Holding a four-point lead with seven seconds remaining in the first half against Baylor, West Virginia quarterback Will Grier took the 1st-and-10 snap from the Bears' 16-yard-line. A quick three-step drop was followed by a bullet to David Sills V in the back of the end zone.
Snap to pass: 2.4 seconds.
The play was ultimately decided by Sills' ability to find the a hole in Baylor's zone, but Grier's quick trigger facilitated it, like it has so often this season. Following Saturday's near-flawless performance — 26-for-37 for 375 yards, five touchdowns and zero interceptions — the Mountaineers' junior quarterback now has 2,467 yards and 26 touchdowns on the season.
More than 65 percent of that production has come on passes thrown within 2.6 seconds after the snap. He is 134-of-166 (80.7 percent) for 1,891 yards, 17 touchdowns and zero interceptions on such passes for an FBS-leading passer rating of 284.3, according to Pro Football Focus.
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Grier and Sills connected on another touchdown on the first play of the second half, a 53-yard strike that Grier managed to release after 1.9 seconds despite the play being a run-pass option in which he spent half the time holding the ball in the belly of Justin Crawford.
Grier terrorized the Bears with the same passes that once made their own offense a quick, powerful and unstoppable one. Art Briles was a master at teaching his quarterbacks to get the ball out fast and allowing the receiver to thrive in open space. And now Grier is doing the same under first-year offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Jake Spavital.
Spavital was the Mountaineers' quarterbacks coach from 2011-12, when Geno Smith threw for 73 touchdowns and more than 8,500 yards. Though Smith had incredible improvisational skills and deadly pump fakes, much of his production came on quick drops and passes.
Minutes after the 53-yarder to Sills, Grier connected with Marcus Simms on a 43-yard touchdown pass that took 1.6 seconds to get from the hand of center Matt Jones to out of the hand of Grier.
Paralyzed by the quick passes, Baylor had just one sack and five tackles for loss in the game, which was a welcome sign for an offense that ranks among the nation's best in tackles for loss allowed but yielded four sacks the week before vs. Texas Tech.
“I don’t think a lot of people are recognizing because he didn’t play last year,” Sills, who has an FBS-leading 15 touchdown receptions, told DieHards this week. “By the end, I think people will be talking about Will as one of the best quarterbacks. I definitely see him as an NFL quarterback. He attacks every day like he wants to get better, so I think he’ll just keep getting better.”
And if he keeps attacking secondaries with as much speed and precision as he has during the first seven games of the season, he might enter the Heisman Trophy discussion.
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NEXT: The Hot Route Podcast: Andrew Doughty on the College Football Playoff Picture and Heisman Race
