Rich Rodriguez Believes West Virginia's Quarterback Room is in 'Good Shape'

Contrary to popular belief, West Virginia head football coach Rich Rodriguez has no idea who is starting quarterback is going to be in 2025. What he does know, though, is that he has multiple guys in that room that he believes he can win with.

“I watched a little bit of film, and I thought Nicco (Marchiol), in the opportunities he played, he played really, really well. He had a great command about him," Rodriguez said on Thursday. "I’m really pleased that he’s coming back, and we think we’ve got good competition in that room. That’s probably one position I feel more comfortable with, the talent that we have and the ability of those guys to learn and run our system and all that; I think we’re in good shape at the quarterback position with the guys that we got.”

West Virginia University quarterback Nicco Marchiol | Christopher Hall - West Virginia on SI

A starter likely won't be named until after the first half of fall camp, but Nicco Marchiol, Jaylen Henderson (Texas A&M transfer), and even Max Brown (Charlotte transfer) will all have their shot to win the battle. Redshirt freshman Khalil Wilkins and true freshman Scotty Fox have bright futures ahead but are still in the developmental stages of their respective careers.

The sense I'm getting from much of the fan base is that the expectation is for Marchiol to be the guy. I don't know if that's because of the familiarity with who he is, respecting his loyalty, not knowing as much about the others in the competition, or some combination of the three.

Although the redshirt junior will certainly be a favorite to win the job, I'm not so sure that I'm ready to peg him as QB1. Jaylen Henderson was brought to Morgantown for a reason. He had opportunities to start elsewhere and turned those down to come to West Virginia. And when you look at his ability to run the ball, he can offer a lot more in that aspect of the game than No. 8 can, who is a willing runner but maybe not quite as dynamic.

Both styles fit in Rich Rodriguez's offense. The more I've studied his offenses over the years, the more I realize he's had all sorts of different quarterbacks operating it. However, in the years when he had an explosive, dynamic dual-threat operating, it is where he's found the most success.

This is why I tend to lean more toward Henderson. As an overall athlete, he brings a little more explosiveness to the table, and that's something Rich Rod stated the team needed more of during his press conference on Thursday.

All that being said, we're several months away from a decision having to be made and as is the case with every quarterback battle, it's going to come down to decision-making, playmaking, and trust. Whichever quarterback can check those three boxes will be the starter come August 30th.

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