MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Like many college graduates, Will Grier’s first job will come in his hometown. His job just happens to be NFL quarterback.
The Carolina Panthers, whose games Grier grew up attending, selected the West Virginia quarterback Friday night with the 100th overall pick in the NFL Draft, also known as the 36th pick in the third round.
Grier was the fifth quarterback taken in the draft behind Oklahoma’s Kyler Murray, Duke’s Daniel Jones, Ohio State’s Dwayne Haskins and Missouri’s Drew Lock.
Grier won’t have pressure to start right away for the Panthers, who have 29-year-old Cam Newton signed though the 2020 season.
It’s just another step in the journey for Grier, who is one of the most prolific quarterbacks in West Virginia history.
Grier ranks third in program history with 7,354 passing yards and second with 71 touchdown passes. He finished fourth in the 2018 Heisman Trophy vote, the best showing for a Mountaineer since Steve Slaton in 2006.
The Charlotte native transferred to West Virginia from Florida, where he started five games as a redshirt freshman before his suspension for testing positive for an over-the-counter performance-enhancing substance. Feeling unwelcomed by then-Gators coach Jim McElwain, he came to WVU and sat out a year due to NCAA transfer rules.
Grier found a home in Morgantown, where he saw the birth of his daughter, Eloise, in addition to excelling on the field.
WVU went 15-6 in games that Grier started and finished in his two years running the offense, including a dramatic 42-41 win at Texas that was clinched with his 33-yard rainbow to receiver Gary Jennings followed by Grier’s scramble for the go-ahead two-point conversion.
West Virginia QBs draft history:
39th pick: Geno Smith (2013)
44th pick: Pat White (2009)
44th pick: Oliver Luck (1982)
59th pick: Jeff Hostetler (1984)
100th pick: Will Grier (2019)
168th pick: Marc Bulger (2000)
174th pick: Rasheed Marshall (2005)
191th pick: Darren Studstill (1994)
317th pick: Major Harris (1990)