ESPN Thinks WVU Is ‘Living Dangerously’ at Quarterback — Here’s Why It Isn’t

West Virginia's quarterback situation is in a much better situation than what folks on the outside think.

WVU Athletics Communications

It's easy to look at stats on a sheet of paper (or your phone) and put those with the most experience and production at the top. That's understandable. But not every quarterback who lacks experience is created equal.

In the case of West Virginia, they could have entered the 2026 season running it back with Scotty Fox Jr. as the guy, with Max Brown and a couple of freshmen backing him up. That would have been living dangerously, right?

Well, you would think.

Instead, the current makeup of the room, which features the aforementioned names and Oklahoma transfer Mike Hawkins Jr., a former four-star recruit, mind you, is what ESPN's David Hale considers "living dangerously."

"Hawkins in two starts vs. Group of 5: 503 yards, six touchdowns, one turnover; Hawkins in three starts vs. SEC: 408 yards, one touchdown, four turnovers," Hale stated in his story, where he ranked all 138 quarterback situations. Hawkins was placed in Tier 14 of 25, yet was the only WVU quarterback mentioned in the piece, largely because that is where this thing is headed.

Other names Hale included in that "living dangerously" tier are Baylor (DJ Lagway), Boise State (Maddux Madsen), Florida State (Ashton Daniels), Illinois (Katin Houser), Kansas (Cole Ballard, Isaiah Marshall, Chase Jenkins), Minnesota (Drake Lindsey), UCLA (Nico Iamaleava), and Virginia (Beau Pribula, Eli Holstein)

Placing Hawkins in one of the top tiers now wasn't the expectation I had, but 14th? Living dangerously?

Sure, the overall numbers don't scream immediate fix, but if you watch the tape, understand the situation he was in (banged-up skill players, bad offensive line), you would take that production all day from a true freshman.

There is a reason why Oklahoma wanted to find a way to keep him in place and ready to take over the reins from John Mateer after 2026. There is a reason why several other Power Four schools, including some notable SEC programs, expressed interest in him when he entered the transfer portal.

The lack of production to this point is more of a product of Ben Arbuckle bringing his guy, Mateer, with him and having a number of key players on the sideline when he was thrown into the fire as a youngster.

For the first time in nearly a decade, the Mountaineers have a legit young talent at the quarterback position to build around, and you could argue that he is the best-kept secret in all of college football. That secret won't last forever, though.