Rich Rodriguez, WVU Appears Set to Roll With Mike Hawkins Jr. as QB1 in 2026

The Mountaineers are rolling with the Oklahoma transfer, as expected.

WVU Athletics Communications

Mike Hawkins Jr. will be the Mountaineers' starting quarterback in 2026. Pete Nakos of On3 reported Friday morning that WVU is expected to name him QB1, but this has been known in and outside the building for some time now. There hasn't been a "battle" in fall camp either. This has been Hawkins' job for a while.

Hawkins comes to WVU from Oklahoma, where he spent the first two years of his career as a backup to Jackson Arnold and John Mateer. The plan all along was for him to be the next great signal caller at OU, but when new offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle brought Mateer to Norman with him, it put a delay on that timeline.

The Sooners did all they could to try and hold onto Hawkins as a backup for one more year before giving him the keys to the offense in 2027, but after two years of studying a pair of veterans, Hawkins knew he was ready to play right now.

Coming out of high school, Hawkins was offered by the likes of Alabama, Arkansas, Cincinnati, Coastal Carolina, Memphis, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina State, North Texas, Nebraska, Penn State, SMU, TCU, Texas Tech, Virginia Tech, and several others in addition to Oklahoma.

When he hit the transfer portal, several Power Four schools, including some from the SEC, expressed interest. He had some visits lined up, but after his trip to Morgantown, he canceled them all and made his commitment to the Mountaineers.

“We didn’t ask for any guarantees," his father, Mike Hawkins Sr., told me in an interview on Between The Eers. "We just said we wanted a true opportunity. And you want everybody to succeed. Like I’ve said, you need more than one. This is football. We just want an opportunity, and I tell Mike you really can’t control others, so why focus on who is there? We wish everybody the best. We’re rooting for everybody in that room because you can’t say, ‘Hey, this is a family, but then it’s only family when it’s good for you. No, you’ve got to be a family when it’s not good for you. I didn’t bring Mike up to have hate in his heart. Love wins all the time, and it shouldn’t be a problem with competing. I had to do it. Love it, embrace it.”

A star in the making...

WVU Athletics Communications

Hawkins has been incredible since he stepped foot on campus at WVU. It didn't take him long at all to master the offense and even begin teaching it to others. You can attribute much of that to the countless hours of film he watches. All of that film study shows up in his game, too. He knows exactly where to go with the football and often sees throwing lanes most quarterbacks can't. The way he layers the ball is a thing of beauty, perfectly dropping it over the second level, giving his receivers/tight ends enough time to make the catch and avoid a big hit from the secondary.

The accuracy is next-level in all areas of the field, but if opposing defenses are worried about giving up the big play, he'll carve them up all day long underneath. He rarely misses the layups and doesn't just lob those throws to the perimeter; he's got some zip to it.

And we're just now getting to his ability to run...whew. Talk about next-level speed...Hawkins has it. Even the legendary Pat White believes he is faster than he was back in the day. Now, you may need to see it to believe it, but if you know Pat, he doesn't just say things like that to fluff someone up. He means it.

Pairing him with Jacksonville State running back transfer Cam Cook is going to be a fun show to watch, possibly creating one of the most dynamic QB-RB duos the Big 12 has to offer. Defenses aren't going to be able to just load the box because of the threat of Cook, and they aren't going to be able to just key in on him either. Hawkins can make you pay if he pulls it, forcing the defense to defend all 11, just as Rich Rod intended for this offense to be.

Hawkins has been groomed for this opportunity for several years, dating back to his childhood. Instead of continuing to play basketball and baseball, he dropped those fairly early to pour his full focus into becoming the best quarterback possible. It's his show now, and West Virginia fans should be excited for what's to come not only in 2026 but also in the years ahead with him as QB1.

The rest of the depth chart

West Virginia University quarterback Scotty Fox Jr. | Christopher Hall – West Virginia on SI

Rodriguez did not detail the plan for the rest of the quarterback room, but you can go ahead and pencil in Scotty Fox Jr. as Hawkins' backup and Max Brown as the third-string option. True freshman Jyron Hughley is pushing for a higher spot on the depth chart and could climb higher than you would expect before the end of the season.

Fox showed some promise last year as a true freshman with a poor supporting cast, but he had some issues staring down receivers, telegraphing where he was going with the football. That is still an area of his game he needs to work on, as well as situational awareness. The future is still bright for the sophomore, but he has to put it all together and not force things.

Brown is a nice insurance policy to have as a third option, considering he's been around the block for a while now and has been in the system for a year. That said, if he is forced into action due to injury, you can expect Rich Rod to lean on his athleticism and, more so than his arm, which has been inconsistent throughout his career.