Of the Mountaineers’ 11 starters on offense, none were making their first start. There were six first-time starters on defense – ends Jordan Gary and John Rizor, tackle Gordy Witte, linebackers Jeremy Kimbrough and Justin Wray, and cornerback Troy Sanders – but those six have played in a combined 95 games.

Only two true freshmen played in the season opener – tight end Trevor Sawyer and defensive back Patrick Blalock – along with two redshirt freshmen – Karl Anderson and Tony Washington. All played on special teams.

What was euphoric in yesterday’s stunning fourth-quarter comeback from three touchdowns behind to beat Chattanooga could be tempered by the fact that the Mountaineers gave up 492 yards, including 340 and three touchdowns passing by quarterback B.J. Coleman of the Mocs.

The Mountaineers were fortunate to come away with a win. They can’t be too pleased about giving up many big-yardage plays and a lot of points.

And, frankly, the Mountaineers needed help to recover from a 35-14 deficit early in the fourth quarter. But, although Chattanooga fumbles were essential in allowing ASU back in striking distance, Coach Jerry Moore said that it was his team that created its own good fortune.

“We had some really hard hits that knocked loose the football,” Moore said, crediting what were some pivotal defensive plays in the late stages.

Otherwise, it was not a good day on defense for the Mountaineers.

ASU’s secondary struggled to keep Chattanooga receivers in front of them, and coverage busts and a missed tackle of two were costly.

“There were some communication problems, and some things we just didn’t do as well as we normally might,” Moore said. “Our defense didn’t play as well as I thought we might. But last year we went to East Carolina and I thought our defense would lead us but we go down there and don’t play very good the first half. This game was a lot like that.

“We’ve just got to get some things worked out. There is a chance that I should have pulled off of them (in preseason practice), that we might have been tired. In 29 days, 27 of them were go-getters. We worked hard and I had hoped that their legs weren’t gone. In the middle of the second quarter, I worried about that, if we worked too hard and didn’t have any juice in our legs.”

Postgame notes:

CoCo Hillary, a senior receiver for ASU, served the first game of a two-game suspension related to a driving under the influence charge in South Carolina last March.

Lanston Tanyi, a junior defensive end who led the Mountaineers with 7.5 sacks last season, could be miss the entire season as result of a toe injury that bothered him for much of preseason camp.

“We don’t know for sure what we’re going to do, but he’s probably going to have surgery,” Moore said.

ASU’s top three in tackles yesterday were all first-time starters. Middle linebacker Jeremy Kimbrough had eight tackles, cornerback Troy Sanders and strong-side linebacker Justin Wray had seven each. All are sophomores.

Travaris Cadet had a good day returning kickoffs. His first three returns went for 27, 31 and 22 yards.

Yesterday’s crowd of 15,235 was the second largest for a Chattanooga football game at Finley Stadium.

Lanston Tanyi, a junior defensive end who led the Mountaineers with 7.5 sacks last season, could be miss the entire season as result of a severe case of turf toe. Tanyi, who is eligible to redshirt, will likely have surgery in the next few weeks.

CoCo Hillary will be held out of today’s game for disciplinary reasons.

Devon Moore, the Mountaineers’ leading rusher, will dress for today’s game and be available to play if needed. Moore has a strained quadriceps.

ASU is wearing gold jerseys for today’s game. The Mountaineers were planning to wear the jerseys for the first time Sept.18 against N.C. Central, but with Chattanooga wearing white today, the Mountaineers choose not to wear black jerseys on a warm day.

Most of the fans arriving at Finley Stadium are dressed in white for today’s “Whiteout,” part of the “Restore the Glory” promotional campaign for Chattanooga Mocs football. Today’s game is expected to be one of the best-attended since the Mocs moved to Finley Stadium in 1997.

ASU has lost three of its last four season-opening games. The Mountaineers have lost to N.C. State, LSU and East Carolina and beaten Michigan in the last four years.

The Mocs are opening the season against a Southern Conference opponent for the first time. ASU last opened a season against a SoCon opponent in 1991, when it beat Marshall 9-3 in Boone.

ASU has won 20 straight SoCon games. The Mountaineers have won five in a row against Chattanooga, and 22 of the last 25 meetings.

But for ASU, the Armanti Edwards era is over.

DeAndre Presley is the new quarterback for the Mountaineers, who will begin the 2010 season Saturday at Chattanooga.

Coach Russ Huesman of the Chattanooga Mocs says that his team hasn’t dwelled on the fact that ASU has a different quarterback, and that he is impressed with what little he has seen of Presley.

“I guarantee he’ll be somebody that will be electric in running, and just seeing him throw the football he’s got a good arm,” Huesman said. “They’re going to be good on offense, no question.

“They do such a good job with their quarterbacks, doing things that they are capable of doing. I think the thing that’s going to help him is that they’ve got so many experienced guys around him that have played a ton of football and that’s going to make his life easier and take a little pressure of him.”

