Michael Hawkins Jr. lives up to high expectations in West Virginia's season opener

The West Virginia Mountaineersopened their season with a winagainst Coastal Carolina on Saturday. And while there were some good things – and some ugly things – to be taken away from the loss. But one of the brightest spots of the team's performance was the debut of Michael Hawkins Jr. in the old-gold-and-blue.

Hawkins Jr., a redshirt sophomore who transferred in this offseason from Oklahoma, won the starting job over sophomore Scotty Fox Jr., who started the second half of the season for the Mountaineers last year. And everything about his performance lived up to the expectations of a dual-threat, 4-star SEC quarterback in a Rich Rodriguez offense

Michael Hawkins goes over 100 yards passing and 100 yards rushing for WVU football

Hawkins Jr. was touted as a Path White-style quarterback who can make electricity happen with both his arm and his feet, and hewas able to do both against the Chanticleerson Saturday. He went 11-of-14 passing for 132 yards and one touchdown, and added 103 rushing yards and one touchdown on 20 carries.

“I felt efficient out there,"Hawkins said after the game. "I felt pretty confident throwing the ball. The run game was pretty good. We just have to eliminate some penalties we had. So, I think it was a good start to our season.”

“It was great just being able to get back on the field and be out there with my guys and just us playing together. It just was a good feeling for me. It's been a long time. So, just getting going and getting a win today was just a great feeling for not just myself, but my team.”

Hawkins Jr. is a quarterback that national analysts consideredcapable of leading a resurgencefor the Mountaineers this season, and he proved he can be quite dangerous on Saturday against Coastal Carolina. Rodriguez praised Hawkins for being the most "explosive" option at the position during his post-game press conference, and it's hard to disagree that he lived up to that description in his first game.

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