As the preseason rankings begin to surface and fall camp begins for teams around the country, the hype surrounding the West Virginia Mountaineers is as rampant as ever.

With two returning Heisman candidates and a number of talented recruits the Mountaineers will be looking to make a run at a National Championship.  Just don’t tell the coaches and players that.  According to them, there is still a long way to go.

“I don’t really know what we’re ranked, to be honest with you,” said fullback Owen Shmitt, “To him (Coach Rodriguez) and to us everyone is last, no one has played a game or a down yet.  Everyone is at zeros.”

Any fan that follows college football religiously would know that West Virginia enters the 2007 season ranked #6 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll.  A ranking that seems a bit low for those who believe the Mountaineers are one of the premier teams in the country.  However, after the first few practices, Coach Rich Rodriguez believes that his team has still got a lot to learn before the opening game.

“We’ve got a long way to go to get ready for a game,” said Rodriguez, “I’m not overly pleased or overly displeased, just kinda right in the middle.”

Although the team has only been practicing since Saturday, Rodriguez also stated that although he believes his team needs a lot of work, that many other teams around the country are in the same position. 

One key to success this season may be the incoming freshman.  With a talented recruiting class that may be the best ever at WVU, the use of freshman could add skill and depth at many positions.  But Rodriguez has yet to believe that these players will be in the lineup on game day. 

“I mean Steve Slaton was one of the most talented freshman you ever seen, and what, he didn’t start until the fifth game,” said Rodriguez, “they’re all swimming right now, they think we’re talking Chinese.”

Although Rodriguez has always been a guy that doesn’t like to give many things away, or praise his team to the media, he says that closer to game day he will talk with his team about what it means to be highly ranked.  “We have been here before, I think we were ranked last year preseason pretty high, but we are not gonna change our approach,” said Rodriguez, “when we get closer to game time I’ll explain to them that all being ranked highly means is that you’re going to get everyone’s best shot…you want to be a big game for everyone on your schedule.”

As two-a-days begin Thursday the minds of the Mountaineers will turn to aspirin and ice packs.  Hard work and preparation will be the words of the day as the Mountaineers “hold the rope” and work to get better for the upcoming season.  But as game one approaches, twenty four days and forty-one minutes (as I write this column) to be exact, the players and fans in Touchdown City are raring to go as a season to remember is on the horizon.