WVU QB Ranked Near Bottom of Big 12 — But Is He Even the Mountaineers' Starter?

Spring ball officially begins tomorrow in Morgantown, and it will be the first time that Oklahoma QB transfer Michael Hawkins Jr. takes the field and begins his quest to become the team's starter. Sophomore Scotty Fox Jr., who started the second half of the season for WVU last year, returns, but is he the favorite for the job?

CBS Sports analyst Shehan Jeyarajah recently posted a power rankings article and picked Fox as the guy for the Mountaineers. Mistake number one? We'll get to that in a second. Mistake number two? He has Fox ranked 15th out of 16 projected starters.

"Fox will have a challenge ahead to hold off Oklahoma transfer Michael Hawkins Jr. for the position, but his flashes in the second half of the season were notable. The Ohio native led the Mountaineers to both Big 12 wins and losses to TCU and ASU by a combined four points. Rich Rodriguez could have his next big-time playmaker."

Jeyarajah's full rankings:

1. Noah Fifita (Arizona)
2. Brendan Sorsby (Texas Tech)
3. Drew Mestemaker (Oklahoma State)
4. Bear Bachmeier (BYU)
5. Conner Weigman (Houston)
6. DJ Lagway (Baylor)
7. Devon Dampier (Utah)
8. Avery Johnson (Kansas State)
9. Jaden Craig (TCU)
10. Alonza Barnett III (UCF)
11. Julian Lewis (Colorado)
12. Cutter Boley (Arizona State)
13. Jaylen Raynor (Iowa State)
14. JC French (Cincinnati)
15. Scotty Fox Jr. (West Virginia)
16. Isaiah Marshall (Kansas)

Projecting the wrong guy?

Oct 11, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. (3) warms up before the game against the Texas Longhorns at Cotton Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

I think most who cover this team closely, like myself, all expect Hawkins to win the job. It's not going to be handed to him by any means, but there's a reason the staff pursued him, and he had a ton of options in the transfer portal, so he had to have felt pretty good about his odds to win the starting job when he decided to become a Mountaineer. Hawkins had a horrid offensive line while at Oklahoma, so we never got to see what he is fully capable of, although he showed some incredible flashes. He's the best QB in the Big 12 that no one knows about...for now.

Extremely low ranking

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

Regardless of who you believe will win the starting job, putting either guy at 15th would be way too low, if you ask me. Behind an atrociously bad offensive line and a subpar supporting cast with no run game, Fox tossed for 300 yards twice and took down a Top 25 Houston team on the road as a true freshman. Fellow true freshman Julian Lewis of Colorado didn't look nearly as good and was in a similar situation. Lewis may have more upside, but you still have to prove it to earn the respect of being ranked 11th.