Hawkins named West Virginia's starting quarterback
Oklahoma transfer Michael Hawkins Jr. beat out Scotty Fox Jr. for the job, and Rich Rodriguez isn't hiding why: "He can run. He can throw."
Hawkins gets the job
West Virginia is going with the transfer. Michael Hawkins Jr., who spent two seasons at Oklahoma, has been named the starter for the September 5 opener against Coastal Carolina, beating out sophomore Scotty Fox Jr. for the job, according to a report from the Dominion Post. Rich Rodriguez kept the competition close to the vest all camp before confirming it, telling reporters, "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."
The scouting report from his coach was about as short and blunt as it gets: "He can run. He can throw." That is the whole pitch for a Rodriguez offense built on the read-option, and it is exactly why Hawkins' legs were the separator. He started seven games as a true freshman for the Sooners in 2024, throwing for 783 yards and three touchdowns, then backed up John Mateer in 2025 before hitting the portal looking for a starting job of his own. He found one in Morgantown.
A camp with no room to waste
Rodriguez has been blunt about how little time he actually has this month. "I can't remember a time of not even having two weeks of practice, of camp, and that's it, and school starts," he said, per WVU Sports Now. "There is a sense of urgency to try to get as much done when we got all ball last week and this week, and then next week when school starts, it's going to be a little bit more limited." The quarterback decision came out of that same compressed window — scrimmages standing in for the practice reps a normal camp would have had.
It is not just Hawkins the staff is still sorting out. Rodriguez has said the goal at every spot is depth, not just a starter: "You hope to have at least two at every position who are good enough to win with." With the transfer portal technically still an option — "we have a couple spots open that we can add a guy or two, but right now we just have it on pause," he said — the roster Hawkins leads onto the field September 5 is still being finalized in real time.
Last season ended on a sour note
West Virginia's 2025 season closed with a stretch that had a little of everything. The Mountaineers won at Houston 45-35 and beat Colorado 29-22 at home, then lost at Arizona State 25-23 before finishing the year with a 49-0 shutout loss to Texas Tech last November — a finale that had nothing in common with the two wins that preceded it.
That kind of week-to-week swing is exactly what a new quarterback is supposed to smooth out, and it is why the Hawkins decision matters more than a typical QB1 announcement would. A team that could beat Houston by 10 and lose to Texas Tech by 49 in the same six weeks is a team still looking for its footing, and camp is where Rodriguez is trying to find it before the games start counting again.
A new coach and a new QB room across the field, too
Coastal Carolina brings its own reset to Morgantown. First-year head coach Ryan Beard arrived from Missouri State along with quarterback Deuce Bailey, who threw for 335 yards and two touchdowns in three games there last season and earned Conference USA Freshman of the Week honors, per Coastal Carolina's own preview. He is competing with junior college transfer Tre Guerra for the job, so there is a real chance both starting quarterbacks in this one are making their first start for a new program on the same afternoon. The Chanticleers were picked fifth in the Sun Belt East in the preseason coaches poll.
West Virginia opened as a 21.5-point favorite with the total set at 58.5, and given everything still unsettled on both sidelines — a new starting quarterback here, a whole new staff and QB battle there — that number reads as much about roster continuity as anything else. Milan Puskar Stadium hosts on September 5 vs. Coastal Carolina, and it will be the first real look at what Hawkins' Mountaineers actually are.