Second Start For Scotty Fox Jr. Gives Optimism For His Future With WVU Football

Despite the 23-17 loss to TCU on Saturday night, WVU football looked much better on the field in Week 9 than the last time they played – which ended in an ugly 45-13 loss at UCF. And a big reason why WVU looked much better was because of the quarterback play.

Scotty Fox Jr. didn't look great in his first career start against UCF, but he had his best game in college by far on Saturday against the Horned Frogs. Although he is known for being able to get things done with his legs like most Rich Rodriguez quarterbacks, Fox Jr. was not effective on the ground – but he was more than effective through the air.

Having one of the biggest impacts on the offense against TCU, Fox Jr. looked much more comfortable in this offense. Plays were desgined for him, and he executed. Rolling him out to his right and letting him throw on the run seemed to be quite successful on Saturday. The true freshman quarterback from Mentor, Ohio, finished 28-of-41 passing (68.2% completion percentage) while throwing for 301 yards through the air and adding two touchdowns.

"True freshman quarterback with ten new starters around him. I thought the kid acquitted himself well," head coach Rich Rodriguez said after the game. "Kids played hard against a veteran group. Some nice throws. There was some freshman stuff that was out there, but he's a true freshman. Kid battled and competed. Ya ain't gonna win the game when you run for forty yards, but there is also a lot of stuff that we can take from here and grow from."

In his second start of the season, but first game he was not replaced by another quarterback, Fox Jr. was able to play without looking over his shoulder of who might replace him on the field if he struggled. And that may have been a big reason why Fox Jr. was able to have the performance that he did on Saturday – he did not have to worry about who would replace him if he struggled to move the ball downfield. He had the whole game to settle in, develop a rhythm, and adjust to the TCU defense as the game progressed.

We got our first full look at the true freshman starting the game and ending the game as the signal caller without being subbed out for a series – that's actually the first time that's happened this season for WVU regardless of the quarterback starting. In our first full view of the young quarterback, there are several positive takeaways that we can leave the TCU game with. Fox Jr. showed a real ability to move around, roll out to his right, and deliver the ball with power and accuracy. The Mentor native also showed nice touch on some deep balls, including the 28-yard touchdown pass to Jeff Weimer.

There are still things that he needs to work on, obviously. He missed a couple of throws and a couple of times looked hesitant on whether to run or not. But remember this is a true freshman we are talking about, and a true freshman who probably did not think he was going to be in this position with all of the injuries in the quarterback room for WVU.

But if you are looking for things to build on for the future and positives that Fox Jr. can use as a reminder that he belongs in college football, Fox Jr.’s performance on Saturday was a great step in that direction. And as he continues to prove himself as a starter, Rodriguez plans on giving him more of the playbook to succeed with.

"As he gets more comfortable with experience, there are things that we feel more comfortable with," Rodriguez said. "But, as Scottie gets more experience, he'll get a bigger menu, and he'll have to with the way teams are playing us. But we have to be able to run the ball to give him help."