Quickly…name five options to return punts for WVU this season. Did 6-foot-6 safety Robert Sands make your list?

Well, he was back there catching punts Tuesday with Brandon Hogan, who should have been near the top of your list. Was it just one of those things where Sands wasn’t busy while others, like Jock Sanders, were in drills? Or can we expect to see Sands back there this season? 

“Ehhhhhh, I don’t know about that,” Coach Bill Stewart said. “He’s doing a lot of things, but he’s just a sophomore, a second-year man. He’s a real treat, but we think — and I know — with Jock Sanders and some of the young ones we have back there we can take the heat off Robert. He needs to concentrate on defense.”

Among the many things Sands is doing is making life difficult for kickers in practice. He and 6-8 Wes Lyons are jumpers trying to block kicks in the middle of the line. Sands blocked a Tyler Bitancurt field-goal attempt Tuesday. Pressure up the middle is a key and WVU is working hard at that. Josh Taylor, a walk-on nose guard from Miramar, Fla., had the camp’s first block Monday.

“It’s very hard to block off the edge anymore, so it was good to see him squirt up the middle and get it,” WVU Coach Bill Stewart said. “And what a teaching tool that is. If the ball gets blocked and it’s on your side, get away. If the ball gets blocked and it’s on their side, scoop and score. If you can’t scoop it up, go bat it so maybe your buddy gets it.”

Then again, Najee Goode, arguably the fastest linebacker, came off the edge and blocked one Tuesday.

Stewart will also give receivers Brad Starks and Ryan Nehlen, both accomplished basketball players and leapers, a chance in the middle, as well. Sands’ special teams contributions are likely limited to just that — he did drop two punts Tuesday.

Sanders and Hogan are the two most likely candidates to return punts and you get the sense freshman Tavon Austin will factor into things on occasion because coaches want to get the ball in his hands in some manner a few times per game.

“Tavon Austin came out like a bullet,” Stewart said. “He’s very, very fast.”