It doesn't take much for Morgantown High quarterback Maddox Twigg to remain confident and hungry. He just, according to him, does his job.
In a stellar sophomore season, Twigg piloted the Mohigans to their first state title since 2005. He was the Class AAAA championship game MVP.
He threw for 2,239 yards and 26 touchdowns, while throwing just 64 incompletions. The Morgantown quarterback also rushed for 1,084 yards and 18 touchdowns.
Twigg captured the J.R. House Award, which is awarded to the state's top prep quarterback, and was in the running for the Kennedy Award, given to the state's best player.
He's hoping to duplicate his impressive sophomore campaign with another statement season.
"I can't really do it myself," Twigg said after a scrimmage at George Washington on Friday. "I got to come out with my team and we all got to be clicking together. It's a mindset thing, and it's just having connections with the guys. We gotta make sure our connection's stronger than what it is right now, for sure."
The last time Morgantown won a state championship, it was a repeat title, going back-to-back in 2004-05. Any team and player would tell people outside the program that winning another state championship is the goal.
However, Twigg said the Mohigans want to continue building on their internal brotherhood and being present, rather than looking ahead.
"Our coach, honestly, has taught us this motto that we won the state championship last year, but that's out the window for us," Twigg said of Morgantown coach Sean Biser. "It's in the past. We don't even talk about it, really. We'll bring it up in practice or even compare it to this year's team. But this is a new team and there are new goals.
"Our goal is to get there again. Everyone bought in together last season, and we had a great family. That's what we're doing right now. We got to get that connection all together."
Twigg went to a variety of camps over the offseason that put him against other top talent, both in-state and regionally.
He's listed as a three-star recruit, according to 247Sports.
Twigg holds Division I offers from Syracuse, WVU, Marshall, Jacksonville State, Kent State, Liberty and Miami (Ohio).
"I learned that size is a pretty big thing," Twigg said. "I am a little bit undersized for my position a tiny bit at 6-foot-2. They're usually up there around 6-foot-3 or 6-foot-4. But I try to use my athleticism to help my size."
Biser wants to see Twigg up there once again with the top players in West Virginia.
"I want him to be the top of the pile," Biser said. "He's got to continue to improve his leadership on the field and in the locker room. He can do all the physical things that need to be done. Just the mental game of what we're doing offensively, he has to take command of that and make sure he knows his reads."
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Biser is also wanting to see Twigg take a bigger step in fall camp leading into the Mohigans' first game of the season.
"He's always been a quiet leader in terms of he just comes and plays," Biser said. "Part of that was being a freshman when he started and everybody was older. Last year, he wasn't really a vocal guy. He's more of a lead-by-example guy, but now, just trying to get him to understand he's got to elevate everybody else's game.
"That's the thing. You have to elevate everybody else's game when you're the guy."
The leading-by-example part has become second nature for Twigg.
That was apparent in leading the Mohigans to a 28-21 Class AAAA state title victory over perennial powerhouse Martinsburg last year in ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä.
"It's just being empty-minded and going out there and loving the game and wanting to play," Twigg said. "We preach that at practice all the time. Coach preaches it to us that you gotta go out there and be hungry and ready to play."
Twigg's quarterback skills are apparent. However, the junior signal-caller also makes a major impact for Morgantown on defense.
He led the Mohigans in tackles in both the quarterfinal and semifinal games, recording a combined 19 tackles in games against Spring Mills and Jefferson.
Twigg also finished his sophomore season with three interceptions, taking one back for a pick-six.
"Being a quarterback and playing defense definitely helps me be able to think what the opposing quarterback is wanting to do," Twigg said. "Like, what is that quarterback thinking, where he might go with the ball, what play it is or who he's going to look at first.
"It's an advantage being able to play both and see both sides of the ball."
Twigg's name has already been brought up by many across West Virginia as a contender, if not the favorite, for the Kennedy Award.
Yet, the junior Mohigan doesn't look too far into preseason accolades or recognition.
He simply wants to compete with his guys every single day.
"It's great to have that, but I try to keep it out of my head as much as I can, like one ear, out the other," Twigg said. "I just try and stay focused."
