Nicco Marchiol spent four loyal seasons in the Old Gold and Blue for the West Virginia Mountaineers, sticking with the program through a head coaching change last offseason. But now, he is embarking on a new chapter of his football career with a new team.
Marchiol started four games for WVU last season, two games during the 2024 season, and one game in the 2023 season. He went 5-2 as a starter for the Mountaineers, with one of those wins coming against the Pitt Panthers in the Backyard Brawl this past season.
But Marchiol took a medical redshirt after suffering an injury early last season and hit the transfer portal following the end of the year. On Monday night, the news broke that the former WVU standout quarterback had committed to the Northwestern Wildcats of the Big Ten Conference after recently visiting with the program.
ALWAYS bet on yourself. @NUFBFamily pic.twitter.com/VGBnfcwn6n
— Nicco Marchiol (@MarchiolNicco) March 16, 2026
Nicco Marchiol heads to the Northestern Wildcats
Marchiol finishes his WVU career with 1,462 passing yards, 10 touchdowns, and seven interceptions. He will likely battle for the starting job after Northwestern's former starter Preston Stone exhausted his eligibility last season – but he will have a challenge in front of him.
That's because the Wildcats also added a former Michigan State starter in Aidan Chiles, who left the Spartans after being benched last year and seeing his head coach Jonathan Smith – who he followed to the Big Ten from Oregon State – get fired after two seasons. Chiles went 8-12 as a starter at Michigan State, passing for 4,116 yards, 27 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions over his three-year college career.