(Mea culpa time: I screwed up Chaz Russell’s status today. He is, in fact, in town and with the team. My excuse explanation: I was told yesterday Chaz wasn’t at practice and there was a problem with his transcript. I intended to ask about it last night at the player/coach interviews, but someone beat me to it. From there, I simply heard something differently, which served to reinforce what I was told earlier. That led to me getting the story wrong. Whoops. Chaz did graduate and is in town. WVU is waiting to receive and approve his transcript before allowing him to participate. Apologies for the confusion. Don’t hate me.)

Maybe we live in a box and are surrounded by all things WVU and maybe it seems absurd to consider this as the reality, but there appears to be some merit to this thought that Patrick White may be a little underrated this season. I’ve seen and heard people doubt WVU for various reasons this season and some are legit and worthy of discussion. Others are outlandish, but nevertheless out there for everyone to consume.

The one topic that just doesn’t make sense is how White isn’t one of the very best players in the country and how he, like his team, just won’t get it done this season. That’s a prediction, not a fact, because pretty much everything White has done in the past goes against that notion. True, there are other stars out there, but are they really better than White?

Stewart says West Virginia University fans should “savor” every minute of White’s last season as a Mountaineer. WVU has set up a site, PatWhitePlaysHere, to hype White for the Heisman. White is the two-time defending Big East offensive player of the year and has received a number of preseason honors this year.

So is he that good?

Judging from the National Media Sports Hype Machine (ESPN, Fox Sports, the blogosphere, etc.), the winningest current college quarterback is merely an afterthought heading into this season to other superior players.

For instance, freshman Georgia Bulldog running back Knowshon Moreno, who is not only the best running back in the country, he may be the best player.

Wait, except for freshman Pittsburgh running back LaSean McCoy, who is not only the best running back in the country, he might be the best player.

Wait, except for Texas Tech wide receiver Michael Crabtree. Or Mizzou quarterback Chase Daniel. Or don’t forget last year’s Heisman winner Tim Tebow. Or…you get the point.