a credit to him," Brown said.
Of the nine total offensive possessions West Virginia had last Saturday - by design Brown pointed out afterward, the coach said there were only two bad ones.
Moving forward, Brown said it's a moot point talking about the quarterback position until Greene becomes fully healthy.
"Garrett is still struggling a little bit," he noted. "It's hard to lose jobs when you are injured. Nicco played really well, and I'm happy for him, but I don't have a long-term answer right now.
"Has Nicco played well enough to deserve some playing time? Absolutely, but as far as starting, we are not going to talk about that until Garrett's healthy," Brown added.
Certainly, there's time for that later.
The 4-4 Mountaineers are idle this Saturday, which means those banged-up players will have extra time to get healthy before facing 5-3 Cincinnati on Saturday, Nov. 9 at Nippert Stadium.
The regular season concludes with home games against Baylor and UCF, and then a final road tilt at Texas Tech on Saturday, Nov. 30.
The Bearcats are also idle this Saturday.
Last year, quarterback Nicco Marchiol was pressed into action when starting quarterback Garrett Greene injured his ankle on the third play of the Pitt game and had to come on in relief to manage a 17-6 Mountaineer victory.
The plan that night was to keep things conservative, rely on offensive linemen Zach Frazier and Wyatt Milum and WVU's strong running game and steer Marchiol clear of any killer mistakes. Nicco tried just nine passes, completing six, for 60 yards and a touchdown while running nine times for minus-5 yards.
A week later against Texas Tech, the plan again was to keep things simple, rely on the ground attack and not take too many chances down the field. Marchiol connected on 12 of his 21 passes for 78 yards and a touchdown; the defense was able to overcome both interceptions he threw, and he actually led the team with 72 yards rushing on 15 attempts.
The result was a 20-13 WVU win.
During last Saturday's 31-26 triumph at Arizona, the difference was profound, particularly coach Neal Brown's confidence in Marchiol's ability to operate the entire playbook.
Nicco made some critical downfield throws that were the difference in a much-needed road victory.
He completed passes in some tight windows, too, like the fourth-down hookup to Hudson Clement in the back of the end zone for WVU's second touchdown, or the critical third-down play to Clement when he had to get the ball over a linebacker and in front of the safety.
Two plays after that, Marchiol calmly eluded pressure to his right, stepped up in the pocket and fired a beautiful strike to Traylon Ray for a 54-yard touchdown – West Virginia's longest scoring pass of the season.
"The third down that he converted to Hud was big," West Virginia coach Neal Brown said earlier this week. "Then a couple plays later, he throws the long touchdown to Traylon, which was a great throw, too. He had some pressure coming to his right, and he did a nice job sliding up, and he threw a great ball to Traylon."
On the game's final drive, Nicco checked down to his third option and completed a 9-yard pass to running back Jaylen Anderson on third and 7 toward the far sideline that put the nail in Arizona's coffin.
Marchiol's passing figures included 18 completions in 22 attempts for 198 yards and two touchdowns. He targeted nine different players, including completions to running backs Jahiem White, CJ Donaldson Jr. and Anderson.
Tight end Kole Taylor caught three passes for 28 yards, and West Virginia's other tight end, Treylan Davis, hauled in another for 8 yards.
Marchiol's performance drew praise from Brown afterward and again during his Monday afternoon news conference when he met with media.
"He played really under control," the coach said. "He didn't do anything that hurt us, and I mean that in the most positive way. We put a lot on him in our read game. We struggled with our snaps, and I thought he did a great job of catching the football, which should be a given, but he had to make some difficult catches, and I thought he handled that.
"He made the correct decisions in the run game a high percentage of the time, but there were a few that he got wrong," he added. "He was really efficient on third downs, so I was pleased with him. I think about where he was in his last start against Texas Tech and where he was in this game over a year later and the progress he's made as a quarterback and as a football player, I'm really impressed with that. It's a credit to his work."
Brown broke down Marchiol's final throw last Saturday, which demonstrates his impressive growth as a college quarterback.
"We had a third-down play that was good for zone (defense), and we did a check-with-me on the sidelines. It was man, we checked to the man play, and Nicco executed it," Brown said.
"My initial thought, because of the play and the look that we got, it probably should have gone to Traylon Ray, who won on a slant on the back side of that combination," the coach pointed out. "That's really where my eyes were, and I saw him win, so I'm like, 'Okay, this is a positive play.' I'm kind of looking in that direction because Traylon is near our sideline where the ball probably should have gone. But I haven't asked Nicco about it yet.
"Then, I see the ball in the air to the right, so I really didn't have time to think about it. Jaylen makes the play, and I'm thinking we can kneel this one out thinking ahead to where the 40-second clock was," Brown said.
Anderson was Marchiol's No. 3 option on that play.
"For a young guy to get to your third read in a really high-pressure environment, that's a credit to him," Brown said.
Of the nine total offensive possessions West Virginia had last Saturday - by design Brown pointed out afterward, the coach said there were only two bad ones.
Moving forward, Brown said it's a moot point talking about the quarterback position until Greene becomes fully healthy.
"Garrett is still struggling a little bit," he noted. "It's hard to lose jobs when you are injured. Nicco played really well, and I'm happy for him, but I don't have a long-term answer right now.
"Has Nicco played well enough to deserve some playing time? Absolutely, but as far as starting, we are not going to talk about that until Garrett's healthy," Brown added.
Certainly, there's time for that later.
The 4-4 Mountaineers are idle this Saturday, which means those banged-up players will have extra time to get healthy before facing 5-3 Cincinnati on Saturday, Nov. 9 at Nippert Stadium.
The regular season concludes with home games against Baylor and UCF, and then a final road tilt at Texas Tech on Saturday, Nov. 30.
The Bearcats are also idle this Saturday.
Players Mentioned
WR
/ Football
TE
/ Football
RB
/ Football
OL
/ Football
QB
/ Football
QB
/ Football
OL
/ Football
WR
/ Football
TE
/ Football
RB
/ FootballRich Rodriguez | Dec. 3
Wednesday, December 03
Reid Carrico | Nov. 29
Saturday, November 29
Jeff Weimer | Nov. 29
Saturday, November 29
Rich Rodriguez | Nov. 29
Saturday, November 29
