Rejoice! Preseason camp is finished at West Virginia, and that means it’s time to officially start the countdown toward the beginning of the regular season. This is a cause to celebrate, and let’s commemorate the occasion with the 2016 All-Camp Team.

My annual disclaimer: This is not a depth chart. If you present this as a depth chart, I’m done with you. If you see someone presenting this as a depth chart, you should be done with that person — and I might be done with you simply because your eyeballs associated with that person.

So, what is this? It’s a listing of the players who made the most of, who helped themselves the most during and/or who were the talk of preseason camp. It’s based on my notes and observations and the things I hear when I talk to players and coaches and whoever else I chat up along the sideline or in the team building. It’s not necessarily stars and starters but rather the players who came out of camp in a better situation than they were in when they entered it.

This is our fourth edition, and it’s unlike all the others. It’s short on surprises and dark horses.

I think this is in line with the theme of camp. The Mountaineers could identify basically all of their starters and contributors on offense before they began. There was more work to do on defense, but the team went in knowing who was going to factor into the many replacement processes. This is not to say WVU was without competition and question marks, but as camp progressed and when it was over, it just seemed to me that WVU took care of business as far as personnel goes because it knew who and what to expect.

That’s a good thing. No team is where it wants to be today, and surely the Mountaineers could have better luck with health and feel better about a few positions, but I don’t know if anyone’s looking around wondering from where the solutions will come.

Check out the previous editions in 2013, 2014 and 2015 and you’ll find different situations. Check out the 2016 team after the jump.

QB: Chris Chugunov
Look, Skyler Howard is the starter, and there is no question. He had command of the offense last season, and every available indication says he’s even more efficient and prescient now that he’s gone through another winter-spring-summer with what is largely the same group of players he went through it all with last season. The pocket is better around him, and he’s playing more comfortable. But if we rewind just a little bit, it wasn’t long ago when there was no clear backup quarterback behind Howard. Chugunov and William Crest were duking it out with no separation. Then three days later, Dana Holgorsen meets with the media before Saturday’s scrimmage and says Chugunov had been very good for three or four days. Point taken, I guess. He’s quite familiar with the offense, he’s been around the position more consistently than Crest has been in the past year-plus and he has the biggest arm among the pool of available players. Most important, it certainly appears he’s the guy WVU can plan on using if it ever has to break the glass and pull the alarm.

RB: Justin Crawford
Every year, there’s a new player who makes noise or headlines or noisy headlines, and that’s to be expected. We are enamored with new things. We are intrigued by legend. Crawford, the junior college transfer from the best conference going, is new, and he has legends in his luggage as the reigning national player of the year. Nobody was mentioned for this list more often than Crawford. The head coach said he hasn’t had someone like this since Kendall Hunter. Offensive teammates bragged. Offensive assistants had something good to report every time we saw them. Defensive players and assistants actually tipped their caps and promised good things — and you have to understand how difficult that can be for a lot of people on that side of the ball. The one thing that really sticks out is how consistently complimentary running backs coach JaJuan Seider was. That guy’s critical. It’s constructive, but it’s consistent. He means well, but he does it well. He never backed away from praising and predicting, and for one reason or another, he repeated the point that Crawford likes to score touchdowns. Crawford’s a workhorse who topped 3,100 yards and scored 30 times in two years, but he also averaged 20 carries a game. What he does with 14 or 18 carries a game ought to be interesting, but watch him in the kick return or the receiving game, too.

FB: Michael Ferns
This had to happen, and this couldn’t happen. It couldn’t happen because he was apparently really bad the first time he was put in the thick of it. Holgorsen called him out, and you couldn’t help but remember this was a linebacker at Michigan and a fullback/tight end type at WVU. But it had to happen, too, because Elijah Wellman was out — and remained out — with a high ankle sprain. Every time his name came up after that, someone acknowledged Ferns was improving. The Mountaineers need big bodies in the backfield and on the line of scrimmage so that they can do what they want to do, and if Ferns had flopped, the offense was going to be in a bad spot as a result. True, a healthy Wellman fixes a lot of that, but WVU can find ways to get both of these guys on the field at once or to use one in place of the other. What Ferns did in the final week-plus removed a lot of doubts. (Aside: I can’t include a tight end on this list, and that’s a reminder how much the Mountaineers will and do miss Cody Clay.)

OL: Yodny Cajuste
He keeps getting better. The redshirt sophomore e remains one of the team’s top professional prospects, and he’s got a lot of time to add to and enhance that reputation. He has his upper and lower body in sync now. He’s stronger and more sound than he was last season, and the reason the pocket is going to widen this season is because Holgorsen and offensive coordinator Joe Wickline trust the tackles to handle the subtle but significant changes in technique. There’s no doubt that Tyler Orlosky is the best offensive lineman, but there’s never been even a suggestion that someone else is playing left tackle. Given the appearance of “or” on a few depth charts and an arrest over the weekend, you can’t say that anywhere else on the line — and this is going to be a good line. 

