Shanna Rose | WV Sports Chat
FRISCO, Texas- The West Virginia football team is poised to have a healthy competition for the starting quarterback role this fall between Scotty Fox and Oklahoma transfer Michael Hawkins.
In his second season back with the Mountaineers, head coach Rich Rodriguez saw another large roster turnover but he is not too concerned that it will hinder the team’s success.
“We kind of flipped the roster again, 80 new guys again this year,” Rodriguez said. “We just had to because we had a lot of seniors last year. We had a little bit more money this year, a lot more time, a little bit more intent on who we wanted to get out of the portal. So now we’ve only got, I think, 14 or 15 seniors.”
WVU went out and targeted experienced players capable of making an immediate impact rather than betting on long-term potential.
“But we wanted to have competition at every position and legitimate competition, and we wanted guys that had production, not potential,” Rodriguez said.
That philosophy extended to the quarterback room, where Fox returns after seeing action as a true freshman and the addition of Hawkins to compete for the starting job.
Last season Fox saw action in seven games while making five starts. The Mentor, Ohio native was the first true freshman quarterback to start since Fred Wyant in 1952 and he finished with two games of 300 yards or more passing.
Against Arizona State, Fox completed 19-of-31 passes with 353 yards and two touchdowns while surpassing Wyant (867) for most passing yards in a season by a true freshman quarterback in program history.
For the Sooners, Hawkins saw action in two games, where he completed 15-of-27 passes for 167 yards, three touchdowns and a long of 32 yards.
“So at the quarterback spot, Scotty coming back. He played as a really young true freshman last year and competed well. He’s gotten better,” Rodriguez said. “But we wanted a guy that we think can compete for the starting job and maybe take us to another whole level, and that was Mike Hawkins, who had a great spring. He can run. He can throw.”
The biggest takeaway from spring practice wasn’t the physical abilities of either quarterback, but how quickly each operated within the offense.
“The thing that I thought was most impressed with Mike and Scotty both in the spring is their decisiveness,” Rodriguez said. “A lot of times the quarterback is still learning the system and they hang on to the ball too long or they hesitate, and Mike and Scotty were both really, really decisive in their actions.”
While the quarterback competition remains open entering preseason camp, Rodriguez believes the position is in good hands.
“I’m excited about those two leading the charge there,” Rodriguez said. “But I also think we were able to get competition at just about every position.”
The Mountaineers hit the portal hard this offseason and those additions were chosen because they had already proven they could produce at the collegiate level.
“We looked more for production as opposed to potential, guys that have been very productive, whether it’s at a Group of Five school or what have you, that started and played in college games and wanted to try to play at the highest level,” Rodriguez said.
WVU opens the 2026 season on Sept. 5 against Coastal Carolina at Milan Puskar Stadium.
Photo Credit: WVU Athletics
