Mike Hawkins Jr.'s Strong Spring Fuels Hope for WVU in 2026

It looks like the Mountaineers have a serious playmaker at quarterback.

WVU Athletics Communications

Fifteen practices are in the books for the West Virginia Mountaineers, and in that time, Oklahoma transfer quarterback Mike Hawkins Jr. has taken tremendous strides.

Learning the offense wasn't that much of a hurdle, if one at all, considering it was a similar setup he had with Chad Morris at Allen High School in Texas.

That, plus he's accustomed to learning a new playbook, having done so in three years consecutively. In his first year at Oklahoma, he had Seth Littrell for half a season before he was let go, and then in the offseason, the Sooners brought in Ben Arbuckle (along with QB John Mateer) from Washington State.

“He’s taken a leap every day," WVU head coach Rich Rodriguez said at the end of Saturday's Gold-Blue Spring Festival. "He’s a smart guy; it’s really important to him. He’s taken a lot of extra time to learn. In fourteen practices, I really think he’s taken a big step. Through the summer workouts, and I know he’ll be here a bunch in the summer watching film and probably meeting with the coaches…what we thought we were getting with Mike, he’s shown every bit of that.”

A summer of growth is coming

WVU Athletics Communications

Hawkins is a film junky. He spends more time in the film room than anybody, and it's by no coincidence. His father, Mike Hawkins Sr., played at Oklahoma and went on to play in the NFL, so he knows what it's going to take — putting in the hours that go unseen, watching and critiquing himself.

Now that he has those 15 practices of film, he'll be able to go in-depth with not only the evaluation of his own game by studying his supporting cast — what do his receivers/backs do well? Where do they need some help? How long does he have before the pocket typically collapses? The knowledge he'll have coming into fall camp will allow WVU to be much further along early in camp.

Not to mention, he won't have to learn nearly as many new pieces because of there not being another transfer portal window. What he worked with in the winter and spring is mostly what he'll have in the season, with the exception of a few new freshmen.

A very successful spring

From everything I've heard, Hawkins has been phenomenal. He's formed a strong connection with all of the receivers, but Prince Strachan, especially, and it's not hard to see why with his huge frame. Protecting the football has been one of the things he's done exceptionally well, which is impressive when you keep in mind that he had to learn a new offense, staff, and teammates.