Preseason camp opens shortly here and without certainty, I think, the chief concern as we gradually approach the regular season and then Big 12 play is West Virginia’s defense.

In truth, defense as a whole seems like a talking point throughout the conference. If the Mountaineers fit in because of their offensive pedigree, then they also merged nicely because of this apparent allergy to defense.

Once upon a time, though, the Big 12 was a good defensive conference and some might have you believe that could soon be the case again.

Yet in a league with such prolific offenses, a defense can make the difference and one person, or a few of them, can make it happen. When the Walter Camp Award preseason watch list came out and listed nominees for college football’s player of the year, four of the Big 12’s 11 candidates were defenders. Only the Southeastern Conference, steeped in a defensive tradition, could match that number.