You can ignore the final score. It wasn’t 21-0. The spring game is always weird. Geno Smith threw a touchdown pass to Shelton Gibson late the action, and I think the Gold, which is the offense, got the points. A bit later, with 3:24 left on the clock, head coach Dana Holgorsen called it a day and decided the 15th practice was over and West Virginia was finished with spring football. He said he got bored. This is probably all apropos.

But, things did happen, and though there are some questions, there are also answers.

When we’ve come here to stare at practice depth charts, we’ve seen two names which made us wonder about two others: Marvin Gross at spur and Hodari Christian at Sam. If they’re in, then where are Kyzir White and Xavier Preston? Neither played Saturday, and there’s seemingly nothing serious about their statuses. They’re probably part o the group of 20 or so players who didn’t play but are purportedly in line to return some time before the start of the 2017 season. That now includes running back Kennedy McKoy, who it turns out needed “an upper-body procedure,” according to Holgorsen.

Those who did give it a go gave you a look at what to expect in the fall. Will Grier did nothing to disarm optimism. Justin Crawford made Toyous Avery miss and went on to score on a 51-yard run. Grier and David Sills V have a connection. Alejandro Marenco — a name I heard again and again during the five weeks — was targeted eight times.

It’s worth taking note of the passing game. Grier, Holgorsen said, “is as good as advertised.” But the Mountaineers didn’t have a lot of receivers in the spring — no Ka’Raun White from start to finish, no Marcus Simms for what seems like at least the final three weeks — so walk-ons and the likes of Ricky Rodgers got a chance. Yet it sounds like they’ll be in the mix in the fall. White and Simms should be back, and Reggie Roberson is the only freshman on the way, so Marenco and Druw Bowen might be options and not just spring all-stars.

“What I always tell my guys is nothing is safe, especially in my room,” receivers coach Tyron Carrier said. “As soon as you get comfortable and see somebody working to get better than you, then you’re a notch behind. I’m going to go with the guy who’s learning and who’s working to get better every day, not the guy who’s comfortable.”

The 6-foot-2, 215-pound Bowen, a second-team Class AAA all-state selection at George Washington High in 2015, made a name for himself in September with a one-handed touchdown reception in practice that went viral and was featured on SportsCenter. In Saturday’s Gold-Blue scrimmage, he caught a pass for 11 yards.

“I trust him right now to come in and get 10 or 15 plays, maybe more right now,” Spavital said. “We’re becoming more and more comfortable with the kid, because he’s been making plays and he’s always in the right spot.”

The 5-10, 180-pound Marenco is a fifth-year senior originally from Houston, but he played at Riverside City College, the same California school that produced Maiden and former starting quarterback Skyler Howard. On Saturday, he caught two passes for 10 yards. Marenco redshirted with the Mountaineers last year, his first with the team, but he never masked his mission.

“We noticed him last year when he got here. Just super explosive, but he didn’t know much about the craft of it,” Carrier said. “He came to me early on and said, ‘Coach, I want an opportunity.’ I said, ‘Well, I’ve got to focus on these guys, because they’re playing now, but in the spring, I promise you, you’ll have my undivided attention.’”

 The 2016 season ended, the offseason began and Marenco sent Carrier a text: “I’m ready to work.”

“The way he thinks about it, it’s a new offense, so everybody’s got to be brought along,” Carrier said. “There’s really no advantage for anyone. They’re all on an even plane. He’s been competing, and he’s done a really great job for us.”

The defense, though, won the game, thanks to the friendly scoring system, and there were some punctuation marks on the spring conversations. JoVanni Stewart, who probably made the greatest strides from the beginning to the end, had five tackles, and we’re getting a clue about the safety position.

Remember, the Mountaineers need five new starters in the secondary. They seem content with Elijah Battle and Hakeem Bailey at cornerback. A bunch of freshmen safeties will arrive over the summer, and WVU will need a few of them, but for now, Kyzir White and Marvin Gross are set at spur. Toyous Avery is now the bandit, and Derrek Pitts and walk-on Dante Bonamico, who closed the spring with a flourish, are backups. Dravon Askew-Henry will be the starter at free safety, but Stewart can play.

“His high school film stood out,” Caponi said of Stewart. “He made plays all over the place, whether on special teams, defense, blitzing. He had a skill set, and now, having an opportunity to be able to use it and put it on display, he’s had a very productive spring.”

Stewart had played bandit and spur but has settled in at free safety, at least for now.

“Is that his ending point? That’s to be determined,” Caponi said. “But I think we know by now his future is bright at any of those positions.”

The defense played 11 possessions and allowed two touchdowns. One came on Crawford’s long run. Another came on Martell Pettaway’s short touchdown run following a 60-yard pass from Grier to Rodgers on the run. There wasn’t a whole lot of sustained movement, thanks to the defense.

“It was good to get our guys in some live action and see how they would do with people in the stands,” said defensive coordinator Tony Gibson. “I thought they did well.”

There were just a couple of notable exceptions. The first was when starting tailback Justin Crawford took a handoff from Grier, went right and then burst into the middle of the field for a 51-yard touchdown. On only six carries, the former junior college All-America selection went for 66 yards. Otherwise, though, the defense ruled — at least with that scoring system.

“The biggest thing — I didn’t make adjustments on the sideline — was to have our defense out there without coaches on the field,” Gibson said. “It was the first time to turn them loose and put them in game-like situations. We’ve had some scrimmages, but it’s all been situational stuff.

“The first series we didn’t tackle real well. We gave up the big run to Crawford, but after that they settled down and played well.”