Tony Gibson’s on vacation, and he’s left his defense in the capable hands of his senior leaders. But Gibson won’t much rest wherever he is, and he knows his players will remain on edge, because they’ve been watching Georgia Southern tapes. Reminders of Willie Fritz’s hybrid option attack will ruin a day at the beach faster than a shark fin breaking the surface.

The Eagles are fun to watch and it’s miserable to prepare for them, but that’s why Gibson is getting a big head start.

Consider this: Last season, WVU opened the season in Atlanta against No. 2 Alabama. At this point of that offseason, Gibson hadn’t started readying for the Crimson Tide like he is now for the second-year Football Bowl Subdivision program.

“We were watching, but not really explaining things and talking to the kids this much about it,” Gibson said. “But you have to with this kind of attack.”

Georgia Southern is an offensive force, but it once was an annual powerhouse in the Football Championship Subdivision, a national titlist in 1985, 1986, 1989, 1990, 1999 and 2000, a proving ground for coaches like Georgia Tech’s Paul Johnson and Army’s Jeff Monken.

A year ago, the Eagles jumped up to the FBS and won the Sun Belt. They finished 9-3 and won all of their eight conference games by an average of 18.3 points.

They also averaged 379.92 rushing yards per game, easily the highest national average this century. That has Gibson’s attention. The fact the dual-threat quarterback and the team’s top two rushers return next season after combining for 3,284 yards and 41 touchdowns last season has Gibson’s attention.

But what worries him most is not who the Eagles have or what they do, but rather how they do it. They have a triple option offense, but it call it that limits their skill and scare. Georgia Southern is a mix of different option ideas and varying formations with zone blocking.

“They’re in the shotgun. They’re going to run split-zone, lead option, load option,” Gibson said. “They throw the ball, too. They do a little bit of everything. It’s to the point right now where if we’re going to play them, I’d rather play them first. I definitely don’t want to play them in game two, three or four.”