The Scotty Fox Era Is Nowhere Near Starting at WVU, but It Already Has Buzz

It may have been a small sample size, but true freshman quarterback Scotty Fox Jr. gave West Virginia fans enough to chew on following his first game as a Mountaineer over the weekend.

Fox completed the only pass he attempted on the day for an eight-yard gain and then added 63 yards on the ground, 59 of which came on a long touchdown run where he stiff-armed a defender and sprang free down the sideline for a score.

True Freshman. No Problem.😤😤

59 Yard Read Option TD for the QB Scotty Fox Jr. & the Mountaineers#Big12FB | @WVUfootball pic.twitter.com/i7ATrXjsks
— Big 12 Studios (@big12studios) August 30, 2025

Yes, it was against Robert Morris. Yes, it was against their backups. And yes, it was just three plays, but still, it provided a glimpse at what the future of Mountaineer football could be.

“Scotty Fox, everybody is talking about him for a reason," Jed Drenning said on today's episode of In The Gun. "It was impossible not to watch this kid’s high school tape and not get excited. It really was. And as this was all coming down, Neal was still here and we were prepping for the recruiting show, and I was about halfway through my film study, and I watched Scotty Fox, and I was like, whoa! Alright, alright. It was critical to retain him when Rich got here. He made some things happen in the spring. He doesn’t look out of his element at all. He plays beyond his age, although he’s still a true freshman.”

Obviously, with the way Nicco Marchiol played and the flash Jaylen Henderson showed in his brief action, Fox won't see many more opportunities this season unless a game gets out of hand. Plus, there's also Charlotte transfer Max Brown, who didn't play due to tweaking his hamstring, but will remain higher on the depth chart if healthy.

Toward the end of fall camp, Rich Rod raised some eyebrows by stating, “Scotty’s got one of the quickest releases of any quarterback I’ve ever had. He’s got a great release, great size, can run, and has really been impressive.”

If he continues to develop at this pace, he could be in the mix to take over the reins from Nicco Marchiol, assuming he remains the starter, by 2027.

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