CARDIAC HILL - A Pitt Panthers Blog

New Site

2010-09-25T15:44:00.000-04:00

"We've moved"

I'm proud to announce that Cardiac Hill has officially joined the SB Nation network. You can view the new site at http://www.cardiachill.com/.

There will be no further posts on this site so head on over there.

Well That Wasn't Expected

2010-09-24T01:46:00.001-04:00

What a debacle - it's nearly 2:00 a.m. and I'm too tired/old to repost my thoughts on the Miami game. Check out my post over here at SBNation Pittsburgh in the Pitt/Miami Storystream.

Jeremiah Bryson To Pitt

2010-09-22T20:23:00.000-04:00

Pitt received its 18th verbal commitment overall and second running back commitment today from Jeremiah Bryson out of Tennessee. Bryson is a two-star recruit as rated by Scout and a three-star as rated by Rivals.

Bryson reportedly had offers from eight schools including Pitt, North Carolina, Maryland, Illinois, and others.

Linebackers coach Bernard Clark, who played in college down south at Miami, was the recruiter.

The big story on Bryson is that he's trying to rebound after an amazing freshman year, when he rushed for nearly 1,300 yards and had 17 touchdowns. We all know message board fodder needs to be taken with a heaping tablespoon of salt, but this Tennessee Vols' board lit up after his freshman year and four touchdown/170 yard performance in the state championship game. He 'only' had about 1,450 yards in his sophomore and junior season combined, failing to reach 1,000 yards in each. Injuries have limited him in the passt a bit over that time.

Since then, he's been focusing on being more of a straight forward runner instead of going side to side:

Jeremiah Bryson's teammates have made a request of the Smyrna standout senior.

They want the old Bryson — the one who ran for nearly 1,300 yards as a freshman and was a key cog in Smyrna's second Class 5A state championship.

And that starts with his running style.

"My teammates have talked about it," Bryson said. "They want to see the Jeremiah from my freshman year. My sophomore and junior year I thought I could run outside. I'm trying to take it back to my old self. Instead of going east and west I want to go more north and south."

Looks like he's doing just that so far this season as he's averaging about 100 yards per game, his highest total over his career. In his last game, he had 125 yards and two touchdowns. He also is doubling as a defensive back this year.

I'm not saying that Pitt is desperate for running backs at this point. They've got Ray Graham for at least one more year next season and Jameel Poteat is a four-star recruit coming in next season as well. But this looks like a pretty good get for someone rated so low. The rating (particularly the two-star) is most assuredly due to the somewhat down seasons he had as a sophomore and junior. But if he gets back up to over 1,000 yards this season, that rating will likely improve.

Women's Basketball Schedule Includes Home Games Vs. UCONN and Duke

2010-09-22T19:35:00.000-04:00

The Pitt women's basketball team schedule has been released and it's highlighted by home games against UCONN and Duke. Pitt is also participating in the Las Vegas Hoops Classic and will play two games, facing Texas Tech and Texas Arlington.

You can see the full release and schedule here.

Previewing Miami

2010-09-21T22:47:00.002-04:00

I don't know why...don't ask. But I've had a real problem getting up for this game. Maybe it's because my expectations are lowered since the Utah game. The more and more I think about this game, the more I can't help looking ahead to Pitt's real season - the Big East schedule. If Pitt were undefeated and in the top ten, I'd feel much differently.

But any way you look at it, it's still a game of significance.

For starters, the game will have pre- and post-game shows on the new Pitt network.

Okay, so these schools do have some history including the epic 1997 game:

The Panthers and Hurricanes, of course, used to be Big East brothers before Miami bolted for the ACC. Pitt only beat the the Hurricanes once during their Big East days, also on a Thursday night in 1997.

I was at that game as a student and remember it being a pretty big deal around campus. Because the game was on a Thursday, I think total attendance in classes that Friday campus-wide was somewhere in the dozens. Even though Miami wasn't the Miami of old, they were still ranked somewhere around #17 or #18 and it was considered a big win.

Then of course, there's the history between the two coaches:

Even deeper than that, though, is the connection between the two head coaches. Pittsburgh's Dave Wannstedt helped recruit Miami coach Randy Shannon out of high school when he was the Hurricanes' defensive coordinator under Jimmy Johnson. Wannstedt then went on to the NFL's Dallas Cowboys, which drafted Shannon in the final round.

Later, when he became coach of the Miami Dolphins, Wannstedt promoted Shannon on his staff. He also helped him land the defensive coordinator job with the Hurricanes from there.

Here's a little more on the coaches.

And then there's Pitt linebackers coach Bernard Clark, who played at the U - he'd like to see his linebackers step up:

His main concern is production and big plays. The linebackers have yet to produce a sack or a tackle for loss.

"I've been their worst critic, probably harder on them than they are on themselves," Clark said. "We have a lot more to go, they've played good, I'll say, but not to the level we think they should play at but each week they are getting better. I thought from the Utah game to the New Hampshire game, they got better."

So Pitt and Miami are familiar with each other. What else?

Well, speaking of linebackers, Coach Wannstedt says Dan Mason may not play. At all:

Sophomore middle linebacker Dan Mason, demoted to second team last week, may not play against Miami, according to coach Dave Wannstedt. Max Gruder is starting at middle linebacker, and Tristan Roberts will make his first career start at weak-side linebacker. Greg Williams will move to strong-side linebacker. When asked how the Panthers will use Mason, who was in Jason Douglas' car during a recent arrest, Wannstedt said, barring an injury or some other factor, "I don't know if we will. As of right now he is not on the depth chart as a starter, and he's not starting on any special teams," Wannstedt said.

Personally, because of his role in the Jason Douglas/DUI incident, I'm not sure he should be playing. But since he's not suspended, I'd be surprised if he didn't play at all. I think he sees some time, even if it's only limited.

Dave Wannstedt also covered a lot of ground in his press conference. Out of everything, this is what may have stuck out the most to me:

“He’s got it all. The second play of the game, if he’s forced to play, he’s capable of doing that. We don’t have anything different for Dion (Lewis) than we do for Ray. They’re both interchangeable.”

Um, interchangeable? Really? I think I just threw up in my mouth a little. Funny what a difference two games can make. Lewis was a Heisman trophy candidate and two games into the season and we're ready to call it a wash between he and Graham. Wow...not sure I'm buying that just yet. In looking at the entire context of the quote, I don't know if he really meant to use that specific word or that he's saying Graham is as good as Lewis. But just the fact that we're talking about them being interchangeable parts shows just how true 'What have you done for me lately' really is.

Meanwhile, on the Miami side of the ball, it's hard to get a handle on just how good Miami may be. Like Pitt, they're 1-1 and lost their one challenge of the year and handily won against a weaker opponent.

One thing we know is that they have a somewhat dangerous quarterback, but one prone to mistakes:

Miami quarterback Jacory Harris has thrown for four touchdowns and four interceptions through two games this season, and in 2009 he hit on 24 scores but also threw 17 picks.

That may be true, but we'll have to see how Pitt's secondary responds. They haven't exactly been world beaters. Some good news is that the secondary may get Dom DeCicco and Andrew Taglianetti back.

Also on an anciliary note, Pitt will be bringing back several hundred players, enough to rival the approximate 500 that helped close Pitt stadium:

Some of the players that are already confirmed include Tony Dorsett, Jimbo Covert, Bill Fralic, Ruben Brown, Al Romano, Randy Holloway, Jim Sweeney and former Pitt head coach John Majors.

“It was my job to get in touch with these guys, which we have over 330 guys (coming in),” Clancy said. “We had guys call in (Thursday). I talked to Ruben Brown, he’ll be in. We’re going to get close to 375 guys, 300 to 400 guys. There’s going to be some guys who call up, last couple of days like they always do. I’m surprised we have this many, this early.”

Should be a fun night. Well, if the Panthers win, anyway.

Pitt TV - Bringing You Quality Broadcasts Of Games Vs. Division II Foes

2010-09-21T22:03:00.000-04:00

Seriously, despite the sarcastic title, this is good news for Pitt. I've long been a kicker and screamer when it came to not being able to see every Pitt game. And now with the 'Pitt Network', it looks like that problem is solved.

Well, at least if you have Comcast. If you have FIOS like me, you're out of luck.

Other Big East schools have apparently done this as well:

Pederson said other schools in the Big East Conference such as Connecticut and Syracuse have announced similar initiatives, and that it is seemingly the way many athletic departments are headed.

To start, this isn't a full-blown network. From what I understand, it won't be 24/7 coverage like an actual television station. But it will have regular coverage of basketball games and other Pitt stuff.

And by the way, this is really an extension of something Pitt has done in the past. They've used the channel 188/210 before to televise games that otherwise couldn't be seen. It just wasn't on a regular basis. It looks like this will cover any non-televised basketball game as well as things like pre- and post-game shows, press conferences, etc.

The ultimate goal of a Big East conference, sounds as if it's a longer-term dream:

“What we’re trying to do is look at where we are right now,” Pederson said. “Things like that, like a (Big East) network, are a number of years away. “We have a great partner in Comcast. We have fans who love content. We’re going to go ahead and push forward as an institution, everything that we can find to put on the air for our fans. This is additive program that we haven’t been able to bring our fans before, and we’re very excited about that."

Stuff like this Pitt network are great for fans, but as far as putting actual dollars into Pitt's pockets, I think it probably does very little. A Big East network, something I've pushed for a great deal, is really what needs to be done if the Big East wants to have a more secure future. And soon.

FIU Gametime Announced, Crickets Chirp As Game Not Televised

2010-09-21T21:32:00.000-04:00

The Pitt/FIU football gametime has been announced as 3:30 p.m. It was previously announced that the game would either be at 3:30 p.m. or 8:00 p.m.

FIU's lost two tough games so far and had they gotten off to a fast start, it might have made a little more sense to play it as a night game. But an 0-2 start likely helped kill that and, really, as long as it's not a noon game, this is fine.

FIU's slow start also killed any remote chance it would make it as even an ESPN3 or Gameplan game. It's been confirmed that the game will not be televised.

The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same

2010-09-21T21:25:00.000-04:00

So Penn State and Temple have again renewed their series. No big surprise here - they've been playing for a while and since Penn State can sucker Temple into a 2-for-1, it's easy money. I don't begrudge for Penn State at snubbing Pitt, I just wish they would admit it's about not getting a 2-for-1.

Penn State AD, Tim Curley, a while back said that not renewing the Pitt series was partially about needing to appease alumni from all over. In case you don't remember, here were his nonsensical quotes:

"That is one of the challenges I am struggling with as we contemplate going to nine conference games," Curley said. "That reduces your ability to move around the country to make these games happen."

Games that are scheduled include visits to Temple next year and Virginia in 2012. Penn State also recently announced a game against Syracuse in 2013 in the New Meadowlands in East Rutherford, N.J., and a home-and-home series in 2020 and 2021.

"There are 500,000 Penn State alumni, and, depending on where I am, whatever part of the country, I am catching it everywhere," Curley said. "Our alums on the West Coast, which we have a lot of, want us to come out and play out there. We have a great base in Florida, and they want us to play there.

"We had a really great series with Pitt and, certainly, with all our alumni in (Western Pennsylvania), we do hear it."

As I pointed out before, if this were really about spreading the wealth, than why is Penn State playing the same opponents year after year? Sure there are some new opponents, but Temple and Syracuse, long-time doormats have repeatedly been able to get onto the Nittany Lions' schedule, while Pitt is constantly left off.

Again, I don't mind that they don't want to play...just wish they'd come clean about it.

So, Uh, Where You Been?

2010-09-20T22:15:00.001-04:00

Good question...wish I had a good answer.

Real life has reared its ugly head and all I can say is it's been hectic lately. I won't insult your intelligence by recapping the Pitt-related stuff that's dropped over the last few days. I've always said this blog's goal is less about breaking news (I'm no reporter and definitely not in the loop) and more about providing commentary about actual news that does break.

At any rate, I'll be checking in tomorrow with some updates, including (hopefully) a preview of the big Thursday night game against Miami.

You can also check out SB Nation Pittsburgh for some updates as well.

Greg Romeus Back Sooner Than Expected?

2010-09-15T13:56:00.000-04:00

Dave Wannstedt sounded rather optimistic about the possibility of Greg Romeus' return:

Wannstedt said he coached a pair of NFL players who underwent similar surgery and they were back in the lineup in "four to six weeks."

Asked whether he expects Romeus back in time for the regular season or a bowl game, the Pitt coach said, "Regular season."

"I have been involved with players, in fact all defensive linemen, who have had surgery and have gotten back and finished out the season," he said. "They were (out) four to six weeks."

Added Wannstedt, "The plan is it's not a season-ending surgery. How many games he will get back for, we will just have to take that week to week. But I am very confident when Greg gets back, he will be playing at a high level and finish up a great senior year."

That's really good news not only for Pitt, but also for Greg. It will allow him to hopefully get back to the point so that NFL scouts feel secure enough to still risk a high-round pick on him. Of course, there's always the chance that Wannstedt isn't being completely honest in his assessment. But that seems unlikely for the reason that the sooner Pitt gets to the six-week point, that he'd merely have to answer questions about why Romeus is improving so slowly.

Assume he misses six weeks from now - that places him on target for the Oct. 30 Louisville game a few days later. If he stays on that schedule, you'd assume he'd miss that game since Pitt has a bye the following week and can rest him before the road game at UCONN on Nov. 11.

If that is indeed the scenario, it's a good one for Pitt as he would be back for the meat of the Big East schedule - road games at UCONN, Cincinnati, and South Florida as well as the home game against West Virginia.

