You are looking live at a senior day tradition here at Mountaineer Field.

Ordinarily, the Mountaineer Mantrip takes the players from a parking lot and through a gate into the stadium and then down that stairway onto the field. Today, much of the team arrived in a different manner, coming out of a tunnel at field level and then working their way over to where they assembled to greet the seniors. They made the trip down the stairway for the last time, and a congratulatory gauntlet was there to welcome them. Warms the heart on a chilly day.

There were, of course, tomes to be written about the many seniors this week, and we in the media were allowed to choose from a menu of four choices. Some picked Justin Arndt, an erstwhile walk-on linebacker from Martinsville. Others selected Daikiel Shorts, the 2008 Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon of this offense. Others opted for Tyler Orlosky, the honorably ornery center who puts himself in the middle of so many things West Virginia does.

And then there’s Noble Nwachukwu, famously reserved among his teammates, a model for performance and improvement that is achieved by deeds and not by words. His father passed away unexpectedly the morning of the TCU game, and he played and played well.

“It was very hard to focus on the game leading up to the game,” he said. “When I got to the game, I was focused, but for the whole day, it was impossible to think about football. I was playing with a heavy heart out there. I left it all on the field, really.”

In the estimation of his coaches, Nwachukwu had played perhaps his best game. He’d later be named the team’s defensive player of the week.

“I was broken up,” Tall said. “I had a hard time keeping my composure. He’s just a special young man.”

His mother, his younger brother and two of his three sisters are expected to be here today, and the first time they see him play a home game is the last time Nwachukwu plays at Mountaineer Field. WVU’s playing for a lot today, and not just a 10-win season.