WVU’s Quarterback Situation Intensifies Following Painful Loss to Ohio

The West Virginia Mountaineers left Athens, Ohio, with a 1-1 record on Saturday. This was essentially the worst-case scenario for WVU fans who were hopeful to see College GameDay return to Morgantown for the Backyard Brawl. After this loss, the crew will instead head to Tennessee.

The quarterback situation was interesting to say the least. Nicco Marchiol started the game and, at first, had the offense looking solid. The injury to running back Jahiem White didn’t help Marchiol and the rest of the offense. WVU head coach Rich Rodriguez turned to Jaylen Henderson for a spark in the second half.

“Just trying to get a spark. Give me 24 hours first," when asked about the quarterback situation moving forward. "I don’t blame you for asking but… I tried to get a little spark with some quarterback run stuff and didn’t really make it. It wasn’t Jaylen or Nicco’s fault. It’s more mine. We will evaluate the film and try to see what went wrong and what we can fix to get better.”

For the remainder of the contest, it was a mixture of Marchiol and Henderson. Marchiol had a pretty poor game as he threw for just 178 passing yards, no touchdowns, and one brutal interception. Henderson threw just two passes, and both fell incomplete.

As Rich Rod explained to the media following the loss, he felt like Henderson gave them some variety in the running game. Henderson carried the football three times for just four yards. Marchiol carried the football 11 times for just nine rushing yards. It was a brutal day for the offense, and neither quarterback was able to open it up with their legs.

The injury to White doesn’t seem like a short-term one. If that’s the case, that means Rich Rod is going to be desperate to find ways to get the running game going from the quarterback position. It will be super interesting to see what Rodriguez does at quarterback now that White is likely to miss time. Marchiol and Henderson could split more reps going forward, or Rich Rod may be forced to make a change to get more of a running threat at the position.

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