West Virginia's Quarterback Battle Could Go Right Up to the Season Opener

West Virginia is only four practices in, but folks are already wondering who the starting quarterback is going to be next fall. Obviously, four practices isn't enough to make a decision of that magnitude, but it is fair to ask what a potential timeline for that decision looks like.

Head coach Rich Rodriguez didn't reveal much of his plan regarding the call on naming a starter, but made it clear that he's not in any rush to do so.

“When’s the first game? Who is it? Do we have a game time yet? If the game’s at 1, 12:59," Rodriguez said jokingly. "Hell, why would we, right? We’ll know before then. But I’m hoping we have more than one that’s good enough to win with. I’d like to come out of fall camp or whatever you want to call it, with three guys we can win with. I feel pretty confident that the talent that we have right now, we can have three guys that we can win with. But there’s still a lot of work to do and to determine the starter…I don’t know. Somebody may separate themselves by the end of spring, but they may not.”

Jaylen Henderson — WVU Athletics Communication

While one quarterback could emerge over the course of the next month, in all likelihood, this battle will trickle into the summer and then into fall camp. Nicco Marchiol and Texas A&M transfer Jaylen Henderson (pictured above) are the presumed favorites to win the job, but Charlotte transfer Max Brown may have something to say about that.

With Robert Morris being the opponent for the season opener, there's a good chance the top two quarterbacks will see action and if necessary, the game can play a role in determining the long-term answer at the position. Rodriguez would probably prefer to have the depth chart already figured out going into that game, even if the top two guys end up playing.

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