Mike Hawkins Jr. Makes Massive Jump in Power Four QB Rankings

Before the season, West Virginia's Mike Hawkins Jr. was a quarterback who flew under the radar nationally.

Many knew the name because he was a big-time recruit coming out of high school and saw some action in SEC games as a true freshman, but there weren't many expecting him to be one of the best quarterbacks in college football by the end of the first month of the season.

As a matter of fact, ESPN's Bill Connelly ranked Hawkins 50th out of 68 Power Four quarterbacks back in the spring. Now? Connelly has him ranked 17th.

"On paper, the dual-threat Hawkins playing in a Rich Rodriguez offense seemed pretty perfect. It has played out that way on the field, too. He's averaging only 16.5 dropbacks per game but is throwing efficiently and running beautifully. He has gained at least 96 non-sack rushing yards in every game and topped 120 twice. Defense is a concern, but the WVU offense has come around nicely with the right guy behind center."

The 16 quarterbacks Connelly has ranked ahead of Hawkins?

That would be Darian Mensah (Miami), CJ Carr (Notre Dame), Julian Sayin (Ohio State), Trinidad Chambliss (Ole Miss), Kamario Taylor (Mississippi State), Jayden Maiava (USC), Keelon Russell (Alabama), Gunner Stockton (Georgia), Drew Mestemaker (Oklahoma State), Lincoln Kienholz (Louisville), Kevin Jennings (SMU), Aaron Philo (Florida), Conner Weigman (Houston), Devon Dampier (Utah), Bear Bachmeier (BYU), and Katin Houser (Illinois).

Hawkins could be a top-10 QB in the country by the end of the season

West Virginia University quarterback Mike Hawkins Jr. | Christopher Hall - West Virginia on SI

Hawkins hasn't been asked to throw it much through the first four games, but when he has, he's been terrific. The lone interception he's thrown this year was a nice play by the Oklahoma State defensive lineman, who got off his block and got his hands up, deflecting the ball up into the air. It was the right read, too. If the d-lineman didn't get a hand on it, it would have been a wide-open touchdown for DJ Epps, which would have made it a 21-6 lead for West Virginia.

Going into the Oklahoma State game, Hawkins led the nation in big-time throw percentage (17%) and also led all quarterbacks in yards per completion (18.3). If Rich Rodriguez allows him to spin it a little bit more, this offense will be incredibly hard to stop. Hawkins is averaging 22 carries per game against FBS opponents. While he is a dynamic runner, Rodriguez has to be mindful of his workload running it so he's able to stay healthy. Without Hawkins, this offense won't be able to hit its full potential.

Add us as a preferred source on Google