MAILBAG: Eval on Marchiol, Scotty Fox's Role, RB Options, Horrendous O-Line, + More

Good Monday morning, Mountaineer fans! It's time to crack open this week's West Virginia On SI mailbag.

From @davidbailey1400:

Q: My question is, how bad are we when we go back to a left-handed Neal brown leftover? We are done.

A: Whether he's left-handed or not doesn't matter. They aren't done. They just need to find answers and fast.

Q: There's not one soul in Monongalia County that will admit it, but our linemen are not nearly strong enough to compete. The deficit is especially glaring in their ability to drive with their legs. Do you see the same thing?

A: Oh, yes. There's zero push/movement up front. Many of the issues have stemmed from the play of the guards. What's more alarming is they played the same five all game, which means they don't feel too good about what's behind them.

From @clayButter:

Q: 1. Factoring in the opponent, is that the worst offensive performance in WVU football modern history? 2. Is the o-line to blame? Our run game hasn't looked that bad in years.

A: If it's not number one, it's pretty darn close. I'd probably say the bowl game against Utah in 2017 was just about as bad. The o-line is certainly to blame. Can't do anything with that level of play.

From @z_mccoy06:

Q: What was the snap count for Singleton and Bowers? How are each of them only getting one touch for the entire game?

A: Singleton had 18, Bowers 6. A lot of it has to do with knowing what to do, or the coaches' feeling comfortable knowing they know what to do. I expect we'll see more of them this week.

From @JordanWVU07:

Q: People are going to put a lot of blame on Nicco, but the offensive line got absolutely dominated today. At what point do we give Scotty Fox a chance? At a minimum, he can grow as the season goes along.

A: Nicco deserves some blame, too. He didn't play well at all. No one on that side of the ball did. Have to be careful throwing Fox out there, especially when the o-line has played as poorly as it has. You don't want him to develop bad habits or get hurt.

From @WVU_Sports_Fan:

Q: I’ve been a Nicco supporter, but it doesn’t seem like he can run this system. Not sure Jalen adds much more. Do we give Scotty a chance, or what is the plan at QB?

A: He can; he just needs protection. Without it, he can't be successful as those who have wheels to run from it. I'm not going to pretend to know what the plan is at QB, but I would imagine Nicco/Jaylen split time this week with Nicco starting.

From @Simmonswv:

Q: Is the O-line really that bad, or is Ohio's defense settled in and really good?

A: Ohio's d-line is not as good as WVU made it look. They couldn't do a thing against Rutgers. Just really bad o-line play, in my opinion.

From @baNarDeaux4real:

Q: After seeing this game, this is a 1-win team. If we win more, that’s great. How much of this do you think is due to poor play calling, or is it a lack of talent, OR is this a lack of knowing the roster?

A: They'll win more than one game, but not sure how many more than one. Some of it's play-calling, but a lot of it is just a lack of execution, to be honest. Receivers were open all day, and Marchiol wasn't getting the ball to them or physically couldn't get the ball to them because of the pressure.

From @Tricojoe:

Q: Is it possible that our new basketball coach recruited as poorly as our new football coach? I need something to look forward to.

A: It's still a little early to tell on the football side, but the early returns aren't great. Basketball, I'm not a huge fan of the depth there. Hate to rain on your parade of hope, but I'll need to see some things from them early to believe they are a tournament team.

From @cstalker19:

Q: I've asked you this before… but I’ll do it again. Why? Why are these teams the way that they are? On the offensive side, there's a trend over the last decade to try and run plays the whole game that just aren't working (I.e., draws). Ohio is a fine team, but it's an inexcusable loss.

A: I wish I had the answers, my friends. It's absolutely an inexcusable loss. There's no way around it. Even with 81 new players, you should be able to win that game. Ohio tried to give that one away. I mean, they turned the ball over three times, and you did nothing with it.

From @wvufan2023:

Q: Are we cooked after this? Just such a disgusting performance tonight, and with all of the injuries that we had, I don’t see this team making it anywhere.

