West Virginia quarterback Will Grier to undergo surgery on hand

MANHATTAN, KS - NOVEMBER 11: Quarterback Will Grier #7 of the West Virginia Mountaineers throws a pass against the Kansas State Wildcats during the first half on November 11, 2017 at Bill Snyder Family Stadium in Manhattan, Kansas. (Photo by Peter G. Aiken/Getty Images) /

West Virginia lost to Texas on Saturday, and they’ll lose quarterback Will Grier for awhile too.

The West Virginia Mountaineers dropped to 7-4 this season with a 28-14 home loss to Texas on Saturday. While that loss was bad in some way, the bigger concern is the status of quarterback Will Grier, who suffered a bad finger injury while diving for the pylon at the end of a run in the first quarter (click the link at your own risk if you’re squeamish).

According to ESPN’s Jake Trotter, Grier broke the middle metacarpal in his right hand and will miss several weeks. He flew to Charlotte, North Carolina after the game, near his hometown, and will undergo surgery on Sunday afternoon.

A more firm recovery timeline for Grier should come after surgery. But he will definitely miss next week’s regular season finale against Oklahoma, and a return for the Mountaineers’ eventual bowl game has to be considered unlikely. Sophomore Chris Chugunov replaced Grier on Saturday, and he’s expected to start going forward.

Grier has had a great first season at West Virginia for head coach Dana Holgerson. Even after Saturday’s injury-shortened effort (6-for-8 for 50 yards) against Texas, the Florida transfer is top 10 in FBS in passing yards (3,490; fourth), passing touchdowns (34; tied for second), yards per attempt (9.0; ninth) and passer rating (162.7; eighth). Expand out to the top-25 of FBS signal callers, and Grier adds completion percentage to this notable rankings (64.4 percent; 23rd).

Since he’s a junior, Grier could declare for the 2018 NFL Draft. But that has always seemed unlikely, with what could be a loaded class of quarterbacks assuming most (or all) of the bigger name underclassmen (Sam Darnold, Josh Rosen, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson) go pro.

Next: NFL Draft 2018: Updated ranking of top 32 prospects

An injury to his throwing hand has to pretty much seal Grier’s decision to remain in school. He should enter 2018 as one of the top quarterbacks in the country, with legitimate NFL potential.

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