MORGANTOWN - Jarrett Brown hasn't played in a football game for West Virginia in more than a month because of a thigh bruise that made it painful even to walk and a shoulder so sore that for a while he couldn't raise his arm above his chest without excruciating pain.
MORGANTOWN - Jarrett Brown hasn't played in a football game for West Virginia in more than a month because of a thigh bruise that made it painful even to walk and a shoulder so sore that for a while he couldn't raise his arm above his chest without excruciating pain.
Neither is expected to be a problem when the Mountaineers resume play a week from Saturday at Louisville, and Brown should return to his dual roles as Pat White's backup at quarterback and the centerpiece of the Big Brown package in which he steps in as a slot receiver, a running back or a shotgun quarterback in short-yardage situations.
Why might that make a big difference? Well, because in the only two games in which he played healthy - Marshall and Rutgers - Brown added a dimension to the West Virginia offense that worked very well. And while some fans criticized his performance as White's fill-in at quarterback in the next game, against Syracuse, know that had White not been hurt, Brown would have shut himself down a week earlier than he did because of his injuries.
The bottom line is that he was in no better physical shape when he played that full game at quarterback against Syracuse on Oct. 11 than when he spent the past month on the sidelines.
"I wasn't able to lift my shoulder,'' Brown said. "I wasn't able to throw the ball.''
But the chance to make a start at quarterback hasn't come along too often during his three years as White's understudy, so what's a little bit of debilitating pain and a throwing shoulder that doesn't work?
"Yeah, I should have played,'' Brown said with a wide grin.
Here's one of those unintended consequences of playing with such baggage: In doing so, Brown probably tarnished his reputation a bit. He certainly didn't do so among West Virginia's players and coaches, but fans looked at his performance against Syracuse and certainly began wondering if this was the guy who is White's heir apparent next season.
In previous relief efforts, Brown had been sterling, including a pressure-packed performance in the 2006 regular-season finale when he led the Mountaineers to a three-overtime win against a Rutgers team that was playing for a BCS bowl berth. He performed with less ultimate success a few times, too - most notably in a loss to Pitt last season - but remember, White was no better in that game.
Against Syracuse, Brown was, to be kind, average. He completed 14-of-20 passes for just 52 yards. He threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Jock Sanders, but that was just a little bubble screen. His longest completion was 12 yards. Oh, and he ran eight times, but for just 18 yards and was sacked twice. And all of this came against one of the worst teams in college football.
Still, West Virginia won 17-6, and Brown could go to the training room with a smile on his face, even if fans who had booed the coaching staff's play calls throughout the afternoon were less than enamored of his performance.
"That doesn't bother me. We got a win,'' Brown said. "But it kind of affected our play calling because of my shoulder and my thigh. How can you play without a shoulder and a thigh?''
MORGANTOWN - Jarrett Brown hasn't played in a football game for West Virginia in more than a month because of a thigh bruise that made it painful even to walk and a shoulder so sore that for a while he couldn't raise his arm above his chest without excruciating pain.
Neither is expected to be a problem when the Mountaineers resume play a week from Saturday at Louisville, and Brown should return to his dual roles as Pat White's backup at quarterback and the centerpiece of the Big Brown package in which he steps in as a slot receiver, a running back or a shotgun quarterback in short-yardage situations.
Why might that make a big difference? Well, because in the only two games in which he played healthy - Marshall and Rutgers - Brown added a dimension to the West Virginia offense that worked very well. And while some fans criticized his performance as White's fill-in at quarterback in the next game, against Syracuse, know that had White not been hurt, Brown would have shut himself down a week earlier than he did because of his injuries.
The bottom line is that he was in no better physical shape when he played that full game at quarterback against Syracuse on Oct. 11 than when he spent the past month on the sidelines.
"I wasn't able to lift my shoulder,'' Brown said. "I wasn't able to throw the ball.''
But the chance to make a start at quarterback hasn't come along too often during his three years as White's understudy, so what's a little bit of debilitating pain and a throwing shoulder that doesn't work?
