MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- Forget, for a moment, what can become of this 2010 West Virginia University football team -- a squad with nine starters returning on offense and nine on defense.

Imagine how different everything could look had two players chosen another direction.

Running back Noel Devine and receiver Jock Sanders, seniors and the Mountaineers' two most potent offensive weapons, thought about jumping into the National Football League draft pool after last season.

Had they left, this team would have been staring at a large problem. Instead, West Virginia is among the favorites to battle for a Big East Conference title.

"You just don't understand how much I'm going to lean on those two," West Virginia coach Bill Stewart said. "Those two young men are going to be as important to us as any two players are to any college football team in the country this year. I understand their importance and I will not understate that."

It wasn't so much the uncertainty of where he would be drafted -- or if he'd even be selected at all -- that served as the motivation for Devine to return to Morgantown.

Devine, who at 5 feet 8, 180 pounds can bench press 445 pounds and squat 500, insisted his return was motivated not one bit by the lure of personal gratification.

"I speak from the heart. People don't understand I have a good heart. They think I'm something else or something," said Devine, who has rushed for 3,381 yards and scored 23 touchdowns in his career. "And here's what it is from the heart: I want this team to win. It ain't about individual awards at all; people need to believe that about me. I don't care what they say about me winning this or me winning that. It is about bringing a championship to Morgantown. I mean that, man, I really do. That's all it is about with me."

For Sanders, who pulled in 72 passes last season for a 9.6 yards per catch average, the motivation for coming back is a bit different: Since West Virginia won the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 2, 2008, a stunner over heavily favored Oklahoma, Sanders admits there hasn't been another win that has rivaled that victory.

The past two seasons -- both ending with 9-4 records -- have some Mountaineers fans grumbling. Sanders has heard them. They influenced his decision.

"There is always going to be negativity around you -- always -- unless you win every single game and shut every single team out doing it," Sanders said. "That's why all we can do as players is keep our hard hat on and keep moving forward. That's all we can do. We just have to block out the negative people and embrace the people who have our backs. That's why I am back. I want to show all the people who embraced me, who had my back; I want to show them that we can have a special season."

If West Virginia is to have a special season, it will have to do it with a blend of solid veterans and a few new players in pivotal roles.

The experienced players start along the offensive line with senior Eric Jobe, juniors Don Barclay and Josh Jenkins and sophomore Joe Madsen all back along with tight end Tyler Urban. There also is receiver Bradley Starks, a junior who started last year, and receiver Tavon Austin, who played considerably as a freshman.

But the big question on the offense is how will sophomore quarterback Geno Smith, the backup last year, produce now that it is his turn to be the starter?

The defense is much like the offense, a group of stout veterans with some newcomers with high expectations.

There are the known quantities: senior linemen Chris Neild and Scooter Berry, junior lineman Julian Miller and senior linebackers J.T. Thomas and Pat Lazear. In the back, junior Robert Sands, senior Sidney Glover and senior Brandon Hogan are expected to lead the defensive backs.

But, players such as sophomore safety Terence Garvin and redshirt freshmen Will Clarke (defensive end) and Branko Busick (linebacker) likely will take on big roles.

Stewart understands as much. He knows he will lean on the older guys, but most likely will also need some solid play from some of the younger players.

"Here's the deal, it is real simple," Stewart said. "You've got to formulate a plan, have faith in that plan and then follow through. You've got to have enough guts to follow through with that plan. People make it too hard sometimes; it really is that simple."

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