Dan Mason Moved To 2nd Team

2010-09-15T13:45:00.000-04:00

The first shot was fired as coach Wannstedt bumped Dan Mason from his starting spot, moving him to the second team. I'm not sure if this means he won't miss any games at all, but the move is apparently indefinite and he won't get his starting spot back until Wannstedt believes he's earned it.

There will be some shuffling around, but essentially Max Gruder will move over to MLB and when it's all said and done, Tristan Roberts will now start.

As expected, he also said Douglas remaining at Pitt is obviously no guarantee:

"Jason has been suspended indefinitely," Wannstedt said. "He has a hearing [Thursday] but the likelihood of him returning to this team is seriously in jeopardy."

Personally, I don't expect him to be back.

Website Issues

2010-09-15T09:11:00.000-04:00

Just a heads up, I know some of you have been having trouble getting to the website. When I access it from my desktop at home (which for some odd reason still has IE 6 on it), it seems fine. But on my laptop, which has a newer version of IE, it tells me it can't find the address. However, simply revisiting the address again brings it up. Firefox also seems to work as well.

Not sure what the issue is, but hopefully it's resolved soon. It's lasted several days.

Good And Bad Of Scheduling

2010-09-14T18:34:00.000-04:00

A couple of scheduling notes - if both are true, I consider one good and one bad.

The first is confirmed - Pitt's game against Florida International on October 2nd will take place either at 3:30 p.m. or at 8:00 p.m. That's light years better than having a noon or 1:00 p.m. kickoff, which is what I was anticipating.

The game will be somewhere on ESPN, though it's unlikely (at least to me) that it'd be on ESPN or even ESPN2. I think we'll see this on GamePlan or the dreaded ESPN3.

The second, which is unconfirmed, is not so good. Ray Fittipaldo of the PG (Plus section...you have a few free page views before they ask you to subscribe) says the Pitt/UCONN basketball game could be scheduled for December 27th, while calling it 'not a bad stocking stuffer.'

Um, sure, it might not be so bad if you live in Pittsburgh and are staying home for the holidays. But if you're like me and you'll be out of town, this is terrible news. Plus, students will be on break, so what kind of atmosphere will you even have? Fans and most importantly, Pitt, would be much better served if the game were against a lesser opponent. Pitt won't have the same home court advantage it normally has and could make the game a little tougher.

Let the debate about coming home early from visiting relatives begin.

Greg Romeus To Have Back Surgery

2010-09-14T16:10:00.000-04:00

Looks like the rumors and speculation was true - Greg Romeus will have back surgery, as reported by the Post-Gazette and Tribune-Review today.

The surgery will rob him of the majority of the season and while Dave Wannstedt says he will be back for the "conclusion of the season," it's pretty obvious that he'll miss most if not the rest of Pitt's games.

Wannstedt read a prepared statement today:

"Our top priority is doing what is best for Greg," Wannstedt said in a prepared statement. "After consulting with him, his family and our medical staff, it was determined that immediate surgery is the best option for Greg both personally and athletically."

Romeus has already used up his redshirt and his Pitt career may end after this season. He could try to get a sixth year of eligibility as Adam Gunn did (Gunn also played in one game the season he was injured and had previously used a redshirt), but since he's projected as a high NFL Draft pick, I don't know that he'd want to risk coming back to school anyway.

The good news, if there is any, is that Brandon Lindsey appears to be ready to step in and play. I've heard a lot of talk about how well he played last week, but that was against an FCS-School offensive line. I think he'll be fine, but definitely a downgrade from a fully healthy Romeus.

Greg Romeus Still A Question Mark

2010-09-13T17:20:00.001-04:00

Another day and more questions about Greg Romeus. The questions have been going on since training camp and haven't really stopped.

For starters, Paul Zeise said he looked like he had a hard time staying loose against Utah.

And then there was this week, when he was absent entirely. Pitt and Dave Wannstedt didn't really clarify if it was injury or something else that caused him to miss the game.

Coach Dave Wannstedt said Romeus, the 2009 Big East co-Defensive Player of the Year, was excused "to go home for personal reasons."

It seems pretty clear that this is injury-related and he's not completely healthy. No news there. At some point, just come clean about the injury. I don't see why it's such a huge deal.

This is, of course, leading to mass speculation.

And Jabaal Sheard, after the New Hampshire game, made it sound like we can expect to see Romeus away for a while...and tried to paint a rosy picture at the same time:

"We know we have to step it up without Greg," Sheard said. "We are definitely going to miss Greg, we will definitely miss him because he is a leader, he pushes all of us and he's a great player. But guys like Brandon and Nate Nix stepped up and made a lot of plays.

"I know Greg is happy at home watching this game but we'll be fine without him until he gets back. Brandon is a great pass rusher, he is actually probably faster than Greg, and we saw that last year against Syracuse and I hope that he continues to play at a high level."

It's hard to get a good handle on this and there's no way to determine (at least on the outside looking in) if he'll be ready to play against Miami. From the sound of things, I wouldn't count on it.

Still Not In The Polls

2010-09-13T16:26:00.000-04:00

Despite winning this weekend, Pitt made no movement in the polls this weekend.

The Panthers remained at 30th in the USA Today Poll and even fell a spot in the AP Coaches poll, being leapfrogged by idle 0-1 Oregon State. Not sure I get that one. I guess if voters were more impressed with Boise State, some may have taken that into account when considering Oregon State's loss to them. But meanwhile, Pitt's loss to Utah is looking less terrible as the Utes are now up to #14 in both polls.

ESPN.com's Brian Bennett found room for both Pitt and WVU in his poll.

It's hard to understand the logic of voters sometimes, but again, those are the perceptions of the Big East. I wrote a brief post on this over at SB Nation Pittsburgh.

It will be interesting to see how the bye week treats Pitt in the rankings.

Backup Running Back Suspended

2010-09-13T13:05:00.003-04:00

Pitt's third-string running back Jason Douglas has been suspended from the team for his involvement in a car accident on Sunday, which was apparently a DUI...particularly of note because I don't believe he's of age.

It will be interesting to see if he misses any time. Jabaal Sheard did not for his previous issue this Summer, but it was also in the offseason. Douglas actually did see some time on Saturday with three carries, but isn't expected to be a significant part of the offense barring injury to Dion Lewis or Ray Graham.

Overall, a fairly minor note. But given Pitt's recent troubles with Sheard and Elijah Fields in the offseason, Pitt players aren't exactly doing a good job of staying out of trouble.

EDIT: Okay, scratch that minor note thing. The Trib has more on the story, and, well, yeah it's not good:

For starters, the accident was not him striking another a car - it was striking a person...and it appears serious.

And then there's this:

A tow truck driver with McGann and Chester caught up with the sedan near 18th Street in the South Side and followed it until the sedan's driver parked on Sarah Street, where arriving police officers ordered the driver out of the car.

The driver, identified as Douglas, stumbled from the sedan and nearly fell, according to the affidavit. His breath smelled strongly of alcohol, and officers had to help him stand, the affidavit states.

"Hey I play for Pitt football. ... Please don't arrest me," Douglas told the officers, according to the affidavit.

Douglas' eyes were also bloodshot and glassy.

Definitely not good. This sounds like the type of thing that can get you kicked off a team...especially if you're only a third-string running back. Not that it should matter, but we all know it typically does.

Pitt Back On Track

2010-09-11T18:39:00.000-04:00

Pitt, as expected, won today's game against New Hampshire. The game finished fairly close to what I predicted over at SB Nation Pittsburgh (actual score was 38-16 and my prediction was 30-13). I expected Pitt to have little trouble with this matchup and that's basically how it played out.

Tino Sunseri came out and posted better numbers than his first start. Obviously, playing an FCS school at home should help with that. All in all, I think he looked fairly good again. He seemed to be a little more comfortable and his final stats (24-34 for 275 yards, 2 TDs and 1 INT) were solid. In actuality, he very well could have ended up with two interceptions as one of his passes was thrown right to a defender who dropped it. There were also a few instances of him simply making poor throws that should have resulted in completions. But again, for only his second start, I think he's progressing nicely.

Pitt's defense played fairly well despite the absence of starters Greg Romeus and Dom DeCicco. I honestly don't know what to make of the whole Greg Romeus thing. He sat out all of camp, even with Dave Wannstedt appearing as if the injury was nothing more than stiffness/soreness. Then he played in the first game last week, but clearly wasn't himself. So he sits out again today, presumably to try to get him healthy for the Miami game. Sitting him for this game was obviously the right move as Pitt didn't need him, but it'd be nice to know what his status really is...especially in light of the fact that Pitt has apparently decided it will not be complying with that whole Big East injury report thing. This has been going on since the beginning of camp and at this point, it's easy to wonder if this is going to be a season-long thing.

At any rate, New Hampshire's star running back, Dontra Peters, who rushed for nearly 200 yards the week before had a long day, going for only 15 yards on 11 carries.

And speaking of star running backs not having great days, that takes us to the story of the day - Dion Lewis. Lewis again struggled to find rushing room, finishing for a career-worst 27 yards on only ten carries. To his credit and something I didn't hear mentioned on the post-game radio show during my drive home (not to say it wasn't...just not while I was listening), he did have five receptions out of the backfield for 52 yards.

I'm not ready to panic on Lewis yet. While I expected him to have a big day, I also didn't expect the coaches only to give him ten rushing attempts. I think Wannstedt wanted to get Ray Graham some work after missing last week's game and some time at camp. I expect that he believes he might need both backs against Miami and really needed to try to get Graham up to speed.

So no, I'm not jumping on the 'running back controversy' thing, which is surely to get rolling next week. Lewis struggled a bit, Wannstedt needed a spark and also to get Graham some time. And once Graham got going, why would you take him out? I had no problem with Wannstedt's use of Graham today because, well, you know, it worked.

But one thing I will say is that without a miraculous comeback, the Dion Lewis for Heisman talk is officially dead. He was going to have a tough time as it was convincing voters that he's the man for the award. Now, after two subpar games, including one against an FCS foe, he's got no shot. Want me to put it in perspective? Even if he averages 150 yards per game over ten more regular season games and a bowl game, he still will finish short of his 2009 total of 1,799 yards...a total, by the way, that garnered him virtually no Heisman consideration at all. So, yeah, I'd say it's safe to call it a wrap.

That doesn't mean he can't have a productive season and I still expect that to happen. But any chance of repeating his incredible freshman season seems lost.

Pitt now gets a bye week to prepare for a home game against Miami on the following Thursday night. I would have gladly taken 2-1 after the first three games and if Pitt is able to do that with this schedule, I'd qualify that as a very good start to the season.

Thoughts On Villanova

2010-09-10T22:11:00.000-04:00

So there was the news that came out about the Big East inviting Villanova to join the conference as a football member.

Go ahead and make all the jokes you want about this being insignificant. About this adding nothing to the conference in terms of quality. The fact is that it does matter. Before anything happens, though, there are several key things to consider:

For starters, we've seen this back in 1997 when the school was made the same offer. They rejected it then, but the school might be more willing to make the move now. The school won a championship last season and that could be seen as the first step towards wanting to taking the next step to Division I. Villanova is also a big fish in the basketball conference, widely considered as the best in the nation. While a basketball-only conference could still survive the Big East extinction, why mess with a good thing?

As ESPN.com blogger Brian Bennett mentions, the problem the Wildcats have with not having a large enough stadium per the Division I rules is easily alleviated by playing at either Lincoln Financial Field or even in the school's soccer stadium, which, solmewhat surprisingly, seats more fans than the football field. Also according to Bennett, the earliest the school could join as a football member would be 2014.

Now if you're one of those criticising this invitation, you're missing the point. The Big East isn't doing this to add quality to the conference. It's doing it, in part, so that it can survive. The Big East was on the edge of destruction this year until the Big 12 remained intact, thus delaying major moves across the board. Had everything played out, the Big East could have stood to lose several of its teams to other conferences. If the Big East lost three teams, that very well may have signaled the end of the conference.

A key thing to remember is that if Villanova accepts, it's hardly cause for celebration. The conference needs to get up to 10-12 teams to stave off extinction - and even that's not assured depending on what teams might depart.

I've made this point before, but if Syracuse, Rutgers, and someone like Louisville left, the conference can stay alive. It's still got teams like Pitt, WVU, and Cincinnati to build around and losing those football programs wouldn't be the end of the world. However, say it's Pitt, WVU, and Syracuse that leave. The Big East would have a much harder time remaining relevant, and more importantly, keeping its BCS bid.

If Villanova accepts, I also don't think it necessarily means the door is permanently shut for teams like Memphis who would do almost anything to join a BCS conference. If the Big East truly wants to be proactive, it needs to add more than just one team. A three-team purge, if it happens, will just start the process of looking to add teams all over again in the future. Unless only one team defects, a one-team addition does little to fight off elimination.

Teams like Memphis, Temple, and East Carolina may add little in terms of quality. But if they can keep the Big East afloat, the conference may have no other choice but to open the doors.

Polls Not Working...Again

2010-09-10T20:37:00.001-04:00

My patience with the Blogspot polls is wearing thin. More issues with the votes not being recorded, so if you're having problems registering the votes, I think it might be a Blogspot issue once again.

Pitt Vs. Upside-Down Vermont

2010-09-08T22:55:00.000-04:00

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

So how does this weekend's matchup shape up for Pitt? Well, put it this way - New Hampshire is actually one of the better ~~I-AA~~ FCS schools out there. They laid a 30-point beatdown on fellow FCS school Central Connecticut State this past weekend. For their efforts, they were rewarded by moving up five spots in the coaches poll to #5 in the country.

Four of the Big East's schools have scheduled FCS foes this weekend and ESPN.com's Brian Bennett says Pitt will have the stiffest challenge.

