Rich Rodriguez flipped the roster building coming out of the winter and spring portal, West Virginia Mountaineers welcomed close to 70 new faces. A staggering number, even in today’s portal-driven world. That’s basically a brand-new team when you consider the 105-man roster cap. But now the portal dust has settled, the depth chart has taken shape, and new to NIL era, coach Rod’s question now isn’t if WVU has the dudes. It’s whether they’ve got the dude under center. The focus is on three veterans and the two young guns in the room. And that question is still wide open.
It’s made even more complicated by the options available. As Mike Asti of West Virginia Sports Now told JJ & Alex, “Yeah, that is the key. And right now, they’re in a quarterback competition, which Rich Rod will tell you. They haven’t announced anything. They’re not going to announce anything until week one, maybe even an hour before kickoff.” The incumbent is Nicco Marchiol, a former four-star from Arizona and a Neil Brown recruit. He stuck around despite not winning the job under the last regime and now gets another shot to claim it.
“The supporters of him will say he’s 4-0 as a starter, but if you look at his stats, guys, he literally was good in one game, and it was at Arizona, ironically. Like he had some wins with QBRs below 30, but they did win,” Asti said. “But he’s back. He does look way better, though. He has the arm strength. It’s not like he’s bad. He’s an adequate quarterback.” But can “adequate” win you a Big 12 title in 2025?
That’s where things get murky. “I have concerns if he can run the Rich Rod offense and be fast enough from what you guys know of Pat White and those guys that ran it. I don’t see him as that much of a burner,” Asti added. Then there’s Jaylen Henderson, the intriguing but unpolished Power Five transfer from Texas A&M. Originally at Fresno State, Henderson was forced into action in College Station late in the 2023 season and flashed real potential: 53-of-78 (67.9%) for 715 yards, six TDs, and two INTs across four starts, while also rushing for 104 yards and two scores. He has the résumé, but spring ball didn’t inspire much confidence. “He looked bad in spring, he looked really rusty. He overthrew pretty much everybody. So, we’ll see what he looks like coming up in fall camp,” Asti said.
Unless a wild-card transfer materializes—there’s no indication the Mountaineers are in on him—it’s down to Marchiol or Henderson. “I would lean and would imagine it’s going to be Nicco Marchiol getting the nod, but I don’t think he’s good enough to be a 9–10 win conference championship level quarterback. And that likely would be the issue of why they’re probably a six, seven win team at best right now,” Asti concluded. It’s a brutal truth: in today’s college football landscape, the difference between playoff-worthy and middle-of-the-pack often comes down to QB play. The 2024 surprises all had great signal callers. If WVU doesn’t, no amount of talent on the perimeter may save them. And there is talent in the room beyond those two.
Max Brown, a Florida transfer, saw action as QB2 in 2023 before an injury derailed his progress. Post-injury, he completed just 13-of-36 passes in 2024 and hasn’t looked the same since. There are flashes, but flashes don’t win football games in this league. The young bucks, Khalil Wilkins, Scotty Fox, just simply need time to develop. Wilkins is entering his third year in the program. Fox’s an intriguing dual-threat who could be the future of the program if his transition to college ball goes smoothly. Rich Rodriguez will need someone who can run his spread with pace, process quickly, and create off-script when protection breaks down, which it often will in this conference. August camp starts in less than 25 days. The clock is ticking, and the first game is only 50 away while a tough schedule awaits WVU.
Couch-burning season? Rich Rodriguez’s ready but the schedule is tough
Rich Rodriguez isn’t just bringing swagger back to Morgantown; he’s bringing lighter fluid, too. With West Virginia football staring down a loaded Big 12 schedule this fall, Rod is bracing for battle and celebration. And if the WVU pull off a program-shaking win? Well, the head coach isn’t hiding his plans for an old-school Morgantown tradition.
“I heard there’s a city ordinance against it, but if we win a big game this year, my a– is burning a couch. I’m going to pay the fine ahead of time or something. I don’t care,” he said. WVU fans haven’t had many reasons to spark one up in recent years. Signature wins at home have been few and far between, and wins over ranked opponents have slipped away like cheap matches in a gust of wind. But that could change quickly.
West Virginia’s 2025 slate is a grinder, but opportunity knocks — loudly — at Mountaineer Field. Utah, TCU, and Texas Tech, arguably some of the most talented teams in the Big 12 on paper, all have to visit Morgantown. That means Rodriguez and company will have a shot to flip the script in front of their own crowd. Road trips to BYU and Arizona State also offer swing-game upset potential.
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