"Yeah, I should have played,'' Brown said with a wide grin.
Here's one of those unintended consequences of playing with such baggage: In doing so, Brown probably tarnished his reputation a bit. He certainly didn't do so among West Virginia's players and coaches, but fans looked at his performance against Syracuse and certainly began wondering if this was the guy who is White's heir apparent next season.
In previous relief efforts, Brown had been sterling, including a pressure-packed performance in the 2006 regular-season finale when he led the Mountaineers to a three-overtime win against a Rutgers team that was playing for a BCS bowl berth. He performed with less ultimate success a few times, too - most notably in a loss to Pitt last season - but remember, White was no better in that game.
Against Syracuse, Brown was, to be kind, average. He completed 14-of-20 passes for just 52 yards. He threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Jock Sanders, but that was just a little bubble screen. His longest completion was 12 yards. Oh, and he ran eight times, but for just 18 yards and was sacked twice. And all of this came against one of the worst teams in college football.
Still, West Virginia won 17-6, and Brown could go to the training room with a smile on his face, even if fans who had booed the coaching staff's play calls throughout the afternoon were less than enamored of his performance.
"That doesn't bother me. We got a win,'' Brown said. "But it kind of affected our play calling because of my shoulder and my thigh. How can you play without a shoulder and a thigh?''
Despite the pain in his shoulder, Brown was even asked to throw a few downfield passes right at the outset.
"We had to,'' Brown said. "We had to send a message.''
Brown developed his various aches and pains in the two games prior to Syracuse. That's when he was used first as a utility player against Marshall, lining up all over the field, and then a week later against Rutgers, when his 6-foot-4, 222-pound body was used primarily as a short-yardage weapon. While White would move to a receiver position, Brown would line up a shotgun quarterback - usually in an empty set - take the snap and pick a hole. The play worked most of the time, although Rutgers stuffed it in the fourth quarter on a key fourth-down try.
West Virginia's coaches and trainers knew how much Brown was hurting, but they were bruises and muscle pains, not something that was going to put him at risk of serious injury if he kept playing.
"They knew how hurt I was. I just had to fight through the pain,'' Brown said. "It probably didn't look like it, but it was killing me.''
Coach Bill Stewart and offensive coordinator Jeff Mullen also tried to shield Brown through their play calls, some of the same ones that elicited boos from the crowd.
"It wasn't that bad,'' Brown said, referring to the hits he took in the Syracuse game. "Coach Mullen did a great job. He protected me that game, not running me into the line. ... Pat was hurt. I protected Pat and Coach Mullen protected me.''
When Brown returns against Louisville, he'll be healthier and smarter. Part of the reason he was hurt was because of his own disregard for his body, especially in the Rutgers game. He crashed into defensive linemen, linebackers, safeties, anyone who got in his way on those short-yardage runs. And he has the bruises to prove it.
He may have to do it again as a short-yardage back, but Brown seems to have learned to pick his spots.
"I don't know why, but I felt like running over somebody that game,'' Brown said. "I guess I was really trying to be a fullback. Now I'm going to be more of a runner, a mobile runner. I can't be out there just running over people. But I will for that one yard, though.''
Reach Dave Hickman at 348-1734 or dphickm...@aol.com.
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If JB is not 100% healthy as the back-up QB and Pat, God forbid, would get dinged up, we would be Pitt outta luck. If we are in need of short yardage, and just absolutely need to run it up the gut, please use somebody else. Zac Cooper, Jello, Urban-anyone but not JB.
Article - Jarrett Brown is very good and I was sad to hear the boos during the Syracuse game. I'm glad they kept him on the bench and have rested him. I pray that he is used to his full potential against Louisville and shows the nation how great he is.
Let's GOOOOOOOO...Mountaineers!!
But he's becoming injury prone so we need to be developing either Bradley Starks or a freshman (soon) to back up Brown. We're fortunate to have Brown backing up White. We need the same next year as someone subbing for Brown with no game experience will bury us.