West Virginia QB battle: Jaylen Henderson slated to start with Nicco Marchiol ruled out

West Virginia is expected to start redshirt senior Jaylen Henderson on Saturday against Utah, per ESPN’s Pete Thamel. Henderson will start in place of Nicco Marchiol, who has been ruled out of Saturday’s game due to an injury.

Henderson transferred to West Virginia this past offseason after spending the past two seasons at Texas A&M. Henderson has only seen limited action for the Mountaineers thus far this season.

He’s completed 4-off-his-11 pass attempts for 28 yards. He has neither thrown a touchdown, nor an interception. Henderson didn’t see any action in the 2024 campaign at Texas A&M, but he started the final four games of the 2023 season.

In those four games, Henderson 53-of-78 passes for 715 yards and six touchdowns. Although it was a limited sample size with the Aggies, Henderson posted an impressive 165.2 efficiency rating.

Henderson had to earn the starting nod for WVU at practice this week. Mountaineers head coach Rich Rodriguez reportedly had up to five QBs performing practice reps with Marchiol out.

“Typically, you would only give three guys reps but, again, the way we practice and we get so many plays in that they’re still able to get that,” Rodriguez said. “Again, we don’t know how long Nico is going to be out but, for those other four, it’s going to be an opportunity for them. They’ve done a good job in practice staying engaged and getting their opportunities, and I think all knowing that they have a chance to play helps them stay engaged.”

Marchiol shined for the Mountaineers in Week 3, leading them to a 31-24 triumph over Pittsburgh. In the victory, Marchiol completed 19-of-25 pass attempts for 192 yards and a touchdown, while throwing no interceptions.

Alas, Marchiol wasn’t able to carry his momentum into Week 4. Marchiol sputtered in WVU’s 41-10 loss to Kansas, completing just over half of his pass attempts for 126 total yards. He didn’t throw any touchdowns, but did toss an interception.

Now, Jaylen Henderson will have an opportunity to be the Mountaineers’ hero. It won’t be easy. Utah is 3-1 and will be hungry for a standout performance after suffering a 34-10 loss to Texas Tech last week. The Utes’ defense only allows 289.0 yards per game, ranking No. 33 in the country.

Henderson will make his first start for West Virginia on Saturday when the Mountaineers take on Utah at 3:30 p.m. ET. The game will air live on FOX.