And New Hampshire knows all about not only playing I-A teams, but beating them:

Dating back to 2004, the Wildcats have won FBS games at Rutgers in front of 31,000 people, at Northwestern in front of 20,000, at Marshall in front of 27,000, at Army's historic Michie Stadium in front of the Corps of Cadets, and last year in front of 12,000 under the lights at Ball State's Scheumann Stadium. But this is the first NFL stadium they've visited since 1999, when they lost 42-41 in OT to South Florida at Raymond James Stadium, home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

So what makes New Hampshire so good?

It all starts with the running game. Dontra Peters rushed for nearly 200 yards, two touchdowns, and averaged more than 10 yards per carry in the opener. Part of that is that the team runs the 'oh-so-fun' triple option. The good news for Pitt is that they stop the run a lot better than the pass.

On the other side, Dion Lewis thinks Peters won't be the only running back being keyed on this Saturday:

Pitt sophomore running back Dion Lewis knows what to expect from New Hampshire's defense at Heinz Field.

"Eight in the box," he said. "Nine in the box."

Welcome to stardom, Dion.

This weekend won't be the one in which to judge Lewis. I fully expect him to get off in this game, even if New Hampshire puts 11 in the box. The better week to judge if he's fully recovered from that Utah debacle is against Miami when he'll face another good defense. One thing we've all likely been a little spoiled by was the 150-yard performances he regularly put up last year. To expect that on a routine basis this season is foolish. Pitt is starting a new quarterback and defenses know that the passing game will struggle at times. Everyone is focused on stopping Lewis.

But back to stopping the pass, injured safety Dom DeCicco is making progress, but Dave Wannstedt is pretty tight-lipped about his condition:

DeCicco is now officially listed as day-to-day but when asked him today Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt said simply "he's doing fine" and then added "I'm not going to get into day-to-day injury things. He is doing fine. He is doing better, I should say."

This sounds like Greg Romeus part deux. And about Romeus - don't forget he's still just now getting into game shape with all the time he missed in camp.

And on somewhat of a minor note, this was one thing that caught my eye about New Hampshire's game last weekend:

UNH missed two extra-point attempts (one blocked) and a chip-shot field goal.

Pitt loves getting after punts and kicks so look for the special teams to be aggressive.

Bottom line is that Pitt needs to, and should, win this game. If they don't, look out.

Steven Adams Shoots Up. Way Up.

2010-09-08T22:12:00.000-04:00

It seems that Pitt 2012 Commit Steven Adams has gotten exponentially more recognized since it was announced he was coming to the Panthers.

He's still not listed in Scout's system from what I could find, but he's starting to show up elsewhere.

It's safe to say I was a little surprised/skeptical to see NBE Basketball put him in their top 50 for 2012. Not only top 50, but how does #26 sound? They have him as the fifth-ranked center.

But that wasn't all.

Rivals calls him an astounding top 50 prospect and a four-star recruit (#46)- holy leapfrog, Batman. They have him as the 8th rated center. He's listed there as 6'10" and 210 pounds so it probably wouldn't kill him to gain a little weight. But he's clearly been impressing.

It's still really early at this point and players obviously can fall down the rankings a bit over time (see Isaiah Epps). But top 50? If he's really that good and no other schools found out about him then you've got to give Jamie Dixon's staff a lot of credit.

I hadn't seen this out there yet, but Draft Express has some nice video of him from the Adidas camp and he's giving an interview over top of it. Just watching the video, nothing jumps out about him - at least nothing to make me see why he's a top 50 player...so don't expect to see some freakishly athletic kid in it. But from the little bit of video there is, he looks like Pitt's type of player - rebounder first with some scoring skills. I was pleasantly surprised by the post moves he displayed and if he can get his shot off against Big East defenders, it looks like he has a consistent shot.

Dave Wannstedt Talks About...The Call

2010-09-07T18:31:00.000-04:00

Dave Wannstedt opened his press conference with a brief mention of the Utah game before, obviously, turning his attention to New Hampshire. Sure he talked about Ray Graham, Dom DeCicco, etc., but I think what we were all waiting for was the explanation of running on third and long late in regulation instead of taking a shot at the end zone. Of course the media wouldn't let him get away that easily and the question came up about Pitt's offense on that final drive in regulation:

“We discussed that (to run or pass on third down). Obviously every call stops with me — offense, defense or special teams. Where we were at with the third down-and-ten, the one thing you don’t want to do in the red zone, which we obviously did in overtime, was to turn the ball over and you don’t want to knock yourself out of field goal range.

“On the third-and-ten they were bringing a lot of pressure. If it’s third-and-three, third-and- four or third-and-five it’s obviously a whole different call. All you have to do is look up the percentages in the third-and-ten situations when you’re thinking in the back of your mind that you have a young quarterback and he can’t hear himself talk, you want to make sure that you’re making the right call. Plus, we thought if we went into overtime that we would win the game.

“On top of it all, you’re handing the ball to a great player. We did the same thing last year against South Florida when Dion Lewis went for 50 yards. Two years ago, if you remember the last play before the half against Navy down there, we handed the ball to LaSean McCoy on the draw and he went 50 or 60 yards. I think they’re anticipating the pass, but you’re also giving the ball to your best offensive player.”

I think I've made it pretty clear that I've switched over to the side of Wannstedt. I was always a bit in between on him, but I think he's really got Pitt going in the right direction.

That said, I still disagree with him on playcalling from time to time, and especially so in this case. Pitt was on the road and really needed to try to avoid overtime at all costs. I understand not wanting to make a mistake, I really do. But there would have been nothing wrong with asking Tino Sunseri to throw towards the sidelines and let Jon Baldwin try to make a play. Sunseri had shown signs of heating up as the game went on and he became more accurate. I think you've got to go to the end zone in that case. And while it's true that Dion Lewis is your best offensive weapon, to pretend like you have a realistic chance of getting ten yards on that play when Lewis had been held in check all night (and perhaps the most of his career) is unrealistic.

Wannstedt referred to the pass rush and I think he was more concerned about taking the sack. Tino had been sacked twice (I think) and while I understand there was the threat of it happening again, I think if you pound it into his skull that under no circumstances can he take a sack, you'd be okay.

Further, as Dan Hutchins proved after that when he missed the second attempt after Utah called a timeout immediately before it, that the field goal they had was no chip shot. Why not take a shot at paydirt?

The play shouldn't have caught anyone by surprise. Wannstedt is conservative by nature and it definitely showed there. Still, I think he made a mistake in not passing in that situation.

Duquesne Announces Consol Center Games - No Pitt

2010-09-07T18:00:00.002-04:00

Duquesne announced it will play three of its men's basketball games at the Consol Energy Center. Surprisingly (at least to me), the Pitt game wasn't one of those.

The Ciy Game against Pitt will take place on December 1st at the Pete. So what's the deal? There's no Pens game and there's nothing else scheduled that night according to the arena's website. I can't imagine that Pitt wouldn't return the favor since Duquesne willingly moved its home date to play one final game in Mellon Arena.

To be honest, I'm sure there's some logical reason, but I don't know what it is offhand.

At any rate, the Dukes' three games at Consol will be against West Virginia, Dayton, and Xavier.

EDIT: So what's the reason the game won't be at the Consol Energy Center? Apparently there isn't any. The Post-Gazette's Duquesne blog has a conflicting report that says the game will indeed be played there. Frankly, this makes a lot more sense so I'll go with that report.

Pitt Stumbles Right Out Of The Polls

2010-09-07T17:27:00.002-04:00

Despite losing this past week to Utah, I was a bit surprised to see Pitt fall out of the AP poll completely.

I figured they'd drop down to near the bottom, but didn't think a loss to a top 25 team on the road would make them fall more than ten spots. Utah, for the record, rightfully moved into the polls at #20. Pitt came in third in the dreaded "Others Receiving Votes" category, good for 28th overall.

Frankly, I don't see how an overtime loss to a now top 20 team on the road should bump a team down 13 spots, but so be it. The rankings don't necessarily mean all that much to Pitt now and the goal is to win the Big East.

Still, it was a big shock to me that they fell that far.

That said, maybe it's just me - ESPN.com's Big East blogger Brian Bennett also thought Pitt should have fallen out as he didn't rank them in his top 25, either.

Moving On To NFL Cut Day

2010-09-05T14:36:00.001-04:00

Several Pitt players made the final cuts as teams trimmed their rosters down to 53 players:

Sixth-rounder Nate Byham is part of the 53-man roster of the San Francisco 49ers, and seventh-rounder Dorin Dickerson survived the cut with the Houston Texans.

Undrafted free agent cornerback Aaron Berry escaped Saturday's cuts after the Detroit Lions released former Pro Bowler Dre' Bly and Eric King, both cornerbacks.

The news was not as good for defensive tackle Mick Williams, an undrafted free agent who was one of the Chicago Bears' final cuts on Saturday.

Also, previously cut were OL John Malecki and Bill Stull lost out on the third string QB job to former Panther Tyler Palko.

Mick Williams made it down to the end and I expect he'll get another shot somewhere else. I was also surprised to see Aaron Berry land on an NFL roster - beating out Dre Bly, no less.

The Aftermath

2010-09-03T09:48:00.001-04:00

The morning after isn't any easier, even right before a three-day weekend. Okay, so maybe the long weekend makes it a little better. Still, plenty to complain about.

For starters, as I noted before, Pitt has nothing to gain by scheduling these types of 1-1 series with a team like Utah. As Chas at Pitt Blather correctly points out, college football is a different animal entirely from the NFL. I'll take it a step further and also throw college basketball in the discussion. You have playoffs in those two leagues where as college football is essentially one and done - at least for teams in leagues like the Big East where respect is already an issue.

I've been on the record as saying it was a bad move to play Utah. If the goal is a national championship, it just makes little sense from Pitt's end. The schedule this season is already difficult enough with road games at Notre Dame and UCONN and home games again Miami and WVU. Pitt still probably wouldn't run the table even without the Utah game, but that isn't the point. The point is that you want to give yourself the best chance of winning a championship and scheduling games like these, while nice for the fans to see, is akin to chopping off your right leg before attempting to run a marathon.

There's a reason that Ohio State opened up with Marshall. There's a reason Miami opened up with FAMU.

I know, I know, it's easy to kick and scream about this after a loss. But the fact is I've been beating this drum for a while (most recently briefly questioning it in my look ahead to 2010 after last year's season ended).

Bob Smizik of the PG, while not agreeing completely, discusses the fact that playing Utah in an opener is less than ideal. But it's after the fact, so let's move on.

Dave Wannstedt hit the nail on the head with this quote:

"We didn't play good enough to win. We really didn't," Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt said. "Down the stretch Utah made less mistakes than we did."

I couldn't have said it better myself. Pitt played alright, but as I said last night didn't make enough big plays and gave up too many.

And the more I think about it, the more I can't praise Tino Sunseri enough. He got better as the game went along:

And Pitt quarterback Tino Sunseri, who grew up a little bit as the game wore on, had a chance to etch his name in Panthers history by leading a dramatic come-from-behind victory after they trailed most of the game and had not looked very good for a lot of it, either.
Sunseri calmly led the Panthers to two first downs and then hit Mike Shanahan with a 20-yard pass to the Utes' 14 to set the Panthers up with a first down-and-10 with 40 seconds to play.

I think his play was the biggest unknown heading into the game. We knew the offensive line and secondary were going to struggle at least a little bit (it turned out to be a lot on both fronts), but really had no idea what to expect from Sunseri. He wasn't great, but there were signs of a good QB in the making. Playing in that environment off the bat should, if nothing else, make the rest of the games much easier. Sure, there was the costly interception, and Sunseri just didn't make the throw he needed to:

"Shanahan was open," Sunseri said. "I missed it inside. It was my fault. I take the blame. Everyone put us in position to win and I've just got to finish."

No one can (and I haven't heard this) blame Sunseri for this loss. He played about as well as he could given the circumstances and I was pleased with what he gave the team. Before his long TD reception, Jon Baldwin couldn't do a good enough job of getting open and on the balls thrown his way, he couldn't make the big play. One in particular stood out to me where he completely mistimed his jump and despite having a shorter man covering him, couldn't get the jump ball. On the one big play he did make on that TD, it was due to a complete defensive breakdown - not so much from anything he did. And the team will need to get more from Dion Lewis who could average no more than three yards a carry. Look, both will be fine. But on this night, neither played particularly well.

And then there was the fact that Pitt's vaunted defense, even with an offensive lineman built more like a large safety, couldn't get a single sack on the night.

Oh yeah, by the way, let's not forget that Utah didn't play particularly well either. That's got to make the loss a little more troubling. In a year Pitt is supposed to take that next step, they couldn't pull out a win despite a Utah team that, at times, couldn't get out of it's own way.

To me, it wasn't so much the fact that they lost, but how they couldn't capitalize on Utah's many mistakes:

"I'm very proud of the way our guys hung in there," said Utah coach Kyle Whittingham, whose squad overcame three turnovers, a blocked punt and 11 penalties.
The miscues, he added, were all things that can be improved upon before the Utes open their final Mountain West Conference campaign Sept. 11 at home against UNLV.

"We made enough mistakes tonight so we'll have plenty to work on," Whittingham said. "We had unintelligent penalties at inopportune times. But the good thing is that all of these mistakes are correctable issues. It's always better to work through these issues after a win."

That was the key. As Wanny said, the team played well enough, just not well enough to win. For the Utes, they got the 1-0 start coveted by every team in the country. For Pitt, it's back to the drawing board.

Well, That Thoroughly Sucked

2010-09-03T00:41:00.000-04:00

Not much more to add to the title, but I'm sure this post will go on for quite a while.

