More often than not, it's the glamor positions - quarterback, running back, receiver - that claim the cover of preseason football magazines.
And, sure enough, the local cover of Athlon Sports' preseason football mag features a smiling QB Skyler Howard of WVU.
Goes to show, though, you shouldn't judge a book OR a magazine by its cover.
See, inside, center Tyler Orlosky is the Mountaineers' most decorated player - while Howard is nowhere to be found among the three all-Big 12 teams. Orlosky, as well as defensive lineman Noble Nwachukwu, is on the mag's first team. He's also a third-team All-America pick.
Also, according to the Phil Steele magazine, Orlosky is a second-team All-America center. (He, receiver Shelton Gibson and offensive guard Kyle Bosch are all on the Big 12 first team there.) USA Today named him the best at his position entering the season. Lindy's had him the nation's fourth-best center and (oddly) a second-team all-Big 12 pick. Also, NFL Draft Scout rates Orlosky as the No. 4 senior center available in the next NFL draft.
So maybe hard work does pay off, eh Tyler?
"I think so," he said. "It's nice to see someone from West Virginia recognized. It's a direct reflection of the team. Obviously, when one guy gets recognized, the whole team does."
It's a nice sentiment, but WVU's team hasn't received the same amount of love. Athlon and Lindy's are picking the Mountaineers to finish fifth in the Big 12, while the Sporting News picks them to finish sixth and Steele has them finishing tied for seventh with Texas Tech.
Individually, Orlosky and kicker Josh Lambert were named first-team all-Big 12 by the Sporting News. Bosch, offensive lineman Adam Pankey, Nwachukwu and Lambert were Lindy's first-team selections. (Gibson and Orlosky were second-team picks there.) And Steele had Gibson, Orlosky and Bosch as first-team all-conference picks with Pankey and Nwachukwu second.
Also, check your wrists. Those pesky "watch" lists are out. On Tuesday, Howard was placed on the Maxwell Award (college player of the year) watch list and Nwachukwu was put on the Bednarik Award (defensive player of the year) list. (For those just tuning in, watch lists are a truckload of names dumped on the public for no apparent reason.)
But back to Orlosky. If you haven't paid close attention over the years, he's the latest in a nice line of WVU centers. Dan Mozes won the Rimington Trophy back in 2006 as the nation's best. Mike Compton was a consensus All-America center who went on to block for Barry Sanders in Detroit, win two Super Bowl rings with New England and play a total of 12 seasons in the NFL.
Then there were at least some All-America mention/glory for ex-WVU centers like Russ Bailey (1919), Bob Orders (1953), Pete Goimarac (1963), Gerald Schultz (1972) and Eric DeGroh (1998).
Orlosky, anyway, is saying all the right things in regard to honors.
"You have to look at the team goals before you look at the individual goals," he said. "Obviously our team goal is to win the Big 12, get to a good bowl and possibly get in the playoffs."
The redshirt senior said his playing career began as a running back and linebacker before it evolved.
"I started in the fourth grade," he said. "So I was 10 maybe? So 12 years ago? It's been a long journey."
nnn
While Orlosky has been showered with preseason attention, one player that surprisingly hasn't been is one Dravon Askew-Henry, WVU's talented free safety.
I may have missed something, but the only honor I've seen for Askew-Henry is a third-team nod from Steele. For WVU's leading returning tackler?
Askew-Henry had 47 tackles last season, tied for third with Jared Barber. And remember he hit Morgantown and played immediately as a freshman. This season? He's the man in the secondary, with Daryl Worley, Karl Joseph and K.J. Dillon gone.
"It's time for me to step up, but not just me - the players around me," Askew-Henry said. "Some played last year and some didn't, but they all need to step up along with me."
The rebuilding secondary is a major reason WVU has been picked to finish fifth, sixth and seventh within the Big 12.
"I can tell you [the magazines are] wrong because we've been working and we can't wait to show the world," Askew-Henry said. "[Strong safety] Jeremy Tyler is a great player, a good tackler. I feel he's going to do well. [Cornerbacks] Rasul [Douglas] and Antonio Crawford... I feel they're going to do well too. They've been working hard. At the spur, we have Kyzir [White], Marvin Grose and Jared Harper. I just feel like we have more depth than we did last year. I feel like everyone should do all right."
Junior college transfer Kyzir White, of course, will garner the most attention because of his brothers Kevin and Ka'Raun, one a former and the other a current Mountaineer.
"First off, he's a big dude," Askew-Henry said of Kyzir. "He's very aggressive. I feel he'll get the job done."
Overall?
"Like [defensive coordinator Tony Gibson] used to say, just because we lost a couple players doesn't mean we can't reload," Askew-Henry said.