WVU Is Starting a New QB vs. Utah, but Will Max Brown Make His Debut Too?

This Saturday, the Mountaineers will be trotting out a new starting quarterback for the first time this season, as Nicco Marchiol is on the shelf with a foot injury.

Rolling in a new quarterback is not foreign territory, considering three others have seen playing time already this season, with Rich Rodriguez playing multiple quarterbacks each game. The one who has yet to see the field? Charlotte transfer Max Brown.

That could change this weekend.

West Virginia University quarterback Max Brown | Christopher Hall – West Virginia on SI

I still fully expect Jaylen Henderson to get the starting nod and rightfully so. He has logged the most reps of the available options in the room, and he led a 90+ yard scoring drive last week at Kansas. Now, it's time to see what he can do as "the guy," putting that in air quotes, of course, as we'll almost certainly see a second or maybe even third quarterback enter the game at some point.

Scotty Fox and Khalil Wilkins are promising young talents, but this may not be the game to get them more burn. West Virginia's offensive line, as you know, is a mess, and when you combine that with Utah's defensive front, it's a recipe for disaster. They really get after the quarterback, generating 68 pressures, which ranks 13th nationally. This is the best defensive front they'll see all season. It's a high-risk decision to put one of the young bucks in the game, as it could develop bad habits or even worse, destroy their confidence, and once that happens, it's hard to bounce back.

If you recall, near the end of fall camp, Rich Rod gave Brown the ultimate compliment.

“Max Brown might be the best athlete of all of them, and he’s got some experience playing at Charlotte; was at Florida initially. Big, strong guy. Got tremendous arm strength. Still learning the system as well. He’s a talented guy.”

If you look at Brown's stats at Charlotte, you're not going to be very impressed. He completed just 46% of his pass attempts for 561 yards, throwing for three touchdowns and six interceptions. That doesn't tell the whole story, though. Brown suffered a thumb injury on his throwing hand and was also in a bad offensive ecosystem. Once he returned from the injury, he struggled to find his rhythm, going just 13-for-36 (36%). Before the injury, he completed 30-of-47 attempts (63%).

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