MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Ten more Saturdays must fall off the calendar before the Mountaineers host Penn State to open a season that carries the highest expectations in Neal Brown’s six-year tenure leading the WVU football team. Senior quarterback Garrett Greene has been in the program for four full years and he is preparing for the final act in a college career that began in 2020.
“It has flown by,” Greene said. “It seems like yesterday I was an 18-year-old freshman here right before COVID started. I really couldn’t be happier with my time here. And I am looking forward to putting together another good season.”
The Mountaineers are in the middle of summer phase of offseason workouts in preparation for August training camp. Greene says the short-term focus is not necessarily on preparing for Penn State just yet.
“Really our summer is not so much getting ready for the season but more getting ready for camp. In camp, we’ll do all the stuff that you do to prepare for Penn State, Albany and then Pitt. This summer, we are trying to get our bodies the fastest and the strongest that you can.
“For the football side, we’re really just trying to get in rhythm with the wide receivers, especially the new guys like J-Rob [Justin Robinson]. Jaden Bray was here in the spring but there’s still some timing stuff that me and him have to work out. That’s really the main focal point of the summer.”
In between the end of the spring semester and the start of summer workouts, Greene was able to visit his father Charlie, who was promoted to bullpen coach for the Milwaukee Brewers this season. Greene has spent two decades in the Brewers’ organization, working in a variety of roles.
“He is loving it. They have a really young team. They are scrappy and they just find ways to win ball games. They are up by a few games in the [NL] Central. Hopefully they can continue to do that.”
Greene was one of several players to participate in the Third Annual Country Roads Trust Youth Football Clinic on Tuesday.
“I grew up in a locker room. So I grew up looking up to guys like Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder, Yovani Gallardo, Martin Maldonado, Jonathan Lucroy, all these guys. I could go forever. I wanted to do everything they did.
“It is the same with some of these kids that they want to emulate their favorite player. I think it is really cool that Country Roads Trust puts on a camp like this and we are able to interact with so many young fans.”
WVU recently added BYU transfer Ryder Burton to the roster as the team’s fourth scholarship quarterback.
“Ryder is an awesome dude. He really came in in kind of a unique situation. Me and him have been hanging out a lot and doing a lot of stuff together. He is really looking forward to learning and developing, especially in Coach Brown’s offense. I am super-encouraged with his work ethic and how he has been practicing and how good of a person he is.”
In between summer workouts, Greene has been able to get in a few rounds of golf, and he says his game is in good form.
“The golf game is pretty solid. Don’t ask the other three quarterbacks who played against me [Monday], don’t ask them who won. Scottie [Kean], Ryder and Nicco [Marchiol], don’t ask them who won. But the game is in a really good place right now. Hopefully, we can keep it that way.”