With seven new starters, two new assistants and a secondary full of fraternity-sounding pledges named Eain (Smith) and Kent (Richardson) and Ellis (Lankster) and Sidney (Glover) and Robert (Sands), coordinator Jeff Casteel's reconstructed unit will try to mix speed, inexperience and an attacking bent. The question remains: Will that create a formidable object or be a chemistry experiment gone awry like in 2006? The front line may be more formidable than anticipated, with the return of Pat Liebig and the edge speed of defensive ends Zac Cooper and Larry Ford. Once Reed Williams' (pictured) surgically repaired shoulders recover fully, he'll anchor the linebacker corps between J.T. Thomas and Gateway's Mortty Ivy, a potential star. This front six must help the back five early, if not all fall.

Pat McAfee

New coach Bill Stewart not only calls him the most potent kicker-punter in college football, but he vows to put the ball in the hands of a 6-foot-1, 221-pound Plum High School guy who is stouter than the team's defensive anchor -- Williams. Whatever the fake may be, McAfee is most dangerous with his right foot. More than likely, this senior will win a game or two, either with a long-distance field goal (he made one that carried some 59 yards in a hurry-up situation in their final scrimmage) or his punting. In fact, ye olde rugby-roll punts may be few and far between this season, because McAfee can simply stand back there and crush the ball. He could wind up ranking among the NCAA leaders in that category.

Pat White

Expect Patrick White to attempt a few more passes per game than before. New offensive coordinator Jeff Mullen brings from Wake Forest motion, alignments, even more versatility to a spread that this coaching administration seems bent on improving with the pass. It might sound counterproductive, cutting the fleet feet from underneath a Heisman Trophy candidate a few snaps per game. But let's see how the theory plays out. After all, those pass calls may often take the form of run-pass option rollouts where White chooses to run. So long as he's passing and running, the Mountaineers should be all right. It was no coincidence they lost to South Florida and Pitt when he missed time because of injury.

Noel Devine

Handoffs, pitches, shovels, passes, whatever, West Virginia's second option, after White, is to get the ball in the hands of this diminutive dynamo. Only one player among Division I-A's top 100 rushers last year averaged more per gain than Noel Devine's 8.6 yards, and that was Florida's acclaimed wideout-slotback Percy Harvin (9.2). The sole wonder about Devine is whether his 5-8, 170-pound body can withstand a pounding from 20-plus carries per game. His reaction? Man, he benches more than 400 pounds and squats nearly 500, so to him the question is: Can defenses take the pounding from him? And that's if they can catch Devine.

Bill Stewart

The previous coach was criticized for too readily narrowing his playbook or using bubble screens, among the other perceived Mountaineers sins, but say this: His steely presence and confidence often kept his teams focused. Stewart, the new guy, got the job because, in part, he succeeded as a player's coach. ... but he spent the spring and fall trying to show he was not soft on players. He needs to keep them both cocksure and eager, attacking and pressure-free, for the Mountaineers didn't play that way and didn't play their best in such crucial games as South Florida and Pitt, both losses. Shoot, they should at least drip with intravenous enthusiasm from Stewart (pictured). "Can't wait to play. Can not wait to play," he vowed -- two weeks from opening day.