Total touches Saturday for Tavon Austin: Line opens at 7.5.

“Tavon will play,” Stewart said.

It’ll be interesting to see where, when and how. The freshman from Baltimore played running back and slot receiver in summer camp. He caught the ball a lot as a running back and ran it frequently as a receiver. Austin also returned kickoffs and punts, a task for which he seems to possess a unique gift.

“Something exciting happens whenever he has the ball,” said running back Noel Devine, who is something of an expert on the topic.

However, Austin isn’t one of the two options for punt or kickoff returns and isn’t listed as one of the three running backs on the depth chart. He is a backup to Jock Sanders at one of the two slot receiver positions, but Stewart said Sanders should start Saturday, although Austin will if Sanders underperforms in practice this week.

WVU, meanwhile, is a 32-point favorite … if that sort of thing interests you.