Pete Thamel Got Pat McAfee Jacked Up, Thinking West Virginia Named a Starting QB

There is no white smoke in Morgantown. At least not yet.

Heading into fall camp, West Virginia will have a quarterback battle between three veterans - Nicco Marchiol, Jaylen Henderson (Texas A&M transfer), and Max Brown (Charlotte transfer). At some point early on in August, that bout will likely shift focus to Marchiol vs. Henderson, which could ride all the way up to opening week.

ESPN's Pete Thamel chatted with Pat McAfee Friday afternoon to discuss a number of things, but opened his appearance by talking about West Virginia after having Rich Rodriguez on the College GameDay podcast earlier in the week.

McAfee asked what Thamel's initial thoughts were on the Mountaineers heading into 2025.

“Big turnover numbers-wise this year for Rich. We’ll see if your friend Nicco (Marchiol) fits what he wants to do long-term. I think Nicco is a very good player and a good starter there.”

The response got McAfee all excited, thinking Marchiol had been officially named the starter, but Thamel quickly shot that down when asked if he was told that by Rich Rod.

McAfee: “Has that been announced? Is he the starter? Did he tell you Nicco’s the starter?”

Thamel: “He did not. He’s just the incumbent on the depth chart and started some games last year.”

"There's been big turnover at West Virginia for Rich Rod..

I think Nicco Marchiol is a very good player"@PeteThamel #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/OCHMqeeMVc
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) May 9, 2025

Marchiol completed 37-of-56 pass attempts last season for 434 yards, five touchdowns, and two interceptions. He also rushed for 120 yards and two scores on 40 carries. While he may have more starting experience than others on the roster, it would have been silly to name him QB1 after spring ball for a variety of reasons.

First of all, you don't want your non-conference opponents to dive deep into their film all summer long, but more importantly, you want to drive competition. There are many cases where one quarterback shines in spring ball and then another appears to be the best option during fall camp. Naming a starter after spring wouldn't have done Rodriguez any favors

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