Rich Rodriguez Gives Take on West Virginia Quarterback Battle Heading Into Spring Ball

Do the Mountaineers have their starting quarterback on the roster?
West Virginia University head coach Rich Rodriguez
West Virginia University head coach Rich Rodriguez / Christopher Hall - West Virginia on SI

Spring ball is about a month away from getting started at West Virginia, and everyone's attention will be on the quarterback battle. Will someone emerge as the guy coming out of spring? According to head coach Rich Rodriguez, that's not exactly what he's hoping to find in the near month of practices.

“My goal would be to come out of spring with two, maybe three, three would be ultimate that I know I can win with," Rodriguez said Thursday morning on 3 Guys Before the Game. "It’s not even as much as who is one, who’s two, who’s three. I’m a little bit different. People say, well, if you’ve got two, you’ve got none. No, if you’ve got two you can win with, you’re in pretty good shape. If you’ve got three you’re comfortable that you can win with, you’re going to be good to go.”

While the Mountaineers have several options at the quarterback position, the two that most feel are best positioned to win the starting job are Nicco Marchiol and Texas A&M transfer Jaylen Henderson. Both are southpaws and have the ability to do damage with their legs, although Henderson is more of a dual threat than Marchiol. The last left-handed dual-threat quarterback at West Virginia seemed to work out just fine for Rich Rod.

The Mountaineers also landed Charlotte transfer quarterback Max Brown out of the transfer portal, a guy who started his collegiate career at Florida. Those three, plus redshirt freshman Khalil Wilkins and true freshman Scotty Fox, will all have an opportunity to impress the coaching staff in the spring before the transfer portal window re-opens. Rodriguez also hinted at the possibility of adding another quarterback later on if it makes sense.

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Schuyler Callihan
SCHUYLER CALLIHAN

Publisher of Mountaineers Now on FanNation/Sports Illustrated. Lead recruiting expert and co-host of Between the Eers, Walk Thru GameDay Show, Mountaineers Now Postgame Show, and In the Gun Podcast.