WVU Football's Future Was Put On Display Against Robert Morris

During WVU football's 45-3 win over Robert Morris on Saturday, fans may have seen a glimpse of the quarterback of the future for the Mountaineers.

Nicco Marchiol earned the starting nod in the win and played through the fourth quarter. But once WVU was leading by a safe margin, head coach Rich Rodriguez was able to get some other quarterbacks into the game, giving them some valuable in-game experience. One quarterback who took some snaps and gained attention from Mountaineer football fans was true freshman Scotty Fox Jr., who was rumored over the summer to be considered the "future" of the program, showcased his elite speed with a 59-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

Reading the defense on an option play, Fox Jr. decided to keep the ball and found an open seam off the edge of the tackle behind a pulling guard and a lead blocker. From there, he stiff-armed a RMU defender and proceeded to turn in the 59-yard touchdown run to cap off the scoring for the Mountaineers on Saturday.

A true freshman from Mentor, Ohio, only about three hours from Morgantown, Fox Jr. displayed his ability to run the ball and be an explosive threat on the ground. The play enabled Fox to finish the game with 63 rushing yards on just two carries, second in individual rushing yards behind starting running back Jahiem White. Fox only had one pass attempt, and it was a completion for eight yards.

It is hard to fully evaluate the talent level for Fox during a handful of snaps during 45-3 blowout win against a FCS school in Robert Morris, but his two rushing attempts and one passing attempt are the only college-game film we have on him as of right now. However, for a true freshman to come in at the end of the game, when he was not guaranteed to receive any snaps, and be able to rip off a 59-yard touchdown run was very impressive to see.

There has been more buzz growing around the rising signal caller since he delivered a great deep ball to receiver Rodney Gallagher III during preseason camp.. The throw was captured and posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, by the official WVU Football account.

Scotty Jr. is behind starting quarterback redshirt junior Marchiol and redshirt senior Texas A&M transfer Jaylen Henderson, with redshirt junior Charlotte transfer Max Brown also in the mix. Once Marchiol graduates and moves on, Henderson should already be out of eligibility. If he hangs around the program for the remainder of this season and the 2026 season, it is highly anticipated that Fox will be the next guy up to take over Marchiol’s starting role.

Could Coach Rodriguez have already found his next starting quarterback in Fox? Only time will tell. But one thing is for certain – the young quarterback has a lot of potential, and we could have just seen the beginning of what he could do in a WVU uniform.

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