Mike Hawkins Jr. is already building a strong case to be West Virginia’s quarterback for 2026, and one former Mountaineer is not holding back about what he sees.
Rich Rodriguez has yet to officially announce the starter, but Hawkins has checked a lot of boxes since arriving from Oklahoma. He’s reportedly picked up the playbook quickly, established relationships with teammates, and stepped into a leadership role. The former four-star recruit drew heavy interest out of the transfer portal, including from several SEC programs, but once he visited WVU, he shut down those other trips and made it clear he wanted to be a Mountaineer.
That kind of buzz has reached former WVU running back Eugene Napoleon, who gave Hawkins a glowing endorsement on The Walk Thru Game Day Show preseason kickoff special.
“I’m just going to say in all-cap letters, BALLER. His dad the very best thing that you can do with a talent like that - you start ‘em early, you put him in the pressure cooker early, you knock all that stuff off where he really understands he can play under perceivably what people would say is ‘pressure’.
Because to him, he’s playing this game and everything is already slow. I love the fact that the young man can make every throw.
And when you have a young man that is truly a dual-threat…sometimes you say dual-threat, and he’s really not a dual-threat because one part of his game may not be as strong as the other part. No.
He truly is a dual-threat. He can hurt you with his legs, but he will downright shred you with his arm.
Then, the brain power. I love quarterbacks like him who really understand the football and the nuances of how do we want to attack this defense.
What we want to do in 3rd and long, 3rd and short, 2nd and long, 2nd and short, first down - I love quarterbacks like him because you can do so much. The whole playbook is open.
You ain’t got to scale it back. Just let him go play.
So, BALLER.”
Hawkins is still young, and this would be his first full-time run as a college starter, so some growing pains would be natural. But the thing that stands out is how advanced he already looks at reading the game. According to the source material, he doesn’t usually make the same mistake twice, and he’s been sharpening himself every day against Zac Alley’s complex defense in practice.
That daily work matters, especially since the system he’s seeing at West Virginia has similarities to the one Brent Venables runs at Oklahoma. For Hawkins, that means the learning curve may not be as steep as it would be for many other quarterbacks.
Once he gets more comfortable and keeps building chemistry with his receivers, he could become a lot of fun to watch - and that adjustment may not take long.
In Other News...
Rich Rodriguez Just Pushed WVUs NIL Fight Into State Politics
Rich Rodriguez has already made it clear he wants West Virginia football to compete in a new era, and now he is pushing the conversation beyond the athletic department. The Mountaineers head coach floated the idea of using a tourism tax in West Virginia to help fund NIL opportunities for his players, tying the programs future directly to the states biggest sport and broader economic interests.
It is still only a discussion, not an active legislative push, but the suggestion brings a familiar college-football problem into state politics. Rodriguez is essentially asking political leaders to see the Mountaineers as more than a team and to consider whether public dollars tied to tourism could help keep WVU in the race for talent. Whether that idea gets traction is another matter entirely. [Read more 🡒]
WVU Just Gave Fans A New Reason To Get To Milan Early
West Virginia is already giving fans a little more incentive to make a full morning of the 2026 season opener. Athletics announced that Almost Heaven Village, the pregame gathering tied to the home football slate, is moving to a new spot on the North Lawn next to the Blue Lot at Milan Puskar Stadium, with the gates set to open at 8:30 a.m. ahead of the matchup with Coastal Carolina. The idea is to give Mountaineer supporters a bigger and easier starting point for game day, with activities and entertainment helping set the tone before kickoff.
For a fan base that treats Saturdays like an event long before the first snap, the location change could matter as much as the timing. WVU is also pushing tickets for the home opener and the full season, including a 304 Mobile Pass for all seven home games, as it continues building around a home schedule that should make the atmosphere around Milan Puskar Stadium feel busy from the moment people start arriving. [Read more 🡒]
WVU Faces A Real Recruiting Question After Latest Rankings Shakeup
The latest 2027 basketball recruiting rankings offered a reminder that the board is always moving, and West Virginias pursuit of elite talent is now dealing with a few more question marks. Paul Osaruyi, one of the Mountaineers most closely watched targets, slid from No. 13 to No. 18 nationally after a small rating dip, and he was not alone in seeing his stock shift. Other players from CIA Bella Vista, including Jalen White and Lyris Robinson, also took notable hits in the update.
For WVU, the bigger issue is not just where those prospects sit today, but how much volatility remains before the cycle really takes shape. Rankings changes do not end a recruitment, but they can alter momentum, perception, and the way schools prioritize their next steps. With several familiar names trending down at once, the Mountaineers have a real evaluation test ahead as they sort out which targets still fit the programs long-term plan. [Read more 🡒]