Why is the WVU Football Staff So High on Freshman Jyron Hughley?

Even as Mike Hawks is enjoying one of the best seasons for any quarterback in the country, the WVU coaching staff has confidence in the entire position room.

West Virginia quarterbacks coach Rhett Rodriguez expressed his confidence in the full room, even going all the way down below Scotty Fox Jr. to a freshman during his appearance on Monday’s “Rich Rodriguez Show.”

Below is what Rodriguez had to say when asked about how they are handling Jyron Hughley and why there’s a belief in him.

“He’s still with the offense,” Rodriguez said. “We kind of went back and forth between is it better for him to go down there and get some scout team reps or is it better for him to kind of watch and see Mike [Hawkins] and Scotty [Fox] get some of those reps. He’s been mainly down with the offense, and he’ll still get some reps too as well. We try to rotate some guys in there, obviously not quite as much as Mike and Scotty, but I think it’s been a great year for him to kind of watch and see what it’s supposed to look like.”

Listed at 6-foot-2, 195 pounds, Hughley is a product of Cardinals Newman High School in West Palm Beach, Fla.

A dual-threat athlete, Hughley was one of the first quarterbacks Rich Rodriguez’s staff reached out to when they started recruiting.

Hughley was considered a three-star player out of high school by most national recruiting outlets. He picked WVU over offers from Boston College, Florida State, Indiana, Miami (FL), Minnesota, North Carolina State, Penn State, Pitt, Syracuse, UCF, Virginia Tech among others.

As a senior, Hughley completed 115-of-171 passes (67.3%) for 2,018 yards as a senior with 17 touchdowns. He also added 1,528 yards rushing on 131 carries (11.7 yards per attempt) and 19 touchdowns.

Highley sccored both touchdowns in Cardinal Newman’s state 17-13 championship victory over Chaminade-Madonna in the Florida 1A state championship. He also ran for 155 yards and a touchdown and passed for 205 yards and three touchdowns in the state semifinals against Carrollwood Day.

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