If this is the hallmark of the preseason, the head coach will be fine with that, but Tuesday was essentially uneventful for West Virginia. I mean, preseason practice started, and that’s good, but the news conference and our rubber-necking for the 30 minutes we’re allowed on the field did not yield much.

As Dana Holgorsen said, a lot of the changes were put in motion in the spring, and many of the players who arrived afterward were on hand early enough in the summer to hit the ground running on the first day.

In short, WVU gets to work on WVU for its 29 practices.

This is not to say the day was without news, though.

There’s one season-ending injury, one position change that was already discussed over the summer and one added responsibility for a talented player. Other than that, special teams!

Jonn Young and Billy Kinney began their punting competition in earnest, booting balls to only receivers: Jovon Durante, Marcus Simms, Gary Jennings, William Crest and, only when Holgorsen waved him over near the end of the periods devoted to punting, Steven Smothers.

Don’t get too excited. Holgorsen said at Big 12 media day that having Smothers catch punts was maybe the worst thing WVU could do to him, presumably as a freshman, because it’s so hard.

The three-men shields, which are always solid indicators of who the toughest guys on the team are, had Eli Wellman, Jon Lewis and Mike Ferns with one group, Trevon Wesco, Reese Donahue and Alex Brooks with another and Stone Wolfley, Adam Shuler and Xavier Preston with a third.

Apart from that, just a lot of bodies at a lot of positions and, man, WVU’s receivers look like they haven’t looked in a long time. It’s the best-looking group Holgorsen has had here, and potentially the most physical, too, but it’s also, he said, the fastest he’s ever had at any stop.