West Virginia sends notice: Mountaineers are for real

(Photo: Michael C. Johnson, USA TODAY Spo)LUBBOCK, Texas — At points during this past winter, members of West Virginia’s strength and conditioning staff would ask the Mountaineers’ seniors to stand up individually and give the buzzwords they felt would define this coming season.

Fighting, some would say. Blue-collar, said others. Toughness. Passion. It’s no coincidence that these clichés, used to define the Mountaineers as a whole, may also be used to represent the ethos of the entire state.

“It’s the same stuff we base this state off of,” said senior quarterback Skyler Howard.

This helps to provide another example of how the perception of West Virginia does not match the reality, but that’s…