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West Virginia QB Competition: Is it Nicco Marchiol's Job to Lose?

Originally posted on West Virginia Mountaineers on SI
By Josh Wolfe | Last updated May 11, 2025 8:30 AM ET

West Virginia will have a new signal caller in 2025, and the competition is on-going. The competition will run into fall camp and it's likely that Mountaineer fans won't know who the starter is until the first offensive possession versus Robert Morris.

The Front-Runner: Nicco Marchiol

WVU fans know and love Nicco, especially after he decided to return to West Virginia despite the coaching change. Nicco is 3-0 as a starter at WVU, and also led the Mountaineers to a victory versus Pittsburgh when starting QB Garrett Greene went down with an injury in 2023. Marchiol has 736 passing yards, eight passing touchdowns, and five interceptions in his career. More importantly, since Rich Rodriguez loves to run his quarterbacks, he has run for 320 yards and three scores.

The guy who wins the starting job will be the guy who makes the right read the most often. In my opinion, I think that guy will be Nicco.

The Competition: Jaylen Henderson

West Virginia added Henderson out of the transfer portal from Texas A&M, and he is a great fit for the offensive scheme. He is athletic and has a big arm, but he is coming off an injury that sidelined him for the entirety of the 2024 season. He made three starts in 2023 for the Aggies, which were highlighted by a 294-yard passing performance versus LSU. He has 764 career passing yards, six touchdowns, and one interception. Additionally, he has rushed for 239 yards and two scores.

Though I think he is more athletic and has a higher ceiling than Nicco, I do not believe he wins the job. It's important to note that star Jacksonville State QB Tyler Huff did not win the job out of fall camp.

Keep This In Your Back Pocket

Sources out of Morgantown have told me that Scotty Fox is a star in the making, and is considered to be the future of West Virginia. He is dealing with a minor injury right now, but do not be surprised if the true freshman is third on the depth chart this fall.