WVU Football has a heated quarterback battle on its hands leading into the 2026-2027 season, and it’s closer than many fans may think. Read more: WVU’s QB battle closer than fans may think.
Both Michael Hawkins Jr. and Scotty Fox Jr. possess traits and intangibles that can put them over the edge from their counterpart. There’s also plenty of time left in the offseason for the coaching staff to decide who should get the start in week one.
Let’s take a look at each player’s strengths that could help them secure the starting nod.
Michael Hawkins Jr.
1. Dual-threat ability
At his core, Hawkins is a true dual-threat quarterback. In his two seasons at Oklahoma, he garnered 950 passing yards and six touchdowns. He coupled that with 262 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
Those numbers are exactly the type of quarterback head coach Rich Rodriguez needs in his system. Hawkins is able to stay in the pocket and sling it with the best of them. At the same time, though, the former four-star recruit is able to impressive speed in a multitude of ways.
While with the Sooners, Hawkins showed that he can run when the pocket breaks down, as well as on designed QB runs. He is especially efficient at running the QB option.
Whether it’s through the air or on the ground, Hawkins’ skillset is perfectly suited for the offense Rodriguez wants to run.
2. Quick release
One area of Hawkins’ game that really sticks out when you watch his tape is how lightning quick his release is. Adopting a fully sidearm release, Hawkins is able to get the ball out rather quickly and put a lot of velocity behind his throws.
It reminds me of NFL great Phillip Rivers. While Rivers also adopted the infamous sidearm release throughout his career, Hawkins’ motion is much quicker.
However, that can lead to accuracy issues at times, particularly in the short passing game. Hawkins has occasionally struggled to place the ball directly on the receiver’s numbers, likely due to his sidearm release, which can prevent the ball from traveling on a straight path to the target.
Either way, if Hawkins can fix some of his command issues, his quick release will only get better.
3. Starter experience
During his two seasons at Oklahoma, Hawkins made four starts, all as a freshman, including a road victory at Auburn. The win marked his first career start and made him the first Oklahoma quarterback to win his debut as a true freshman on the road.
Hawkins also started against Texas, South Carolina, and Navy in the Armed Forces Bowl.
Those are all quality starts against high-level competition. Even the game against Navy was in a bowl game, so that creates added pressure for a young QB. While Oklahoma lost 21-20, Hawkins played well, finishing with 113 passing yards and a touchdown.
It may not be as much as Mountaineer fans would like, but Hawkins has come to Morgantown with starter experience.
Scotty Fox Jr.
1. Continuity
When it comes to Fox, arguably his greatest selling point over Hawkins is that he is returning for his second year at WVU. Not only that, it’s his second year with the same coaching staff and playbook.
That type of continuity can be rare to find in today’s college landscape. It shouldn’t be understated how valuable it was that Fox was able to learn and work out the kinks last season.
He continued to improve over the season and proved his case to be the best man in Rodriguez’s offensive system.
2. Growth
Continuing with that similar topic, Fox demonstrated the ability to work past his early bumps and learn from them as last season progressed.
Aside from his one attempt against Robert Morris, Fox’s first real opportunity was against Pittsburgh. As many already know, that didn’t go well as he threw two interceptions in four attempts.
However, by week 8, the true freshman started to blossom into an effective starter. That week against TCU, he threw for a career-high 301 yards and two touchdowns.
Related: Transfer addition: Mountaineers land former five-star recruit Joson Sanon
A few weeks later, against Arizona State, he broke that by throwing for 353 yards. He also passed for two touchdowns, with his second being a go-ahead score late in the fourth quarter.
While there were still some bumps and bruises along the way, like a two-interception performance against Colorado in week 10, Fox showed a lot of growth and resilience last season.
That type of mindset is what Rodriguez loves out of his players and what might just be what gives him the edge over Hawkins.
3. Dual-threat ability
It may be cheating to use this again, but just like Hawkins, Fox also possesses a dual-threat skillset.
Last season, he ran for 201 yards and three touchdowns. Two of those scores came in one game against Houston.
While Fox has the ability to run, most of his yards came in just a handful of games. He had 65 yards against Houston, 58 against Colorado, and even 63 in the season opener against Robert Morris.
Add that up, and it’s 186 yards in three games. While that is impressive, he also ran for negative yards in two different games.
Those up-and-down showings on the ground show that he can be effective with his legs, but he just wasn’t able to consistently put it together. However, some of that could be because of WVU’s poor offensive line play last season.
Nonetheless, Hawkins looks to be faster when it comes to sprint speed. But they are both shifty and able to make defenders miss often.
The fact that both Fox and Hawkins possess dual-threat abilities is not a coincidence. It’s exactly the type of QB room that Rodriguez wants. It’ll be very interesting to see if each player’s specific threat with their legs is what gives one the edge over the other.
Plenty of time
There is still a lot of time left until West Virginia’s season opener against Coastal Carolina on September 5. There’s also a good chance Rodriguez won’t publicly name the starter until the days leading up to it.
Both QBs will continue to prove their case to be the starter in week one. They both possess similar traits and starter experience, so it truly is either player’s job to win.
Make sure to come back to wvsportsnation.com for updates on this heated QB battle throughout the offseason.
