Michael Hawkins Jr. has barely needed any time to make his mark at West Virginia. In his first real run as a starting quarterback, he’s already forcing the conversation with explosive throws, steady production on the ground, and a style that seems tailor-made for what the Mountaineers want to do.
The numbers tell the story in a pretty blunt way. No quarterback in college football is throwing a bigger share of his passes 20-plus yards downfield than Hawkins, and that helps explain why his completion rate sits at 52%.
When you live that aggressively, the percentage usually takes a hit. But the payoff is obvious.
Hawkins has also piled up 672 rushing yards, which leads the nation among quarterbacks, and he’s tied with Florida running back Jadan Baugh for the most rushing touchdowns in the country with 12.
That profile is exactly what caught the attention of Phil Steele. On Friday’s episode of the In the Gun Podcast, Steele had plenty of praise for the redshirt sophomore and called him a strong match for Rich Rod’s offense.
“What a tremendous pickup and what a great fit. I think that’s what you really need with a Rich Rod offense is somebody that fits the offense and Michael Hawkins does exactly that.
Maybe he wasn’t the perfect fit for the Oklahoma offense, but I think right now Sooner fans would probably like to have him there. I think one of the advantages of the deep pass and hitting it is when you’ve got the great run game, as mentioned, teams are going to have to bring that safety in and now, all of a sudden, you’ve got 1-on-1 coverage down the field.
You hit the pass, you’re going to get the big play, and Hawkins has been really good at that. Super impressed with him this year.
I thought he would have a good year, but he’s actually gone over my expectations so far. I think he’s just the perfect fit for the Rich Rod offense.”
Hawkins still has room to clean up some of those deep shots, and that’s part of the tradeoff with the way he plays. But the expectation around him is that the accuracy will settle in as the season goes on. Even before the year started, the coaching staff believed it had the best quarterback in the Big 12, and right now he looks like one of the top three at the very least.
In Other News...
WVUs Loaded Ground Game Could Get An Intriguing New Option Today
West Virginia has already built a rushing identity behind Cam Cook and quarterback Mike Hawkins Jr., with freshman Amari Latimer giving the Mountaineers another layer in the backfield. Even with that production in place, the staff has kept working through options, and Utah transfer running back NaQuari Rogers has been around the program for a while now, practicing with the team and even dressing for recent games.
Rogers still has not taken the field, but his presence is another reminder of how much depth this ground game could still have if he gets folded into the rotation. For a West Virginia offense that has leaned on the run and found success with multiple pieces, the question now is less about whether Rogers can help at some point and more about when that chance finally comes, and how big a role he might be able to carve out. [Read more 🡒]
West Virginia Already Has A Ross Hodge Debate Before The Season
Before Ross Hodge has even gotten through a second season at West Virginia, the Big 12 has already offered an early read on where the Mountaineers stand. The league's preseason coaches poll slotted West Virginia tied with Cincinnati for eighth, a modest starting point for a program trying to climb after bringing in plenty of new faces and asking a lot of Hodge in year two.
The projection is not exactly discouraging, but it does underline the gap between expectation and certainty in Morgantown. West Virginia is supposed to get better as the pieces settle in, yet the timetable for that growth remains a central question, and the first exhibition against Maryland will be the first real chance to see how close the Mountaineers are to looking like a team ready to move up. [Read more 🡒]
WVU Pulled Off The Kind Of Home Thriller Fans Wont Forget
Mountaineer Field got the kind of Saturday night finish that tends to linger in the memory, with West Virginia and Cincinnati trading momentum back and forth in a game that never let either side settle in. The Bearcats and Mountaineers answered each other repeatedly, and the offense on both sides delivered enough big plays to keep the crowd locked in from start to finish.
Mike Hawkins Jr. and JC French each found the end zone, while DJ Epps late touchdown brought the game level at 28 deep in the fourth quarter and turned the final stretch into pure pressure football. For West Virginia, it was the sort of home win that speaks to resilience as much as execution, the kind of result fans will be replaying long after the final whistle. [Read more 🡒]