So Pitt lost tonight against Utah. Unfortunately, I predicted this dead on in my Q&A with Block U earlier this week. I don't know, I figured Pitt would play well but I thought there would be something that kept this team from winning.

Had you told me that Tino Sunseri would play pretty well and Pitt would win the turnover battle, I would have expected a win. During the game, they mentioned that Pitt wins 89% of its games where they win the turnover battle. I would have figured the team would hold serve.

Problem is, the team just gave up too many big plays and didn't make enough of their own. For starters, I'm not entirely sure who kidnapped Frank Cignetti and replaced him with Matt Cavanaugh in the first half, but Pitt's offense played about as unimaginative as they possibly could. I understand the need to simplify things for Tino Sunseri's first start. And frankly, I would have done the same thing. But I expected the team to throw a few more passes that were, you know, longer than five yards. Part of the problem was that even though the offensive line started off okay, they got progressively worse and Sunseri had less time to throw. But Pitt was stuck in some sort of time-warp, Johnny Majors 1990s playcalling funk. I saw very little creativity and it seemed the offense was dumbed down too much.

And then there's the secondary. Oh, boy.

What a disaster from basically start to finish. Jarred Holley managed to get a key interception in the end zone to keep the game close before the half, but other than that, it was a complete train wreck. All the talk in camp was that the unit should be markedly better than last year's. Maybe it was just me, but I didn't see it. Sophomore QB Jordan Wynn went for nearly 300 yards and 3 TDs. Fellow soph DeVonte Christopher, who had a grand total of two catches last season looked like Randy Moss on steroids. Eight catches for 155 yards? Jerry Rice thinks that's a career day.

You might be thinking to yourself, "Well, self - at least they shut down the main guy instead."

Wrongo.

The defense also gave up five catches and 87 yards to big-play guy, Jereme Brooks. Worse, however, was the number of big passes: 19 yard TD, 24 yards, 32 yards, 46 yards, and then the 61 yard TD bomb.

One thing that stuck out at me in looking at the play-by-play was the progression of those plays. That's the exact order in which they happened. Yes, there were shorter passes in between, but as the game went on, the secondary got worse, giving up progressively bigger plays.

The thing that killed the team more than anything was getting inside the ten-yard on successive possessions in the 3rd and 4th quarters and only getting six points out of it. If Pitt scores a TD on one of those, they possibly win. Who knows how the game plays out, but they would have had a good look at it. You can't, can't, can't, can't, can't, can't, can't, CAN'T get that close and come away with FGs. Period. Heck, on one of the possessions, they had a first and goal from the four. FROM THE FOUR.

Another killer was obviously the penalties. Too many times the team had drives stalled because of penalties. 12-75 was simply too many. But, it's the opener, so you hope it gets better from here.

Moving to the offensive side of the ball, Pitt's stars were really held in check. Dion Lewis had not only a pedestrian night, but a below average one of only 75 yards on 25 carries. The offensive line really didn't help that and Utah was stacking guys at the line giving him virtually no chance to succeed. He'll be fine. Jon Baldwin was virtually non-existent early on and only made an impact late in the game when secondary coverage broke down, leaving him wide open for the long TD catch.

And I heard the comment about Ray Graham not playing really affecting the team. I don't know. Yes, he's a change of pace back, but if Lewis had that much trouble finding room to run, I think Graham would have fallen into the same problems. Utah just stacked the box and made running extremely difficult.

A bright spot for me was the play of Tino. He struggled a little early, but I don't place any blame on him. A few of his early passes were off, but he was under pressure as the first half went on and the playbook was really limited. He avoided mistakes until the final, extremely-costly, interception and looked like a leader out there. I really think he's going to be good and I think the QB position is in good hands for the next few years. He was an assassin late in the game, and made two great throws to Baldwin on that last TD drive. He came right back and got Pitt within in field goal ranging making another great throw to Mike Shanahan. It was only one game, but he's looking like he can play.

And the good news is that this doesn't severely damage Pitt's season. All of the silly talk about the team going undefeated and winning a national championship can officially stop now. If this team goes 9-3 and wins the Big East, mission accomplished. The key thing to remember is that things get easier from here. Miami and WVU will be difficult but Pitt will at least have the luxury of playing at home. This is one of Pitt's toughest games on the schedule and the team will get better as the season moves on.

Still, it was a bit of a disappointment to see Pitt lose this one.

College Fantasy Football. Seriously?

2010-09-02T21:06:00.000-04:00

It's true. You may have noticed the Florida Gators link down in the list of blogger friends. What's that all about?

Well, James Brown of the awesome Gators blog, Gators First, asked me to participate in a college fantasy football league. He's got a whole roster of bloggers and I'm representing the Big East.

My first foray into college football was not a good one. First, getting used to CBSSports.com's draft platform was rough. Three times, the computer autodrafted for me because, well, I didn't know what I was doing. In addition, I'm not all that familiar with players in other leagues...even stars.

Add it all up and it means a crappy draft. Heck, I even only managed to land one Panther...and it was the kicker, Dan Hutchins. Anyway, here's my roster. I'm going to try to mention how I do each week, though I anticipate a heavy dose of losses:

QBs - Jake Locker (WA) and Tyrod Taylor (VT)

RBs - Anthony Allen (GT), Daniel Thomas (KS ST), Armando Allen (ND), Victor Anderson (LVILLE), Delone Carter (SYR)

WRs - Keith Smith (PUR), Owen Spencer (NCST), Alexander Torres (TXTCH), Damarlo Belcher (IND)

K - Dan Hutchins (PITT)

DST - Nebraska

SBNation Pittsburgh Vs. Utah Game Thread

2010-09-02T19:01:00.000-04:00

I'll be using the storystream thread over at SBNation Pittsburgh to update the Pitt-Utah game. There will be updates before, during, and after the game.

Be sure to stop by for up-to-date info.

Pitt's Nike Uniforms Revealed

2010-09-01T18:28:00.000-04:00

Nike revealed its Pro Combat System jerseys, which will be worn by ten schools including Pitt. The jerseys will only be worn for one game. Pitt and West Virginia will wear theirs during the Backyard Brawl.

You can view all of the jerseys here.

Personally I'm not a fan, but I don't think they're awful. When I got the news that they were going to be all blue I thought they'd be terrible. But I think they could be worse...like, say, Miami's. Was pretty impressed with WVU's. Again, not great, but considering it's mostly white, not too shabby. And their helmets are incredible. Man, does it pain me to say that.

Chas over at Pitt Blather also made the trip to New York City to see the unveiling and he's got some great photos and stuff over there. SBNation got an invite, but due to real-life stuff, I couldn't get away to make it. Be sure to check out his site to see the material.

Isaiah Epps On Campus

2010-09-01T14:08:00.001-04:00

While incoming freshman point guard Isaiah Epps isn't the key to Pitt's 2010-11 basketball season, it's still a mild relief to know that he has qualified academically. And even though Epps didn't participate in the famed Greentree Summer League games or in the scrimmages in Ireland, he doesn't feel like he missed all that much:

"I don't feel like I missed out on that much," Epps said. "The coaches will be able to see me play at practice."

Epps might not see it as a big deal, and it really isn't. But I'd beg to differ on his stance that says he didn't miss that much. While Epps was working on his academic situation, fellow incoming freshmen J.J. Moore and Cameron Wright were suiting up against other college and professional players. Both participated in about a dozen games and several practices - probably somewhere around the equivalent of about 1/2 of a full season's worth of games (minus practice time). To say that's not missing much is a little off point.

Will it matter in the long run? Not likely. But the fact that he's been out of the loop for so long could lead to a redshirt, something that was in the article and something I mentioned before as a possibility. When he first committed, he was so highly touted, that a redshirt would have seemed unlikely. But the fact is that Pitt can very easily go in that direction. They can either start Gibbs at PG and use Wright as a backup or start Woodall and use Gibbs as a backup. I think the latter is probably more likely. Based on the reports in the scrimmages, it seemed Wright had a good deal of work to do.

Epps could still surprise and do enough to get in the rotation, but it will take a lot of catching up.

Official Pitt Preview

2010-09-01T09:38:00.001-04:00

Just a heads up to check out my Pitt football preview over at SBNation Pittsburgh. Considering the season is only a little over a day away, it's a bit late. Still, check it out if you get a chance.

There will also be a joint roundtable piece with Penn State and West Virginia writers, Jeff Junstrom and Aaron Hawley up there soon as well.

Views From The Enemy

2010-08-31T20:02:00.001-04:00

So with gametime merely two days away, I thought I'd take a look at what they're saying out in Utah:

Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham discusses the game in his press conference on Monday. Overall, he seems really confident and it sounds like the Utes will be ready to play.

The Utes offense features a 1,000 yard rusher in senior Eddie Wide. Wide is a true star and he averaged more than five yards per carry on the ground last year. But the receivers are looking to be featured on Thursday as long as sophomore quarterback Jordan Wynn does his part:

“We are ready to go,” said senior wideout Shaky Smithson. “We came into camp this year with the attitude that no one can contain us on the outside or going across the middle. We will make any defense that lines up against us pay for underestimating us. As long as Jordan (Wynn) can get us the ball, and he will, we will make plays.”

Whittingham also thinks the receivers will be ready:

“Knowing that we can throw the ball down field to capable, athletic players opens up so many doors for any coach preparing a game plan on the offensive side of the football,” Whittingham said. “Our receivers seem to rise to the occasion every year, I don’t see any reason why this year will be any different.”

Meanwhile, it's understandable for Utah to bring up the 2005 Fiesta Bowl debacle. That's likely the last time many of them have watched Pitt play. Still, it doesn't sound like Whittingham is using that game as any kind of point of reference:

"It's a whole new coaching regime, a whole new program," he said. "There are no similarities with this Pittsburgh team as opposed to the one we played in '05. It's a complete transformation."

He also, correctly, pointed out that this year's Pitt team is much better than that 2004-05 team in that press conference audio link above. I don't blame Utah for mentioning the game. It really helped to catapult them to getting into the conversation as seriously belonging in the BCS. And in a lot of ways, it helped open the door for teams like Boise State and TCU to get serious shots at BCS bowls. If Utah loses that game, no telling how much it affects the influence of voters.

But back to this week's game. Dave Wannstedt is being taken to task (somewhat) for his comment about Tino Sunseri winning a high school state championship:

And Utah is putting a lot of emphasis in stopping Pitt's star defensive ends, Greg Romeus and Jabaal Sheard. So much so, that the team is not even allowing a new offensive tackle to speak to the media this week:

Wanted to talk to Utah offensive lineman John Cullen about his debut with the Utes and the challenge he in particular faces Thursday. Unfortunately the Utes have him on media lockdown and won't allow him to do interviews.

I was told Monday he was getting too many requests and the coaches want him to focus on the game. During several years of covering Utah, the Utes have made similar bans before with certain players, usually quarterbacks, but not with linemen. Kind of tells you right there what the Utes think of Pitt's defensive line, doesn't it?

Preventing an offensive lineman from speaking to the media? Wow, that's some kind of focus.

Wrapping Up The Q&As

2010-08-31T19:21:00.000-04:00

Just as a follow-up to my Q&A with the Utah blog, Block U, Sean has my answers to his questions up on his site. You can view them here.

Obstacles Await

2010-08-30T19:58:00.001-04:00

Here we are, three days away from possibly Pitt's most challenging test of the season. The good news for Pitt is that a defeat will not mean all that much in the grand scope of things. Pitt wants to (and needs to) win the Big East this year and get to a BCS bowl game. This game will have no bearing on that goal.

That said, no one in their right mind should think it's okay to accept a loss. The game could set the tone for a hugely successful season and really get things off on the right foot. Depending on how some voters see it, it could also put Pitt on the brink of the top ten in the polls.

There are a lot of things in Pitt's way for this first game.

To start, there are injuries - most notably, Ray Graham. Injury reports aren't out yet, but Dave Wannstedt says Graham will play when he addressed the media today:

"From an injury standpoint, we are probably about as healthy as we could expect coming out of a very physical training camp. Greg Romeus is a big topic, and he's been great the last week. Ray Graham is very close; he practiced in team (drills) yesterday and he will be available to play.

That's big news, obviously. Utah's front four is said to be a strength of the defense and it's good to know that when Lewis needs a breather, Graham will be there to provide it. I expect Pitt to run early and often and Graham gives them another home run threat.

Then there's the altitude. Dave Wannstedt apparently thinks the elevation of over 4,500 feet won't matter:

"Every place I've coached for 16 years, we went out (to Denver) the day before, lined up, and played. That's Dallas, Chicago, and Miami. I think all the studies will tell you that if you wanted to make a total adjustment, you have to be out there three days. It takes 72 hours. So even going that extra day like some of the NFL teams do, it doesn't do anything. You go out, you line up, and you play."

Just don't tell that to the basketball team:

They must contend with the thin air of Rice-Eccles Stadium, elevation 4,657 feet. The coaches and players have downplayed the altitude, but it will have some affect, however small.

When the Pitt men's basketball team played in mile high Denver in the 2008 NCAA Tournament, a number of players admitted breathing was noticeably more difficult.

I don't know how much of a difference it will make, but it's got to be at least a small factor. I understand Wannstedt's motivation for trying to downplay it as much as possible, but I do think it's going to count for something.

There's also the fact that Utah is nearly unbeatable with lots of preparation time:

Combine Utah’s nine-game bowl winning streak with season openers, games after byes and games held on nights other than Saturdays and the Utes have won their past 13 contests when they have more than a week to prepare.

And did I mention this was a road game on a Thursday night no less?

