Getty Images West Virginia's Will Grier continues to dominate at WVU.
NCAA Quarterbacks tend to transfer schools all the time. While there are multiple reasons as to why it occurs, it’s always one of a few options. One being because the quarterback can find more playing time elsewhere. Two being that the quarterback didn’t fit the scheme with the current coach. And three being because the school kicked the player out.
A few years back, West Virginia Mountaineers superstar quarterback Will Grier was the star of the show at “The Swamp” for the Florida Gators. As a freshman, Grier had all eyes on him for his play, but it quickly turned to having all eyes on him for his year-long suspension due to PED use. After that, Florida apparently asked him to leave, and that’s when his time started in West Virginia.
Griers lone season in Florida was dominant. He finished off with over 1,200 yards, ten touchdowns, and three interceptions, with a passer rating of 145. After taking the year off in 2016, Grier came back to the Mountaineers with a vegenace. To this date, Grier has totaled up 6,108 yards, 62 touchdowns to 19 interceptions in the last season and a half.
Meanwhile, the quarterbacking situation out in Florida looks rough. Grier’s replacement, Feleipe Franks was just benched last week as he’s struggling to be an essential factor to the Gators success. And while all of this is going down in “The Swamp,” Grier is up in West Virginia with Heisman watch eyes all over him, and NFL scouts becoming intrigued. At this point, I think it’s safe to say that Florida may very well regret letting Grier walk.
The Former Staff Knows the Decision Was Wrong
It’s unfortunate when a new head coach doesn’t want to inherit what the previous guy had. That’s what happened to Grier. As he was trying to get his future sorted out with Florida with his suspension looming over him, the Gators coaching staff seemed to give up on him and dropped the ball. Instead, they were more worried about finding Grier’s replacement, rather than giving him another chance. Grier knew they were wrong, and so did his former coaching staff at the time.
Bleacher Report’s Matt Hayes recently ran a story on Grier, looking back at his final days with Florida and what occurred. At the time, Jim McElwain was the head coach of the Gators. His tenure didn’t last long, but losing out on keeping Grier on board was the first of a few moves that led to his demise with the Gators. While he wouldn’t make any recent comments on it, some anonymous assistants during that time knew that letting Grier walk was a mistake.
“It had everything to do with Mac wanting to win with his own guy,” one former Florida assistant told Bleacher Report. “Grier was [former Gators coach Will] Muschamp’s recruit. We were floored by it. You’ve got a guy that can win big in this league at that position? Those dudes are rare. Who cares if [Grier] liked hanging around his girl more than his teammates? That was the big knock on him; he wasn’t a team guy. Come on, man—because he liked spending time with his girl? We scored 38 on that Ole Miss defense with all of those NFL players!
“We knew right then it wasn’t just a big gamble—it was a decision that was going to bite us all in the ass.”
If you watched Grier back in his freshman season with the Gators, it was apparent that he was going to be a star one way or another. The fact that he was on everybody’s radar during his first season, then fell off due to suspension, and made his way back up to being better than ever is nothing short of remarkable.
Florida could’ve used Grier, which is unfortunate. But his rise to the top once again sure looks a lot better when he’s happy playing out in West Virginia for the Mountaineers. As Grier continues to dominate in his conference, we will see how the next step goes for him next spring when the NFL teams come calling. We’re sure that nobody will want to miss out him then.