CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Bill Stewart tries his best to downplay injuries, so when his West Virginia football team began practice Tuesday at Charlotte Country Day School, he once again glossed over any problems.

"We're in pretty good shape,'' Stewart said.

Still, there are some issues, not the least of which is safety Sidney Glover's knee heading into Saturday's Meineke Car Care Bowl against North Carolina.

Glover was injured against South Florida on Dec. 6 and he was expected to begin practicing once the team got to Charlotte, but he spent Tuesday's workout mostly jogging and working out on the sidelines.

Glover did not play in the season opener against Villanova but started 10 of the next 11 games and was one of the most pleasant surprises on WVU's defense. Only Mortty Ivy and Quinton Andrews averaged more tackles, and only cornerbacks Ellis Lankster and Brandon Hogan broke up more passes. Nate Sowers was working in Glover's place Tuesday.

Hogan is another concern, but he should be all right by Saturday. He did not practice Tuesday - nor did he go with the team to a function at Lowes Motor Speedway - because he was sick.

Middle linebacker Anthony Leonard practiced Tuesday after missing the final two games of the regular season with an ankle sprain, but Pat Lazear worked in his spot with the No. 1 defense.

Jim Lewis (foot) and Courtney Stuart (knee) are both practicing and could return to their spots on special teams, although Lewis is still questionable.

Two other contributors were dressed in green no-contact jerseys - defensive lineman Pat Liebig and linebacker Ovid Goulbourne. Liebig has been limited in practice for more than a month after he suffered a head injury and Goulbourne continues to be bothered by a groin injury.

And, of course, center Mike Dent is not expected to play because of a vertebrae problem, but he's been sidelined for the past four games.

One player who was dressed and ready to go, though, was a real surprise - Reed Williams. But the linebacker, who played in just two games this season and is redshirting, was just outfitted so he could more or less jump around and play cheerleader. He did step into a few non-contact drills.

Stewart said Tuesday that he would wait until later in the week to decide who would start at tailback, but all signs point to Noel Devine.

Devine was held out of the first quarter of West Virginia's final regular-season game against South Florida, and Stewart has said that it was simply because of competition. After Devine gained only 17 yards on 12 carries in a game against Pitt, Stewart said he wanted to give Jock Sanders a chance.

But Devine gained 90 yards in the three quarters he did play against the Bulls.

"Jock and Noel will both play tailback and I expect both of them to play really, really well,'' Stewart said.

There seems to be some question regarding Josh Jenkins' status.

The true freshman lineman from Parkersburg hasn't played since the fifth game of the season because of a knee injury and is thought to be eligible to apply for a medical redshirt.

According to the school's participation chart, Jenkins played in only four games (he isn't listed as participating at East Carolina), all during the first half of the season. That's essentially the participation limit for applying for a redshirt.

If Jenkins did play at ECU, however, he would be over the limit by one game and ineligible to be redshirted. Stewart on Tuesday was under the impression that Jenkins had played against the Pirates, but was going to make sure someone found out for certain.

If Jenkins is over the limit, he might see his first action in 21/2 months on Saturday.

Players and coaches from both teams went to Lowes Motor Speedway Tuesday morning and attended an NBA game between the Charlotte Bobcats and the Washington Wizards Tuesday night.

That's pretty much it as far as organized activities for the players this week.

Stewart said the Mountaineers would have a family meal tonight and a reprisal of their gong show, in which players and coaches poke fun at each other.

"Am I excited about the game? Yes. Are we ready to play football? Yes,'' he said without prompting. "There, have I answered all your questions?''

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