West Virginia offensive coordinator Jeff Mullen likely breathed a sigh of relief when running back Noel Devine and slot receiver Jock Sanders decided to come back to school for their senior seasons instead of entering the NFL Draft. The reassurance makes perfect sense -- Devine ranks fifth all-time in school history in rushing yards and Sanders is fifth on the all-time receptions list at WVU.

Now that Mullen has retained the two most potent weapons in his offensive arsenal, the Mountaineers would figure to form one of the most explosive and balanced attacks in the Big East next season.

Right?

Maybe. Have a look around the league before jumping to that conclusion.

Brian Kelly left Cincinnati for Notre Dame, before the Sugar Bowl and after a 12-0 regular season. The Bearcats also graduated star quarterback Tony Pike and the dangerous wide receiver/kick returner Mardy Gilyard. Taking into account those losses and with all due respect to talented quarterback Zach Collaros, UC won’t form as formidable an offense, in 2010.

Pitt quarterback Bill Stull led the Big East in passing yards last year, but he graduated. However, Panthers coach Dave Wannstedt still has sensational running back Dion Lewis, who led the league in rushing yards as a true freshman, and another surefire NFL player in Jonathan Baldwin, who turned in a sensational sophomore year with more than 1,000 receiving yards.

At Rutgers, the future looks bright behind quarterback Tom Savage and wide receiver/running back Mohamed Sanu, who were both just freshmen last year, but will figure to carry the load of the offense in years to come. They can. In 2009, the duo combined for more than 3,000 total offensive yards and 22 touchdowns.

Connecticut still has its workhorse running back in Jordan Todman, who rushed for more than 1,100 yards and 14 touchdowns last year and should pick up right where he left off. Quarterback Zach Frazer will be a senior and should provide steady leadership that will keep the Huskies offense on the right track.

It’s a bit of a rebuilding process at South Florida now that Skip Holtz has stepped in for Jim Leavitt, who built the program from the ground up and was fired for allegedly slapping a player in the face.

But Holtz is a proven winner and has gotten it done with less talent in the past, at East Carolina. That won’t necessarily be the case anymore now that Holtz can recruit the hotbed of talent that’s spread all over the state of Florida. For next season though, don’t count out dual-threat quarterback B.J. Daniels to lead the Bulls offense into the end zone consistently -- he gave WVU fits in last year’s 30-19 beat down, in Tampa.

Bottom dwellers Louisville and Syracuse are not revamped just yet to pose legitimate offensive threats, compared to the rest of the Big East.

So what does all this mean for WVU, in 2010? Devine and Sanders are hungry for a national championship, which is great to hear, though they has the same goal last year when the ‘Eers finished 9-4 and were dumped by a 6-6 Florida State team in the Gator Bowl.

With both Devine and Sanders having the best years of their careers, in 2009, WVU still only managed 26.2 points a game --  sixth-best in the Big East.

Devine’s 1,465 rush yards helped propel WVU to first in the league in rushing yards a game (185.3) and there’s no reason to think he can’t do it again, as a senior. Sanders’ 72 receptions were second only to Gilyard in the Big East, yet the ‘Eers finished dead last in the league in passing yards, with just 191.1 yards a game.

Perhaps the million dollar question lies with sophomore quarterback Geno Smith. With head coach Bill Stewart’s continued evolution of a balanced offense, Smith may very well hold the key to much of the team’s success. In backup duty for Brown, Smith went 32 of 49 for 309 yards, a touchdown and an interception. The WVU coaches are high on Smith’s potential and on paper, it’s easy to see why. Smith came out of Miramar, Fla. as a decorated Parade  All-American and has shown flashes of what he can do, most notably by leading WVU to a 24-7 win over Marshall, after Brown got injured early in the first quarter.

Behind Smith initially will be Coley White, as well as recruits Barry Brunetti and Jeremy Johnson, assuming of course that they make good on their verbal pledges. Stewart and Co. are stockpiling talent and increasing competition at all positions, which figures to be an asset that bodes well when trying to navigate a 12 or 13-game season.

In all fairness to Smith, and to Brown for the matter, WVU’s offense can only be as strong as its wide receiver corps will help it become. Though Devine proved he can carry the team when need be and deliver knockout blows to defenses at any time, he certainly can’t do it all. No one player can. WVU will be replacing senior wide receivers Alric Arnett and Wes Lyons. But that task should not be too difficult -- looking at personnel at the position, the ‘Eers should form as deep and talented a group of receivers as any that the team has featured, in recent years.

Returning along with Sanders are receivers Bradley Starks, Tavon Austin, J.D. Woods, Logan Heastie and Ryan Nehlen. Fred Pickett, Darius Millines and Quantavious Leslie are all verbally committed receivers who are expected to join the team next season. Deon Long, an acclaimed pass-catcher who joined the team after a year at Hargrave Military Academy, is enrolled at WVU and should be able to make an immediate impact.

So the basic belief is Devine and Sanders will inevitably post big numbers, but the team's success will be dictated by how much help they receive from their teammates. And of course, Devine can only be effective when given the chance to touch the football.

Against Florida State, Devine had 127 rush yards and a touchdown, in the first half alone. In the second half, however, Devine had just five carries, but he grinded out another 41 yards.

Devine needs 1,784 rush yards to pass Avon Cobourne and become the school’s all-time rushing leader. He would have to increase his production to a level previously unseen, which doesn’t seem plausible, but if any player may be up to the challenge, it’s Devine. Bruising fullback Ryan Clarke should be able to spell Devine in situations and loosen run-stopping defenses. 

Even if he can’t top Cobourne’s mind-blowing record, Devine can still surpass legends Steve Slaton and Patrick White in all-time rush yards. Sanders, meantime, needs 55 catches to pass David Saunders and hold the all-time school record for career receptions.

Accounting for all of the aforementioned, it would seem WVU will have little trouble moving the football and putting up an abundance of points. The same projections arose during the preseason of last year, but with the expected progression of what was a youthful offensive line, the ‘Eers offense appears to have extremely high potential.

What remains to be seen is just how high the team's potential is, with it's two most dynamic players coming back. The answer may lie in the performance of those surrounding them.