West Virginia Football: Nicco Marchiol is Mountaineers’ QB of the future

Neal Brown is in his third season with West Virginia football and after going 11-11 in his first two seasons, expectations are on the rise.

A 5-7 record in year one wasn’t all that bad considering he didn’t really have a quarterback he could rely on and then a 6-4 mark in 2020 was a step in the right direction. Double-digit losses to Oklahoma State and Iowa State were disappointing, but the Mountaineers found their quarterback and were becoming more competitive overall.

Jarrett Doege passed for 2,587 yards and 14 touchdowns with only four interceptions and he completed about 64 percent of his passes. And even better for West Virginia: he still has at least one year left in Morgantown.

Heading into 2021, fans are expecting at least 6-7 wins and a bowl berth for the Mountaineers but they probably wouldn’t be shocked with 8-9 wins thanks to the Doege breakout.

But if he is in his final year, the Mountaineers will need to find his replacement quickly. They may have found that on Monday afternoon in the form of four-star Nicco Marchiol.

Marchiol was committed to Florida State a month ago and felt disrespected when the Seminoles recruited a second four-star quarterback in the 2021 class and decided to reopen his recruitment. He was high on Michigan State, Arizona State, and West Virginia and after taking official visits to all three, he chose the Mountaineers.

And this might just be the best possible move for the young dual-threat.

West Virginia football will soon need ‘the guy’

Every program and new coaching staff needs to find “the guy” to take it to the next level. Marchiol will soon need that with Doege getting ready to graduate soon.

Let’s say Doege stays another year in 2022, Marchiol could learn behind him and take over in 2023 as a redshirt freshman. He has all the talent to be ‘the guy’ for the Mountaineers as a dual-threat with plenty of confidence and a live arm.

West Virginia has had a history of impressive quarterbacks and Marchiol is going to be the first great quarterback commit in the Brown era.