OL: Grant Lingafelter
There was that one development over the weekend that could have opened up a spot here, but even if it hadn’t happened, I think Lingafelter gets this spot. He’s the backup guard at either position, and the Mountaineers like him. Is there a drop-off from one guard to the backup guard? Probably so, or he’d be starting, but sometimes a team has three good guards or three good tackles. That team is not always WVU, but Lingafelter, a program player who’s been through the system and came out on the good side of it, makes WVU one of those this season. That’s a good development for a line that could be the best in the Big 12 and could also stay at a high level if something were to happen to the starting guards. 

OL: Tyler Orlosky
This seems so silly, but let’s bring it up again: Last year, Orlosky made this team and his selection was accompanied by a suggestion — from WVU, mind you — that he “might leave here in two years as the best center the school has seen.” People seriously flipped out about that. Would those same people react the same way today? Actually, don’t answer that. Some of them probably would. But Orlosky is going to leave as certainly one of the best the school has produced at that critical position. He still one of the strongest guys on the team. He’s a model performer on and off the field. No players or coaches worry about him. He’s up for major awards, and so long as he stays healthy, he’s going to be there at the end. Maybe he collects some hardware to accompany the noble honor of being the first four-time All-Camp Team pick. And to think, he couldn’t handle the full-time job as a redshirt freshman in 2013 and had to split time with Pat Eger. That’s how hard the position is, but Orlosky has consistently grown so that he prevents any time spent fretting about what happens in the middle.

OL: Kyle Bosch
Here’s another guy who’s just solid, experienced and getting better. We might underrate how good of a job he did last season, when he started all 13 games and played 805 snaps next to a perfectionist center but also handled all of the power plays quite nicely. Pankey is better at it, but it’s not a blowout, and the Mountaineers never shied away from running those to the left behind the pulling right guard. Consider this about Bosch, too: He played as a true freshmen, but not a lot. He started three games, only played in two others and held a spot on the bench at the end. He played one snap in the opener as a sophomore in 2014 and left the team a few days later. He was gone after the season. Bosch got that sophomore season back with a redshirt, meaning he was a redshirt sophomore last year, when the Mountaineers believed he could handle a starting spot despite a pretty limited playing background and some likely and understandable rust. And all things considered, he was pretty good with the payoff being he’s gotten better with a lot of games and practice reps ever since.

OT: Colton McKivitz
You know this is a keeper when the head coach says the incumbent, Marcell Lazard, has done everything he’s supposed to do to keep his job but that McKivitz remains on his heels. You know this is a keeper when you recall all the times Holgorsen has said he doesn’t want to rely on a redshirt freshman, never mind play one, on the offensive line and would rather wait another year. McKivitz has the goods, and he’ll get better. He’s 6-foot-7 and 305 pounds. I’m told he’s got a nasty streak to him but that he’s also good with the technique you need to excel outside. He could be a left tackle, if not for that Cajuste guy standing over there and blocking out the sun. But again, even if Lazard starts, the Mountaineers think enough of McKivitz to give him some snaps, maybe on either side, and revel in the fact they have three good guards and three good tackles. 

WR: Ka’Raun White
The big thing here is that White stayed healthy from start to finish. He’s been bugged by a balky shoulder from his first day on campus, and that kept him out of practices and out of games last year, and it kept him out of the spring game in April. His older brother, Kevin, had a similar hobby in his first year before he got over it and made a lot of money. His younger brother, Kyzir, had a bad leg when he arrived over the summer, and he couldn’t do much of anything physically in the summer workouts. I don’t know if WVU was necessarily waiting on a White to remain a fixture on the field — again … because it went very well the last time it happened — but they certainly didn’t mind Ka’Raun using his body and his speed and his hands to do what he did throughout camp. You know what you’re getting from Shelton Gibson, but you also know the offense needs to outside receivers. White is the second outside receiver, and a good development from camp is that he became something of a force when the ball was in the air and he was in the end zone.

WR: Jovon Durante
Here’s the only player Crawford was mentioned more than, but here’s the player who generated the best response when I was quizzing people — the move to inside receiver was that impressive. I was talking to someone on the defensive side (I’ll keep his name to myself just because), and when I mentioned Durante, his eyes widened, and he shook his head. That was good enough for me. After Saturday’s scrimmage, when he was the bandit safety and had to track and cover Durante in zone or man, Jarrod Harper wished opposing linebackers and defensive backs the best of luck. This was a major experiment in camp. It took him away from outside receiver, and Durante was already playing catch-up there after missing all spring practice. If it doesn’t work and he goes back outside, he’s way behind. But Durante, who handled some personal housekeeping during his suspension in the spring, made it work. Gibson is the most dangerous receiver — offensive player, too, I would guess — with the ball in his hands. Durante is not far behind, and now that he’s a slot receiver, you’re looking at occasions when those two are on the field at once. Gibson’s speed and routes put him in position to succeed. This H position might put Durante in position to succeed, and then he can use his speed. Something else to consider: Durante quick-twitching linebackers and safeties in the red zone.

