The Athletic Ranks Nicco Marchiol in Bottom Tier of Power Four QBs for 2025

Originally posted on West Virginia Mountaineers on SI
By Schuyler Callihan | Last updated Jul 16, 2025 1:37 PM ET

The trend continues for West Virginia quarterback Nicco Marchiol, who ranks toward the bottom of another preseason QB ranking list. Antonio Morales and Sam Khan Jr. of The Athletic, recently ranked every FBS quarterback who is projected to start in 2025.

Marchiol ranked 57th overall,13th among the Big 12, and 52nd (of 68) among the Power Four. Of the Big 12 quarterbacks, he only ranks ahead of Tayven Jackson (UCF), Hauss Hejny (Oklahoma State), and McCae Hillstead (BYU).

"This job is not cinched just yet, as new coach Rich Rodriguez also signed Texas A&M transfer Jaylen Henderson, but Marchiol has the experience edge, with 19 games of action in a Mountaineer uniform, including a 3-0 record as a starter. He’s a capable thrower who can drive the ball downfield and layer it over defenders. He’s also a strong runner who isn’t afraid to get physical — like he did when he ran over Oklahoma State safety Trey Rucker last year. He just has to prove he can do it across an entire season."

As I've mentioned in previous articles, including my own Big 12 quarterback rankings, it's just hard to put Marchiol much higher when there are still so many questions about his ceiling as a full-time starter, and then you look around the rest of the league and see all of the proven, multi-year starters who are back.

Marchiol may not be the 13th-best quarterback in the league by the end of the season, but for now, he's in that bottom tier.