All that work - the sweat and toil and commitment it took to get to that point - and less than nine minutes from the end of his college career (and thus the beginning of what he still hopes will be a professional career) it was all placed in jeopardy by a blown left knee.

Some 370 miles away in Morgantown, Noel Devine and Jock Sanders watched and cringed.

"It hurt me,'' Devine said. "I could almost feel it.''

Devine and Sanders, though, had a far different perspective than most about watching Butler crash to the floor with a torn ACL, a sprained MCL and bone bruises in one of the knees he hopes will lead him to professional riches.

Remember, it was only a few months ago that both Devine and Sanders entertained the notion of leaving West Virginia a year before their football eligibility expires in order to try to cash in on what the NFL might have to offer. Certainly one consideration for each was the possibility of a game-changing injury should they play another season of college football.

They elected to stick around, in large part they said in order to finish what they started at West Virginia. Certainly the opportunity to enhance their draft status played a part, as well.

As for the chances they are taking by putting their bodies out there and on the line for another year? Well, both insist it's simply a matter of fate and divine intervention.

"Sure, thoughts ran through my head,'' Devine said this week as he began his final spring practice at West Virginia. "But God's got a plan for everybody. I hated to see what happened to Da'Sean, but he'll be all right.''

Indeed, Butler's injury isn't the end of the road for him. Plenty of players have come back from reconstructive knee surgery in both basketball and football and have been no worse for the wear.

Still, it is a hurdle to be cleared - one that by simply electing to play the game guys like Devin and Sanders are risking themselves.

Fortunately, both have proven durable despite their diminutive size (both in the 5-foot-8, 180-pound range). Devine, a tailback who has touched the ball over 600 times in three years, missed parts of a couple of games last year with an ankle injury, but that's been about the extent of his injuries. Sanders, primarily a slot receiver, has never missed a game in three years while catching passes, running the ball and returning punts.

"If it's meant to be, it's meant to be,'' Sanders said. "I pray for Da'Sean. And when I heard him [being interviewed Monday night] he said he will be drafted somewhere. That's not the last you're going to see of him. And that's the mindset you have to have.

"And hopefully he took his classes [seriously] and he'll have his degree. So even if he can't play he'll have something to fall back on. You shouldn't look back and have any regrets.''

That was another reason both Devine and Sanders said they wanted to return - graduation. And yes, both are approaching the goal. Depending upon the class loads they assume this summer, Sanders has a chance to graduate in December in just 31/2 years and Devine a semester later.

Even if neither meets the immediate target dates to graduate, they at least will be closer to the goal.

Given all of that, Devine and Sanders insist that watching Butler's unfortunate finish didn't send them into any sort of panic. Devine admits that the risk of injury at least crossed his mind when deciding in January whether or not to return, but Sanders maintains it wasn't even a consideration.

"Not at all,'' Sanders said. "If you end up asking yourself, 'What if I get hurt?' then you may not play as hard as you want to play. That was not a concern for me. If I'm going to come back, I'm going to give 110 percent.''

Reach Dave Hickman at 304-348-1734 or dphickm...@aol.com.