WR: Gary Jennings
He’s a top-five receiver, according to Holgorsen, but receivers coach Tyron Carrier trusts Jennings more than anyone else. Remember, Carrier has been really, really hard on his guys, so that’s saying something. But “Mr. Dependable,” as Carrier called him, played outside as a freshman last season, was moved inside during spring practice and played inside and outside in camp. Holgorsen believed his depth at receiver was good enough to lock players into one position on one side of the field, but he and Carrier believe Jennings is good enough to bend that rule. It helps that he already knows all four positions, but he’s big and fast enough to excel at either one, and his handle is good enough to catch the different throws he sees at both. But the reason he makes the list is his added versatility. The guy who can play any spot at receiver is likely to join Gibson on kickoff returns and is the unquestioned punt returner. When was the last time WVU had no worries about punt returns?

WR: Devonte Mathis
This could have done to Gibson or Daikiel Shorts, but their coaches and teammates aren’t really surprised by what they do. Mathis received many reassuring compliments for his work ethic in the offseason — he got a Preseason Bingo square! — and the subsequent payoff in camp. When success didn’t diminish his work ethic in camp, it was too hard to keep this from him. Holgorsen mentioned him early, in the middle and at the end, and on that final one, he made sure to highlight Mathis, a fifth-year senior with 13 career catches, including none in 2014. Holgorsen first said he had five game-ready receivers and quickly corrected himself to say it was six. He said Jennings was the fifth and added Mathis, the sixth, had a “pretty solid” camp. Like, he wanted to be sure he got that out there. He can play all four spots, but at 6-foot-1 and 221 pounds, he can be a handful inside.

DL: Christian Brown
Here’s another name I heard again and again. People raved about his practices before the bowl and then the way he played in the game. He had a good winter and spring and kept it rolling through the summer and camp. Sometimes the switch clicks for a guy, but sometimes a guy just enjoys the light. Other times a guy understands why it came on and then does everything to make sure he can pay the power bill. There’s a difference, and Brown’s a guy who’s been humming for eight months now. He’s in the right place at the right time, but he knows it and he’s adjusted his ways to capitalize on it. Brown’s a good fit as a 3-3-5 defensive end, but he can also play nose, which WVU needs. He’s in line for a big season. (And remember, he should be gone, but a weight room accident on a box jump cost him his sophomore season in 2013.)

DL: Alec Shuler or perhaps Adam Shriner
About a week ago, I was resigned to the 100-percent certainty I would occasionally confuse Adam Shuler and Alec Shriner for the next several years, but then I came up with a way to differentiate. ShrINer plays INside. Then came the part that made me take this seriously: They’re both good. They’re redshirt freshmen with a combined zero snaps, but, man, they look the part. Shuler reminds me of Young Will Clarke. He’s a talk, long, strong guy and, be warned, he’s rocked the jersey-rolled-up-under-the-pads midriff at least twice that I’ve seen. That’s promising. Shriner gives me the Young Kyle Rose vibe. He’s a bear in he middle. A wrestler, yes, but a fighter who’s going to battle for his 36 inches to give a linebacker six to his left or right. They’re not near where they need to be to be major factors, and you’re expecting a lot if you thought a redshirt freshman, let alone two, would be, but they’re fun to watch. And give them this: Both of these guys had to be at last where they are given everything that’s happened to the defensive line and its depth.

LB: Brendan Ferns
Aw, man. I know he’s done, but I can’t keep this spot from him. He was very good and that level of play came very early. He started out as the fourth-team middle linebacker and was the clear No. 2. Al-Rasheed Benton, who’s the starter in the middle and, let’s be honest, wasn’t going to lose his starting job to Ferns, was highly impressed. He said Ferns was much more ready mentally to play as a freshman than he was, which is good to hear, but he also said Ferns was better equipped physically, too. Um, you do remember Freshmen Benton, no? That was high praise, I thought, but you really had to see Ferns in person and watch him move to understand and agree. He was — actually, I’ll end this right here. People are bummed out enough about this as it is. 

