Inside WVU’s 2025 Quarterback Race and Who Has the Edge Going Into Camp

Last week, we took a peek behind the curtain at what West Virginia has in the tight end room for the 2025 season, and today, we shift our focus to the guys who will look to get them the football.

In our 2025 WVU QB preview, we look at each of the three veterans with a quick breakdown of the two young guns.

Nicco Marchiol Is it finally time for 8-ball to take over? We'll find out soon enough.

After losing out to Garrett Greene as a redshirt freshman, Marchiol could have bounced and looked for a quicker path to playing time elsewhere.

He could have transferred again this offseason when WVU made the coaching change, but he's sticking it out, and that alone has gained a lot of respect from Mountaineer fans.

The grit, the toughness, the desire to win are all there, so while he may not be what you think of as a dream fit at QB for Rich Rodriguez, he has those other characteristics to help make up for it.

The biggest concern I have for Marchiol in this offense is that he doesn't have the speed to pose as a threat in the read option game.

Yes, he can do damage in between the tackles and plow right through defenders, but you'd like to eliminate those big blows as much as possible.

Getting him out in space? Probably not going to be as effective as some of the other QBs Rich Rod has had.

In the passing game, Marchiol has to be more decisive and conviction in his throws.

There have been too many occasions where he held onto the ball too long or hesitated, giving the defensive back time to make a play.

The good news? Rich Rod's offense should help hide some of that, or perhaps cure it.

They'll take shots down the field, but the goal is to get the ball out quickly and let the skill guys do their thing with it.

The one thing Marchiol has done when he's under center for the Mountaineers? Win.

The box score may not look pretty in some of those starts or long relief appearances, but he consistently finds ways to put his team in a position to win.

Jaylen Henderson Henderson began his career at Fresno State, where he made five appearances across two seasons.

He hopped in the portal and landed at Texas A&M to play for Jimbo Fisher.

The Aggies experienced some injuries at the quarterback position that season, which opened the door for Henderson.

He started the final four games of the regular season for A&M and went 53-for-78 (67.9%) for 715 yards, six touchdowns, and two interceptions while also rushing for 104 yards and two scores on 41 carries.

Unfortunately, he underwent an operation on his non-throwing arm following the Texas Bowl in 2023 while with A&M.

The injury occurred on the first play of the game when he was rolling left and got his legs taken out from underneath him.

With Mike Elko taking over for Fisher in College Station in addition to recovering from the injury, Henderson found himself buried on the depth chart and did not play in 2024.

Despite not having played a ton of football the last handful of years, Henderson is right in the mix for the starting job at WVU.

His athleticism and accuracy in the short and intermediate game will bode well in this system.

I wouldn't necessarily classify him as a burner, but he is more of a threat with his legs than the other two experienced quarterbacks on the roster.

Not only does that give Rich Rodriguez more to pick from on the play sheet, but gives the offense a chance to make something happen if a play breaks down or there's air-tight coverage in the pass game.

Max Brown Brown began his career at Florida, where he was a two-sport athlete, also playing on the baseball team that made it to the College World Series in 2022.

After redshirting, Brown saw some time as the Gators' QB2 in 2023 and even notched a start against rival Florida State to end the year.

Heading into that matchup, he was 10/12 on the season.

Against the Noles, he completed 9/16 passes for 86 yards and threw a pick.

With DJ Lagway coming into the fold at Florida, Brown transferred to Charlotte, where he won the starting job out of fall camp.

However, things took a turn rather quickly as he suffered an injury to the thumb on his throwing hand in Week 2 against North Carolina and didn't return until mid-October.

During that time, freshman Deshawn Purdie played extremely well, and by the end of the season, the 49ers continued to ride it out with him.

The stats don't look great in 2024 for Brown, but his game was not the same once he returned from injury.

He completed just 13-of-36 passes post-injury.

Before he went on the shelf, he went 30/57 - still not great, but you can attribute some of that to the bad offensive ecosystem he was in.

While his collegiate stats may not indicate it, Brown can run the ball.

During his time at Lincoln Christian High School, Brown rushed for 2,335 yards and 33 touchdowns over his junior and senior seasons, while also throwing for 4,416 yards.

Because of the stats and the potential of the previously mentioned two QBs, Brown is widely viewed as the third man in the QB race.

That might be the case, but don't completely rule him out.

The young bucks: Khalil Wilkins, Scotty Fox If either of these two sees the field for WVU in 2025, then either a lot has gone wrong or the QB room gets snakebitten with injuries.

And don't take this as a knock on their talent or abilities.

They just simply need time to develop, and with three veterans on the roster, they shouldn't factor into the mix.

Wilkins is entering his third year in the program and at this point, just needs some stability.

At the prep level, he played at three schools - Theodore Roosevelt, Wise, and Riverdale Baptist.

After spending a year learning under Neal Brown's staff, the playbook has been reset on him, although it will likely be a better fit for him long-term.

That's a ton of change in a short period of time for a really young quarterback.

As for Fox, he's an intriguing dual-threat who could be the future of the program if his transition to college ball goes smoothly and he continues to develop.

As a senior at Mentor High School in Ohio, he tossed for 2,759 yards while rushing for 321, combining for 41 touchdowns.

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