The quarterback situation at WVU this spring was anything but hopeful. The buzz around Morgantown was more about mourning the loss of one of the best statistical signal callers that the Mountaineers have ever seen in Geno Smith. The spring game left fans in that same position, with neither Ford Childress or Paul Millard thrilling the crowd, or coaches for that matter. There was one exciting piece of information floating around that day, however. And no, I don’t mean the new slick uniforms that were unveiled prior to the game. What were fans talking about on April 20, 2013? They were talking about a quarterback from Florida State who was trying to decide where to transfer to.
Clint Trickett is a special case in college football and possibly a godsend for the Mountaineers. Trickett still has two years of eligibility left because of his graduate student status and he can step on the field immediately. If anyone thinks that Trickett isn’t going to start the 2013 season, you need to think again.
Here’s what we know.
Trickett received some decent playing time at FSU. He threw 106 passes as a backup in his career and ammassed 947 yards in three years. He threw seven touchdowns and four interceptions. He also ran a touchdown down in. When he entered into camp with FSU, he thought his experience would carry him into the starting role after EJ Manuel was the first quarterback selected in the NFL Draft. That didn’t seem to be the case. So he picked up his bags and left for a team that would allow him to start. And he landed in West Virginia.
West Virginia is a familiar place to Trickett. His father, who’s an offensive line coach at FSU now, coached at WVU for seven years during Trickett’s childhood. But the real draw for Trickett? I’m going to guess that he and Dana Holgorsen had a nice long talk about who would likely receive the starting spot.
Just think about it. Why would Trickett transfer to a team that he would only “compete for a job”? That’s what he was doing at Florida State. Of course coaches aren’t going to tip their caps to who will start, but if I were in Vegas, my money would be on Trickett.
