Here’s something we’ve noticed about spring practice, whether up close or from afar: The defense is in a really good spot.

What happened to Kyle Rose was, of course, bad form … but Darrien Howard and Jaleel Fields got bumps from that. Daryl Worley is out, but Terrell Chestnut has solidified himself as a presence while Ricky Rumph and even Khairi Sharif have found time and roles. Nick Kwiatkoski misses a few days? No problem.

The Mountaineers know what they have and can expect from the players they know so well, so it’s almost like a day away isn’t necessarily a bad thing. But at the same time, you’d better not be gone too long, because Tony Gibson has replacements at the ready.

And one is Xavier Preston, a sophomore linebacker Gibson said Saturday was perhaps the defense’s biggest surprise from the spring. “He’s a guy that’s playing really well. Kwiatkoski was out today. He’s been out a couple days. He’s a guy that’s really stepping up and doing some good things. I like the way he’s playing.”

So who is Preston? Maybe this rings a bell…

He wears No. 53 and he meets T.J. Yeldon at the goal line, which was exactly what he was supposed to do. Of course, Yeldon scored, which was not supposed to happen, and Preston had quite the keepsake for the first play of his college career. It was his only play that game and the beginning of the end of his time on defense last season.

It’s a small sample size, but Preston keeps it in mind now as he kept it in mind back when it happened.

“I replayed it all the way until the flight took off,” he said. “I’d press play and watch and then rewind it to see what else I could do. How fast did I get there? What do I have to try to improve?”

Now Preston was really disappointed. He watched his feet and was mad about the steps he’d taken. They weren’t as quick and as certain as they were in practice. A lean inside when he knew he should have been headed the other way cost him tenths of a second. Those little details loomed large and he knew that’s why he wasn’t able to stop Yeldon.

This was a cruel lesson about what he needed to do and how he needed to think from that point forward.

“It doesn’t get easier, but it does allow you to have some form of knowledge from previous performances,” he said. “Just knowing I’ve been out there in certain situations helps you out when the next situation comes. You know what’s coming and it allows you to progress from there.”