Sunday Morning Thoughts: Mike Hawkins Jr. Is a Superstar & WVU Needs to Lock Him Up

Every single week, the West Virginia Mountaineers have a chance to win because of their offense. They have a chance to lose every game they play because of their defense, but we'll have plenty of time to talk about that throughout the week leading up to the TCU game.

This morning, we're zeroing in on the sophomore superstar that is Mike Hawkins Jr.

On Saturday, Hawkins quieted all the doubters of his ability to throw the ball, completing 25-of-33 passes for 464 yards and three touchdowns while also rushing for 77 yards and a pair of scores on 26 carries.

He made big play after big play and even bailed the offense out a few times throughout the day by using his mobility to evade pressure and make a throw downfield. The biggest play of the afternoon came in clutch time, when the Mountaineers were facing a 3rd-and-9 from their own 2-yard line, and Hawkins connected on a 41-yard pass to Prince Strachan up the sideline. It was a hell of a catch by Strachan, but Hawkins remained calm in the pocket and gave his guy a chance to make a play. Two snaps later, they connected once again for 39 yards to put WVU in field goal range, setting up the game-winning kick.

I've tried to explain to everyone not to read too much into the completion percentage for Hawkins because of how often WVU challenges teams vertically. Entering this week's game, no other quarterback in the country had a higher percentage of his throws traveling 20+ yards downfield than Hawkins (34.2%). When you take shots that often, you're not going to be hitting 65% or better.

The difference in this game is that Rich Rod finally implemented some quick game and used a good dose of RPOs, which is something we hadn't really seen all year. Only 12% of Hawkins' attempts in this game went 20+ yards, finishing the day 3/4 on such throws. 63.7% of his throws were behind the line of scrimmage up to nine yards, which leads to a higher completion percentage.

If the pass play calls were of this variety through the first half of the season, Hawkins' numbers would look a lot different. Passing the ball early in the game and in the set of downs also gives you a much better chance to get something going in the throw game, as opposed to limited attempts, with the majority coming in obvious passing situations.

Hawkins has been compared to Pat White since the day he set foot on campus in Morgantown, and he's well on his way to surpassing many of his totals and records, for that matter. To give a fair comparison, here is a look at Pat White's first seven games of the 2006 season (his first year as the full-time guy) and Hawkins through his first seven starts as QB1 at WVU

This should be eye-opening to everyone. You are literally watching greatness before your very eyes. It may be difficult to enjoy at times because of how poorly the defense has played and has cost them a couple of games, but Hawkins' play is exactly why Mountaineer fans should be excited for what's to come.

If WVU has to win in 2026 by outscoring people, well, it just is what it is, and they have the pieces to make it happen. But if they are able to lock him up on a two-year deal this offseason to keep him in Morgantown and get the defense fixed, they will have a shot at doing something really special next fall.

If Hawkins continues to play at this level and finishes his career out at WVU, there's a good chance they'll be retiring No. 3 years down the road. I understand he still has a lot more to accomplish before that's even a conversation, but through seven games, he's on a good pace.