The West Virginia Mountaineers have launched a full-on assault for Will Grier and his senior Heisman Trophy campaign, starting with a minute-long video on Twitter. Grier, who transferred to the Mountaineers in 2015 and sat out a year in accordance with NCAA transfer rules, was a dual-threat against Big 12 defenses in his first season in Jake Spavital’s and Dana Holgorsen’s offense. Grier threw for the fourth-most yardage in a single season in WVU history with 3,490 yards in only 10-1/4 games. Grier threw for at least 300 yards in 9 of his 10 full games as a Mountaineer. The only game he didn’t break 300 was against the Oklahoma State Cowboys where he finished with 285 yards.
Grier also finished with the second most passing touchdowns in Mountaineer history. Grier threw for 34 touchdowns. Geno Smith, another Dana Holgorsen-led quarterback, threw for 42 in his only season as a Big 12 quarterback.
The Mountaineers have never had a Heisman trophy and only two Mountaineer players have ever won national awards. Dan Mozes, the All-American center for the Pat White/Steve Slaton team in 2006, won the Rimington Award, given to the best center in college football. Tavon Austin won the Paul Hornung Award, which is not considered a National Award, given to the most versatile player in college.
Heisman trophies are not always based on stats, they are also based on team records. Rarely are trophies given to players on .500 teams. If Grier and the Mountaineers are able to take advantaged of a rebuilding Big 12 and produce the season everyone is dreaming about, the Heisman trophy could reside in Morgantown.