West Virginia quarterback Mike Hawkins put the country on notice with his historic performance in WVU’s win over Cincinnati. What Hawkins did with his arm caught the rest of the nation’s attention, even more so than what he’s been doing on the ground all season long.
And now as he prepares to head home and face TCU in another must-win game for the Mountaineers, Hawkins has fully become a player to keep an eye on nationally, as evident by the Maxwell Football Club placing him among their “Who’s Hot on the Maxwell Award Watch List” quarterbacks heading into the weekend of Week 8.
Below is what the Maxwell Football Club sent to the media as part of a press release on Thursday:
“West Virginia was staring down the barrel of a fourth straight loss when Hawkins took over and out-dueled Cincinnati QB JC French in a streak-busting 45-42 win. The versatile Oklahoma transfer accounted for five of the Mountaineers’ six touchdowns and all but 81 of the team’s yards. Hawkins completed 25-of-33 for 464 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for a team-high 77 yards and two additional scores.”
West Virginia quarterback Mike Hawkins drops back to throw a pass against Cincinnati during the 2026 season. (WVSN photo by Kelsie LeRose)
Hawkins wasn’t named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week, but he was awarded the distinction by the Walter Camp Football Foundation, as announced on Tuesday.
Validating his ability to throw if necessary, Hawkins threw for 464 yards, a career-high that also made program history on Saturday.
Only able to run for 77 yards on top of Cam Cook’s 40-yard day, Hawkins accounted for 541 of the Mountaineers’ 598 yards of total offense in the game. The former four-star recruit and transfer from Oklahoma became the first West Virginia signal caller to throw for over 400 yards and run for at least 75 in a single game. His 464 yards passing are the most for any Mountaineer quarterback since Will Grier’s 539 against Oklahoma in 2018.
He even joined Grier, Skyler Howard, Clint Trickett and Geno Smith as the only WVU quarterbacks to ever throw for 460 plus passing yards and have three or more passing touchdowns in a game. Hawkins’ performance stands as the fifth most passing yards in a game in program history, too.
Overall on the year, the redshirt sophomore now has 1,519 passing yards, 749 rushing yards with 24 total touchdown and only one interception through seven games.
Find more coverage of Mike Hawkins and the WVU football program at WV Sports Now.
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