First Impressions from West Virginia football 2025 Gold-Blue Showcase

Oct 19, 2024; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers quarterback Nicco Marchiol (8) throws for a touchdown during the fourth quarter against the Kansas State Wildcats at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images
Oct 19, 2024; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers quarterback Nicco Marchiol (8) throws for a touchdown during the fourth quarter against the Kansas State Wildcats at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images | Ben Queen-Imagn Images

West Virginia football wrapped up their offseason spring practice period on Saturday with the 2025 Gold-Blue Showcase at Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown.

The stands were peppered with fans getting their first look at WVU Head Coach Rich Rodriguez's second tenure in Morgantown. While the roster was not divided into traditional split rosters for a traditional spring game, the Mountaineers did pit their offense and defense against each other in a scrimmage session that lasted for about an hour and a half.

Here are the big impressions we immediately took away from thw Gold-Blue Showcase

The Run Game Reigns Supreme

For West Virginia fans who either reminisce about the first Rich Rodriguez tenure or that got accustomed to a Neal Brown-led run game that averaged 210 yards over the past two seasons, Saturday was a hopeful glimpse at the Mountaineer offense.

While official stats were not kept, the Mountaineers spent the afternoon advancing the ball on the ground regardless of what combination of athletes were along the offensive line or in the backfield.

A trio of running backs found the endzone at least once, with multiple scoring twice -- Tye Edwards, Diore Hubbard, and Trae'von Dunbar each scored touchdowns, while quarterback Max Brown also rushed for a touchdown.

Clay Ash, who won the Tommy Nickolich Award for top walk-on, also impressed on the ground. Predicted starter Jahiem White, who underwent surgery this winter for an injury and only got back to practice in final weeks before the showcase, did not make an appearance

Nicco's Time?

For what it's worth -- and it may not be worth much -- junior and returning quarterback Nicco Marchiol took the first snaps on Saturday with the offense, and looked impressive in limited action.

He completed a pair of passes, including a 40-yard downfield bomb to Cam Vaughn and a tight completion along the sideline to Jarell Williams, but didn't see a ton of action overall.

With Marchiol taking first-team snaps and making limited appearances amidst worries across the sport of 'giving away too much' during the spring game, it could be a sign Marchiol is in a position to inherit the starting role if he finishes summer and fall camp strong. Marchiol is 3-0 as a starter at WVU.

Discipline Issues

One of the biggest red flags for the Mountaineers on Saturday was the penalty situation.

Numerous false start penalties were called, many time multiple per offesnive possession. At one point, things got scrappy at the end of a play between the offense and defense, and a personal foul was called.

Rodriguez lamented the team's focus and discipline in regards to such small penalties once earlier during spring practice this year, and it seems the issue is still present. How the Mountaineers fix this headed into fall camp and the 20025 season remains to be seen.

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