So Reed Williams is out and there’s at least a question mark in the middle. WVU knew Reed was not going to play against Rutgers — apparently as early as Tuesday night — so there was ample time to pencil in a starter. It wasn’t the ballyhooed sophomore Pat Lazear or the steady veteran Mortty Ivy. It was, in a small surprise, Anthony Leonard, who was good enough to replace Lazear after one drive in the first game and was then replaced himself by Ivy at ECU and Colorado.

The larger surprise, I suppose, was Leonard played pretty well — team-high 11 tackles and a spot on the Big East’s weekly honor roll. So that’s settled, yes?

“The job is still open,” the redshirt sophomore said after the Mountaineers (3-2 overall, 1-0 Big East) relied on their young defense — six sophomores and one true freshman, safety Robert Sands — to stave off Rutgers on Saturday, 24-17. “Anybody can win [it], to be honest with you. I have to prepare for perfection. All I have to do is mess up, and somebody else gets a start.”

No pressure.