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Who’s the starting QB? At WVU, it’s everybody

3 min read
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By Spencer Ripchik

For the Observer-Reporter

newsroom@observer-reporter.com

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Through the spring, the summer, and into fall camp, the biggest question was who West Virginia’s starting quarterback was going to be. Was it going to be returner Nicco Marchiol, Texas A&M transfer Jaylen Henderson, Charlotte and Florida transfer Max Brown, or returner Scottie Fox?

Coach Rich Rodriguez said all quarterbacks were battling for a starting spot, and he won’t let the public know until they find out when the offense takes the field for the first time Saturday against Robert Morris.

Rodriguez found a way to keep the battle still even when he had to release the depth chart.

During Rodriguez’s radio show Monday, he said when the depth chart was released, don’t be surprised if there are a lot of “ORs,” meaning that position is shared. He wasn’t kidding. When WVU released its depth chart, it had 13 “ORs” listed.

The most? Of course, it was at quarterback, where the starter is listed as Marchiol, or Henderson, or Brown, or Fox, or Khalil Wilkins. Five out of the seven quarterbacks on the roster are listed as starting quarterbacks.

“When you release the depth chart, and you see a lot of ‘Ors,'” Rodriguez said. “It’s not my strategic plan to not let them know who’s starting. It’s truly or. It’s him, or him, or him, or him.”

The quarterbacks are listed in a certain way on the depth chart, despite everyone having an “or” next to their name. It could be random, but based on the projections, it could have some merit.

Rodriguez isn’t truly sure who the starting quarterback is going to be. Luckily, Robert Morris is the perfect team to have “Ors.” The Mountaineers opened as 38.5-point favorites over the FCS squad, and one of the reasons to play and pay a weaker team is to dust off the cobwebs and iron out the kinks, seeing how each player actually plays in a game.

There should be fewer “Ors” next week against Ohio. They might not all be eradicated because Rodriguez also said that WVU could play multiple quarterbacks well beyond Week 1.

“You don’t know a guy may come out and just play so well and be so dynamic, or whatever at whatever the position is,” Rodriguez said. “Gosh, we thought he was pretty good, and he’s even better. Or, we thought this guy was ready, and maybe he’s not quite ready. Maybe it’ll take a couple more weeks for him to get ready. That’s what we’re you find out the beginning of each season.”

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