By: James Gravley | WV Sports Chat
You read the headline right. There’s a possibility that all five quarterbacks on West Virginia’s depth chart sees some playing time on Saturday against Robert Morris.
Here is the official depth chart for WVU ahead of the Robert Morris game:
As you can see, all five quarterbacks are listed. And there is a chance that all five see the field on Saturday.
Nicco Marchiol is listed first, so I would assume he gets the start Saturday, but that doesn’t clearly mean he will play the whole game. Rich Rodriguez even stated he wouldn’t pull a guy for one bad play, per se. But, there is a chance that WVU runs out multiple quarterbacks on Saturday.
Rodriguez confirmed those rumors on Monday night.
“Typically, some coaches will say you can’t…I would never put a quarterback in and tell them listen, you screw up, I’m pulling you out. I don’t want them to play with fear. I want them to go out there and be confident. So, I’m not going to yank a guy because he makes one bad play. But there are certain plays that certain quarterbacks do better than others,” he said on his show on Monday night.
He’s also not shying away from playing multiple quarterbacks either.
“If you have the ability to do it and they can run most of your offense and they can help you win, why not? I’m not adverse to playing multiple quarterbacks, like somebody wouldn’t be adverse to playing multiple defensive ends or defensive tackles. But typically, when a guy is hot and a drive is going, we don’t want to sub at all. And if we do sub, we’re very purposeful when we sub. In other words, it’s going to be when there’s a delay in the action.”
Marchiol likely gets most of the work on Saturday, but Texas A&M transfer Jaylen Henderson will see some playing time. And with Rodriguez’s comments, it’s safe to say, depending on how the game is going, there is a chance that WVU runs out Max Brown, Scotty Fox or even Khalil Wilkins. However, I don’t think all five will see time Saturday, but all five will see some time on the field at some point this season.
As for Fox, Rodriguez has openly stated he has the quickest release of any quarterback he’s ever seen.
You can read our “Know Thy Enemy” story that goes into detail what Robert Morris brings to the table against WVU below.
WVU and Robert Morris kickoff Saturday at 2:00 pm on ESPN+.
Photo: Parker Szwejbka / WVSN
