MORGANTOWN — To say that West Virginia sophomore quarterback Geno Smith is a proven commodity would be an overstatement, obviously.

West Virginia did win the one game in which he played almost exclusively last year.

When starter Jarrett Brown was injured early against Marshall, Smith took the reins and well, he dropped them.

If only momentarily.

Four possessions

Four three-and-outs.

But the kid has moxie. After getting a grip, he got hot.

In the second half, he went 10-of-12 for 121 yards (he was 15-of-21 overall for 147 yards) and a 33-yard touchdown pass to Alric Arnett in a game WVU would win 24-7. And, more importantly, he had no turnovers.

For all the talent, his resume shows no championships.

“I played four years in high school and started all four years,” Smith said. “We probably lost five or six games. We never won a championship, though. We always lost the game before the championship.”

Smith, last year’s backup, is now the man. Not that he is approaching the preseason camp that way.

“It doesn’t change anything,” Smith said. “I treat practice, games and meetings all of the same way. Being the starter makes you want to prepare harder. It’s not that you want to be perfect, but you want to try your best. Being the starter is definitely different then being the back-up and doing the same thing every day.”

Coach Bill Stewart knows what he has in Smith.

“He is a competitor,” Stewart said. “Geno Smith is every bit of a competitor that we have ever had. I believe that all quarterbacks are that type of men, but I would put him at the top of the list.”

And that is why Smith hasn’t gotten over the Mountaineers’ 33-21 Gator Bowl loss to Florida State, and it wasn’t just the foot injury that he suffered which kept him out of most of the spring drills in April that he remembered. Smith entered that game late in the second quarter for an injured Brown and was 8-of-15 for 92 yards.

“I really hate to lose and I feel like we should have won that game,” Smith said. “There were many opportunities and a lot of plays that I could have made personally. It is what motivated me coming into this season; I took that game to heart.

 ”I understand losing is a part of the game and you want to win them all, but you can’t. It is something that you have to bounce back from and hopefully we will win them all this year.”

Exactly the words you want to hear from a guy who offensive coordinator Jeff Mullen said was neither a Pat White or a Jarrett Brown.

“Both Pat and Jarrett were both, physically speaking,  the best players on the field,” Mullen said. “Geno is not that kind of guy. He has the ability to distribute the ball to those guys.”

Smith had a simple explanation for his makeup as a player.

 ”I am just being myself.” Smith said. “The guys like me. I think I am a fun guy to be around. I am not big headed in any way. I am just a guy that wants to help our team and everyone win.”

Of course Stewart knows, with his QB missing spring drills, he still has a ways to go. He is, after all, an unproven commodity.

Geno Smith played pretty well (Tuesday),” Stewart said. “He has a long way to go as a lot of people do on the fourth day, but he looked really sharp at times.”

Beyond Smith, the Mountaineers are young but highly recruited quarterbacks Barry Brunetti and Jeremy Johnson are starting to master the offense.

“I am not really surprised at what Barry Brunetti or Jeremy Johnson has given us so far,” Mullen said. “We spent a very long time recruiting those guys. Talent wise, neither are a disappointment. Both are very talented kids. They are exactly what we thought they were on tape and what we saw live and in person.

“Barry is perceived as a good thrower, but he runs pretty well too. Jeremy is perceived as a good runner, but he throws the ball well. There are small differences but at the end of the day they are both very talented.”

But the Mountaineers will rely heavily on Smith, and the fact that he played last year, Stewart believes, will help.

“I don’t think he worries about that (where to go with the ball),” Stewart sid. “The great ones don’t. The great quarterbacks are more about what they are doing and moving the chains. I know he might hear things on the sidelines, but that’s what you communicate, and that’s why we’re teammates.

“Geno won’t spend much time thinking about that. He’s more worried about getting us in the right play and making the right read.”

— E-mail: demorrison@

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