WVU’s Mike Hawkins Earns National Recognition Despite Big 12 Snub

Despite failing to be recognized by the Big 12, Mike Hawkins still earned national attention for his monster performance in WVU’s 45-42 win over Cincinnati.

Hawkins wasn’t named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week, but he was awarded the distinction by the Walter Camp Football Foundation, as announced on Tuesday.

Validating his ability to throw if necessary, Hawkins threw for 464 yards, a career-high that also made program history on Saturday.

Only able to run for 77 yards on top of Cam Cook’s 40-yard day, Hawkins accounted for 541 of the Mountaineers’ 598 yards of total offense in the game. The former four-star recruit and transfer from Oklahoma became the first West Virginia signal caller to throw for over 400 yards and run for at least 75 in a single game. His 464 yards passing are the most for any Mountaineer quarterback since Will Grier’s 539 against Oklahoma in 2018.

Mike Hawkins Makes WVU History in Multiple Ways in Victory Over Cincinnati

He even joined Grier, Skyler Howard, Clint Trickett and Geno Smith as the only WVU quarterbacks to ever throw for 460 plus passing yards and have three or more passing touchdowns in a game. Hawkins’ performance stands as the fifth most passing yards in a game in program history, too.

“How about Mike Hawkins? He was phenomenal. I didn’t know he threw for 464. He made some great throws. I’ve said it all year. He can make all the throws and we got good wideouts, but he’s such a dynamic runner that people [forget about the passing]. I have no hesitation on any pass play if Mike can make the throw. Today, he made a lot of them,” head coach Rich Rodriguez said to praise his quarterback.

Overall on the year, the redshirt sophomore now has 1,519 passing yards, 749 rushing yards with 24 total touchdown and only one interception through seven games.

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