Since the wake of the ECU loss first rocked the boat, there have been complaints about WVU’s offense and how it’s been bland and lacking certain elements, most notably excitement. Where, the people wondered, are all he gadgets and the personnel combinations and bells and whistles everyone was talking about thoughout the spring and summer?

Why, one of the commenters here even reminded me of a wager we made in the preseason after I said Pat White would play some receiver.  The point was that nothing was as it was made to seem.

But there was a glimpse with the dubious double pass against Colorado and now comes something that’s either ingenuity or a shred of desperation. Jarrett Brown is going to play a position other than quarterback against Marshall.  

Brown won’t be a feature back and might not even get into the game, but there are indeed plans to make use of his ability.

“He’s a great athlete and obviously a big guy and we don’t have many big guys in our backfield, so he could potentially give us a little bit of a changeup,” running backs coach Chris Beatty said. “I don’t know how big the package would be for him or if there’d be a package. I think we’re still trying to work on exactly what we’re trying to do with him.

“But he’s too good not to be playing. Just because he’s playing behind the best athlete on the team and maybe the best in the nation, that doesn’t mean he shouldn’t play somewhere else.”

I’m not sure what to think other than it seems like a bizarre idea. O.C. Jeff Mullen would prefer to have Brown focus on QB, you know, just in case he’s needed there — “There’s an old saying. If you’ve got one, you’ve got none,” he said. Is it legit or is it a bone thrown to the hungry masses? And does the hungry mass throw the bone back?

A timely comment from jmbwvu suggests the answer is “Yes”: 

On a side note, if I have to hear another WVU coach say that J. Brown needs to get on the field I’m gonna lose it. I’m sorry, I haven’t seen any sort of eye-popping play he’s made in the past few years. And I also hear chatter about using him as a fullback. That’s a great idea, maybe he can get hurt throwing a block for #5 who also gets dinged up on the play and now we have Noodle Arm under center. Remember the guy who forgot that he wasn’t left handed on that trick play in Colorado?! Come on coaches, use your brain.