Mike Hawkins Jr. might give West Virginia football the best QB in college football

The West Virginia Mountaineers are undefeated after their Week 3 win over then-ranked Virginia in the Duke's Mayo Classic in Charlotte. And the main thing that people seem to be talking about after the game isjust how special starting quarterback Mike Hawkins Jr. lookedon Saturday, and his numbers through the first three games of the year.

And when you look at the stats and the grades for Hawkins Jr., and watch how he has played in those first few contests, there is an argument to be made that West Virginia has not just one of the best quarterbacks in the Big 12, but in all of college football.

Is Mike Hawkins Jr. the best QB in the FBS?

Now, maybe we should pump the brakes on the 'Mike Hawkins Heisman campaign.' Two of the three games he played have been against FCS or Group of 6 competition, and that's talent he should be better than. But it's hard to deny the numbers.

He's 26-for-38 passing for for 477 yards and five touchdowns and zero interceptions, completing 68% of his passes. He also 322 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns on the ground, and the second-highest quarterback rating in FBS football.

Hawkins Jr. currently leads the nation in both rushing yards and rushing touchdowns by a quarterback, and is second in the nation in missed tackles forced by a quarterback and fifth in the nation in rushes of 10-or-more yards by a running back. And on third down specifically, he's 13-for-17 passing (77% completion percentage) for 252 yards and four touchdowns.

And he's grading out as well as you'd expect, too. Not onlywas he the top-graded quarterbackby Pro Football Focus (PFF) in Week 3 among all FBS teams, but he's alsothe top-graded quarterback to date on the seasonwith a 93.5 offensive grade for the year.

And people are starting to take notice. Hawkins Jr.was named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Weekafter his performance against Virginia, and is being talked about all across the college football world since Saturday night. And when his teammate Chams Diagne walked behind him during his postgame interview after the win, he said what a lot of West Virginia fans might be starting to think, but don't dare hope too hard for.

"Mike Hawkins for MVP. And Heisman. And any other award you give to a quarterback," Diagne yelled into the camera.

It drew chuckles from both Hawkins Jr. himself as well as the broadcast team calling the game, but if Hawkins Jr. continues playing the way he has, it might be a legitimate conversation to have in the next month or so. Because as the numbers stand, Hawkins Jr. might be the best quarterback in college football.

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