If you’re into extraordinarily small sample sizes, I’ve got a treat for you. During the 30-minute widow of today’s practice that was open to the media, we saw 1s v. 1s and 2s v. 2s and — prepare yourself — the offense could not move the ball.

OK, it was two series and eight total plays, but the (first-team) offense only moved the ball forward once and the (second-team) defense was able to move the offense back twice.

But still …

First-team offense

QB: Skyler Howard
RB: Kennedy McKoy
LT: Yodny Cajuste
LG: Adam Pankey
C: Tyler Orlosky
RG: Kyle Bosch
RT: Colton McKivitz
WR (X): Shelton Gibson
IR (Y): Daikiel Shorts
IR (H): Jovon Durante
WR (Z): Ka’Raun White

We’ll continue to keep an eye on McKivitz v. Marcell Lazard. They’re both going to play, but Lazard has practiced well of late and Dana Holgorsen has a thing about completely trusting redshirt freshmen, and McKivitz is one. I don’t know, maybe McKivitiz is the exception. But it’s early. Also, I don’t know where Rushel Shell was in these plays, so abandon that question. Sometimes guys rest?

To me, the most important thing from that two-deep is … actually, let’s sit on that for a moment.

First-team defense

DE: Noble Nwachukwu
NG: Darrien Howard
DE: Jon Lewis
Linebacker: Justin Arndt
CB: Antonio Crawford
CB: Rasul Doublas
NB: Maurice Fleming
SS: Toyous Avery
Spur: Kyzir White
Bandit: Jarrod Harper
FS: Dravon Askew-Henry

Look, this was weird. I think I got all the numbers right, and I’ve reviewed my footage and that of others online. It’s a defense against a four-receiver set, so conventional looks are out the window. Figure this is the Aug. 9 version of the SWAT package. No Jeremy Tyler, which probably created room, one way or another, for Avery, but it sounded before like Avery was on his way. Tyler was in a red jersey, which means you’re not practicing. Also, I heard this the other day and I saw it today: Gibson v. Crawford can be spirited. They tangled on one play, and Crawford bodied up and broke up another play.

Second-team offense

QB: Chris Chugunov
RB: Justin Crawford
LT: Sylvester Townes
LG: Grant Lingafelter
C: Matt Jones
RG: Rob Dowdy
RT: Marcell Lazard
WR (X): Gary Jennings
IR (Y): Devonte Mathis
IR (H): Steven Smothers
WR (Z): Marcus Simms

Again, a small window one week removed from the opening practice, but Jennings, who has played inside and outside, was outside. Mathis, who Holgorsen has praised, was the inside receiver closest to the ball, which is the most important position, I think, in the passing offense if the passing offense is to be what Holgorsen wants it to be … and that’s why Shorts is there, too. I promise, more on that in a moment.

I’d never seen Jones play center, and under normal circumstances that’s probably Tony Matteo, but he rolled an ankle in a special teams drill. A brief round of McKivitz v. Lazard went to McKivitz. Lazard has had better five-minute windows.

Tuesday’s, which included simulated crowd noise and a jumpy defense, featured this:

Alex Hammond is all over that false start.

Second-team defense

Uh, let’s have a discussion here. I’m not sure who was where, but I can explain. WVU was in the, I guess, SWAT package again. Christian Brown was definitely the nose guard, Reese Donahue was definitely a defensive end, Xavier Preston was definitely the linebacker, Nana Kyeremeh and Elijah Battle were definitely cornerbacks, and I’m not certain about too much after that. And we’re talking about six players, so, my bad?

Or not.

For example, I have Jeffrey Pooler at defensive end. To my knowledge, he’s been a nose guard. Maybe he’s trying something new, because the coaches need to be creative. And this is a pass rush package, and for all we know, Pooler might be really good at that. Let’s not pay too much attention to that. It might be a bad jersey number. I have Jake Long as a nickel back — and there is definitely a No. 10 on the field — but we learned today he’s out for the season. In the same picture, you’ll see Shane Commodore, and he does play free safety, but look at No. 17. That’s allegedly Jake Miller, an invited walk-on freshman from Bridgeport. The other safety out there was Khairi Sharif, and I’m sure of that. I believe he was the spur.

Don’t shoot me.

Also, while we’re discussing Donahue, and I suppose, by extension, Lazard, this happened:

Let’s be easy on Lazard. He might have had 25 good reps after this. And Gary Jennings dropped a pass later, if we’re into finger pointing. But as you can see on this play, Chugunov hangs onto the ball for a long time and misses the running back, Crawford, sneaking out of the backfield. Holgorsen was not happy with that. On the next snap, something similar happened, and Holgorsen went wild.

Anyhow, the most important thing out of all of this? Four-receiver sets. They have been very good to WVU through the years, but only when the Mountaineers have had the appropriate depth of positions, which is different than the appropriate depth of players. You can have 12 receivers and three positions, and that’s not the same as having, say, eight players and four positions. Remember 2011? Stedman Bailey and Ivan McCartney outside, Tavon Austin and Devon Brown/Willie Milhouse inside. That was pretty good. Haven’t seen a lot of that since then, because the depth of positions wasn’t there.

Moving Durante inside is a big development. It gives the offense a fourth receiver position, which is the second inside position, and it doesn’t rob from the outside positions. Holgorsen, at his best, is about finding the five best skill players and finding ways to be multiple, a word he loves. I don’t think there’s any question that the four receivers — Gibson, White, Durante and Shorts — are among the five best skill players. You get those four and a skilled back on the field and your offense is potent.

The two-back sets — with three receivers … or two and a tight end, if they can find one they can trust — aren’t going anywhere, but there’s a good chance we’re staring at some diversification and the return of one-back sets with four receivers.

Google  “Dana Holgorsen” and “one-back clinic.” Now rub your hands together.

Before all of that, we were treated to special teams, and I know you couldn’t wait to hear about that. Today, we saw kickoffs, and Holgorsen was tinkering with some combinations. Simms and Jennings. Jennings and Gibson (the best pairing, I think). Durante and McKoy. White and Simms. Smothers and McKoy. Askew-Henry and Justin Crawford.

We forget, but Askew-Henry was a dangerous ball-in-his-hands player in high school. He hasn’t done much of anything on special teams, because WVU was already asking a lot of him and didn’t want to ask much more. This may have just been for fun, but maybe it was there to give Holgorsen a preview. Either way, it did happen.