MORGANTOWN — Rich Rodriguez hasn’t revealed too much about West Virginia football’s quarterback room this spring. Rodriguez said he wants to have some sort of a depth chart by the end of the spring, because it’s easier to release a depth chart now, since there is no risk of losing players to the second transfer portal window, but he hasn’t revealed who QB1 has been through the first couple of weeks.

There are some speculations on who the QB1 would be. Sophomore Scotty Fox Jr. arguably did the most last season to win the job. He played the most out of any quarterback as a true freshman and won two games as the starter, including the upset win over a top-25-ranked Houston. Fox closed out the season starting for WVU, and he and Max Brown were the only two scholarship QBs not to transfer. Jaylen Henderson is at Liberty, Nicco Marchiol is under center for Northwestern and Khalil Wilkins is down the road at Marshall.

In the room, Fox and Brown know the offense the best. Rodriguez said through the spring, Fox is making “good progress.”

“I think just more comfortable with, not just with what we do with, but what they’re doing on defense,” Rodriguez said. “What the coverage is and where to go with the ball. He was really good with that as a true freshman, I thought. A true freshman at this level, he had a good grasp of that, but I think he understands it even better now.”

Fox is beginning to make the more veteran reads that he sometimes lacked in 2025. Fox made some questionable throws last season and threw six interceptions. But, as Rodriguez said, he was a true freshman last season.

Fox is growing up and maturing, which, if he is the starter, will be crucial for the 2026 season.

“I think today, he made some really good reads on some pass plays and things that the defensive pressure stuff that he saw,” Rodriguez said. “He’s got a great release, so he’ll keep getting better, too.”

Rodriguez added some competition in the transfer portal to push Fox, so it wasn’t just Brown. Oklahoma quarterback Michael Hawkins transferred in this offseason to push Fox and fight for the starting spot. If you look at betting sites, Hawkins is the only WVU player listed as an option to win the Heisman Trophy. Don’t look too deep into it, though, because Henderson was the only QB last year listed, and he completed seven passes and scored one touchdown on the ground.

Hawkins was a former 4-star and played two seasons with the Sooners, starting in some games. He was the backup last year for John Mateer, who was injured for a game last year. Hawkins threw for 162 yards and three touchdowns in that game. Hawkins is talented, especially on the ground, which fits into the archetype of a Rodriguez quarterback.

“Mike Hawkins has done a really good job,” Rodriguez said. “He’s kind of a little bit quieter, but he’s very competitive. Done a really good job of picking it up quickly. He’s spent a lot of time and really pleased with the way he’s grasped some of it.”

Hawkins and Fox have kind of emerged as the two to watch for the fall. Rodriguez said the two of them are the only ones not to really “go live” this spring, because he knows they’re experienced enough, and also doesn’t want them to sustain injuries.

Brown is still fighting for his shot, and there are a couple of freshman quarterbacks learning the ropes as well.

“I think Max Brown’s got a little bit better,” Rodriguez said. “The young guys look like freshmen sometimes, but they have some skill, too, some talent. I like the young guys that we have, and I let some of them go live now.”

It’s hard to know what the quarterbacks are fully capable of in the spring because most of the practices are on air. Rodriguez said WVU is expected to have a big scrimmage for the last 20 minutes of practice on Wednesday, March 8, where he’ll split the team and staff up to have an actual 11-on-11 and 7-on-7 scrimmage.

Hawkins and Fox will be split, and the rest of the quarterbacks, and everyone could be live, so he’ll get a better idea of his room after that practice.

“We’re gonna split the team up for some scrimmages next week,” Rodriguez said a week before the scrimmage. “It’ll be like a true one team against another team, and probably let everybody be live to see what happens.”