Honestly, I thought Mardy Gilyard’s comments last Saturday were indeed eye-opening, but maybe a little bit of an exaggeration, too. No offense to Marshawn — that’s his name … I don’t understand the need for a nickname — but when a guy says he didn’t study much film, I tend to place slightly less value in his opinion.

So while he made sense, especially considering WVU’s struggles, this just didn’t make as much sense as every detractor wanted. For starters, I don’t recall ever seeing a kicker run down to cover kickoffs. Well, not anywhere outside of high school, when a kicker doubles as, say, the starting linebacker and is therefore very able to make tackles and absorb hits.

“If I did, I bet I’d get down there. Nobody plans to block the kicker,” WVU kicker Pat McAfee said before pausing to think for a moment. “You may see that next week.”

But probably not. Anyhow, that’s 11-on-10. For as long as I can remember actually watching WVU’s kickoff team and paying attention — and let’s face it, that team has kicked off a lot the past few years — I seem to remember something of a sweeper staying back behind the action. Not as deep as the kicker, but not in the play, either. Had to be a safety. That’s 11-on-9.

Can this be that unusual? The Mountaineers say no, and in explaining their scheme, one offers a rather simple solution.

One way or another, the Mountaineers agree they must handle blocks better.

“One thing we have to start doing is we can’t run into a guy trying to block us and try to run him over,” said linebacker Jim Lewis, who will return from a broken foot and rejoin the coverage team for the first time since the Colorado game. “It looks cool on film when you blow someone up, but when you blow that guy up, you take yourself out of the play and the guy runs to the house.

“We’ve been getting caught up with blockers too much, plain and simple. Some guys will get double-teamed and if you do get double-teamed, the chances are you’re not going to make the play. If you only get one block, you’ve got to make that guy miss and get to the ball. You can’t try to run through his chest.”