MORGANTOWN -- The offensive line at West Virginia enters preseason practice with very little intrigue.

Five starters return to the group and the one position battle will determine who starts at right tackle and who is considered the sixth starter rather than the top sub.

At least three players are prepared to contribute and enough talent is available to deflect the fact one recruit likely won't qualify and one former starter is no longer with the program.

"Anywhere I've ever been, we've never had more than seven guys ready to play," offensive line coach Dave Johnson said. "We have a lot of guys who have game experience and have been in big games or are ready to play, so that's a really big advantage."

So, too, is the fact he won't have to rush any true freshmen, most notably Parkersburg's Josh Jenkins, into the mix. Johnson said it's "pretty unreasonable" to expect true freshmen to play on the offensive line.

"It's very tough," he said. "It's demanding, No. 1 physically and No. 2 mentally. There are just so many intricacies and so many things you have to coach within each individual position and then as a group. Then you get into assignments and all the different things that can happen on a certain play, different fronts, pressure. All those things make it very difficult."

Johnson would like to travel with eight or nine players, which shouldn't be a problem this season, and is open to expanding the group to include true freshmen.

That, though, would be the extent of their involvement unless a redshirt had to be broken in an emergency situation.

"You can take them on trips if you know he's eventually going to be a player," Johnson said. "You don't want him to be in awe of the trips and the pace of the way things happen. We may do that, we may not, but if we do, that's one part of the adjustment we wouldn't have to do next year when we want them to play."

Summer camp will instead be about rediscovering continuity and advancing an experienced group.

Left tackle Ryan Stanchek, left guard Greg Isdaner and center Mike Dent will be back after missing part or all of spring ball. They'll reunite with right guard Jake Figner and either Selvish Capers or Stephen Maw at right tackle.

Isdaner, a junior about to start for a third straight season, is the only one among them who is not a senior.

"Those guys know each other and have developed their own communication," Johnson said. "It's big for those guys to come back and work together and be in meeting rooms together again."

The absence of Stanchek, Isdaner and Dent this spring brought opportunities for redshirt freshmen Gino Gradkowski and Donnie Barclay, and sophomore Eric Jobe.

"We've got a bunch of guys who got good, quality reps this spring who I'm on the way to trusting," Johnson said. "To me, trustworthiness equals playing time."

It's a unique convenience, especially for a first-year coach. Johnson, who spent the past seven years as the tight ends coach at Georgia, doesn't need to look for solutions or extra bodies.

Blessed with useful depth, his group isn't greatly affected by the facts that Eric Rodemoyer, who started six games last year, is now at Youngstown State, mammoth Hawaiian Benji Kemoeatu isn't expected to qualify academically and the incoming freshmen need a year to adapt to college.

Johnson is comfortable with the core of his group and can focus on how they're proving themselves to him in practice.

"Being accountable and being reliable on the field are two things we talk about," he said. "If you do the little things right and I don't have to chase you to class, don't have to worry about you being prepared for meetings or your practice attitude and you're able to perform the skills and have the gifts and talent needed to be an offensive lineman at this level, that will translate to playing time because now you can be trusted."

Contact sportswriter Mike Casazza at mi...@dailymail.com">mi...@dailymail.com or (304) 319-1142.