West Virginia quarterback Mike Hawkins Jr. is stacking up with the best passers in college football, and the numbers back it up. PFF has him sitting ninth among quarterbacks this season with an 88.3 grade, putting him in a group that includes Darian Mensah at No. 1 with a 92.4 and Devon Dampier at No. 10 with an 87.9.
Hawkins’ value starts with what he does on the ground. He leads the entire nation, quarterbacks and running backs alike, with 16 rushing touchdowns, and his 836 rushing yards rank 11th nationally. He’s been a nightmare to bring down in space, forcing 44 missed tackles and piling up 620 yards after contact.
The arm talent has been every bit as important. Hawkins is first in the country in yards per completion at 17.8, while also pacing the Big 12 in yards per attempt at 10.1 and adjusted yards gained per pass attempt at 10.8.
PFF’s grading paints the picture of a quarterback who is creating explosive plays at a high clip. Hawkins has the sixth-most big-time throws in the nation with 15, trailing only Isaiah Marshall, Kalieb Osborne, Drew Mestemaker, John Alan Richter and Devon Dampier.
Among that group, he has the second-fewest turnover-worthy plays with four, and his receivers’ inconsistency has taken a bite out of his production. His drop percentage sits at 10.9%, the highest of any quarterback in the country.
Even the completion percentage tells only part of the story. Hawkins is completing 56% of his passes, but he’s throwing downfield more than anyone else in college football. A full 30.2% of his attempts are traveling 20 or more yards in the air, which makes his accuracy look a lot different than a quarterback who lives on short throws.
If this pace holds, Hawkins should finish the season in the top 10 and enter 2027 with a national reputation as one of the best quarterbacks in the country. For West Virginia, the priority is clear: do everything it can to keep him in Morgantown.
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 🡒]
WVU Defense May Have Found An Identity At The Perfect Time
West Virginias defense has spent much of conference play trying to find a rhythm, but the last two games offered a clearer picture of what this unit wants to be. Against Virginia and TCU, the Mountaineers did a better job taking away the run, getting after the quarterback and cutting down on the explosive plays that had too often put them on the back foot earlier in the league schedule. Even when opponents moved into West Virginia territory, the defense was more reliable about forcing stops and making drives work for every yard.
That improvement has come with some noticeable shifts in personnel usage and pressure generation, the kind of changes that can matter a lot when the margins get tighter in November. The red zone work has also held up better in those recent outings, which is exactly the sort of trend West Virginia has been searching for after a shaky start to conference play. Whether this is the start of a lasting identity or just a brief stretch of good timing is still the question hanging over the unit. [Read more 🡒]