How High Will Michael Hawkins Take West Virginia?

Rich Rodriguez and the West Virginia Mountaineers kick off the 2026 season against Coastal Carolina on Saturday, Sept. 4, in Morgantown. It’s the first step toward redemption for a roster largely conceived via the transfer portal and a head coach eager to start winning again.

Oklahoma quarterback transfer Michael Hawkins, named the school’s Week 1 starter on Friday morning, is among the newcomers, but he’s tasked with leading this team like a veteran as the offense, led primarily by Rodriguez and his senior assistants, Travis Trickett and Rhett Rodriguez, looks to improve upon 21.7 points per game in 2025.

Starting four games for OU in 2024, Hawkins became the first Sooner freshman QB to win on the road in his first career start at Auburn. He’d finish that season completing 76 of 120 passes for 783 yards and three touchdowns; He’d net another 204 yards and a touchdown using his legs.

Recovering from a hand injury, John Mateer beat Hawkins for the starting job in Norman last fall. Seeing the field just twice last season, Hawkins completed 15 of 27 attempts for 167 yards and three touchdowns in wins over Kent State and Temple. Hawkins, a native of Dallas, Texas, enrolled at West Virginia this spring after entering the portal earlier this year in January.

The Weapons Around Michael Hawkins

While Hawkins, standing at 6-foot-1 and 201 pounds, is considerably mobile with the football, the addition of Jacksonville State RB transfer Cam Cook should take most of the pressure off West Virginia’s quarterback to use his legs. Cook exploded for 1,659 yards last year in the Sun Belt.

A senior wideout, DJ Epps, also comes in from Troy, where he averaged 10.9 yards per catch over 10 starts at receiver. Senior Jaden Bray has recovered from injury, and Boise State transfer Prince Strachan (15.6 ypc) is stepping up to the Power Four in the WVU receivers’ room.

There’s little depth behind those projected starting WRs, and even less behind Cook, but the fact remains that West Virginia has some new weapons to account for this fall.

The Upshot for the West Virginia Mountaineers

After finishing 4-8 in his first season back, Rodriguez is chasing bowl eligibility with a Big 12 schedule that includes Arizona, TCU, Texas Tech, Houston and Utah.

The oddsmakers tapped the Mountaineers to win 5.5 games, a decent mark higher than their previous season, and quite generous considering the bevy of transfers Rodriguez brought in. WVU is working with an experienced offensive line, though, and is capable of far more damage this fall.

Best to place WVU around 5 to 6 wins, with key matchups coming against Oklahoma State, Iowa State, Cincinnati and Kansas serving as major opportunities in the Big 12. A Sept. 19 neutral-site game with Virginia – the first meeting between the schools since 2002 – is another key chance at picking up some steam for that home conference opener with the Cowboys on Sept. 26.