It’s mid-August in Morgantown, and the scream for QB1 ticks louder. West Virginia’s quarterback derby—five men deep, all throwing heat in camp—is about to get its first major cut. Rich Rodriguez, never one to sugarcoat anything, just dropped a 72-hour timer on the decision-making process. He’s teasing that by Sunday night, the staff will have a real picture of who’s where. But until then? Every snap in Saturday’s scrimmage might as well be a lottery ticket.

Rodriguez stood there on Wednesday, talking about how every QB has “progressed” while juggling the headache of giving five guys meaningful reps. “Yeah, I think all have progressed, and it’s really been quite a task to get so many guys so many reps. You know, I think— and we do get a lot of reps in practice, so I’m not concerned that they’re getting enough, but we’re trying to be fair to all of them. And it’s still a pretty good battle, I think, but in a good way. I think the scrimmages probably mean a little bit more as far as that goes. We’ve got Saturday scrimmage and then kind of half-scrimmage next week as well.” He said, pointing out that Nicco Marchiol, Jaylen Henderson, and Max Brown’s prior game snaps give them a slight edge in polish.

But don’t count out Scotty Fox or Khalil Wilkins—the young guns with live arms and zero fear. He flat-out admitted there’s been no staff sit-down yet on the depth chart. That’s coming after the weekend. Translation: the QB race is open, but the next 72 hours will write most of the story.

And here’s the twist—Rodriguez isn’t ruling out waiting until game day to tip his hand. This is a man who has been in enough locker rooms to know the power of a surprise starter. He even hinted more than one QB could see snaps early in the season. Nicco is the most experienced of 5. Last season, he threw for 434 passing yards, 5 touchdowns. Then there’s Jaylen. The dual threat’s got legs that can bail him out of trouble, and Max’s cannon of an arm could win games if he locks in. But if Fox or Khalil light up the scrimmage? The whole script changes. No one’s safe.

Rodriguez is walking the tightrope—keep everyone hungry, but don’t tank morale. By dangling the decision just out of reach, he’s fueling competition like it’s premium gas. And for a program trying to claw back from mediocrity, that might be exactly the juice they need. Because let’s be real, the Mountaineers haven’t had a steady, game-changing QB presence in a hot minute.

Rich Rodriguez keeps it real about West Virginia offense

WVU’s running back room right now looks low-key lost. CJ Donaldson bolted to Ohio State, longtime RB coach Chad Scott packed his bags for Texas, and transfer Jaylan Knighton got zapped off the roster over eligibility issues. What’s left is Jahiem White—healthy, stronger, ready to carry the rock—but basically playing lead guitar in a one-man show.

Rodriguez didn’t dance around it when asked about the RB health situation. “We had the most running backs today in practice since camp started—maybe five or so,” he said. Sure, that sounds okay until you realize they’re mostly green as summer grass. Behind White, it’s Diore Hubbard, Cyncir Bowers, Clay Ash, and Kannon Katzer—talented kids, but with about as much college game tape as a freshman’s highlight reel.

This is dangerous territory for a run-heavy offense like WVU’s. One injury, one bad ankle tweak to White, and you’re tossing the keys to someone who’s never had to read a Big 12 defense at full speed. Rodriguez admitted the RB room is usually a spot you rotate bodies, but he’s not subbing White out just to check a box. If his starter’s hot, he’s staying in—period.

Rich doubled down: “If you’re picking somebody up now, you hope they’ve been training all summer because you haven’t had a chance to see them. You could get here and get in shape, but the difference now is all these guys—not just here, but everywhere else—have been with our strength staff in the summer. Our strength staff does a great job, and they’ve had, you know, whatever it is, 10 or 12 practices at a pretty good pace, so practices should help get them in shape too. But there’s probably still a couple guys out there… but right now it’s pretty rare to find guys.” The transfer market’s basically a ghost town in mid-August. Rich Rod spelled it out—if you’re picking up a guy this late, you better pray he’s been training all summer because you haven’t seen him work.

And that’s the cold truth: you can’t fake chemistry, conditioning, or game-readiness in a couple weeks. Which is why, no matter what the QB room looks like after this weekend, the RB room’s thin depth is the bigger gamble for WVU’s 2025 season. If we’re keeping it real? Rodriguez is walking into a season where most analysts are calling for a 4-8 or 5-7 finish. But that’s the game—and Rich Rod’s never been afraid to play it with the cards he’s dealt.