WVU-Chuck

Michael Hawkins Jr.'s dad was an NFL cornerback. He planned on raising one. Then Jason Witten watched the kid throw. Now, three games into his West Virginia career, Hawkins has 11 touchdowns and ZERO interceptions. 5 passing. 6 rushing. On Saturday he threw for 2 and ran for 3 as West Virginia beat No. 25 Virginia 38-27. No Mountaineers quarterback had done that since Pat White in 2008. 10 of 17. 190 yards. 2 touchdowns. 18 carries. 123 yards. 3 touchdowns. West Virginia is 3-0. Now rewind. His dad, Mike Hawkins Sr., played cornerback at Oklahoma in 2002. Then Arena Football with the Dallas Desperados. Then a fifth round pick by the Green Bay Packers. He bounced around the NFL, including a stop in Dallas. His younger son grew up to be a cornerback. That was the plan for Michael too. Then one of his dad's teammates saw Michael throw a football. "Man, he got a pretty good arm!" That was Jason Witten talking. So he became a quarterback. At Allen High School in Texas, the same program where Kyler Murray went 43-0, he trained under Kyler's dad. His senior year at Emerson High he threw 41 touchdown passes and ran for 10 more. When Oklahoma offered him at a camp, his dad filmed it. "And man, it broke me down." As a true freshman in 2024, he came off the bench against Tennessee, then started against Auburn and led a comeback win. Then he became the first true freshman quarterback in Oklahoma history to start against Texas. Then he went back to the bench. In 2025 he backed up John Mateer. When Mateer needed hand surgery, Hawkins stepped in against Kent State and scored four touchdowns. Then he went back to the bench again. On New Year's Eve he entered the transfer portal. Five days later he left the school his dad played for and committed to West Virginia. On paper it made no sense. West Virginia had just gone 4-8 in Rich Rodriguez's first season back. More than 50 players entered the portal. Nearly three quarters of the roster was gone. His dad explained the pitch. "They matched the offense from when Mike was a sophomore at Allen to his last game at OU. They showed us plays of the plan." "There was a sense of not just wanting you but needing you." "We didn't ask for any guarantees. We just wanted a true opportunity." If anybody knows what to do with a quarterback who can run, it is Rich Rodriguez. His quarterback the first time around in Morgantown was Pat White. Rodriguez after Saturday's win: "Mike was electric." Virginia coach Tony Elliott: "He knew exactly what was going on." The AP poll came out Sunday. West Virginia got 93 votes. Still not ranked. The Mountaineers have not been in the Top 25 since 2018. Yes, it is three games. The Big 12 grind has not even started. Oklahoma State is next. Hawkins does not sound worried about the voters. "We know what we have in our building. A lot of people don't. So we've got to continue to believe in the talent and keep that chip on our shoulder." A cornerback's kid. A quarterback because Jason Witten said so.