Khalil Wilkins (14) started at quarterback for WVU this past Saturday in a loss to Utah. (Photo by David Pennock)

MORGANTOWN — This is the second-straight week where there’s the question of who West Virginia’s starting quarterback is going to be going forward. The broken record is still on the player.

It’s been playing since the spring, through summer, before the first game, after Ohio, then someone took it off after Nicco Marchiol’s comeback performance against Pitt, but then someone played it again after a blowout loss to Kansas.

Now, after another embarrassing loss, this time against Utah 48-14, it’s playing again.

Marchiol had started the first four games of the season, and he was benched in three of those games. Most recently, Marchiol was benched after he couldn’t get the offense going against Kansas. Texas A&M transfer Jaylen Henderson came in for him.

This week, the starter question took a turn. Tuesday, before Utah, Rich Rodriguez told the media Marchiol was in Colorado seeing a specialist for a mid-foot injury that he’d been dealing with the past couple of weeks. Rodriguez listed him as questionable and said any of the other quarterbacks, Henderson, freshman Scottie Fox, Charlotte transfer Max Brown, or redshirt freshman Khalil Wilkins are battling to start.

A couple of days later, Marchiol was ruled out, and Henderson was expected to start. Saturday against Utah, Henderson marched out as the starter.

Henderson had played in every game at some point, and through the small sample size, he showed his strengths and weaknesses. However, it became clearer against Utah when he got the nod.

Henderson is a better runner than Marchiol, but he can’t throw. Some passes were behind the receiver, and some of them should have been intercepted. Rodriguez quickly learned passing wasn’t his strength and stopped dialing up passing plays, even after being down by multiple touchdowns.

The only positive yardage under Henderson was on the ground when he took off. He rushed 13 times for 28 yards. He threw the ball seven times and completed just three passes for 22 yards. Henderson’s not the future at quarterback for WVU.

WVU was down 35-0, so Rodriguez made the change at QB. Redshirt freshman Khalil Wiklins started the second half.

Wilkins showed flashes. He is definitely faster than Marchiol and Henderson, and the offense started to show some signs of life. Although this was when Utah pretty much won the game, so keep that in mind.

Wilkins was much more efficient on the ground. He was more elusive and rushed nine times for 39 yards. Wilkins’ passing is still a work in progress. He made some throws on the run and connected with wide receiver Cam Vaughn on a big 39-yard touchdown. There was promise.

But, Wilkins missed a couple of wide-open throws that would’ve been touchdowns, so he’s still far from perfect.

At this point, with WVU 2-3 and coming off back-to-back big losses, it might be time to turn it over to a younger guy like Wilkins, so he can get more experience. To support the change, Rodriguez thought he played hard for a youngster, too.

“He competed well for a young guy in his first action,” Rodriguez said. “Thought he ran hard. A couple of the throws he’d probably like to have back. We missed a couple of easy ones.”

WVU lands two commitments

It might’ve looked bad for West Virginia over the weekend after a 48-14 loss to Utah, but it didn’t deter away the recruits.

The Mountaineers picked up two commitments, one on Sunday and one on Monday morning, both for the class of 2026.

Sunday afternoon, 3-star quarterback Wyatt Brown announced his commitment to WVU from Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, California.

Brown ranked as the 163rd-rated quarterback in the class and 277th player in California. He had offers from Cal, Arkansas, UCF and Cornell, but ultimately decided to head across the country to Morgantown.

Recently, the 6-foot-3, 196-pound quarterback threw for 301 yards and five touchdowns against Culver City. He also ran for another. Brown’s performance landed him on the Los Angeles Times’ High School top performers for the week.

Brown is the first quarterback score for Rich Rodriguez in the class.

Monday morning, three-star pass rusher Carter Kessler announced his commitment to WVU. He’s from Shelby, Ohio, and is 44th in the state and ranked as the 88th pass rusher in the country. He’s also played some tight end and had a touchdown catch against Highland, along with three tackles for loss.

The 6-foot-5, 235-pounder was on the field before the game against Utah, taking his official visit. Just two days later, Kessler enjoyed what he saw and picked WVU.

He’s the second pass rusher in WVU’s 2026 class. Kessler joined 3-star Noah Tishendorf.

With Brown and Kessler, WVU’s 2026 class now has 26 commitments.