You’ve got to give credit to Joey Madsen for two things:

1) He surged the final few days of preseason camp because he was never deterred by an offensive line that, despite some concerns, seemed set with a starting five. And if there was a vulnerable position, it sure didn’t seem like at center, where he was the backup.

2) The kid is honest.

“I never thought I could handle the responsibility of having the ball in my hands every play,” said Joey Madsen, a 6-foot-4, 290-pound redshirt freshman from Chardon, Ohio.

He took control of the position in the final days of preseason camp.

“I was so scared they’d be like, ‘Hey, you’re the center.'” Madsen said. “And then they threw me in at center. It was, ‘OK, here we go.’ I really had no choice.”

Let’s be honest: It’s the most important position on the offensive line, which then makes it one of the most important on offense … and when you’re a team that prides itself on offensive productivity and ingenuity, it’s then one of the most important positions on the entire team.

Did I mention this is typically a shotgun offense and Madsen, bless his forthrightness, used to roll one back every practice?

No pressure, Joe. When WVU has a good center, the line and the team are generally very good.

Go back in time and reference any successful West Virginia season – the 1988 team had Kevin Koken at center, Dan Mozes started on the 2006 Sugar Bowl team, Billy Legg snapped for three straight bowl teams from 1982-84, Dave Johnson was the center on the 1981 Peach Bowl team, Al Gluchowski was Bobby Bowden’s center on the 1975 Peach Bowl team, Dickie Roberts was the starting center on the 1969 Peach Bowl team … so on and so forth.