MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- On the first day of spring drills, the heir-apparent tailback made defenders grasp at nothing but air, apparently.

"I saw Noel [Devine] break a few ankles," quarterback Patrick White mused last night.

"Noel was quick as lightning," new West Virginia coach Bill Stewart added of the first-year tailback, who was running like that despite a rain-slicked Mountaineer Field. "Guys were falling down just trying to two-hand-touch him."

So unofficially began life without Steve Slaton, a three-time 1,000-yard rusher and the program's all-time touchdown leader. The vaunted West Virginia running game would seem to be in capable hands with this celebrated recruit from North Fort Myers, Fla. As a freshman in the fall, Devine burst onto the collegiate consciousness, and through a few defenses, for 627 yards and a gaudy 8.6-yard-per-carry average ... as Slaton's stand-in.

Since Slaton departed in mid-January for the NFL, however, Devine's name made the most news when he was involved Feb. 16 in a scuffle outside a Morgantown bar, Club Z.

Thursday, a day before spring drills began, Devine and three West Virginia teammates -- slot receiver Jock Sanders, junior-college cornerback Brantwon Bowser and defensive back Eain Smith -- turned themselves in as a result of arrest warrants police filed over that incident. They pleaded no contest to battery, a misdemeanor, and municipal Judge Steven Higgins sentenced each to a $250 fine and 24 hours in jail, which he suspended in lieu of the same amount of time to be served as community service by Aug. 28.

"That's over with," Devine said simply.

Devine said he looked forward to the fall and potentially carrying 20 or more times per game in Slaton's place. "I feel like I can. We'll see when it comes. If I have to, I will. But we have a team offense. We have to step up and be leaders, all of us."

The Mountaineers released what is a depth chart in name only, listing a converted receiver walk-on -- Michael Poitier -- as the only other tailback.

That depth chart, Stewart cautioned, "doesn't mean a thing." But in Devine's case, with just one backup, he added, "We're going to just limit what he does every day."

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NOTES -- Backup quarterback Jarrett Brown remains with the West Virginia basketball team for another week at least, and Stewart didn't know if or when Brown could return before the April 19 Gold-Blue game. Meanwhile, freshman Bradley Starks and Charlie Russell work with the second team. ... Sam Morrone was listed at tight end in the latest depth chart, with Max Anderson and converted nose guard Thor Morrow the top fullbacks. ... Starting X receiver Dorrell Jalloh was excused for an academic field trip. ... Stewart said that their 60-40 pass-run ratio of first-day plays shows a commitment to throwing the ball: "That was a fun first day. It was fast."