MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Michael Hawkins Jr. hasn’t been asked to throw often through West Virginia’s two games.
In the event that he is come Saturday night when the Mountaineers meet No. 25 Virginia at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, WVU head coach Rich Rodriguez believes that’s not a bad thing.
“You have to do whatever you have to do to win the game. We haven’t thrown much, because we didn’t need to throw much, but if they force you to throw and we have to throw 40 or 50 times a game, I have confidence that we can do that,” Rodriguez said.
Hawkins is responsible for 21 of the 26 passes West Virginia attempted across its first two contests. The team’s top signal caller is 16-for-21 with 287 yards and three touchdowns. Scotty Fox Jr. went 2-for-4 in the most recent game against Tennessee Martin and Jyron Hughly completed his lone attempt, which went for a 27-yard touchdown.
Only Army, Rice and Air Force are attempting fewer passes than the Mountaineers’ 13 per game, and only the Falcons average more rushing attempts than West Virginia’s 56.
Rodriguez admitted he was too conservative in the second half of a 31-24 season-opening win against Coastal Carolina, and he had no reason not to be last Saturday when the Mountaineers handled the Skyhawks, 55-7.
In the likely event West Virginia goes to the air more against an experienced Cavalier defense, Rodriguez won’t be discouraged.
“Mike can make all the throws, Scotty can make all the throws. We have quarterbacks that can throw,” Rodriguez said. “That’s a good part about it. Whatever we have to do to move the ball, there’s not anything to where we say, ‘Mike can’t do this, Scotty can’t do this, our receivers can’t handle this or our offensive line can’t handle that.’ It’s just a matter of execution.
“During practice, we work a whole lot of plays that we inevitably have not called. Hopefully, Saturday, the plays that we think are going to work will work decently, so we don’t have to break out new plays.”
Although Hawkins, an Oklahoma transfer, is continuing to acclimate to a new system, Rodriguez has been impressed with his transition to a new system.
“There were moments in the spring, and he’s still learning the system, that he was really, really decisive on some of the pass plays we were doing and it gave you a nice, comfortable feeling that we didn’t have to hold back what we were doing,” Rodriguez said. “Mike is a sharp guy and decisive. He’s a quieter guy, too, so he’s not going to be a real vocal guy that goes, ‘hey coach, I need to have a better understanding of what this is or that is.’
“If you run a play, Mike is going to feel confident that he can run that play.”
Hawkins has also been instrumental to the Mountaineers’ success on third down. West Virginia has converted 17-of-30 attempts for a success rate of almost 57 percent that ranks 14th nationally.
While helping the Mountaineers build a 24-0 first-half lead in their first game, Hawkins completed all six of his third down passes for 94 yards with one touchdown.
“I like to sit back there and sling it around,” Hawkins said, “but if I have to run, I’ll go get it.”
Hawkins has certainly showcased himself well as a threat on the ground early into his WVU tenure.
With a team-leading 199 rushing yards on 26 carries, Hawkins ranks third nationally in rushing yardage among quarterbacks. Only Navy’s Braxton Woodson and Jacksonville State’s Caden Creel have more among signal callers, and Creel’s 218 yards have come on 54 attempts, meaning his yards per attempt is nearly half of Hawkins’ 7.7.
Hawkins rushed for 103 yards and one touchdown on 20 attempts against the Chanticleers and then rushed six times for 96 yards and two scores against UT Martin, one of which was a 71-yard dash to the end zone.
Should he pass more often starting Saturday, Hawkins will continue to be a featured piece of the run game, and his mobility and speed have the attention of Virginia head coach Tony Elliott.
“He’s a threat at any second to change the game and score,” Elliott said. “So you have to do a great job of being assignment sound. They’re going to really challenge you from a preparation standpoint with the schemes they do to play assignment-sound football. If you misfit something, it’s not like he’s going to go for 5 or 7. He’s going to go for 70.”