Apr. 6—MORGANTOWN — There wasn't much to expect heading into West Virginia's final spring practice. Rich Rodriguez said it wasn't going to be a game and didn't know what players would be in action.
It showed a lot more than expected, especially with the quarterbacks. The biggest question mark heading into the spring was who the next quarterback was going to be with Garret Greene leaving for the NFL.
Rodriguez has seven options and six of them were on display Saturday afternoon. The only one to not play was redshirt freshman quarterback Khalil Wilkins.
The quarterbacks' performance was dominated by the run. Most of the yardage was gained on a quarterback read or scrambling out of the pocket. Some did it better than others with Charlotte redshirt junior transfer Max Brown standing out in that department. Rodriguez said one of Brown's strengths is rushing the ball.
All the quarterbacks struggled to throw the ball, though.
"I'll probably judge it better watching film, " Rodriguez said. "I thought they ran pretty well. I think we need to get rid of the ball quicker at times, and there were a couple throws we missed."
Most eyes were drawn to the two veteran quarterbacks, redshirt junior Nicco Marchiol and Texas A &M redshirt senior transfer Jaylen Henderson, who were wearing black jerseys, signifying they weren't allowed to be tackled or weren't playing live.
"They were live some other times in the spring too, " Rodriguez said. "I got a chance to see them live running. They're the older, experienced guys, so I didn't have to see them do that today."
Marchiol was out first to start the scrimmage portion of the game. He made a couple of nice throws but didn't play much. His first drive ended in a field goal. Marchiol came in for two snaps later on. He made a completed a small-windowed pass, leading the team on the second play for a score.
Henderson, on the other hand, saw more snaps. His first drive didn't turn into points, so he received another shot on the fourth drive. He overthrew a couple of receivers and threw the only interception on the day. He ran the ball, like the rest of the quarterbacks, but wasn't as nifty as the others.
Henderson didn't play last season, dealing with an injury, so Saturday, Rodriguez black-shirted him to keep him healthy.
Henderson, like all the quarterbacks, is still adjusting to an entirely new system. None of the quarterbacks on the roster have played under Rodriguez. Despite the short period of time under Rodriguez's offense, he said the group has learned a lot.
"There's more on their plate than anybody on the team, " Rodriguez said. "I put more on them as far as learning goes, so I think they've handled it pretty good, but there's another whole step they need to take as a group."
The rest of the six quarterbacks, Scotty Fox, Scott Kean and Abe Finwich, were mixed in, too. The three of them made some throws and missed on some.
Zac Alley's defense made it tough on all six quarterbacks all afternoon. The defense had pass break-ups, a pick, a swatted ball and a couple sacks. But the quarterbacks did break through on rushes and passes a couple of times. Alley gave the quarterbacks praise after the spring game.
"I think those guys have done a great job, " Alley said. "Coach Rodriguez and coach [Rhett ] Rodriguez do a great job of coaching them and getting them where they need to go. I'm excited to see them progress as well. Obviously, I'd love to throw for about 5, 000 yards this year."
On paper, there wasn't an announced starter or a depth chart. The performances and order they came out could estimate who the starter might be in the ...
