Mike Hawkins Jr. didn’t need long to figure out why West Virginia felt different.
The quarterback said the move to Morgantown gave him exactly what he was looking for: a place where he could grow, stay involved in the offense, and be in a system built around more than just the guy taking the snap. That was a major shift from Oklahoma, and Hawkins made it clear the fit with Rich Rodriguez was the biggest draw.
“I just loved his mindset," Hawkins said about head coach Rich Rodriguez during his appearance on the Heisman Hopefuls podcast. "Developing the offense as a whole and not just the quarterback.
Getting guys involved and getting a lot of guys on the field, rotating guys. So that was probably the biggest thing, and just building relationships.
Even the defensive side of the ball and having relationships with those guys.”
For Hawkins, that attention to the entire offense mattered. He contrasted that setup with what he found at Oklahoma, where development at quarterback wasn’t as central after the arrival of offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle, who brought QB John Mateer with him from Washington State. Brent Venables, meanwhile, was heavily tied to the defense, leaving the offense in a different spot than the one Hawkins has now with the Mountaineers.
At WVU, Hawkins described Rodriguez as much more present and much more involved in the daily details.
“Rich Rod is very hands-on; he knows what he wants. That’s a great feeling just having a head coach that’s on the offensive side and can tell you things that you probably haven’t known, teaching you things every week. It’s great having him in our rooms and being able to help us.”
He also pointed to the value of learning from Pat White, a special talent who has become part of the support system around him. Hawkins said White’s advice keeps coming back to the basics, the small details that shape everything else.
“Just always staying down and keep my feet right," Hawkins said when asked what White's main advice to him is. "He’s a great mentor.
Just technique, keep my eyes right and in the right place. I probably watch him once a week just on my own time, seeing the things he did and watching his highlights.
He’s a great player to watch.”
The bigger picture is hard to miss: West Virginia appears to have solved its quarterback situation and may have found a player to build around for the long haul. Now it’s up to Rodriguez and his staff to keep Hawkins in Morgantown for the rest of his collegiate career.
In Other News...
WVUs Offense Has Two Stars But One Big Stretch-Run Concern
West Virginias offense has leaned heavily on a pair of stars through the bye week, and the numbers help explain why the unit has looked so dangerous at times. Quarterback Mike Hawkins Jr. has played at an elite level, while running back Cam Cook has been one of the most productive backs in the country, ranking third nationally in rushing yards. The rest of the offense has been a mixed bag by comparison, with the articles grades and snap counts showing a group that has delivered enough support to keep the Mountaineers moving, but not always with the same week-to-week consistency.
The stretch run will be about whether West Virginia can get more from the pieces around those two difference-makers. The bye week gives the staff a chance to reset, evaluate where the offense has been strong and where the weak spots have shown up, and then decide what changes might help as the season resumes. For a team with obvious firepower at quarterback and running back, the bigger question is whether the supporting cast can rise enough to keep the offense from becoming too dependent on Hawkins and Cook. [Read more 🡒]
WVUs November Gauntlet Will Decide Whether This Season Becomes More
West Virginias path to a bigger finish this season is about to get a lot clearer, and a lot harder. At 5-3, the Mountaineers have put themselves in position to make the final month matter, but the schedule ahead brings three ranked opponents into the mix and leaves little room for a slip if they want to turn a solid season into something more meaningful.
ESPNs FPI matchup predictor does not exactly make the road look inviting in the final four games, and the numbers reflect what the eye test already suggests about the challenges ahead. The good news for West Virginia is that the season is still sitting on a knifes edge, which means November can still push this group toward a strong finish. The bad news is that the margin for error shrinks quickly when the opposition gets this steep. [Read more 🡒]
West Virginia May Have A Star QB It Can't Take For Granted
Mike Hawkins Jr. has been one of the biggest reasons West Virginias offense has looked dangerous this fall. The Mountaineers quarterback is drawing national attention for production that goes well beyond the box score, sitting ninth among quarterbacks in PFF grades while piling up efficiency marks that separate the truly productive passers from the merely busy ones.
Hawkins has also given West Virginia a rare blend of explosiveness and restraint, leading the nation in rushing touchdowns while ranking near the top in yards per completion and adjusted yards per pass attempt. The deeper concern for the Mountaineers is how much of that growth has come from a quarterback who is making difficult throws, creating chunk plays and limiting mistakes despite a completion rate shaped by aggressive downfield attempts and a few too many drops around him. [Read more 🡒]