Michael Hawkins Jr. Might Be WVU’s Most Talented QB in a Decade

It’s been a while since West Virginia has had a dynamic player at the quarterback position. Garrett Greene broke out in 2023, leading the Mountaineers to a nine-win season, but was unable to capitalize on it as a senior, taking a significant step backward en route to a 6-6 year.

This fall, that long drought of average-subpar quarterback play could finally come to an end. Oklahoma transfer Michael Hawkins Jr. is without question the most talented quarterback WVU has had since Will Grier donned the uniform in 2018. And if we're talking pure talent and not production, I may give a slight edge to Hawkins over Grier, who was mostly a pocket passer.

I don’t want to get too ahead of myself here because he still has to beat out Scotty Fox Jr. for the job and then produce before we start talking about him as one of the best QBs in recent memory, but he absolutely has the potential to do so, which is what we are here to talk about.

Going back to the 2024 season, Hawkins made three starts against SEC teams, and in those games, he made some big things happen while protecting the football. He had two big-time throws — one against Tennessee for 46 yards and a 60-yard bomb in their win over Auburn, which was a thing of beauty, leading his receiver perfectly, coming up just a couple of yards shy of a touchdown.

New WVU QB Michael Hawkins Jr. will fit very nicely in Rich Rodriguez’s offense.#WVU pic.twitter.com/aEcPpII0VI
— Quinn Robie (@QuinnRobie1) January 5, 2026

In that game against the Tigers, Hawkins also ripped off a 48-yard touchdown with his legs.

A reminder that Oklahoma quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr, the presumptive starter with Mateer sidelined, is a special kind of athlete 👀

pic.twitter.com/sU3kDFA6oM
— Oliver Hodgkinson (@hodgkinsonsport) September 23, 2025

One of the most impressive plays of the season came in their ball game against Navy, where he rode left all the way to the numbers, stopped on a dime, came back to the right side of the field near the hash, and found a receiver downfield for a 56-yard touchdown.

MICHAEL HAWKINS JR. EXTENDS THE PLAY FOR THE SOONERS' TD 🔥 #SCTop10 pic.twitter.com/58DwSuJCzR
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 27, 2024

As you can see, there are just things that he can do on the football field that we haven’t seen from anyone playing the quarterback position in quite some time. He’s not a one-trick pony that is always looking to run or has serious accuracy issues, forcing him to be a run-first quarterback. He can really sling the football around the yard, put it on the money, and in a spot where only his man or no man can get it.

As he showed with the big-time throw he had against Auburn, he has the arm strength to make virtually every throw and puts plenty of zip on the ball, so long passes at or behind the line of scrimmage aren’t in danger of being picked off.

There is one trait that really sticks out to me, which is what convinces me that he will be a quality starting quarterback in this league: he has the utmost confidence in his decision-making. Rarely ever does he look frazzled or unsure of what to do when a plate breaks down. And sometimes going off script and improvising is what makes him so special because he’s just playing ball, and it makes him incredibly difficult to defend.

This RPO-heavy offense fits him perfectly to a T because of the threat he poses as a runner. In 55 drop-backs in 2024, where there was play action, Hawkins completed 78.7% of his passes for 351 yards. Also, he was near perfect in the screen game, completing 85.7% of his attempts — both of which are fixtures in Rich Rod‘s system.

What makes it even more comforting is that Oklahoma’s offensive line was worse in pass protection during that 2024 campaign than West Virginia was a year ago, as hard as that is to believe. Here are the numbers, per Pro Football Focus.

Oklahoma (2024): 57.7 pass block grade - 147 pressures

West Virginia (2025): 69.2 pass block grade - 91 pressures

Oklahoma quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr.. left, scrambles away from Kent State defensive lineman Mason Maddox (6) during the first half of an NCAA football game between the Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and Kent State Golden Flashes at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla., Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025. | NATE BILLINGS/FOR THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Obviously, Oklahoma threw the ball a whole heck of a lot more than West Virginia, but the point remains. Whether it was Hawkins or Jackson Arnold in the game at quarterback, they were running for their life.

Now you may think, well, he could be walking into a similar situation in Morgantown, but I don’t see that happening. This fully revamped offensive line is more experienced, and the projected starters have played high-level football throughout their respective careers and will have one of the best offensive line coaches in the game, coaching them in Rick Trickett.

It may not be pretty right out of the gate, but once Hawkins gets a good grasp of this offense, understands his protection, and establishes trust in his backs and receivers, this offense could go from an eyesore to one of the most entertaining offenses we’ve seen in Morgantown this decade. It's a low bar, I know, but you get what I'm saying.

Should Hawkins live up to the billing, Rodriguez will have something special brewing, considering he has two years of eligibility remaining beyond this upcoming season. All he has to do in year one is take command of the offense, be consistent, and show flashes of being an All-Big 12 caliber quarterback. If he does that, then it accelerates WVU's timeline to win, making them a more intriguing option for players in the transfer portal next winter. With Hawkins, we’re talking about a potential program changer.

This is a guy who could’ve gone anywhere in the country coming out of high school and could’ve gone anywhere when he entered the transfer portal. In addition to Oklahoma, he reeled in offers from the likes of Alabama, Arkansas, Michigan, Missouri, NC State, Nebraska, Penn State, TCU, Texas Tech, and Virginia Tech, just to name a few.

With all due respect, this is not a Jaylen Henderson, Max Brown, Austin Kendall, Jarret Doege-type of pick up. He is a legitimate dual-threat quarterback that everybody in the country wanted coming out of high school and has already proven that he can make plays against the best talent in the country, doing it in the SEC as a true freshman.

Again, he still has to win the job and live up to the hype, but the potential alone should have West Virginia fans extremely excited for what’s to come.