Jaxon Potter makes 1st ODU start at Louisiana Tech

ODU is down to QB3, and Brett McMurphy had the name before kickoff.

Brett McMurphy

@Brett_McMurphy

Jaxon Potter will make his 1st start for ODU at Louisiana Tech, source told @On3. Potter started 3 games last season at Washington State. The Monarchs are w/out injured QBs Quinn Henicle & Ryan Huff

On3

@On3

Week 8 College Football injury report📋 Kamario Taylor, Trey’Dez Green, Avery Johnson, Texas, Alabama & more. View: t.co/PuJCpD6RKs t.co/Xmb3FHUzQX

Here's how it got this bad. Henicle got upended on a play at the end of the 1st half against Georgia Southern and has been ruled out for Saturday. Huff came in and played well in relief, going 9-of-14 for 121 yards and a touchdown. Now he's ruled out too. Both injuries are listed as undisclosed, so nobody outside the building knows how long either guy is out.

That leaves Potter, a 6-foot-5 junior who transferred in from Washington State on January 13, 2026. He isn't a total unknown. He started 3 games for the Cougars last fall and threw for 604 yards on 67-of-95 passing, with 4 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. That's a decent completion rate and a turnover number you'd like to see lower, but it's real college snaps, which is more than a lot of emergency QB3s bring with them.

The catch is he's barely played in Norfolk. He's had only a handful of snaps for ODU this fall, so his 1st real look at the offense comes in a road start, against a team that has its season rolling.

And this is not a soft landing spot. Louisiana Tech comes in 4-2 and 2-0 in the Sun Belt, the only unbeaten team left in the West, and it's going for a 4th straight win after beating UL-Lafayette 32-31, ULM 24-0 and Army 32-29. It's also homecoming at Joe Aillet Stadium. ODU is 2-5, 1-3 in conference play and last in the East. Even Sonny Cumbie, the guy whose team is favored here, said ODU's offensive problems come partly from the quarterback injuries.

So what's at stake? For ODU, a season that's already slipping away gets a very literal reset at the most important position on the field. For Potter, it's the audition every transfer QB wants: a full game to show he's more than the 3rd name on the depth chart. If he moves the ball in Ruston, the Monarchs suddenly have a real quarterback decision once Henicle and Huff get healthy. If he doesn't, it's a long ride home and a longer week. The game is on ESPN+, and the thing to watch is whether he can avoid the turnovers that showed up at Wazzu.