WVU opened preseason practice with nine returning starters on what could be the Big East’s best defense. You’ll hear people say every spot is open to competition, which is true, but there are only two vacancies at starting spots.

And truthfully, senior Anthony Leonard is the favorite at SLB and sophomore Terence Garvin seems the best fit for SS. Maybe one of those guys is the most important player as it relates to WVU’s defense being that which is it capable of this season. Maybe it’s someone else and you could make very good arguments for specialists like a Bruce Irvin, sleepers like a Julian Miller, obvious choices like Robert Sands or even starters like a Chris Neild.

And if you said J.T. Thomas … well, you might be right, but you might also have picked the wrong person in his own home. His mom, Andrea Blanks, is a factor and cannot be denied.

She does what she can so Thomas can do what he must.

“She can’t lift the weights for me,” Thomas said, “but she’s making sure I eat three times a day.”

And when he says Blanks is making sure, he means it.

“She’s shoving food in my face when I get home, which is great,” he said. “It’s good to be able to go home after a long day of camp and be able to see my mom. A lot of guys don’t see their mom all year.”

Together they’re trying to share the entire experience as best as they can, which often leads to neat little moments like Saturday night after the first practice.

“I made her put her foot in the cold tub, in the bucket of ice,” Thomas said, “just so she feels what I go through.”