LB: David Long
He’s the McKivitz on defense in that he’s a guy who’s chasing a starter who’s doing absolutely nothing to lose his spot. Sean Walters is one of those players who followed the plan and was there when he was needed. He’s been a good Will linebacker in the spring and in camp, but Long has secretly been one of the best secrets on defense for a while now. Heck, Walters even volunteered Long for this list. The redshirt freshman gave the offense trouble on the scout team last season and he gave the offense trouble on the first- and second-team defense in camp. It’s possible we look back in a few weeks or months and say, “Yikes, he’s better than I expected. Did we miss that? How did we miss that?”

CB: Maurice Fleming
The graduate transfer from Iowa wasn’t mentioned the most. His name wasn’t used with the flashiest nouns and adjectives. But no one was described quite like Fleming. Quite simply, he could be WVU’s best practice player, and if he does get one of those starting spots, it’s because there is trust he’ll treat every snap appropriately. If he doesn’t, he’s going to play, perhaps as the nickelback, definitely in pass defense packages and certainly on a few special teams. Mark Scott is a special teams coach and a defensive assistant. Again and again he finds himself stopping the film and pointing out to players that they need to watch and then mimic Fleming. Defensive coordinator Tony Gibson said Fleming was one of the top performers and stories during camp, but “I expected him to come in and be that guy.” Still, he’s not only done what was expected of him but what he expected of himself. Fleming told me in May, when he committed to WVU, that he wouldn’t have picked the Mountaineers if he didn’t expect to start and that he was coming for a starting spot. I don’t know if he gets it, but by the sounds of it, he can’t blame himself if he doesn’t. 

CB: Antonio Crawford III
This was the toughest call. Rasul Douglas is right there, man, and if I’m being honest, I went by votes … and Crawford had one more … and Douglas mentioned Crawford … and Crawford is not yet allowed to talk to us. So for all we know, Crawford might have mentioned Douglas, and we’d be discussing Antonio Douglas or Rasul Crawford III. Douglas is big, he can move, he knows the defense now and he’s very confident. Crawford we know less about, but we’re led to believe he’s a lot of the same things. He just made life difficult on receives whenever I got to watch him. The guy was a starter and played nickelback at Miami for a few years. He can play. But Fleming, Crawford, Douglas and Nana Kyeremeh are going to play. Some will start and some will play more than others, but consider this for those four, for cornerbacks coach Blue Adams and for the defense: Two will be named starters and there is absolutely now way that will sit well with the other two. That’s good. Those two are going to push the two starters every day because all four are fifth-year seniors who don’t have next season. It’s now or never. I’d be utterly stunned if there aren’t a few different pairings in the starting lineup this season.

S: Toyous Avery
This spot was probably abdicated by Dravon Askew-Henry’s injury, but that also discounts the fact that Avery, an agile junior college transfer, was closing camp with a surge and was showing coaches something that had them thinking about different ways to use him. You’ll remember that eight-play window last Tuesday. Avery was with the first-team defense and so was Askew-Henry. Of course, it’s worth mentioning Jeremy Tyler didn’t practice that day, but the wheels were spinning, because you find your best 11 players for every package and situation. More and more, Avery was a part of those conversations. Now, we can assume, he’ll get a lot of work at free safety and he’ll have to matter more on special teams, but he’s at least ready for the audition and probably even more than that. We mentioned a lot of new names before camp. I’m not sure Avery was one we talked about like we do now.

S: Jeremy Tyler and Jarrod Harper
They’re linked, aren’t they? They’re seniors. They know all three safety positions. They do work on special teams. They combined to replace Karl Joseph last season, and instead of being tagged in this season, they’re being promoted to main eventers after Askew-Henry’s injury. I was thinking about this the other day — after Askew-Henry’s injury — and I couldn’t convince myself that the starting safeties wouldn’t have been Harper at bandit, Askew-Henry at free and Tyler at spur. It just fit, didn’t it? Kyzir White could come in at spur, provided he overcomes Marvin Gross, and Tyler could rest or play bandit to give Harper a rest. Tyler could spell Askew-Henry at free, unless Avery really is the real deal, and maybe Harper could play spur for Tyler or White. It was tidy. Now it’s akimbo, but Tyler and Harper, who had played solely bandit in practice, still figure prominently into Plan B. They’re going to start in the base, they’re going to be in the pass defense and third-down packages and I think it goes without saying now that they’re going to be the backbone of the secondary and probably even the defense.

Specialists
Shelton Gibson is an ace on kickoff returns, and Jennings could and maybe even should be his accomplice back there in addition to his job returning punts. Khairi Sharif remains a terrific coverage guy, and Fleming will get your attention, too. Billy Kinney has been reliable holding for field goals and extra points. Holgorsen arched brows when he said the full-time job is there for Mike Molina if the first three Josh Lambert-less games go well. But Jonn Young was probably the standout on the third side of the ball. The true freshman’s leg is as good as advertised, and he could make it really hard for opposing teams to return punts against the Mountaineers.

AP photo