Europe Bound Mountaineers

They flew out of Washington, D.C., Tuesday night and touched down in Frankfort, Germany, Wednesday morning. From there, they will spend the next two weeks in Europe, initially in Germany before splitting up and going to different locales — Greece, Italy or Holland. Head coach Neal Brown also will join the group for a few days in the middle of the trip.

The Chambers Elite Climbers is part of the Mountaineers’ 5th Quarter Program, which strives to provide developmental opportunities for West Virginia football players off the field.

Funded through a $1.6 million gift from WVU alums John and Elaine Chambers, the Chambers Elite Climbers is a two-year program that enables personal and professional growth opportunities for student-athletes. In the past, participants have gone to Pittsburgh and New York City to meet with industry leaders in entrepreneurship, innovation, technology, finance and communications.

“The program has been around for a few years, and it’s allowed us to meet some WVU guys who have been really, really successful in a variety of fields,” explained Greene shortly before departing Tuesday night.

“Now we’re going over to Germany to see how business is conducted across the pond, and we’ll get to experience some things culturally as well,” he said during an interview on the “MetroNews Statewide Sportsline.” “This is an incredible opportunity.”

Greene’s biggest concern is how his hefty teammates – in particular 6-foot-5, 326-pound Hubbard and 6-foot-5, 294-pound Malone — will handle the eight-hour non-stop flight from Dulles International to Frankfurt Airport while squished in the not-too-generous airline seats.

“I’ll take care of them,” the quarterback chuckled of his offensive linemen. “I’ll find a way to get them a seat upgrade.”

The trip is a mixture of fun and education.

“Just like football, there’s time for work and time for play,” noted the WVU QB from Tallahassee, Florida. “I think our itinerary is set up very well, so we will have opportunities to meet with people and learn things, but we’ll also have some free time.”

Before winging off to Europe, Green and his teammates promised WVU strength coach Mike Joseph that they would get to a gym and work out during their time away from Morgantown.

The Mountaineer quarterback also tucked a football into his suitcase and assured all that he’ll get in plenty of throws, despite being on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.