Yesterday was a good day for Mark Scott, West Virginia’s ubiquitous defensive assistant and special teams coach. Tyron Carrier was named the receivers coach, and he’s one of the best kickoff returners the NCAA has seen, but there’s more to it than just that.

There’s a lot to like there, and though his kickoff return skill isn’t necessarily something you can teach, it surely helps to know about that which you are coaching. And I think Carrier will have a hand in that. True, Scott is the special teams coach, but the other coaches have their own duties, and Galloway and Dana Holgorsen coached punt and kickoff returns.

Carrier fits in nicely there, no?

The greater news, to me, because I have no problem spending the money of others, is Scott is about to get paid. Carrier signed a one-year contract for an annualized $175,000. (Aside: I see a lot of talk about the buyout — 25 percent if he leaves and 100 percent if he goes to a Big 12 school, which is true, but remember, that applies only if the assistant coach doesn’t get permission, and I suspect if Carrier wanted to move on and up in a normal situation, Holgorsen wouldn’t withhold permission.)

Well, Galloway was making $375,000 a year on a two-year deal. There’s a $200,000 gap there. That matters to Scott — or, again, only to me — because when Brian Mitchell left and vacated his $275,000 salary, WVU hired Blue Adams to coach cornerbacks for $200,000. WVU took that $75,000 gap and gave defensive line coach Bruce Tall $50,000 and safeties coach Matt Caponi $25,000.

I’d bet that Scott, who re-signed in the winter for the same one-year, $150,000 contract and is deeply trusted by Holgorsen and defensive coordinator Tony Gibson, gets a piece of that and that running backs coach JaJuan Seider and offensive line coach Ron Crook get a slice as well.

The only question is if WVU can spend that $200,000 harmoniously.

Scott has other queries to address right now, beginning with the curious case of Josh Lambert, who is suspended for the spring. He’s being replaced by junior Mike Molina, and freshman Jonn Young will arrive over the summer, which is when WVU expects Lambert will be reinstated, though there is no guarantee there. This is a quietly big deal.

WVU lost Nick O’Toole, which means it lost its punter, holder and kickoff expert. Scott said walk-on Billy Kinney, a big sophomore from University High, is the leading candidate to punt and hold, and Molina is the choice to handle kickoffs. Young will factor into field goals, punting and kickoffs because “he’s a talented-enough kid that he can be a dual guy. I’ll give him an opportunity to compete for at least two of those jobs. If he’s the best guy, he’s who we’ll go with.”

The fun stuff hasn’t really started yet. In the first six days of spring practice, WVU spent part of one day on punt returns and part of one day on kickoff returns, and though the Mountaineers may have done a little Tuesday and could do a little today, they won’t devote a ton of time to either in the spring.

For now, it’s familiar names catching punts and kickoffs, though some newcomers could enter the mix over the summer.

“We’ve got Gary Jennings out there catching punts one handed, trying to protect his (injured left) wrist,” Scott said. “We’ve worked some other guys back there too. Will Crest. Marcus Simms. We’ve only worked a little bit on kickoff return with Kennedy McKoy and Dravon Henry as the off-returner, a big body like K.J. Dillon last year who’s got ability and has the bigger body to help us blocking as well.

“With Gary and Shelton (Gibson on kickoffs) and some of the guys we have coming in here in the near future, we’ll be as deep at returner since I’ve been here.”