Doege Reflects on his Transfer to West Virginia

Jarret Doege became the first true freshman quarterback to start a game for Bowling Green since Brian McClure in 1982 after his first snap against Akron just three games into the season. He had one of the two greatest statistical seasons by a true freshman quarterback in Bowling Green history.

A native of Lubbock, TX, hometown school Texas Tech, where his brother, Seth, was the starting quarterback in 2011 and 2012, showed interest in Jarret and his 3,363 yards and 33 touchdowns as a senior also drew the attention from Houston, Texas, and Purdue, to name a few. Yet, Doege chose to travel halfway across the country to play at Bowling Green.

“At Bowling Green, I came in with a staff that came from Texas Tech, and I’d been growing up going to camps at Tech. So, I knew these guys really well - it was like family. My brother was on the staff - he was a receiver’s coach.”

Halfway through the 2018 season, Bowling Green announced the firing of head coach Mike Jinx. Scot Loeffler took over and didn’t retain Seth and co-offensive coordinator Kevin Kilmer, a 2007 Texas Tech graduate, and served under Mike Leach, Tommy Tuberville, and Kliff Kingsbury.

“All those guys ended up getting fired after the season, and so I decided that I wanted to try and go play big-time football at the highest level of competition," said Doege. "So, I jumped in the portal. I had a few calls from all kinds of different schools.”

Staying within the Texas Tech family, Doege chose West Virginia to play for head coach Neal Brown, the quarterback coach and offensive coordinator from 2010-2012.

Doege and Brown orchestrated 49-points from 499 yards and six touchdowns through the air on a day Mountaineer fans would like to forget. A top-five and undefeated West Virginia team rolled into Lubbock on a mid-October Saturday afternoon in 2012 and was sent back home with a devastating 35-point loss. Doege recalls being in the seventh or eighth grade at the time and remembers the game well. 

“I remember that game like it was yesterday, said Doege. “West Virginia came in, and they were ranked number three with Geno and Stedman Bailey and all those guys, and my brother hung like six touchdowns - it was 49 -14, and I ended up rushing the field.”

Doege and Neal's relationship formed going to camps at Texas Tech and remembers throwing balls with current Baylor quarterback Charlie Brewer while Brown evaluated them. 

“I had a relationship with Neal, so I came on a visit, he told me to come up here, come on a visit. Fell in love with it, committed, and just ready to go,” Doege said.

Now, Doege wants to flip the script and give Mountaineer fans a fonder memory of the Doege name. 

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