Don’t Read Too Much Into WVU’s QB1 Choice in Week 1

Who's the starting quarterback going to be for West Virginia? Will Nicco Marchiol be given the first crack at it? Did Jaylen Henderson surpass him in fall camp? Does Max Brown have any shot? Are the young guys, Khalil Wilkins and Scotty Fox Jr. completely out of the conversation?

The answer to every one of these questions? It doesn't matter.

Why?

The schedule.

For the first time in eons, the Mountaineers will open up the regular season with an FCS opponent, followed by a Group of Six opponent, albeit on the road against a pretty scrappy Ohio team. Not having a bona fide starter by Week 1 isn't as big of a deal as it would have been in previous years or with a more challenging schedule out of the gate.

With all due respect to Robert Morris, the season opener shouldn't be close whatsoever. Assuming that is the case, Rich Rodriguez will want to get two, three, heck, maybe even four quarterbacks into the game. There's no better evaluation than real, live game action against another opponent.

Unless Rodriguez makes it clear in his postgame press conference that the first guy who trotted out is indeed the guy, I wouldn't read too much into it, especially if the first two guys have a similar snap count. How those guys perform in the opener could change how Rodriguez views that room and the order of it.

Why make a commitment to a guy and then said quarterback produces a clunker or not-so-thrilling day against an FCS team? If he believes there's a true starter, then this doesn't come into play. You commit to whoever that guy may be. This is only if he truly believes he has two or three options. Still, the opportunity to get multiple quarterbacks in the opener should present itself, and it would be silly not to take advantage of it. So don't be surprised if you see Nicco Marchiol, Jaylen Henderson, and Max Brown all get reps on August 30th. And shoot, he may have two quarterbacks hit the field before the end of the first quarter.

Last year at Jacksonville State, Rodriguez played Tyler Huff and Logan Smothers in the opener vs. Coastal Carolina. In Week 2 against Louisville, it was Huff and Zion Turner. It wasn't until Week 3 that he settled on Huff as the guy. From that point on, they won nine of their final 10 games.

Don’t Read Too Much Into WVU’s QB1 Choice in Week 1 — Here’s Why

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