Karl Joseph, of course, had the most compelling experience at the NFL combine. There were six West Virginia players in attendance for the lengthy event, but Joseph was the only one working his way back from a significant injury. (I continue to hear he’ll be fine for mini-camps and his recovery is being viewed like Todd Gurley’s last year.)

So Joseph wouldn’t be working out at the combine. No 40-yard dashes or broad jumps or bench presses or things that show in person what you see on tape — he’s a stick of dynamite with a really short fuse. He could still meet with teams and do interviews and the like, but if you’ve followed Joseph or been near him all this time, you know that is not his strength.

He’s quiet. Shy, even. Now, I never witnessed it, but I was always told Joseph was different in the locker room or with his teammates on and off the field. His was a booming voice in those environments. But he was never wholly comfortable around groups of cameras and notebooks, especially after losses, which I liked most about him, and it took someone or something special to get him to open up about things. WVU tried and tried and tried to get him to do an interview — any interview — before he left campus. Wouldn’t do it.

So consider that and now add his competitiveness. Think about how much he had to hate being there while not being allowed to do what he does best. Mix those up in his head and wonder how me might have come across with the media and during interviews.

Now behold this reality: The explosive player with a recovering knee and a penchant for privacy ended up having the best WVU performance at the combine. Deion gets an assist, but tell me you wouldn’t like having that guy on your team.

It is not a great year for safeties — and defensive backs, in general — and safeties don’t go too high too often. Mike Mayock, who played the position and who knows the game quite well, listed Joseph as his pick as the top safety in the draft. I know teams are inquiring about him, some as their first choice, some as their second, but the thought seems to be he’s a second day, second- or third-round pick now.

And his NFL.com draft bio remains just amazing. Desire to assail leads to occasional technique breakdowns as a tackler.

Most of the rest of the Mountaineers did all right, too. Exception: Daryl Worley, who’s looking  more and more like a safety now and whose decision to leave early is going to be questioned. He wasn’t a top performer in any workout and he ran the 40 slower than a kicker.

Nick Kwiatkoski, who Tony Gibson believes will play 10 seasons in the NFL, did himself some favors. He backed up his tape, is what I’ve heard, and personnel people like his tape and are even bigger fans now that they know they can trust it. His 20-yard shuttle time, which ranked among the best, is important, too, because it’s not clear if he’s an inside or outside linebacker. That number shows he can be a factor in space and getting inside-out to spots.

Similarly, Wendell Smallwood won over some stopwatch fans and opened eyes as a receiver in some drills. Running backs, like safeties, can be undervalued up top, but there are teams who will see a player with potential later in the draft and invest in a bargain. Smallwood, it would seem, positioned himself for no worse than that. K.J. Dillon also flashed with the fourth-best 40 among safeties and a top-10 broad jump, and that should answer some questions about his agility as well as his ability to play deep in the NFL and perhaps land somewhere as an either/or safety.