A: For 2025? Maybe. They will improve as the season moves along. Rich's teams have historically been much better in November than they were in September, so I wouldn't throw in the towel just yet. The injuries certainly don't make anyone feel all warm and fuzzy.

From @ToddMeadows4:

Q: Does Rod teach Nicco to hold onto the ball until the pocket collapses? He did it all day. Deer in the headlights.

A: No. He's had a habit of holding on to it and absorbing pressure when it collapses. He knows he can't outrun defenders, so once the play is covered up, it's typically trouble.

From @KuzULuz:

Q: When is this football program going to be relevant again?

A: Could happen next year. Nationally relevant? Maybe four or five years. Really hard to put a timeline on rebuilds nowadays with the portal.

From @daminals76:

Q: Has WVU ever lost to a MAC team before?

A: Hey, everyone! It's our first-ever Pitt fan in the mailbag! Welcome aboard. Not sure if you knew, but Pitt just lost to one in December. To make it worse, Toledo finished 7th in the MAC. Ohio won the league. They also lost to Western Michigan in 2021, AKRON in 2014, Youngstown State in 2012 (not even in FBS), and Bowling Green in 2008.

From @bobmadigan_wvu:

Q: Which had the worse day, the o-line protecting the QB or the D with tackling?

A: O-line by far, which is saying a lot when your defense has 21 missed tackles. The defense at least did its job for the most part, even with all the missed tackles. The o-line did almost nothing right.

From @DezCaughtDatB88:

Q: How many of Rich’s first class decommits by signing day?

A: You'll have some here and there, but it's not a direct result of the wins and losses as you might expect. Some just believe they have a higher ceiling elsewhere and WVU's staff may even back off of them after seeing them during their senior year.

From @steelers_wvu:

Q: Seriously, why was Clay Ash the backup running back when you have the speed of Bowers and the tank of Edwards? Also, why didn't they mix in Fox at QB to run some plays when the offense was stagnant?

A: Ash understands the offense the best, I would assume. At some point, though, Bowers and Edwards absolutely have to get more involved. They're too talented to be sitting on the sidelines. As for the Fox question, I don't think you want to put that pressure on him for one and two, don't use one of his redshirt games in a game where the o-line is horrendous, as is the offense as a whole.

From @wvuremfan:

Q: Losing both your starting RB and WR, as well as your best LB, creates opportunity. Who is stepping up?

A: Need Bowers and Edwards to get going at RB. At receiver, Jeff Weimer and Justin Smith-Brown are who I'd look to. And at linebacker, they need better play from Ashton Woods. Ben Bogle will be key as well, but Woods needs to be much better.

From @GpDubV:

Q: When does WVU basketball season start?

A: 57 days, my friend. Just 57.

From @Oldjoeclarkwv:

Q: How is our O-Line this weak/bad?

A: It was expected that this group would have issues right out of the chute, considering how none of them started a year ago here, and those who started elsewhere have very little experience in their career. Still, that's no excuse for not being able to handle a MAC front.

From @WVeer4Life:

Q: Where’s the speed to run this offense?

A: Not on the roster. They did what they could in the portal, but it's nowhere near where they would like for it to be. It's going to take another offseason (maybe two) to get it to where they want it.

From @Pat08WV:

Q: Why should anyone invest in an asset program that has been bad for 7 years? What’s the point? We are not serious and an embarrassment, a waste of our hard-earned money.

A: I get it. I understand the frustration, but they need fans more than ever with the way the sport is now. Things will get turned around, it just might not happen as soon as fans would like.

From @Tee_McM:

Q: Who’s the starting QB going forward? Why not Fox? It couldn’t be any worse than Nicco or Henderson. WVU had played 3 of 4 halves so far absolutely horribly.

A: Probably Nicco, if I had to guess. As I mentioned in a few other responses, you don't want to create bad habits thanks to a bad o-line or get him injured. Plus, he only had a few snaps against Robert Morris, and him breaking off that big run may have been the worst thing to happen for the fans because they automatically view him as the answer now. There's a lot more that goes into it, and doing that against the backups of a really bad FCS team doesn't hold much weight. I believe in the kid's potential, but you can't ruin him.

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