Marchiol Signs with the Mountaineers
By now, Nicco Marchiol, a four-star top-300 recruit by 247Sports composite rankings, is already a household name among West Virginia fans. Head Coach Neal Brown and his staff focused heavily on getting a top-tier high school quarterback in this class. They certainly landed one, and, as expected, Marchiol signs with the Mountaineers.
The Scouting Report
Even before his senior season, Marchiol’s scouting report looked promising, A southpaw quarterback with solid arm strength and advanced awareness, Marchiol reads defenses and scans through progressions quickly. These traits became apparent in his first several seasons as a high school signal-caller. He definitely maximized them his senior season.
Marchiol offers a non-traditional dual threat to West Virginia. He is definitely not a run-first quarterback. That said, he shows an uncanny sense of trouble in the pocket. In those situations, he is not afraid to scramble and turn a broken play into several yards (or more) with his legs. Indeed, this season alone, he tallied 83 rushes for 369 yards and six touchdowns. He relies more heavily on his arm, of course. In that department, he looks polished. In fact, he completed 74% of his 273 passes this season, racking up nearly 2,700 yards. He threw for an eye-popping 37 touchdowns to just two interceptions.
His play earned him Gatorade Player of the Year honors for the state of Arizona. He also showed heroics several times throughout the year, including an improbable comeback against perennial powerhouse Bishop Gorman early in the season.
Welcoming a Leader
With Marchiol, WVU fans welcome a true leader. He showed those traits during the gritty comeback against Bishop Gorman. He shows them off-the-field as well. Marchiol has, in many ways, become an unofficial spokesperson for the Mountaineers out West. He has even graced his teammates and fans with his rendition of “Country Roads” on more than one occasion.
His biggest contributions to Mountaineer Nation, so far, have come on the recruiting trail. Perhaps the “official” leader of the Class of 2022, Marchiol celebrates his new teammates every chance he gets. He seemingly played a pivotal part in their recruitment as well. We certainly welcome Marchiol to Morgantown. As an early enrollee, in fact, he will land in West Virginia soon enough.
