I’m pretty sure Eu Smith’s pulse hovers around 27 beats per minutes … maybe 33 when he’s practicing in the heat. The kid doesn’t emote. He’s steady, even on his once-broken left foot, and it’s perhaps the best trait WVU could want from it’s quarterback. And in the Mountaineers offense, with all those weapons and the duty of keeping then all on board, it’s especially valuable.

“I don’t think he worries about that stuff,” said Coach Bill Stewart. “The great ones don’t. The great quarterbacks are more about what they’re doing – moving the chains. I know what happens on the sideline because I played. They say, ‘Get me the ball. I can beat this guy.’ But that’s why you communicate. That’s why we’re teammates.

“Geno won’t spend much time thinking about that stuff. He’s more worried about getting us in the right play, making the right read and doing what he’s supposed to do.”

And yet, it’s not even his best ability. He can throw, it looks like he can run the ball when needed and he also has a command of his position and a respect from his peers. But he’s not the best athlete on the team — and maybe not even at his position — and he’s definitely not the top name or strongest personality on offense or even in the backfield. He has a “great ability,” though, as it relates to his position in his offense.

“The thing with Geno is his ability to distribute the ball,” Mullen said. “I think Pat and Jarrett dominated the ball at times and I think rightfully so. For the most part, they were the best players on the field, physically speaking. Geno’s not that kind of guy. Jock, Tavon, Noel, those are the best guys on the field, but Geno has a great ability in our system to distribute the ball in those spots.”

Not that anyone expected it to happen, but Smith hasn’t gotten any sort of a challenge from the newcomers, freshmen Jeremy Johnson and Barry Brunetti. They haven’t done anything to stunt their growth — and we’re not even a week in yet — but there’s no doubt Smith is QB1.

Now, the backup? That’s a good question, one WVU will begin to answer next week when it picks one or the other and tries to give him half the snaps in practice. Ideally, that players will take the job and then take off while the other gets to redshirt.

Or maybe neither plays and both take a redshirt. Truth be told, WVU has a lot of guys who can play the position.

“You always want to have a situation of competition and depth and I do think that’s one of the things we were lacking at the quarterback position, and rightfully so,” Mullen said. “Pat White was the man, no discussion about that. Last year, Jarrett Brown earned the opportunity. This year, we’ve got three. Coley White is four and we can pull the ace out if we need to with Bradley Starts as five. Whatever is best for the football team, we’ll do. Theoretically, we could dress five quarterbacks.”