Tony's Take is a monthly Mountaineer sports column written by veteran West Virginia University play-by-play man Tony Caridi.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - As we enter our first game week of the 2019 season, the question is - just what will Neal Brown's inaugural team at WVU look like? Yes, preseason optimism exists, that's always the case, but it's multiplied this season because there's a new coach.  And, everyone likes something when it's new. 
 
Brown has been extremely transparent when dealing with expectations. He's gone on record to say WVU football is going to very good. However, he hasn't said just when that will happen. Is he under promising as he prepares to over deliver, or will it actually take a significant period of time to build a championship contender like he did at Troy?  
 
Independent outsiders, also known as media members, are buying WVU for the future and not for this season. That's why the Mountaineers are picked to finish eighth in the Big 12. No, that's not Mountaineer bias, that's the same group that tagged WVU to finish second last season. Preseason predictions are based upon returning experience and in that category the Mountaineers fall significantly short of their conference mates. 
 
So just how young is this season's team? 
 
The answer is quite young if you compare this season's opening depth chart with those from Dana Holgorsen's first WVU team in 2011 and his final one in 2018. 
 
West Virginia opened against Marshall in 2011 in the memorable Friends of Coal Bowl, which was halted by lightning in the fourth quarter.  The Mountaineers' depth chart included a combined 131 career starts on offense and 99 starts on defense.  Seven of those WVU starters are still playing in the NFL today (Geno Smith, Tavon Austin, Donnie Barclay, Quinton Spain, Bruce Irvin, Najee Goode and Nick Kwiatkoski).
 
A year ago, the Mountaineers opened against Tennessee with a depth chart that included 112 career starts on offense and 101 starts on defense. It won't be a surprise if at least four players from that team earn final roster spots in the NFL this season. 
 
This season's anticipated opening depth chart will include just 86 career starts on offense and 84 starts on defense. That's 35 percent fewer starts on offense than Holgorsen's first team and 24 percent less than last season's team. Defensively, Brown is expected to have 84 career starts on defense. That's down 16 percent from Dana's first squad and 17 percent fewer than last season's team. 
 
Are career starts directly related to a team's success? No. However, experience is a massively important commodity when it comes to wins and losses. Keep in mind the most important position for experience is at quarterback. WVU redshirt junior Austin Kendall will be making his first start since high school this Saturday.  
 
So what's it all mean? 
 
This is a really young and unproven team that will take the field on Saturday. Anyone who claims to know how it will perform is guessing. We do know Brown's past teams show significant improvement.  He inherited a 3-9 Troy team and went 4-8 in his first season there with victories in two of the final four games. 
 
He followed that up with three-straight, double-figure win seasons (10-3, 11-2, 10-3). 
 
You get the picture: WVU football is going to be really good with Brown as coach.  The only question is when.  We'll find out together on Saturday.  Let the countdown begin.