I’m on my way through the ice again, this time from Ames to Des Moines, and I won’t be at today’s signing day press conference at 3 p.m. Fortunately, we found a suitable replacement for you to follow, and the Gazette-Mail as well as the football department have programing to get you through the day.

Big day already: Junior college cornerback Elijah Battle was the first player to sign, and he’d previously de-committed. He was followed later by Kyzir White and Brendan Ferns. Still waiting on delightfully blunt Chase Behrndt, the first Show Me State player to ever sign with the Mountaineers.

“I come from a rich, spoiled-brat area, suburban St. Louis, and the typical thing is everyone graduates from high school and goes to [the University of] Missouri,” he said. “That’s a typical thing. I’ve never been one who rolls with the crowd. I usually do my own thing. Honestly, I wanted to spread my wings and go as far away as I possibly could.”

So there was Behrndt, nailing rep after rep and impressing the WVU coaches. He won an MVP honor and was offered a scholarship he accepted four weeks later.

His first interaction with the Mountaineers was followed by a surprise.

“When I committed, I had a couple reporters call me, and one said he did some research and I’m the first player to come to play football from Missouri,” Behrndt said of his factual distinction in the program’s history.

“I was like, ‘Wow, that’s a big role for me. If I do well, maybe they’ll think about recruiting some more out there. And if I’m terrible, they’ll probably leave it alone.’ ”