Oh yeah, and don't forget about, you know, the actual game. There's a pretty good team on the other side of the ball - and a unique one:

No. 15 Pitt will try to solve Utah's high-scoring spread offense when the No. 15 Panthers open the season Thursday at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City. The Utes run four-receiver sets, power formations, the option and the Wildcat -- and that's just the beginning.

"Everything you think you might see in a year," Bennett said, "we are seeing in the first game."

The Panthers know first-hand how potent Utah's offense can be. Then-coach Urban Meyer's Utes routed Pitt, 35-7, in the Fiesta Bowl following the 2004 season. Back then, the spread offense wasn't as prolific. Today, it is the offense of choice for many programs. Pitt's schedule is dotted with teams that use some version of the spread, including West Virginia and Cincinnati.

Ugh, that 2005 bowl game still makes my head spin. Seriously, though, that last part is the key. Pitt has seen this type of stuff before and while it won't be the easiest thing in the world to do, against a young quarterback, Pitt has the tools to be successful against that type offense. This year's team is leaps and bounds better than the one Utah lined up against nearly six years ago.

Still, lots of obstacles to get over.

Another Utah Q&A With Block U

2010-08-29T22:07:00.002-04:00

Continuing with the Q&A theme, here's a second one - this time with Sean Reynolds of SB Nation's Utah blog, Block U. Sean provides some more insight into Thursday's game. Thanks to both Sean and Dirk for participating in this week's Q&As.

1. What do you think fans are expecting from the 2010 Utah Utes?

Expectations are generally always high in Salt Lake City. It's been that way since Urban Meyer's first season and hasn't changed over the years. This season isn't much different, though some of us concede the difficulty of the schedule could keep the BCS just out of sight. So I'd wager we're mostly expecting ten or so wins, a top-25 finish and maybe contention for the conference crown. However, TCU has established a fantastic program in Fort Worth and they'll be difficult to stop - even though the game is in Salt Lake this year. I think that point, the fact most our tough games (outside of Notre Dame) come at home, has given us a bit of hope that maybe the team can exceed expectations.

Much of that is because the Utes have won seventeen straight at home and you've got to go all the way back to the start of the 2007 season to find their last home loss (which came a week after the Utes lost their quarterback and running back to injury in the season opener). Since that loss, they've been almost unstoppable at home and we kind of expect that to continue into this year. If Utah wins out at home, their two toughest road contests are at Air Force (the last team to win in Salt Lake) and Notre Dame. Those aren't going to be easy games and certainly could derail any talks of perfection. But before we can even get to that point, the team will still have to beat Pitt. Which won't be easy.

2. Head Coach Kyle Whittingham turned down the Tennessee job earlier this season. Do you think he'll eventually leave Utah in the near future or can you see him sticking around long-term? Is he ever mentioned as a potential head coach at BYU, his alma mater?

I think now that Utah is moving to the Pac-10, it's far more unlikely we'll lose Kyle Whittingham to another program. I guess it's possible he accepts a job with a top-level team, but we'll worry about that when one of those jobs opens up.

As for BYU, no worries there. He had an offer to coach them in 2005 and he turned them down for Utah. BYU fans hate Whittingham now because of that and I see no way they could ever accept him as their head coach. I mean, this is a guy who's been at Utah since 1994. Not many head coaches in college football can say they've been with the same football program for 16 years.

3. Sophomore QB Jordan Wynn made few mistakes last year as a true freshman. Do you expect him to be at all rattled in the opener? If he is, do you any scenario barring injury where Whittingham would go to senior Terrance Cain?

I think he'd be more rattled if the game were in Pittsburgh. But the fact it's in front of a partisan crowd should help. Plus, it isn't like this will be his first tough game. As Utah's starter, Wynn has gone up against TCU, BYU and Cal in the Poinsettia Bowl. The only average performance there was against, if you can believe it, BYU and many fans suspect that was because he got his bell rung on the first drive of the game and he never really looked the same the rest of the night.

Utah's offense was not the problem against the Frogs. They scored more points (28) on TCU than any other team (though the defense allowed 55, so...) and Wynn, of course, had a break out performance against Cal in the Poinsettia Bowl.

If Wynn does struggle early, he has a great backfield to rely on with Eddie Wide II and Matt Asiata. Those are two backs that could start at most schools and they'll both be sharing time for the Utes. If things still aren't working out and Wynn is playing atrociously, then I would not be surprised if Whittingham brought in Cain. But I don't think that'll happen.

4. With a new QB in Tino Sunseri, I expect a heavy dose of the running game for Pitt in the opener. How do you think Utah's defensive line will respond? And if Pitt decides to go to the air, how is the secondary?

The defensive line is expected to be one of Utah's strongest points on defense. Sealver Siliga and Dave Kruger, whose brother, Paul, was a beast on the defense for Utah's 2008 season, are very talented players who'll make big plays.

Of course, last year Utah had some iffy games with the run defense. Oregon and TCU specifically had no real trouble moving the ball on them and it cost them at least one game (Utah nearly beat the Ducks in Eugene). Whether that consistency issue is at play in 2010, no one knows. But the line is good. We just hope they're consistently good.

Now as for the secondary, that's the question mark for this year's Utes. They replace a lot of talent there, albeit with some very athletic and quick guys. Kyle Whittingham has made it his mission to turn Utah's defense into a very fast and athletic one and you're going to see that in the secondary. But since it's raw at times, they probably aren't at the level where they can overwhelm in games. Not yet, anyway. But against a team breaking in a new quarterback, who has to do it on the road, I think the Utes are well positioned here.

5. How do you see Thursday's game shaping up?

The worst thing about the first game of the season is not knowing what to expect. You can only go off last year's results and even then, for both teams, a lot has changed. But because it is the first game and rarely do you have a flawless performance that early from either team, I think we'll see a tight contest that comes down to the fourth quarter. With the game being played in Salt Lake City, I've got to go with the Utes. I say they enter the fourth up 28-21 and win the game 35-24.

Prepping for Utah Week

2010-08-29T14:34:00.003-04:00

It's about time - the moment we've been waiting for since Pitt wrapped up a ten-win season. The Utah game. If Pitt wins, they continue the momentum they've built up since beating North Carolina in the Car Care Bowl. Lose, and while the season will be far from over, Pitt will need to go back to the drawing board.

So with that said, we've got a great guest to kick off this year's Q&As - Dirk Facer, a sports writer for the Deseret News in Salt Lake City, who covers Utes football for the newspaper. Be sure to check out some of his excellent work for the full lowdown on Utah.

Dirk provided some answers to my questions below:

1. Freshman QB Jordan Wynn looked really sharp last year after taking over as the starter. How did he look in camp this Fall?

A: Wynn has picked up where he left off in last year’s Poinsettia Bowl victory over Cal, netting MVP honors by completing 26-of-36 passes for a career-high 338 passes and three touchdowns. Confidence is the big thing. Instead of competing for the job like he did last fall, Wynn entered camp as the designated starter and has embraced the role — leading the first unit throughout.

2. How did senior QB Terrance Cain take last year's demotion despite leading the team to a 7-1 start?

A: While acknowledging it was tough at first, Cain accepted the change and has been pushing Wynn ever since. Cain had a fantastic camp, working mostly with the twos, and may see action in specific packages as the backup. Cain and Wynn have remained friends throughout the competition.

3. With the departure of star WR David Reed and the return of 1,000 yard rusher Eddie Wide, do you expect to see Utah run the ball a little more than usual in the opener or will they look to test Pitt's unproven secondary?

A: The Utes certainly have strength in the backfield with Wide and fellow senior running back Matt Asiata, who led the team in rushing in 2008 and was setting the pace again last season before suffering a season-ending knee injury, back in the fold. Senior Jereme Brooks headlines a deep, but relatively inexperienced receiving corps. Utah will likely run the ball quite a bit, but has the weapons to throw it often as well.

4. Where are some of the weaknesses on Utah's defense that Pitt might be able to exploit?

A: The Utes have consistently been able to reload on defense over the years. However, this season’s squad features three new starting linebackers and new starters at both safety spots and one of the cornerback positions. Pitt is expected to challenge the newcomers. The Utes, however, counter with an aggressive defensive front.

5. How do you see the Utah vs. Pitt game shaping up on Thursday?

A: It certainly is shaping up as a much better matchup than the 2005 Fiesta Bowl. The main question in this meeting involves Utah’s ability to slow Pitt’s ground game. Another thing to watch is how the Panthers handle the travel to altitude and a hostile environment. The Utes have won 13 consecutive games when coach Kyle Whittingham has eight or more days to prepare for an opponent.

Jason Pinkston and Greg Romeus Up For Rotary Lombardi Award

2010-08-27T23:30:00.000-04:00

OL Jason Pinkston and DE Greg Romeus have both been named to the 2010 watch list for the Rotary Lombardi Award. The award is given annually to college football's top down lineman or linebacker.

Last year Ndamukong Suh won the award.

To view the entire 87-man 2010 watch list, click here.

Dave Wannstedt Fooling No One

2010-08-26T22:29:00.000-04:00

Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt wouldn't commit to it, but Phil Bennett confirmed what most of us knew - that Aaron Donald will not redshirt this year:

"He's going to play," Bennett said. "Greg [Gattuso] will tell you that he's right in the mix."

As I mentioned yesterday, I didn't think there was any way Donald wouldn't play after all the praise he received from Wannstedt during training camp. Still, it was good to hear it confirmed and Bennett apparently didn't care that Wannstedt wouldn't confirm it or, less likely, didn't know. Either way, the 'secret' is out.

In other notes from Paul Zeise's awesome PG blog, Greg Romeus is back in a big way, the weakside linebacker spot has not yet been claimed, and more. Excellent read worth the look anytime he has a post.

This Just In: Pitt's Tickets Still Low

2010-08-26T21:37:00.000-04:00

We all knew Pitt's football tickets were low, but this low?

According to a report by ticketing site SeatGeek, Pitt not only has low tickets, but the lowest of all teams in the Top 25.

At an average ticket price of $65.43, Pitt has lower tickets than teams such as Georgia Tech, TCU, Oregon, and, well, everyone else. It's no secret that Pitt has been trying to pack the stadium by offering bargain basement pricing. Heck, parking passes cost almost as much as some of the lowest-level seats.

Selling thousands and thousands of seats at under $20.00 per game will lower the overall price considerably, but this is another example of how far back Pitt is in the fan interest game. I think that competing with three pro teams has a lot to do with it - four if you count Pitt basketball, which sells out regularly. Take a look at the other teams on the list and see how many have even one pro team in the same town. But the bottom line is that Pitt needs to have more success to sell out games, and ultimately, raise ticket prices.

Pitt Adds University Of Delaware To Schedule In 2014

2010-08-26T21:24:00.000-04:00

Pitt lost NFL QB Joe Flacco to Delaware so it's only fitting there's some payback lined up. Okay, so they had a pretty good QB in front of him in Tyler Palko, but the whole retribution thing sounds kinda cool.

At any rate, Pitt will host Delaware for two games beginning in 2014. The article doesn't mention if the second game will be in 2015, but both games will be at Heinz Field.

Seriously, though. Delaware is one of the best I-AA teams around and played for the championship the last two seasons. They also beat Navy two times in the past seven years, most recently in 2007. Still, if Pitt struggles with Delaware, it won't be a good sign of things to come.

Dion Lewis Highlights Doak Walker List

2010-08-25T21:19:00.000-04:00

To the surprise of no one, Dion Lewis made the cut for the Doak Walker Award watch list. The full list has 49 candidates and the winner will be selected on December 9th.

Click here for the full list.

Freshmen Deliberations

2010-08-25T21:07:00.000-04:00

We all know K'Wuan Williams is going to see time on the field. But we all figured Penn Hills star Aaron Donald was going to as well. There were glowing reviews all Fall, including this one:

"I'm going to have to change Mick Williams jersey, because to this point the Mick Williams of this training camp has been Aaron Donald. The guy has been in the backfield more than any player on our defensive line the whole camp. I will be real curious to see if he can keep that up. If he continues to perform and do what he's doing, we'll see if we can mix him in with some of the older guys in live scrimmage. He's off to a fast start."

And this one:

"I'm going to change his number to 95. I told him no more 59; I think I called him Mick (Williams) three times today.

But then there was this nugget out there today:

Of the two, what to do with Donald, a Penn Hills High School graduate, shapes up as a tougher decision.

He has been dominant throughout preseason practices in nearly every situation against nearly anybody who lined up against him.

But Wannstedt is hesitant to commit to Donald because the Panthers have three veteran defensive tackles ready to play and a couple others who have played well enough to show they can be productive.

"Donald is a possibility, Clemmings is a possibility," Wannstedt said. "[Donald] is a playmaker, he is kind of a mini-Mick [Williams, who starred at defensive tackle last season]. We'll see, but [once a freshman plays] there is no turning back. You don't want to waste a year because, once you play a kid, now you are trying to force him into the lineup.

"That decision [on Donald] has not been made yet; he's getting reps, he is getting prepared to play, we'll see how it plays out."

How does one go from the next Mick Williams to merely a possibility for playing time? Welcome to the world of spin.

Wannstedt seemed to back off of hyping Donald up too much, but I don't see how they keep him off the field based on the earlier assessments. The other side of the argument is that Wannstedt took a great deal of credit when he burned through Bostick's redshirt during his second season in 2008. That turned out to be a non-factor as he redshirted last year instead, but the move perhaps made him think twice about playing kids who might not see a lot of action. Wannstedt obviously wants to get a lot of usage out of Donald if he decides to play him this season as there'd really be no going back as was in the case of Bostick.

My prediction? He goes ahead and plays him this year. In the end, no way Wanny heaps that much praise on the kid and then doesn't even play him. I think he's committed to putting the best team out there and while most freshmen won't see the field this year, it will be a good thing for recruits to see a handful of guys be able to come in and play right away. It would also be frustrating for certain guys to see someone perform extremely well in camp, exceed expectations, and still not get on the field. I expect to see him suit up this season and play.

