Rasul Douglas, seen above pursuing new West Virginia teammate Ka’Raun White in a junior college game last season, was cleared to practice Saturday. The green light came just in time to put on his helmet, jersey, shorts and cleats and practice for the first time with the Mountaineers that afternoon.

All Douglas (highlights) really did was run. So began the NCAA’s five-day acclimatization period.

But that was nevertheless important because he needed to prove he was in shape. Cornerbacks coach Brian Mitchell, who put a lot of time into recruiting Douglas from Nassau Community College, in Garden City, N.Y., stayed in touch with Douglas as the player awaited approval. Mitchell made it clear Douglas had no excuse not to be in shape and that there wouldn’t be time for him to get caught up with his conditioning. He had to be ready.

So on the first day, Douglas ran. A lot. It was a gauntlet of sprints and challenges to show he was where he needed to be.

And the reviews, according to Mitchell, were pretty encouraging. I think he came here in pretty good shape physically, and he’s willing to put in the extra time right now.

Look, there’s always going to be an adjustment period. Douglas could have worked out with Usain Bolt for the past three weeks, and he’d still need at least a little time to acquiesce. Not to say track and field training is lacking, but football is football. It has unique conditioning aspects, and that’s before you get walloped and start sucking air. I didn’t ask everybody, but the people I asked said there was no reason Douglas couldn’t be in shoulder pads on day three and full pads on day five. From there, he has to climb the ladder.

It’s minor but at the same time big news because WVU has a plan for Douglas, a two-for-two player who simply can’t redshirt this season. It’s mostly what we discussed before — maybe get him on the field in game one, definitely get him in or play him more in game two and then use the open week to the fullest. Mitchell believes Douglas can be caught up in three weeks. Defensive coordinator Tony Gibson said that ideally Douglas is prepared for Big 12 play and the fourth game of the season

These are not unrealistic goals, but we ought to consider this, too: Cornerback isn’t quarterback. There aren’t tons of coverages and techniques. Douglas can’t and won’t know it all right away, and that’ll limit his participation, but Gibson plays Cover 3 most of the time. It’s the same here as it was at Nassau.

Let’s also remember Douglas played a difficult position at Nassau. After playing the field side as a freshman, he was the boundary cornerback. That put him on the short side of the field on every snap. He played mostly man-to-man press coverage, and as part of a 4-2-5 he was used as a force player against the run. WVU uses left and right cornerbacks and they’re not used the same in the 3-3-5 against the run.

I don’t want to say this is going to be easy for Douglas. Easier? Maybe, but that isn’t the point. It’s not impossible for him to give the Mountaineers a reserve option this season based on what he did during his All-America season at Nassau: 43 tackles, 7 1/2 tackles for loss, 15 pass breakups and two interceptions.

“The old adage about how corners don’t like to be physical and stick their noses in the run game? That’s not true with him,” Osovet said. “We did not use him that way, just because of how our defense was structured. If you put on the highlights, you’ll see how physical he plays. He sets the boundary, and there aren’t too many people across the country like that.

“As far as his readiness at the next level and being able to come in and participate right away, he’ll be able to do that. I think that’s what will make him stand out, and I think that’s what made West Virginia come in and recruit him.”

The Mountaineers were not alone, but Mitchell was the first to arrive in the recruiting process, and he visited six or seven times to convince Douglas to pick WVU over a host of others, including Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Louisville, Illinois, Kansas, Rutgers and Tennessee.

“Everybody in the country was in on him because it’s tough to find a kid who’s that big and who can run like him,” Osovet said. “We play a lot of man coverage, and what’s obvious on film and what stands out is that he shows he’s a kid who’s long, can do all the physical things a corner needs to do. The flags are going to go up when you can do that type of stuff. That’s why he’s going to get a paycheck to play one day if he keeps his head on.”