Poll: Is it Time West Virginia Starts Jaylen Henderson Over Nicco Marchiol?

A week after Nicco Marchiol was crowned West Virginia’s hero for leading the Mountaineers to a comeback win over Pitt, he’s now being doubted by WVU fans everywhere. Marchiol’s rough outing against Kansas even has some fans wondering if it’s time to make a change at quarterback.

Marchiol was only 15-of-27 for 127 yards as WVU struggled to find a rhythm on offense throughout most of the game. He also threw a pick and ran for -4 yards on six attempts on the ground.

While some could argue the offensive line failed to protect and the play calling didn’t seem to cater to his skillset, what happened when Marchiol was replaced by Jaylen Henderson puts his status as West Virginia’s QB1 in question.

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Henderson, who entered the game in the third quarter with the outcome decided, provided the spark WVU fans thought would never come. Henderson led the Mountaineers on their only touchdown drive, accounting for 95 yards when out there. He also showed more of an ability to run Rich Rodriguez’s spread offense by running for an average of 11.3 yards per touch on seven carries.

Henderson, a former top recruit out of high school and a transfer from Texas A&M, ran for 79 yards, including a 32-yard burst up the middle through a Kansas defense that had previously shut down big plays.

Of course, one possession may not be enough to warrant a change at the top of the depth chart and Rodriguez will undoubtedly continue rotating his quarterbacks no matter who starts. However, it will be interesting if Henderson gets an opportunity to start a game under center, especially with a loss to Utah this coming Saturday dropping WVU to 2-3 and 0-2 in Big 12 play.

Find more coverage of the WVU football program at WV Sports Now.

For related content, Mike Asti discussed what went wrong for WVU and the options moving forward on a postgame show immediately after the game.