Then there's five-star recruit, T.J. Clemmings. Clemmings wasn't heard from as much as most probably expected this Fall. And when Bryan Murphy stepped up, we heard his name even less. It was pretty much assured that Murphy was going to see time this season until his injury. Clemmings wasn't mentioned as much of a possibility to factor in for playing time, but with the injury to Murphy, he could see the field this season. My guess is that it's not as much of a slam dunk as I think it is for Donald. Bottom line? I think if he deserves to, he'll play. I don't think Wannstedt is bent on redshirting him.

Lastly, you've got Todd Thomas. I already briefly mentioned the Curious Case of Todd Thomas earlier this week. Highly touted recruit that figured to factor in the discussion for playing time. The emergency of Devin Street and position change of Greg Cross changed all that. Thomas could play some this season, but I think it's unlikely. Behind starters Jonathan Baldwin and Mike Shanahan, you've got Street, Cross, and Cam Saddler all ahead of him. I don't see the logic in burning his redshirt to serve as a fifth or sixth receiver. I think Pitt sits him this year then waits for Baldwin and Cross to leave the program next year. Thomas could then come in and compete for Baldwin's spot if Street can't hang onto it or serve as a third receiver if he can leapfrog Sadder.

Double Bye Will Stay

2010-08-24T19:55:00.000-04:00

AOL Fanhouse has the scoop that the Big East's double bye in the basketball tournament will stick around for another year:

"There were a variety of reasons and it was concluded that the timing wasn't right," Big East associate commissioner Dan Gavitt told FanHouse.

There was a lot of complaining, if you remember, from last season. Jim Boeheim was one of those vehemently against it:

"I think the double-bye is awful," the Hall of Fame coach said. "Conventional wisdom says the double-bye teams should fare better, but (two) of the four lost last year. If that doesn't say something, I don't know what does."

The coaches and ADs took to the idea of scratching the double bye format to the Presidents, but ultimately, the idea was shot down.

Funny, but Gavitt's quote above was a complete 180 from what he said earlier:

“We tend to listen to our coaches,’’ associate commissioner Dan Gavitt said. “When they want something to change, it changes. If they think a change would be a better path going into the NCAA tournament, then I’m sure we’ll look at it.’’

I don't know. I think I subscribe to Jamie Dixon's line of thinking on this:

"A double bye had nothing to do with it," Dixon said after No. 2 seed Pitt lost in the quarterfinals for the second year in a row. "It's just a team that's playing well against another team that's playing very well."

I definitely understand where Boeheim is coming from and think there's something to what he's saying. But to me, the Big East is just a tough conference. Teams with a double bye can get caught looking ahead and you just can't do that in a tournament format when some teams are looking to make a final statement to either improve their NCAA tournament seeding or in some cases, get in at all.

Plus, when you have a double bye, more of the lesser teams are weeded out by time a top four seed might play. While I do think teams without a double bye may be in more of a rhythm, I think it's still a bonus to have to play one fewer game in the tournament.

Speculating, Speculating...

2010-08-23T23:51:00.000-04:00

Is it too early to start speculating on who might be leaving the program with the commitment of center Malcolm Gilbert?

Of course it is.

For one thing, Gilbert, like the other recruits have only made verbal commitments and will need to sign letters of intent before anything becomes official. For another, there's no telling if all four recruits would even qualify academically. And for yet another, someone may really want to leave the program voluntarily, opening up another spot.

And I still haven't mentioned perhaps the most likely scenario out of all those things - what if Dante Taylor leaves early for the NBA?

But say all of the aforementioned happens and Taylor sticks around. Then what?

Well, the two players I see in the most trouble are:

J.J. Richardson - He's probably going to see less time this season with the emergence of Talib Zanna and since Gilbert is a big man, it makes it even more likely that he could go. Mix in 2012 recruit Steven Adams and the frontcourt gets really crowded. Richardson's advantage may be that if he can beat out Gilbert as a Junior next year, he'd likely be the backup center behind Taylor (assuming Taylor stays at center...I know, that's an entirely different debate).

Cameron Wright - I know, I get it. He hasn't even played a minute for the team yet. But this is all about speculation and besides, who else do you see that could go instead of him? Travon Woodall? Please. He played really well down the stretch last season and despite not being the best shooter, is probably the team's best true point guard. Plus, with Isaiah Epps and Woodall (who really got better as the season went on last year), ahead of him, he might be struggling to get minutes. And don't forget about incoming 2011 freshman John Johnson who will be at the point or SG.

It's crazy early, but that's how I see it. I can't pick between those two because it largely will depend on how others in their positions fare over the next season. If everyone qualifies, it will be interesting to see how Dixon deals with this situation for a second straight year. From everything I hear, Dixon hates doing this sort of thing. I'm a little puzzled that he'd do it again for a three-star, somewhat-prospect center if he didn't have a good reason for it. Maybe he thinks Taylor is gone after this season. Maybe he knows something we don't. In any event, he's opened the door for a world of speculation over the next year.

Now, We Wait

2010-08-23T23:25:00.001-04:00

So Pitt went out and picked up another commitment for 2011 in 6'11" center Malcolm Gilbert. With the commitment of Durand Johnson about a week ago, it looked like Pitt might be done recruiting. After all, they'd reached their anticipated limit of three scholarships for next year.

Not so.

For the second consecutive year, Pitt has gone over their limit and may need to boot someone from the program to balance things out. Yes, the school can 'hope' someone doesn't qualify academically next year, but as this offseason proved, you can hardly count on that.

Not that Pitt couldn't use a center. They hadn't gotten a true center since Cassin Diggs and Gary McGhee three years ago and it was good to see them get more size. Gilbert is a three-star recruit as rated by both Scout and Rivals. He also grades out at a 92 according to ESPN's Insider Ratings.

He reportedly had drawn interest from ten schools including Ohio State, Wake Forest, Villanova, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Clemson, Notre Dame, and a few others. And at one point, there was apparently some interest from Duke and Georgetown.

The first thing you might notice is that even though he's 6'11", he's reportedly only around 215 pounds. Yikes. Yes he's young, but he'll need to add around 30 pounds to bang in the Big East.

He was set to make a decision in September and with Durand Johnson committing, you have to wonder if Pitt made him speed up his decision-making a bit. As I mentioned, the class was already full and maybe Gilbert figured it was now or never.

While he may have a sound offensive game, it sounds like it's his defense that is the key to his game:

“He’s intriguing because of his upside,” East Coach Elite coach Terrell Myers said in June. “What people don’t understand is, they see 6-11, they look at him as an offensive player. He’s not an offensive player, he’s a defensive player.

And in 2008-2009 as only a sophomore, Gilbert did his best Dikembe Mutombo impersonation:

Q. You averaged a near 12 blocked shots in high school last year. Is the art of altering a shot something you’ve always been good at?

A. Since I can remember, I’ve always been able to block shots. I just always had the hops, I guess you could say.

Holy Mark Eaton, Batman.

Other than deciding who may be gone from Pitt, the other underlying theme of this is that Pitt has to be out of the running for one of the four-star centers, Amir Williams and Desmond Hubert. Part of me is glad to see Dixon land a center, but the other part is really hoping that Pitt had no shot at either guy. Both apparently have more of a game than Gilbert. My confidence is pretty strong in Dixon, though, and I'm guessing that Pitt either felt like they had not shot with either Williams or Hubert or Dixon was determined to get an answer fairly quickly.

Either way, it will be interesting to see what happens next season if all of the incoming recruits qualify.

Camp Broken

2010-08-22T23:27:00.002-04:00

Well, Pitt's training camp is officially coming to a close. Camp actually has officially broken, even though there will be one more practice on Monday. After an off-day Tuesday, Pitt will get back to work on Wednesday and begin preparations for the huge opener vs. Utah.

Here are my top five developments from training camp:

1. Greg Romeus Injury - I'm not sure how big of a concern this should be, but Romeus only managed one full day of practice in pads throughout camp. All during camp, Dave Wannstedt has insisted his injury isn't all that serious. Still, Romeus was virtually absent from on-field action and with camp over, it will be interesting to see how much he actually participates this week. Pitt still has a few days of practice the following week, but Romeus will need more than that. For the record, Wannstedt still expects him to play in the opener:

“There’s nothing really new to report on Ray Graham and Greg Romeus except to say that they’re making great improvement, and day-to-day, they’re getting closer and closer. I expect Greg to be fine for opening day.

Pitt cannot afford to get into a shootout with Utah and to avoid that, will need to keep pressure on the QB. Romeus will be a big part of that and will be sorely missed if he's unable to suit up.

2. Offensive Line Finalized - Even though this hasn't been officially confirmed, Greg Gaskins has been practicing heavily with the first-team at RG. But the line appears to be set with Alex Karabin (C), Jason Pinkston (OT), Lucas Nix (OT), and Chris Jacobson (LG). No matter how good the line may have looked in camp, it's still going to be a work in progress when it comes to actual game action. Pitt has extraordinary talent on offense with Dion Lewis, Jonathan Baldwin, and Ray Graham, but unless the line can block, it might not matter.

3. QB Progress Relatively Unknown - QB Tino Sunseri appeared to struggle a bit in camp, but really, I didn't get much indication of how he performed one way or the other. We all know he didn't fare well in either scrimmage, but other than that, we might be turning on the Utah game without having much of a clue as to how he'll perform. I expect that first game to include a heavy dose of running and shorter passes, but I'm really at a loss as to what to think he'll look like. I could see him throwing for three TDs or three INTs.

4. Devin Street Steps Up - Street had a good camp and he appears to have secured the spot as the fourth receiver:

"Devin Street has kind of emerged as the fourth guy," Wannstedt said. "He can play [flanker or split end]. He gives us the flexibility of playing with size with Baldwin or Shanahan. After that, it's been Greg Cross and Tinker. We've been very inconsistent. Other than the top four guys I couldn't tell you who is next in line."

On the flip side of that, I guess it's a surprise that Todd Thomas hasn't figured into the rotation. It almost makes you wonder if he'll redshirt if all those guys can stay healthy. After all, how many receivers does Pitt need to play? Wannstedt might be better served to go with Baldwin, Shanahan, Saddler, Street, Cross, and Tinker and hold onto an extra year of eligibility for Thomas.

5. (tie) Bryan Murphy Likely To Redshirt - Murphy was an absolute machine in camp and appeared headed for playing time this season. But his broken foot likely wiped out any hopes of getting on the field and barring any injuries to other key players ahead of him, should be redshirting.

5. (tie) Ray Graham Injured - Graham's injury doesn't appear to be too serious. Still, he hasn't practiced recently and while Wannstedt indicated he expected Greg Romeus to be ready for the opener, he made no such claim about Graham:

Ray is running straight ahead right now, tomorrow will be the first day that he’ll start making cuts so we’ll see where he’s at there. He’s coming along, we just don’t want to do anything faster than what we need to.”

If Graham isn't ready for the opener, Jason Douglas will likely be thrown into backup running back duty. And it will become even more important for Dion Lewis to stay healthy.

Pitt 15th In First AP Poll

2010-08-22T22:42:00.000-04:00

Pitt came in ranked 15th in the AP's preseason 2010 college football poll. That was the exact same spot the team finished last season.

The Panthers were the top-ranked Big East team. West Virginia came in at #25 and were the only other Big East team ranked.

Alex Karabin Gets Scholarship

2010-08-22T22:29:00.000-04:00

As expected, starting center Alex Karabin got his scholarship today, according to Associate AD E.J. Borghetti (via Twitter):

Congratulations to 5th-year senior walk-on center Alex Karabin. Received scholarship today!

Karabin, understandably, was pleased:

"I guess I was expecting it, but I'm still a little bit surprised," Karabin said. "It's nice to see it actually come through. It means a lot."

As I mentioned before, you've got to find a way to get a starter a scholarship. Khaynin Mosley-Smith's misfortune was Karabin's gain as Mosley-Smith's academic issues opened up the scholarship.

He's seen his share of guys start ahead of him over the years and rather than go to the service academies that offered him a scholarship, he chose to walk-on at Pitt. It's got to be hard to motivate yourself at times when you're putting in the same amount of work as others, but not reaping all of the awards. Karabin talked about staying motivated in Sunday's PG piece:

College football also is filled with walk-ons, but only a select few are good enough to earn starting positions. Karabin is now one of the few, but he had to endure constant competition as the coaching staff continually brought in scholarship players to challenge him. He most recently beat out Lippert, a converted defensive lineman.

"As a walk-on, you can't really slack off," Karabin said. "You have to go out there every day and get better every day. As long as the coaches see that, it helps out a lot. It's not like you ever really get mad about it. It's more like motivation. You say to yourself, 'I have to get better.'

Karabin is part of an offensive line with three new starters. The offensive line will largely determine Pitt's success this year and I'm glad Pitt was able to take care of him.

Mosley-Smith Ineligible

2010-08-20T20:49:00.000-04:00

Freshman DT Khaynin Mosley-Smith was ruled academically ineligible. Rivals has the low-down and t apparently stems from an online course he took:

Mosley-Smith, 6'2" 295, enrolled at Pitt this summer after graduating from Woodland Hills High School. On Thursday, WPXI in Pittsburgh reported that the NCAA was investigating the participation of several Woodland Hills students in Passkey, an online course program.

"They rejected the class, so if [Mosley-Smith and his family] appeal it, which I'm sure they will, that takes time," Wannstedt said. Classes for Pitt's fall term begin on Monday, August 30th.

