Right about 3:11 Saturday afternoon, when UConn was all mixed up and didn’t know what to do to stop Noel Devine from winning that game, it became absolutely obvious No. 7 needed to be included in the Heisman Trophy discussion.

Is he leading the race? No. Will he win? Far too soon to say. Will he remain involved? His consistency this season suggests he will. His value to the offense insists he must.

Devine’s five career runs of at least 70 yards are the most in the country. No one else has at least 900 yards, 10 touchdowns and an average of 6.0 yards per carry this season. He’s No. 16 nationally in all-purpose yards (152.86) and tied for 11th in scoring (9.43 points per game).

The 5-foot-7, 175 pound junior from North Fort Myers, Fla., leads the Big East in that category and would be higher nationally if not for the convenient emergence of fullback Ryan Clarke as the team’s goal-line back.

“If there’s a better player in the country than No. 7,” Stewart said, “I have not seen him.”

A better player may indeed exist, but there might not be one more valuable to a team’s success. What Devine is doing for the 20th-ranked Mountaineers (6-1, 2-0 Big East) is one thing. When he’s done it is something very different.

This wasn’t a plea to generate some attention for Devine. It was to stay ahead of the wave because you knew it was coming. And it has. So what to do now?

Devine is in a fortuitous position. He’s the key ingredient on a fairly potent offense. The Mountaineers are ranked and they’ll be on television and playing in some nationally significant games the rest of the season. So this is an easy task for WVU marketing, yes?

Noel Devine’s name may be involved more in conversations related to the Heisman Trophy, but not by West Virginia’s doing.

“I guess it’s sort of like looking at the football team,” said Director of Football Communications Mike Montoro. “Their No. 1 goal at the beginning of the year was winning the Big East because everything else would take care of itself. Well, our No. 1 goal is to get him on All-American teams and then the next step will take care of itself.”

That’s not a surprise. It’s not a problem, either. Follow me.

For the aforementioned reasons — good offense, ranked team, big games, national stage — he’ll stay visible. If WVU finishes with 10 wins, it’ll be clear he’s a reason why.

He’ll need to be around 1,800 yards and 18 touchdowns — I know, almost double what he has now — and add some more embarrass-the-defender plays. If he can add plays in the kickoff return game, that’s a bonus. Voters know who’s good. They can’t ignore stats and highlights.

 WVU’s reputation in years past with Pat White and Steve Slaton doesn’t hurt and, if nothing else, it brings eyes to WVU and Devine. It legitimizes his work as something a good player is capable of at WVU and not just a flukish season at a place not known for such exploits.

Devine is also irresistible. His story. His strengths. His stature-to-skill ratio. You literally cannot sit down to watch WVU and not have Devine high on your list of reasons to watch. You can’t. Trust me, I’ve seen people try and it doesn’t work. Further, broadcast teams can’t do a game without spending plays, series, heck, quarters glowing about Devine. Add to that the reality Devine was a celebrity in high school and has only been adding ridiculous runs to his reputation for three seasons now and there need be no worry about his popularity.

Noel Devine can be a candidate because he is Noel Devine.