The quarterback battle at West Virginia is still very much ongoing but the competition in the room has been a positive at the mid-way point of spring.
“It’s good. I do think they’ve gotten better each day,” head coach Rich Rodriguez said.
The position room has seen players take steps one day, then others take their turns as the coaching staff is repping all six of the quarterbacks this spring. The goal is to eventually trim that down to four toward the end of the spring, but so far Rodriguez likes what the room has shown on the practice field.
“I think they're all really conscientious. I think they've gotten better. And it's some really good competition in that room. I mean, legit, it's not just a makeup competition,” Rodriguez said.
When it comes to the veterans in redshirt junior Nicco Marchiol and redshirt senior Jaylen Henderson both have done a good job with the reps they’ve been given. He also has noticed no limitations when it comes to injury with Henderson after he missed all of last season.
Meanwhile redshirt junior Max Brown also has flashed his skills. Rodriguez also didn’t hide the fact that he has been impressed with true freshman Scotty Fox.
“I think he's got a great future, so we're good there,” he said.
The goal eventually is for the quarterbacks to be able to adjust plays at the line of scrimmage and understand what is built into every play. It’s easier now than before because of the fact that quarterbacks coach Rhett Rodriguez is in the head set and can instruct them, but the goal is by the fall to be able to call plays for a series so they can get a feel and help each of them grow.
Now, the caveat to that is that Rodriguez must trust the quarterbacks that get that responsibility, and they must demonstrate that they can anticipate what is going to be called or what check is coming.
The younger Rodriguez likes the depth in his position room and the goal is to try to find at least three of the options that are ready to compete, and the coaches feel comfortable with putting them into a game.
So, there’s still a long way to go, but the position room is certainly making strides.
“But I feel like we got pretty good depth in that position. Of course, the first spring, there's going to be some kinks to work out. But I've been pretty pleased with where we are right now. And I think everyone in the quarterback room has been pretty impressive so far,” Rodriguez said.
----------
• Talk about it with West Virginia fans on The Blue Lot.
• SUBSCRIBE today to stay up on the latest on Mountaineer sports and recruiting.
• Get all of our WVU videos on YouTube by subscribing to the WVSports.com Channel
• Follow us on Twitter: @WVSportsDotCom, @rivalskeenan, @wesleyshoe
