By now you’ve surely heard that Bruce Irvin had an eye-opening debut at Saturday’s scrimmage. I’m aware of what everyone is thinking. I trying to muffle the hype — or at least not giddily peddle it — and simply wait until the season, which is where everything matters. He’s not an every-down player, not a guy who’s going to stop the run, but I don’t think he’ll be asked to do either … not right away. Still, no one can help but wonder if this guy is it. Saturday forced our hand.

Turns out Irvin needed one play – in fact, his first play – during Saturday’s scrimmage.

Playing with the first-team on the “40” defense designed for pass-rush situations, Irvin sacked quarterback Geno Smith the first time the ball was snapped and then converged a few plays later – his second snap – with defensive tackle Scooter Berry for a second sack.

It might be hard for the Mountaineers to disguise their excitement any longer.

“Bruce Irvin is a man out there,” Coach Bill Stewart said after the 82-play scrimmage. “He pass-rushes. He dents the pocket and he gives tremendous effort. I like the way his motor runs. Please, put that down. I like the way No. 11’s motor runs.”

Irvin plays the left defensive end position, which means he was getting over the right side of the line. The worry on the offensive line is the right side, where Eric Jobe is trying to make a full-time move to guard after playing mostly center last year and where  Jeff Braun is trying to win the starting tackle job after backing up at center and right guard last year.

Not necessarily their faults, though. For one, credit must go to Irvin for what he did … and I can’t believe Branu and/or Jobe saw a whole lot of that in practice. Two, Jobe helped spring Noel on a 79-yard touchdown run when he and fullback Ryan Clarke gout outside and cleared a path. Three, Braun had a good day in pass blocking and was mostly strong at the point of attack on the run. It’s the continuation of a good summer thus far.

“At this point, Jeff has the upper hand,” Coach Bill Stewart said. “He’s getting better, but has a way to go. That right tackle spot, as I said before, is not as solid as the other four positions, but it’s gaining.”

So, too, is Braun, who had his moments in Saturday’s scrimmage in pass- and run-blocking, but also let speedy defensive end Bruce Irvin by on two third-down plays that resulted in sacks.

Still, Braun has discovered he has skills that suit the position, as Johnson suggested, and that he’s also pretty good at it.

“I love it,” he said. “I was nervous last spring with the speed of the game and how fast the guys are over there, but once I went over there and tried a few passes, it was OK….