Latest Nicco Marchiol update further explains why West Virginia struggled in 2025

The legacy of Nicco Marchiol for West Virginia football is certainly a mixed bag.

He certainly deserves plenty of love from fans of the program. He helped lead the Mountaineers to two wins in the Backyard Brawl, and always represented the program well. And even after it was well-reported that his career with the program was over andhe'd be hitting the portalat the end of the season, he was still on the sidelines supporting his teammates despite being injured.

But he also was a bit of a dud as a starter for the Mountaineers last season, leading the program to a 2-2 start last season, including a road loss to a Group of 5 opponent and a blowout loss against Kansas.

It became clear early on that Marchiol was not the player best-suited to lead the Mountaineers. And now that he's found a new home, the latest update on his status further demonstrates why WVU football struggled so much last season.

Nicco Marchiol loses QB battle at Northwestern: Is he not a Power 4-caliber starter?

Marchiolended up at Northwestern, battling for the starting quarterback job with Aidan Chiles underneath head coach David Braun. Chiles wasofficially named the starterthis week, beating out the former WVU starter. So what does this tell us about Marchiol, and what does that mean relative to West Virginia's struggles last season?

Well, it's becoming clear that Marchiol likely isn't a Power 4 level starter. Not only did he struggle to play consistently in that role last year with the Mountaineers, he's now lost another quarterback battle. And the player that beat him out for the job this year went 8-12 as a starter at Michigan State over the past two seasons.

So what does that say about West Virginia last year? Well, it proves that the Mountaineers just did not have the talent that they needed to succeed last year, and anyone who had hopes that Rich Rodriguez could get off to a hot start with that roster was likely getting ahead of themselves.

Think about it: Marchiol won the starting the role, and once he was injured against Kansas, backup Jaylen Henderson proved fairly quickly that he was not any better for the job. Henderson lasted one half as a starter before that experience ended.

The best quarterbacks on the roster were Khalil Wilkins and Scotty Fox Jr., who were two of the youngest players in the room. And they clearly weren't ready to play at the beginning of the season: Fox's two interceptions in the Backyard Brawl proved he wasn't ready to be thrown into action early, and Wilkins never truly looked comfortable in the role.

The fact of the matter is that the Mountaineers didn't have the neccessary tools at quarterback last year, and that was a microcosm of an issue plauging the team at-large. But tat hopefully should not be the case this year.

The Mountaineers are reportedly just one of six teams in the Big 12 which spent above $20 million on their roster, which should mean a much-improved roster in terms of talent. And the buzz around Michael Hawkins Jr.as the likely starterproves that the Mountaineers have upgraded since last season at that position since last season.

After all, the player who closed the season as starter couldn't keep the job, despite another offseason of development with the program. That speaks volumes as to where the talent level in thar room should be this season.

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