The thing that comes to mind, both when I first read it and now as I write that Geno Smith was named the Big 12 Conference preseason offensive player of the year, is, “Has this ever happened before?”

I’ll have to look into it and perhaps you can help, but really, when has a team joined a new conference and seen its star pin down a preseason superlative like this? I don’t think Brian Brohm was the preseason player of the year in 2005.

Yet that’s the reputation Eu has crafted nationally. The media that covers a league that’s never covered a game in which Smith has played voted him as the preseason player of the year. The first-team quarterback — besting Landry Jones and Colin Klein — is joined by receiver Tavon Austin.

And speaking of reputations preceding people, the undeniably dangerous Austin was also named the punt returner despite the fact he wasn’t WVU’s punt returner by late last season.