More details about that in Friday’s Winston-Salem Journal.

Gary and Rizor emerged as viable options to start at defensive end during spring practice with returning starters Jabari Fletcher and Lanston Tanyi out with injuries, and they solidified their status in preseason camp with their performance coupled with the fact that Fletcher and Tanyi both missed more practice time because of short-term ailments.

Mark Speier, the Mountaineers’ defensive ends coach, expects all four to rotate and get plenty of playing time.

Rizor has bulked up from 228 pounds last season to 242.

“Our strength coordinator has gotten us all stronger and bigger in the weight room,” Rizor said. “When you have a big ol’ offensive lineman coming to kick you out, having the extra weight is going to help.”

Gary, a former tight end, switched to defensive end right before the playoffs last season.

“I played mostly defense in high school and that’s something I wanted to get back to,” Gary said. “I love this side of the ball.”

The Mountaineers appear set to begin the season with quality depth at defensive end, which includes a fifth player in Jason Jones.

“We feel good about the rotation,” Rizor said. “In our case, you always have someone coming in off the bench who can make plays.”

Gary said: “It’s a strength of our defense to have this many defensive ends that can play.”

Speir said: “It’s a great ‘problem.’ We have a bunch of guys wanting to start, and a bunch of guys capable of starting. They’ll all have their opportunity to go out and produce and win the job.”

Devon Moore returns for his senior season after rushing for 1,374 yards and 19 touchdowns last season. Travaris Cadet, former quarterback and receiver, will now add his elusive running ability to the mix.

And the Mountaineers can also turn to Devin Radford, the former Virginia Tech transfer whose speed, when healthy, is an asset; Cedric Baker, a dependable back who has accounted for 416 yards as a backup and always seems to get the job done; as well as Rod Chisholm, who remains a candidate to break through with three seasons left to play.

Coach Jerry Moore was asked this week if he has ever had this much depth at running back.

“Probably not the quality of depth we have right now,” Moore said. “I feel like we have four or five guys that are all pretty good football players.”

Moore was also asked if the backups can get enough playing time to be content.

“Those kids are good with it,” Moore said. “There’s not a player in that bunch that is selfish. They’re all about our team. They don’t care who is blocking, who is catching and who is running. They’re great kids that way.”

Get your questions and comments ready as the Mountaineers head into their season opener against Chattanooga!

Butts, a 6-10, 285-pound senior who has career averages of 7.2 points and 7.1 rebounds, had surgery Aug. 13 to repair damage to his left knee sustained in a pickup basketball game.

“He is in the process of rehabbing right now,” Capel said. “We have explored the possibility of red-shirting him but we have not come to a complete decision yet, but it’s definitely a conversation we’re having.”

The best case for Butts for this coming season?

“He could be back in about 3 to 3½ months,” Capel said, which would put Butts back in action by December. But Capel said the decision will be put off as long as possible, to be sure if Butts is ready.

“Last year and he limped around quite a bit because of his other knee,” said Capel, referring to surgery that Butts had on his right knee last August after an injury in practice. “He wasn’t healthy at all last year. I don’t want to put that kid what he went through last year. I want him to be healthy. If he’s healthy, he’ll play. If he’s not, we’re going to make sure he gets healthy.”

The site, PlayAtTheRock.com, will feature videos, virtual tours, photos, news and highlights. It is designed by Frogman Interactive of Winston-Salem and is up and running as a template and is expected to be fully functional this fall.

He and other former Appalachian State players seem to have a knack for coming up with big plays against some of the NFL’s biggest names.

Last season, Jason Hunter sacked and Corey Lynch intercepted Brett Favre, and Murrell sacked and stripped the ball from Michael Vick.

On Thursday, Murrell, playing in his first preseason game with the New England Patriots, sacked Drew Brees for a nine-yard loss on the opening series.

“I just knew I needed to get on the edge to get to the quarterback as fast as I could,” Murrell told the Boston Herald. “I just hit him with a move up front and tried to cut the corner. And there was Brees.”

Here’s how former ASU players fared this weekend in their first NFL preseason games of the season:

Matt Dodge (P, Giants) –  Dodge, who punted for ASU in 2005 before transferring to East Carolina, will make his NFL debut Monday night against the Jets.

Armanti Edwards (WR, Panthers) – Two catches for 13 yards, one kickoff return for 17 yards and a 7-yard average on four punt returns in a 17-12 loss to the Ravens.

Jason Hunter (DE, Lions) – One tackle and one assist in a 23-7 loss to the Steelers.

Dexter Jackson (WR, Panthers) – Two catches for 35 yards, including a 25-yard reception, in a 17-12 loss to the Ravens.

Corey Lynch (FS, Bengals) – Four tackles and a blocked punt in a 10-7 loss to the Dolphins.

Marques Murrell (OLB, Patriots) – Two tackles and a sack in a 27-24 victory over the Saints.