Mike Hawkins Jr.’s first game in a Mountaineer uniform gave West Virginia plenty to chew on, and the early read is pretty clear: the debut was short on volume, but big on clues.
Hawkins finished Saturday 11-of-14 for 132 yards and a touchdown, and he added 20 carries for 103 yards and another score on the ground. That’s the kind of line that jumps off the page, but the film says the more important part was how he got there. He looked comfortable deciding where the ball should go, and he made Coastal pay when things broke down around him.
One of the most impressive throws came when he launched a 45-yard pass off his back foot, jumping as he threw and getting enough on it to clear a defensive end with his arms up. The ball found its target for a touchdown, and the timing stood out just as much as the arm strength. Hawkins recognized the safety’s leverage, got the ball out before Armoni Weaver-Bomar was fully clear, and delivered it while off balance.
There was also a mistake he’ll want back. He put the football out of the back of the end zone, a play that was immediately a lesson in how not to attack the pylon unless the situation truly calls for it. It was the kind of error coaches will point to, but given the circumstances, it was not enough to overshadow the rest of his debut.
The other notable miss came when he forced a ball to John Neider in the end zone, even though Amari Latimer was wide open on a wheel route for what looked like an easy touchdown. Outside of those two moments, Hawkins was largely sharp about where to go with the football.
And if the second half looked clunky at times, the blame doesn’t land on him. West Virginia’s three three-and-outs were shaped by penalties, a fumble, and a run game that kept running into a heavy box.
In those sequences, the Mountaineers were dealing with a false start on C Wes King, a holding call on TE Cam Ball paired with unsportsmanlike conduct on Bray, and a fumble by Cam Cook. The passing game wasn’t the issue there, and the line wasn’t getting overwhelmed, either.
What Hawkins did bring was a layer this offense didn’t have last year: the ability to turn broken plays into gains. On one run, he made four defenders miss, with three of them at or behind the line of scrimmage.
Pro Football Focus credited him with six missed tackles forced against Coastal, while Scotty Fox Jr. had five in ten games last year and Nicco Marchiol had four in four games. There were several other snaps in which a different quarterback likely would have taken a sack.
That dual-threat ability showed up most clearly on third down. Hawkins was a perfect 8-for-8 for 108 yards on third down against Coastal, and five of those completions moved the chains. It’s the same sort of steady, keep-the-drive-alive football he showed in the summer film work, including the bowl game against Navy.
Don’t expect a huge shift this week against UT Martin. West Virginia is likely to lean on the run again, giving the five starters up front more reps together while keeping the passing game relatively hidden. There’s still plenty to learn about Hawkins and this offense, but after Saturday, the Mountaineers have a solid starting point.
In Other News...
WVU Added A New DB But One Key Question Still Looms
West Virginia added another defensive back to its future plans this week when former Georgia defender JaCorey Thomas committed to join the program beginning in the 2026 season. Thomas got a look with the Carolina Panthers at rookie minicamp after going undrafted, but he did not sign an NFL contract, leaving his next stop pointed toward Morgantown instead.
For the Mountaineers, the move adds more depth to a position group that never stops needing it, even if Thomass exact timetable on the field is still unsettled. His arrival does not push anyone out of the current rotation, and the remaining question is when, not whether, he will actually suit up once he gets to campus. [Read more 🡒]
WVUs Defensive Breakthrough Came With One Immediate Concern
West Virginia opened the season with the kind of defensive performance Zac Alley had been chasing, squeezing Coastal Carolina on the ground and sending constant heat at the quarterback. The Mountaineers produced 39 pressures, their most in Alleys 13 games, a notable jump for a defensive line that entered the year with plenty of inexperience and still managed to look disruptive from the start.
The problem for West Virginia is that the breakthrough came with a major health scare attached. Darius Wiley went down with a lower-body injury during the game and had to be carted off the field, leaving the Mountaineers waiting for an update on his condition. For a defense that finally flashed the activity and edge it wanted, the next question is whether it can keep that momentum if Wiley is forced to miss time. [Read more 🡒]
WVUs Schedule Just Got More Interesting After Week One
Week Zero did not do West Virginia many favors on the schedule front, and the early returns across the Mountaineers upcoming opponents already have a different feel to them. The roundup of recent game performances showed how much can change in a hurry, with several future foes opening their seasons by setting the tone for what should be a more revealing stretch once the schedule gets rolling.
Oklahoma State and Cincinnati in particular now sit on opposite ends of the early conversation, which matters for a West Virginia team trying to judge where the real trouble spots might be. The Cowboys opener raised immediate questions about their polish, while Cincinnatis debut suggested a much higher ceiling at quarterback than some may have expected. For the Mountaineers, the bigger picture is still forming, but the first week at least gave a few upcoming matchups a little more edge. [Read more 🡒]