By: Clark Johnson | WV Sports Chat
Morgantown, WV – The West Virginia University Football team completed their ninth spring practice on Thursday. Head coach Rich Rodriguez spoke with the media briefly, taking questions regarding the team’s progress to this point. After being mostly silent about signal-callers, Rodriguez was finally asked about the quarterbacks and their performance.
The first quarterback to receive an assessment was sophomore Scotty Fox.
Here is what Rodriguez had to say about Fox:
“Scotty is making good progress. You can tell he’s got some experience.”
Short, sweet, and to the point. No assessment of play, just a simple update on where he currently stands in relation to where he was to close the 2025 season.
Oklahoma transfer Michael Hawkins received the most acknowledgment from Rodriguez. While his current performance was not extensively addressed by Rodriguez, he expressed his pleasure with the rate at which Hawkins is picking up the offense.
“Mike Hawkins has done a really good job. He’s a little bit quieter but he’s really competitive and done a really good job of picking it up quickly. He’s spent a lot of time, I’m really pleased with how he’s grasped some of it.”
Given that Hawkins is in a new system and among the most exciting newcomers on the roster, it was to be expected that his adjustments to Rodriguez’s scheme would be a focal point of discussion.
The forgotten man in the quarterback race, Max Brown, also had his time in the spotlight during the press conference.
I think Max Brown has got a little bit better.”
Again, not much to chew on here. However, it does appear that he is pleased with the progress of the quarterback room.
While the competition is a three-man race between Fox, Hawkins, and Brown, another quote later in the discussion pointed to Fox and Brown being the front-runners for the job.
When discussing practice, Rodriguez claimed that Fox and Hawkins are the two quarterbacks on the roster that have not seen extensive “live” time during practice. During a “live” practice session, the black jerseys come off of the quarterbacks and they are allowed to be tackled by the defense. With Fox’s and Hawkins’s lack of participation in this format, it can be assumed that Rodriguez is simply trying to prevent injury to both of them.
Nevertheless, the quarterback competition in Morgantown is just getting started. Do not expect any announcements this spring – maybe even into fall camp and the first game on September 5th.
Stay tuned to WV Sports Chat for updates.
(Photo by WVU Athletics)
