Rich Rodriguez discusses quarterback room after spring showcase

WVU’s spring showcase is in the books, but there are still many questions about who will be the next starting quarterback for Rich Rodriguez’s Mountaineers. 

The position battle has been an ongoing competition between candidates Nicco Marchiol, Jaylen Henderson, Max Brown and Scotty Fox. 

Although the showcase did not definitively answer who will be the next starter, Rich Rodriguez discussed the ongoing competition during his press conference. 

“I thought they ran pretty well. I think we need to get rid of the ball quicker at times; there were a couple throws we missed, but it’s a very conscientious group overall. Every one of them- they want to be good. They’ve learned a lot in a short period of time, and there’s more on their plate than anybody on the team,” Rodriguez said. 

Aligning with Rodriguez’s competitive and hard-edge mindset, he says that competitiveness is not something he worries about with the quarterbacks. 

“They’re all ultracompetitive. It’s what you think everybody would be, but there’s always some guys that you wish were more competitive. I don’t worry about the competitiveness in that room so that’s a good thing,” Rodriguez said. 

Brown, who is listed at 6-foot-3 and 233 pounds showed his athletic ability with a handful of physical rushes during the showcase. 

“Max, that’s one of his strengths. He is a big, strong guy, can run the ball pretty good, but all of our quarterbacks can run,” Rodriguez said. 

Henderson, who came from Texas A&M, did not see any play time last season for the Aggies. Rodriguez was asked if this is a concern with his development, to which he said Henderson is progressing well.

“The fact that (Henderson) didn’t play and now he’s able to go everything full speed has been really good from that standpoint,” Rodriguez said.

“He’s healthy, and I didn’t want to bang him up. Him and Nicco have game experience at this level, so I’m not so worried about, ‘what are they going to handle if the bright lights come on?’ but at the same time because everything is different when the quarterbacks live, we had to see that a little bit this spring,” Rodriguez said.