Neal Brown shares where West Virginia's quarterback situation stands

West Virginia head coach Neal Brown doesn’t know who will start behind center on Saturday. After QB1 Garrett Greene suffered an ankle injury in West Virginia’s Week 3 win over Pitt, he did not play against Texas Tech this past weekend.

Instead, redshirt freshman Nicco Marchiol took his place. The inexperienced QB squeezed out a victory, completing 12 of 21 passes for 78 yards and a touchdown. He also threw two interceptions. On Monday, Brown provided an update on Greene’s injury.

“[Greene] was available on Saturday, but he did not warm up very well,” Brown said. “He could have been emergency ready, but we’d have had to help him out. I really don’t want to play him until he’s fully healthy. He didn’t make a whole lot of progress from Wednesday to Saturday.

“We’ll see what he has Tuesday and Wednesday [this week],” Greene said. “I really don’t have any more than that. If he can practice full-go on Tuesday and Wednesday, then he’ll play. If he can’t, then it’ll probably be the same, because then that would give him two weeks from Thursday to really get himself healthy.”

Before his injury, Greene was off to a hot start this season. In three games, the 5-foot-11 QB completed 36-of-47 passes for 402 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. Greene was patient for his moment.

The Florida native found intermittent snaps during his first two years with the Mountaineers. Nonetheless, Greene broke through at the end of last season, starting the final two games of the year. Now, he must fight to return to the field.

“I want to see if he’s healthy,” Brown said. “It doesn’t matter until he’s healthy. He won’t start unless he can play what his strengths are, which means he can run.”

Greene’s feet might be more dangerous than his arm. In three games, Greene rushed for 105 yards, averaging five yards per carry. He also jammed in a bruising touchdown on the ground against Penn State.

West Virginia will need Greene on Saturday against TCU. After falling to Colorado in their season opener, the Horned Frogs have rattled off three-straight victories, winning by an average margin of 25 points.

Despite TCU’s recent success, their secondary has proven weak. The team gives up 292.5 passing yards per game, the 10th-most in the nation. Green could have a field day, if healthy.

The two teams will square off on Saturday at 8 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2.