Mosley-Smith is a local kid (Woodland Hills) and was a three-star recruit last year. He likely would have redshirted this year anyway and he's had a tough go of things with his family life:

• Why the hyphenated last name? My mom and father wanted me to have both of their names so it's hyphenated. I get asked that a lot. But my father [Kendall Mosley] passed when I was 10 years old. He was murdered.

• How hard has it been to grow up without a father? My mom has always been strict. That's what has motivated me more than ever. I have six other brothers and sisters, and I feel like I have to be the one to someday get my mom out of the struggle. That's one of the real reasons I wanted the scholarship. I'll be the first one in my family going to college.

Hopefully he can find his way back into the program. Anyone that likes Cinnamon Toast Crunch and can throw back 40 wings is okay with me.

Dan Hutchins Up For Lou Groza Award

2010-08-20T19:41:00.000-04:00

Pitt Kicker Dan Hutchins is a finalist for the Lou Groza Award given to the nation's best kicker.

Hutchins led the Big East in field goals made last year with 23. He also broke the school record for points last season with 115.

There are 30 kickers on the complete list.

Parking, Parking, Parking. Oh Yeah, And Priority Points.

2010-08-19T21:15:00.001-04:00

The ugly topic of parking has reared its head recently and I've also gotten some feedback from Pitt fans about the issue this year. Due to the amphitheater being built and the hotels, there's less of it to go around - most notably, the premium parking. Particularly, people who previously may have had good locations are being squeezed and many displaced. My pass has changed this year, but I can't complain because it was for the better. Nevertheless, Paul Zeise of the PG dives into the issue today in both his Q&A and his blog.

He's mostly got this one right, but I think the gripe over Pitt using the priority ranking system is off base. A new donor might be able to get priority by scratching a fat check, but by all indications, Pitt isn't getting hundreds of new donors each year writing five-figure checks. I know. I get the voicemails at home saying how the university, more than ever, needs donations. The priority points system does indeed help long-time donors and ticket buyers by rewarding them with points. Yes, a minute few may get forced further down the totem pole, but for the most part, the system does what it's intended to do - reward continued giving. To ignore the fact that the system helps a lot of people is off-base.

I will say I'm on board with Paul's point about it being a 'silent auction' of sorts for better parking, basketball tickets, etc. I understand that the donations change from year to year and it's impossible to tell people in advance how much they'll need to fork over for premium considerations. But what the university could do is provide the amounts necessary from the previous year to secure things like spots in the lots as long as some sort of a disclaimer mentioning those figures are only be provided as a rough guide to give people an idea of what they might need to spend.

And while I'm on the topic of complaining, let me also say that some of the priority points need to be reexamined. There's no way that an alumni of the school (heck, let's use ME as an example) that forked over somewhere in the neighborhood of $50K to the University should be given a measly five priority points. Yes, there are true fans of Pitt that didn't go to the school, but if it were not for the alumni, the school wouldn't exist. Heck, someone who spends a few hundred dollars on three season's worth of women's basketball tickets earns six points - MORE THAN A GRADUATE OF THE SCHOOL. That not only makes little sense, it just irritates people like myself.

Same thing with the current faculty/students and past letter winners. 10 points total. Seriously?

All in all, I think Pitt does a pretty good job, but the whole priority system definitely needs tweaked. Scratch that - the system needs fixed.

Another Four-Star? Score.

2010-08-18T19:09:00.002-04:00

Pitt got another big verbal commitment in CB Kyshoen Jarrett today. Jarrett is a consensus four-star recruit by both Rivals and Scout.

Pitt had to reach east to get Jarrett who is also a RB:

As a junior in 2009, Jarrett averaged 11.2 yards per carry on 53 rushing attempts and 17.3 yards per catch on 15 receptions. Pitt is recruiting him as a cornerback, and he has recorded five interceptions over the past two seasons.

Jarrett had more than a dozen offers. The Panthers beat out Penn State, Michigan, Virginia Tech, Wisconsin, Michigan State, and Stanford among others for his services. He talked about Pitt being the first to reach out to him:

“Pitt was the first to contact me and the first to offer me, but they never rushed me,” Jarrett said. “Even when they had 13 scholarships taken and onlyone or two more, they just said make the best choice for you. Things opened up, I prayed on it, and this is my decision.”

He made sure to do the annoying hat thing, but I guess it's a lot less annoying when he commits to your school:

Jarrett chose Pitt from a list of 17 schools that offered him scholarships. During his announcement at the school district's administration center, Jarrett selected a Pitt hat from a group of four finalists that included Virginia Tech, Michigan and Penn State.

Jarrett comes in with fellow secondary recruits Lafayette Pitts and fellow four-star commit Terrell Chestnut. I've got to admit I was a bit skeptical when Dave Wannstedt wanted to play Todd Thomas at wide receiver, but with two four-star secondary recruits coming in next year, looks like that was a wise move.

Chas over at Pitt Blather also has some more on him.

Spurs/Cavs NBA Preseason Date Set For Pittsburgh

2010-08-17T14:17:00.000-04:00

DeJuan Blair and the San Antonio Spurs will take on the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday, October 14th. The game will take place at the Pete for the second straight year.

Tickets go on sale to the general public at the end of August, but if you're on Pitt basketball's mailing list, they have a special offer where you can get tickets now. Sometimes the stars sit out of these games, but short of a broken leg, I expect Blair will play much of the game.

Greg Romeus Returns. Finally.

2010-08-17T12:19:00.000-04:00

After a nine-day absence, Greg Romeus finally participated in a full day's session at training camp - his first such day this Fall:

"It was very encouraging this morning with Greg," Wannstedt said Monday night before his team took the field for a rare night workout during camp. "He came out and took every snap in full pads, inside run, team, pass rush. He did everything from start to finish and felt good afterward. We're headed down the right road there."

The bad news is that plenty of guys are still banged up with minor injuries including Dion Lewis, Ray Graham, and Dom DeCicco. There's of course the Bryan Murphy injury, but there appear to be no major injuries to the starters so far. Hopefully it stays that way. With only about two weeks until Utah (yes, only two weeks), Pitt will need to get Romeus plenty of work.

The Panthers will again scrimmage Wednesday night.

Bill Stull Gets His Shot With Chiefs

2010-08-17T12:11:00.001-04:00

Undrafted former Pitt quarterback Bill Stull will get a chance to catch on with the Kansas City Chiefs, signing with the team this week.

Matt Cassel is the Chiefs starter and Brodie Croyle is currently the backup.

Interesting enough, former Pitt QB Tyler Palko is also on the Chiefs roster and could compete against Stull in a Loser Leaves Town match. I mean the 3rd QB spot.

Talib Zanna To Get Starring Role?

2010-08-16T22:32:00.000-04:00

No one can deny that on the surface, Talib Zanna looks like he's ready to contribute this season.

First, Zanna nearly led all Pitt players in rebounding in the Greentree Summer League, averaging almost 11. He also added in about 13.5 points per game.

Then came the trip to Ireland where Zanna was again a major factor, averaging eight points and seven rebounds per game.

But it wasn't just in game action where Zanna has impressed. Jamie Dixon says the way he's practiced will likely lead to playing time this year:

In practices prior to the visit to Ireland and in the five games the Panthers played – all victories – Dixon closely monitored the performance of 6-9 redshirt freshman power forward Talib Zanna and became convinced he’ll help Pitt this season.

“I think he’s going to play minutes. I think he’s going to be good,” Dixon said. “I think Zanna is going to give us a different look with his length and his size at the 4. It gives us another option.”

Zanna might not replace Nasir Robinson this year as the starter at the 4, but if he has a good season, he might leapfrog him next year. But even if Dixon's history of playing upperclassmen shines through and Robinson continues to start, at the very least, Zanna should see his fair share of minutes. I'd like to see him play more than Robinson if he can rebound as well as he appears to be more of a scorer.

Durand Johnson To Pitt

2010-08-16T21:26:00.001-04:00

Pitt reeled in its third commit for next year's basketball class in SF Durand Johnson. He was recruited by Brandin Knight. As mentioned on ZagsBlog a few weeks back, Johnson was down to six schools.

With the departures of Brad Wanamaker, Gary McGhee, and Gilbert Brown, Pitt is expected to only have three openings, so this might be it for the 2011 recruiting class. If it is, Pitt will not have landed a frontcourt player among its three commits - Durand, G-John Johnson, and SF-Jaylen Bond. That would be the second season in which Pitt did not pick up a PF or center. It also could mean that Dante Taylor remains at center if he sticks around next season unless J.J. Richardson can take hold of that position.

As for Johnson, he's a three-star recruit as rated by both Rivals and Scout. Rivals lists him in their top 150 prospects, but ESPN.com does not, instead grading him at 91 (must be an Insider to view).

Johnson cited a familiar reason as to why he selected Pitt:

“It was just a family to me,” Johnson said. “They showed me a lot of love. It’s a great fit all around for me.”

It's interesting that you not only hear this so much during the recruting, but also when the guys actually get to the team. You always hear the players talk about family and I think the recruits pick up on that during visits, from the players, and in reading up quotes in the media by other recruits.

Johnson reportedly had more than twenty offers from schools including Georgetown, Xavier, Louisville, and Maryland, among others.

Back to the point about Pitt potentially finished with recruiting. I'm okay with it. While Pitt could have used frontcourt help, they weren't desperate for it. They still have Taylor, Richardson, Talib Zanna, and Nasir Robinson for 2011-12. If Taylor happens to bolt this season, that would open up another scholarship. Maybe Pitt felt it didn't have a strong enough shot with any of the top big men left in this class. I don't mind them going after the sure thing in Johnson.

The other option is that Pitt goes over the limit again as they did last season and someone transfers. I've heard Dixon doesn't like doing this, so for him to do it two seasons in a row might be a stretch.

Recruiting Rankings

2010-08-16T20:13:00.000-04:00

With Pitt's three most-recent commits, I decided to take a look around the recruiting rankings.

Brian Bennett mentioned ESPN.com's rankings in his blog and Pitt comes in at #22 (must be an Insider to review). Pitt is the only Big East team currently in the top 25.

Pitt is ranked #17 on Scout's site and was again the only top 25 Big East team.

These rankings fluctuate so much, it doesn't make sense to follow these so closely. But Pitt still has several scholarships available and could easily move up in these rankings by the signing period next month.

Injury Updates From Training Camp

2010-08-15T21:01:00.001-04:00

To start, Greg Romeus, while not all the way back, appears to be doing a little more:

"It was good to get Greg Romeus back today, and to see him working. He didn't do everything, but he came out in pads and worked. He got back in the middle of things, which was good. We expect to do more with him every day, getting him ready to go.

Andrew Taglianetti appears to be in the same type of situation.

Meanwhile, it sounds like we can all exhale with Ray Graham's injury being nothing more than a sprained ankle:

Ray Graham didn't practice today. He sprained his knee, so we held him.

At first glance, it didn't seem like his was a long-term injury. He tried to get back into the scrimmage yesterday, but was held out and carted off. Hopefully it's just a sprain as is being reported.

And imagine my mind when I saw this headline today:

PITT DEFENSIVE END OUT WITH BROKEN FOOT

I'd be lying if I said my thoughts didn't go immediately to Romeus and his lingering injury. But it was freshman Bryan Murphy whose foot was stepped on in camp and subsequently broken. He'll be out for 6-8 weeks. Dave Wannstedt's decision-making on defense has probably gotten a lot easier - though I'm sure he wouldn't have preferred it that way. Even a timetable of six weeks would still cause him to miss the rest of camp and the first three games. Not to mention that it will probably take him a few weeks to get up to speed. Getting that far behind will likely derail his chances of getting playing time this season.

Fortunately, Pitt has some depth there this season.

Pitt Wraps Up First Training Camp Scrimmage

2010-08-15T16:35:00.000-04:00

Pitt's football team held its first scrimmage of training camp yesterday. There were several highlights (such as Pat Bostick having a great day, young defenders stepping up) and lowlights (Ray Graham's injury, Greg Romeus STILL out). For all the details, check out the SB Nation Pittsburgh training camp stream - link over to the right.

Desimon Green Caps Off Successful Week For Recruiting

2010-08-15T15:45:00.002-04:00

In a growing trend, Pitt landed a verbal commitment from a third recruit this week in three-star Rivals and Scout recruit, Desimon Green.

Green is a two-way star for Western Pennsylvania school, Clairton High School. In 2009 as a junior, he led Clairton to the PIAA Class A Title as both a quarterback and defensive end. On the offensive side of the ball, he totaled 1,600 passing yards, 900 rushing yards, and 23 TDs. The Clairton offense, which he directed, scored a team-record 634 points. On defense, he also had 87 tackles and a team-record 26 sacks.

He was recruited by Greg Gattuso and reportedly had offers from more than a dozen schools including West Virginia, Cincinnati, Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue, and others.

Pitt is clearly stocking up a bit at DE in anticipation of the loss of Greg Romeus and Jabaal Sheard. Green makes Pitt's fifth defensive end recruit over the past two years (so far) and makes DE one of the most heavily recruited positions on the team. Along with 2010 DE recruits T.J. Clemmings and Bryan Murphy, the position should be in good hands.

John Malecki To Browns

2010-08-13T23:20:00.001-04:00

Former Pitt Guard John Malecki wasn't out of work long. After being cut by the Tennessee Titans on Tuesday, he was picked up by the Cleveland Browns today. Malecki was signed to a contract and may get a chance in Cleveland.

The Browns play their first preseason game tomorrow night, so Malecki might not play yet.

Max Issaka Makes Second Pitt Commit This Week

2010-08-13T15:49:00.002-04:00

Pitt picked up another commit today - DE Max Issaka from...of course, New Jersey.

