Marchiol Commits to West Virginia
As we wrote last week, WVU’s summer recruiting has been picking up momentum after a long dead period. The Mountaineers’ 2022 recruiting class gained a big boost today as Nicco Marchiol commits to West Virginia.
Marchiol’s Scouting Report
Marchiol earned a four-star designation from both Rivals and ESPN. Both services rank him the 14th-best pro-style quarterback in his class. Marchiol’s film looks solid. Reviewing his junior season highlights on Hudl reveals plenty of talent. He displays significant poise and awareness in the pocket. While Marchiol will not be mistaken as a true dual-threat, he senses a collapsing pocket early. When he does, Marchiol does not hesitate to gain a few yards with his legs. At 6’3 and over 215 pounds, Marchiol possesses a solid frame to absorb contact and truck smaller defenders. Indeed, we see him doing just that several times throughout his highlight reel.
Marchiol is a southpaw quarterback with solid arm strength and advanced awareness. He reads defenses well and scans through his progressions quickly. Fully capable of misleading opposing defenses, Marchiol also throws with elite-level anticipation. He hits receivers in stride through tight windows without requiring those wideouts to adjust to his throws. Undoubtedly, that ability combines both natural talent and leadership.
A Leader for the Class?
In fact, Marchiol has already offered plenty of that leadership to Mountaineer fans. Last week, when standout Grayson (GA) High School cornerback Mumu Bin-Wahad committed to WVU, Marchiol offered this tweet.
never let a hard time humble us… #Committed pic.twitter.com/HKj1zYsQMh
— 𝙈𝙪𝙢𝙪 𝘽-𝙒 🛸++ (@TheMumuBinWahad) June 17, 2021
During his official visit, Marchiol spent time with Gordon Gee and offered praise accordingly. Indeed, he seemed to fully embrace the family (and blue-collar) environment in Morgantown. Marchiol also spent plenty of time with four-star West Virginia offensive line target Trent Ramsey. He also embraced relationships with several of WVU’s offensive skill position prospects. Like Garrett Greene before him, Marchiol clearly plays a leadership role for the Class of 2022.
High School Performance
Last season, Marchiol started for Hamilton High School in Chandler, Arizona, after moving from Colorado. Hamilton finished the season 8-2. Marchiol completed 70% of his passes averaging 12 yards per completion. He threw for 13 touchdowns and added 6 more on the ground (behind 535 rushing yards). Indeed, he put up impressive numbers against solid competition. In his final game, for example, he totaled over 280 yards and two touchdowns. Hamilton lost that game 23-21 to Chandler. Chandler, by the way, finished the season ranked 5th nationally. Led by Marchiol, Hamilton will certainly seek to avenge the loss this coming season.
In Colorado, Marchiol’s numbers look even more impressive. Indeed, in his sophomore season, he threw for over 2,500 yards. He compiled 38 total touchdowns (11 on the ground) and averaged nearly 14 yards per completion. Simply, there has been nothing pedestrian about Marchiol’s career so far. Morgantown will welcome his talents soon enough.
The Tipping Point?
As we noted last week, we anticipate a lot of top quality athletes to join West Virginia’s Class of 2022. Indeed, Head Coach Neal Brown received three silent commitments through the middle of June, but neither Bin-Wahad nor Marchiol were among them. Could the announcement of Marchiol speed up some of their announcements? Perhaps so. Regardless, we remain certain that these recent commits represent the tip of the iceberg for the core talent of this class, which is already quite strong.
Main image courtesy Rob Schumacher/The Arizona Republic via USA TODAY NETWORK
