If you take WVU football head coach Rich Rodriguez at his word, there is a five-man quarterback competition going on as the team is getting into the thick of preseason practices. But when you listen to Nicco Marchiol speak, he sounds like a starting quarterback.
Marchiol is a returning redshirt junior for the Mountaineers, and was the backup quarterback for WVU starter Garrett Greene over the past two seasons – he also holds a 3-0 record as a starter in relief of Green while he was injured, and while he didn't earn the start, helped WVU earn a 17-7 win in the 2023 Backyard Brawl after Greene was knocked out of action in the first quarter. He opted to return to WVU under Rich Rodriguez despite being a recruit from the Neal Brown era of the program.
Marchiol is working hard to claim the job that many assume is his to inherit if he lives up to his hype. He was the first player to be interviewed on the team's social media channels once camp started, and the first player to be presented for media availability after preseason practices, and was taking reps with the first team during the 2025 Gold-Blue Showcase. He was also taking reps with what many presume to be the current first and second string players while practice was open to the media last Friday, but Rodriguez has been open that a depth chart has not truly been set yet.
But obviously, Marchiol must first be comfortable in a new offense, as Rodriguez brings a different playbook with him to Morgantown. When speaking with the media on Monday, Marchiol discussed how he is taking to the new scheme.
"I really enjoy playing in this offense, and I feel like I'm getting a better grasp of it every day we go out there," he said.
1 big takeaway from today's WVU press conference:
— Joe Smith (@joesmithwrites) August 4, 2025
Rich Rod says there's a 5-man QB battle but Nicco Marchiol is the first player we hear from during camp. He spoke w/ the confidence of a starter & claims he can be a 1,000 yard rusher. It's his job to lose in my opinion. #HailWV pic.twitter.com/FOLBSbRizE
Marchiol also has to adjust to a new culture within the program, as Rodriguez brings a bit more intensity and his patented "hard edge" mentality back to WVU football. It comes as a bit of a change for those used to the Brown era – but for Marchiol, who once vomited before throwing the final touchdown in a 17-point comeback in high school against a Top 10 team in the nation while "playing beat up" and taking six sacks in one game, "hard edge" is old hat.
"Hard edge is a lifestyle. Everyone talks about having a culture and you can have all these buzzwords that sound really well but it's an entirely different thing to live it," Marchiol said. "Hard edge is not something you do one day and don't do another day. It's something that you live by, and like Coach Rod says, once you learn it you never want to go back to your old lifestyle."
Marchiol, complete with his own "hard edge" attitude, has lofty goals that he wants to achieve while playing in Rodriguez's offense, both for himself and his team. And he sounds like a man fairly confident in his ability to make those desires come to fruition. For the team, he and his teammates have decided they want to be able to outpace any offense in college football this season.
"I mean, it's – we want to be the fastest team in America, you know, and we try to push that every single day," he said when commenting on the tempo of Rodriguez's offense.
For himself, he hopes to live up to the model of former WVU quarterbacks under Rodriguez such as current WVU assistant quarterback coach Pat White, who is considered one of the greatest at the position in program history. When asked if he measures up to White with his legs and has a single-season 1,000-yard rusher inside of him, he didn't mince words.
"I'd like to think so, yes sir. I know there is," he said. "Just playing within the system, and playing the play that's called. When I have my chance to run, I'm going to get every piece of yardage I can get and then hustle back, sprint back to ball, and I'm going to run the next play. And if it's another quarterback run, I'm going to run just as hard as I did the next play."
Speaking of White, Marchiol also took time on Monday to praise him as a coach and to discuss what exactly White brings to the table as a quarterbacks coach.
"It's second to none. He not only played in this system, but he played here and was in our shoes. He was here not so long ago, and the wisdom he has is incomparable. I'm very, very grateful to have him," Marchiol said.