There have been a few stories emerge from West Virginia University's football camp.
Off the field, there was the Adam Pankey arrest. Before that, defensive end Larry Jefferson was dismissed from the team. Then there were the injuries, first to defensive linemen Jaleel Fields and Xavier Pegues and then, devastatingly for WVU, to free safety Dravon Askew-Henry.
Not good for the Mountaineers. But let's get back to the field of play.
Let's examine that concern of this team: defense.
With Askew-Henry, the unquestioned star of the unit, out for the season, those remaining in the secondary will have to step up.
Defensive coordinator Tony Gibson is desperately trying to figure out the safety positions.
Meanwhile, however, Miami transfer Antonio Crawford has emerged at cornerback and has been running with the first team. He brings speed.
The other starting cornerback at this point is redshirt senior Rasul Douglas, who brings the size at 6-foot-2 ½ and 207 pounds.
"Coach [Tony Gibson] calls it having a brother," Douglas said. "Let's say me and Antonio Crawford are brothers for the day. Every time he calls for A.C., he has to bring me out with him. If that's with the ones, I go with the ones."
It's an important position since Gibson, the defensive coordinator, likes to blitz and be aggressive. The corners must hold up in coverage.
If Douglas, however, can hold up on the field as well as he once did off, WVU might be OK.
See, before the East Orange, New Jersey, native hit Morgantown, he was a standout at Nassau Community College. He was a NJCAA All-America selection. He was a PrepStar JUCO All-America pick.
But the experience doesn't exactly bring back great memories for the player.
"I would say one word to describe Nassau: struggle," Douglas said. "It's honestly a struggle. I feel like if you can make it out of there, you can make it anywhere."
He looked around WVU's sparkling team room.
"It's not even close to here. I can't even say [Nassau] is like a high school setting. It's just Nassau. You wake up every day. You don't want to go to school. You're lonely. Your mind isn't focused. You're working out, but it's not helping because you're not eating. You lose more weight.
"I lost tons of weight at Nassau. [Then-WVU assistant] Coach [Brian] Mitchell came to see me once at Nassau and was just like 'You're getting skinny.' I was like, 'This is hard.' "
So apparently was last season in Morgantown. Douglas did play, but, after seeing action in 11 games, finished with just eight tackles, one pass breakup, one interception and a forced fumble.
"It was all about the team though," Douglas said. "I always felt it was bigger than me. Whatever the team needed me to do, I'd do - whether it was special teams or helping other guys get better."
Of course, WVU had secondary talent like Daryl Worley at corner last season. So Douglas made the best of the situation - by learning.
"It was very big," Douglas said. "I think I needed it, honestly. I learned the whole defense, in and out. I learned how Coach draws up plays. I can go up to the board and explain the assignments and where every guy is going now."
He pointed to the cornerback lineup as a possible strength.
"All will play snaps," Douglas said. "All four of the seniors have played. Antonio Crawford at Miami for three years. Maurice Fleming at Iowa for three years. I played a good bit last year. So every guy knows how to compete at the highest level of Division I football. We compete. If we're walking, it's a race to see who can walk faster. We compete. And we help each other compete."
WVU also has another senior, Nana Kyermeh at the position. Theoretically, they are improving by going against the likes of receivers Shelton Gibson, Daikiel Shorts and Ka'Raun White.
Douglas always smiles when White's name surfaces.
"We always talk about the Lackawanna and Nassau [2014] game," said the cornerback. "We beat them. I blocked the extra point and returned it for a score. It was 45-44. They were kicking the extra point with no time left in the fourth quarter and I blocked it and scored so we beat them. I always talk to [White], his brother [Kyzir] and [Trevon] Wesco about it. I tell them I never lost to Lackawanna and they get mad. Kyzir says, 'We beat you last year.' But I wasn't there, so ..."
So the smile has returned. The weight has returned.
The struggle just might have been worth the wait.
Contact Mitch Vingle at 304-348-4827 or mitchvingle@wvgazettemail.com. Follow him on Twitter @MitchVingle.