Issaka picked the Panthers over Michigan State, UCONN, North Carolina, and several others. He was another find of the wildly popular Jeff Hafley. Rivals and Scout both rate him as a three-star prospect. Rivals also puts him as the 13th best recruit in New Jersey.

This ESPN Rise feature seems to indicate that Penn State had offered, but I haven't seen that anywhere else today, so it appears to either have been incorrect or Penn State pulled the offer:

Max Issaka came out to the camp while recovering from a partial torn meniscus and still dominated every phase. Has great speed and a quick first step, but still needs to develop a counter move rather than just relying on his speed. Rutgers, Pitt, Maryland and Penn State lead, but the Nittany Lions have offered.

Issaka was Pitt's second DL verbal this week. ESPN has some video. Last season as a junior, he had 58 tackles and six sacks. That's not all, his MaxPreps page (previous link) also shows he was a punter/kicker as well.

Small Site Update

2010-08-13T12:32:00.000-04:00

I've mentioned the SB Nation Pittsburgh training camp stream before, but it keeps getting pushed back in posts. To alleviate that, I've added the stream link over to the right - all you'll need to do is click on the SB Nation logo and it will take you right to the training camp updates (injuries, statuses, position battles, et).

I'll use this for other streams of news on topics in the future so that hopefully it's a little easier to find.

A Bad Omen?

2010-08-13T09:18:00.003-04:00

Yeah, it's early. And yeah, Pitt's defense is probably better than Utah's. But this nugget at the very least gave me flashbacks to the '05 Fiesta Bowl:

The offense overwhelmed the defense in the first Ute scrimmage of fall camp Thursday morning.

One defensive coach was overheard late in the two-hour scrimmage to lament, "touchdown after touchdown after touchdown.''

He was right as the offense scored nine touchdowns in a variety of ways, the majority coming on red zone and two-minute drills.

Both quarterbacks played well, as Jordan Wynn completed 14 of 20 passes for 160 yards, while Terrance Cain, last year's starter for eight games, was 14 of 16 for 184 yards. Both QBs threw two touchdown passes and Griff Robles added a TD pass, while completing 3 of 5 passes.

At the very least, I'm curious. Pitt in a hostile environment with a somewhat shaky secondary against a passing team. The flip side is that maybe their defense is just bad. Usually at this early point in camp, the defense is ahead of the offense, so this is a little surprising to me.

SI Ranks Pitt 16th

2010-08-12T19:32:00.000-04:00

Thanks to a great offer ($29.99 for one year), I opened my first Sports Illustrated magazine since my last subscription about a year ago. Fortunately for me, I was just in time to catch the College Football Preview Issue. If you don't have it, I'd encourage you to pick up a copy - well worth the money for a newsstand issue as the previews are excellent.

In it, Pitt is ranked 16th and picked to win the Big East. Cincinnati was the only other Big East team ranked at 18th.

SI also picked the records of teams and predicts Pitt will go 9-3. I've been giving this more and more thought as the season gets closer, and the more I think about it, the more that sounds about right to me.

Thanks For Playing - We Have Some Nice Parting Gifts For You

2010-08-11T22:28:00.001-04:00

I don't know - maybe it's just me. But when I saw this article on ESPN.com (must be an insider to view), I got a little crazy.

Supposedly, ESPN The Magazine polled 135 college football players on various topics. Out of that, a certain number of Big East players (unidentified) was asked their thoughts on things like best player and best coach. Then came the kicker - What team will win the conference?

Just over 55% of the players voted for Pitt. Now based on what I can determine and the percentages allocated for each team, I'm guessing that the Big East had nine total voting representatives (5/9 comes out to the 55.6% that is shown for Pitt, for example).

Is it a surprise that Pitt is considered the favorite in the conference? Not really. What I did find shocking was that unless the numbers of representatives from each team was uneven, there were players not voting for their own team. Going into camp with the season not even begun, how can you not vote for your team? I don't care if you're on Syracuse or Louisville - as a coach, do you really want your players thinking that way?

Further, UCONN, who has been touted by some as having one of the better teams in the conference didn't receive a single vote. So assuming they had a representative in the poll (and one can only assume they did), whoever it was didn't even vote for the school.

It reminded me of a story back in college when I went to Pitt. In my freshman year, I met a kid who was a walk-on through a mutual friend and had lunch with him once. He practically went out of his way to tell me (the very first time I met him, no less) how they had no shot against schools like Notre Dame and the like. Granted, the kid may never have seen the field - heck, I don't even remember his name. But even though he was only a walk-on, it showed in his attitude.

Granted, this was a confidential poll, I'm sure. But STILL. This isn't the middle of the season we're talking about here - it's preseason. If you don't have faith in your team now, there's no way you can win a conference.

Deonte Gibson To Pitt

2010-08-11T13:11:00.001-04:00

DE Deonte Gibson gave Pitt a verbal commitment last night, choosing Pitt over more than fifteen schools including Michigan State, West Virginia, Cincinnati, and Stanford. Notre Dame and Michigan had also reportedtly shown some interest as well.

Gibson is rated as a three-star prosect by both Rivals and Scout.

UPDATE: Here's some video.

Pitt Football Training Camp Update

2010-08-10T22:01:00.002-04:00

So other than the whole Greg Romeus/injury training camp situation, what else is going on?

Well for starters, Andrew Taglianetti, who had been sidelined recovering from knee surgery, was back today.

Romeus and Taglianetti weren't the only ones injured:

Wide receiver Todd Thomas (elbow) is expected to get his stitches out today. If he does, he will be cleared for full contact. So far he has been limited in the drills in which he can participate. ... Wide receiver Greg Cross has been slowed by an ankle injury but Wannstedt said he should return to full speed over the next days.

Meanwhile, without pads - good. Add even shoulder pads? Not so much:

Monday was the first day in pads -- well, at least shoulder pads -- at Pitt camp which meant it was the first day that the quarterbacks got a chance to play against a live rush.

And not surprisingly, it was the first day the quarterbacks, and in particular starter Tino Sunseri, struggled a bit as he threw two interceptions and was not nearly as accurate as he had been the first two days of camp when the players were in T-shirts and shorts.

Eh, not a big deal - It's still early. I just wonder what kind of leash Sunseri will be on in camp if he struggles. What Pitt needs this season might only be mistake-free play from the QB.

Also, DB Aundre Wright and WR/PR Aaron Smith are out for the season.

Don't forget to stop by the SB Nation Pittsburgh site for updates on the training camp stream.

Greg Romeus News

2010-08-10T21:24:00.002-04:00

Greg Romeus was out of practice for a third straight day today. Dave Wannstedt is still claiming its nothing serious:

“He’s fine. He’s just stiff. Hopefully tomorrow he’ll start doing something."

I don't know - the longer this goes on, the longer I question if it's only stiffness. I'm not sure it's a major injury, but it is a bit strange that only stiffness would sideline someone so long.

And another day...heck, another hour, another award watch list. This time, it's Greg Romeus up for the Ted Hendricks Award Watch List:

Considered one of the most disruptive defenders in all of college football, Pitt senior defensive end Greg Romeus continued to receive more recognition today when he was named a preseason candidate for the Ted Hendricks Defensive End of the Year Award.

Romeus was up for the award this year, but should have a better shot at landing it this season. He's also up for several other awards including the Bednarik Award, the Nagurski Award, the Lott Award, and the Lombardi Award.

Jonathan Baldwin Makes 2010 Biletnikoff Watch List

2010-08-10T21:08:00.001-04:00

Jonathan Baldwin, unsurprisingly, was named to the watch list for the 2010 Biletnikoff Award, given to the nation's best receiver each season. A total of 51 receivers were on the list for the award.

Pitt, of course, has some history with the award:

The Panthers have been blessed with some exceptional talent at receiver this decade, including a pair of former Biletnikoff Award winners in Larry Fitzgerald (2003) and Antonio Bryant (2000). Baldwin (Aliquippa, Pa./Aliquippa) continues the Panthers' strong tradition at wideout, and appears poised for a decorated 2010 season.

Here is the full 2010 Biletnikoff Award watch list.

Greg Romeus Still Out

2010-08-09T19:21:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, Dave Wannstedt said he expected Greg Romeus to be back in practice today. However, Paul Zeise of the Post-Gazette points out that wasn't the case.

I still am not so sure this is serious, but Zeise elaborates in his blog and raises some questions:

Greg Romeus missed practice again with the always mysterious "soreness and stiffness" which is code for who knows what. Obviously if he was just sore or stiff he'd be out there and while I know he's had some back issues in the past and coaches are going to be very cautious with him, I'm not sure that this isn't something lingering. I remember last year Jabaal Sheard was out with a knee injury that was supposed to be minor and day-to-day and he ended up missing more than half of camp. I'm not saying that is going on with Romeus but it does seem awful strange to me that your All-American defensive end is missing two practices in a row.

I don't know. Zeise knows far better than I would, but it's still really early in camp. With a big game right off the bat, I would expect that Pitt be overly cautious with him. Maybe it is a bigger deal than Wannstedt is letting on, but I'm not convinced that it's a huge deal just yet.

Maxwell and Bednarik Award Watchlists

2010-08-09T11:57:00.001-04:00

A few Pitt players made their way onto the Maxwell and Bednarik award watchlists. It was again the usual suspects.

Dion Lewis and Jonathan Baldwin were named to the watch list for the Maxwell Award, given annually to the nation's top college football player. I know, that's supposed to be the Heisman, right? Work with me, people.

Meanwhile, DE Greg Romeus was named to the watchlist for the Bednarik Award, given to the nation's best defensive player.

Russ Grimm and Rickey Jackson Enter Pro Football Hall Of Fame

2010-08-08T23:42:00.000-04:00

Former Pitt greats Rickey Jackson and Russ Grimm entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame this weekend. For coverage, check out my posts and updates over at SB Nation Pittsburgh.

Pitt Football Checks In At #14 According To Rivals

2010-08-08T21:01:00.000-04:00

Rivals ranks Pitt at #14 in its preseason football poll including all 120 teams.

The Panthers were first among all Big East teams and Connecticut was the only other team to appear in the top 25.

Rivals also has a pretty good preview up as well as a nice look at the perceived depth chart.

Training Camp Starts...Now

2010-08-08T20:49:00.001-04:00

The time we've all been waiting for has arrived - Training Camp 2010 is here, folks. I'll be updating the Training Camp stream over at SB Nation Pittsburgh and will hit on some of the bigger stuff here.

In the meantime, we've already got an injury to report - albeit a minor one. All-World DE Greg Romeus left practice on Sunday and did not return. Coach Wannstedt didn't think it is all that serious, though:

"He's fine," head coach Dave Wannstedt said. "He was just stiff, nothing serious. We're going to have some of that stuff. If we have any serious injuries, we'll talk about it but not bumps and bruises of camp."

Paul Zeise of the PG saw it and didn't think there's anything to worry about, either:

...in this case, seeing how it went down and given the fact that Romeus did walk off under his own power - I'm willing to give the benefit of the doubt that yeah, he is probably going to be back tomorrow.

Doesn't sound too serious.

Pitt Basketball Finishes 6-0 On Trip To Ireland

2010-08-08T20:28:00.002-04:00

Pitt wrapped up the playing portion of its trip to Ireland with two final wins for a perfect 6-0.

Throughout the games, Jamie Dixon used a variety of different lineups. One can only think it was mostly done to feel out the chemistry between players - especially among the new guys. It was good to see Pitt face some adversity in the fifth game where they trailed at halftime. They responded well and came back for a 16-point victory.

So how did the players do at least stats-wise?

Gilbert Brown - 12.8 ppg

Ashton Gibbs - 12.0 ppg / 4 apg

Gary McGhee - 5.0 ppg / 5.3 rpg

J.J. Moore - 10.4 ppg

Aron Nwankwo - 0 ppg

Lamar Patterson - 4.7 ppg / 4.0 rpg

J.J. Richardson - 6.3 ppg / 4.3 rpg

Nick Rivers - .8 ppg

Nasir Robinson - 8.9 ppg / 4 rpg

Dante Taylor - 6.3 ppg / 7.2 rpg

Brad Wanamaker - 9.0 ppg / 5.8 apg / 3.0 rpg

Travon Woodall - 8.5 ppg / 3.8 apg

Cameron Wright - 3.4 ppg / 1 apg

Talib Zanna - 8.0 ppg / 7.0 rpg

Not much can be taken from these numbers but here are a few things I noticed:

- After monster performances in the Greentree Summer League, I was a litle surprised to not see McGhee dominate a bit more...especially considering some teams had smaller rosters (the South Regional All-Stars' tallest player was 6'6"). It will be interesting to see how he responds once the season gets started. I'd guess somewhere in between these performances and his GSL performances.

- Looks like it will be hard to keep Talib Zanna and J.J. Moore off the court. By all indications, they've now played very well in both the GSL and in these games. Nasir Robinson's numbers haven't been great and I wonder if we'll see a little less of him and more of them. There are also Jermaine Dixon's minutes to account for, so I think they will each see some time this season.

- Despite being highly regarded, I can't help but think how far back Isaiah Epps might be. Unable to play in the GSL and these games will put him behind Moore and maybe even Cameron Wright. I expect Wright to possibly take a redshirt and I'm wondering if Epps will do the same.

- Gilbert Brown shot exactly 50% from the field and really only had one bad game, a 1/6 shooting performance. Here's to hoping his ups and downs will be solved, but I won't be sold until I see it. To be honest, I think anyone that had the kind of swings Gil did last season will still be susceptible to poor games once in a while. But as long as those types of games are limited, Pitt might be okay.

Pitt Ranked #15 In Preseason USA Today Coaches Poll

2010-08-06T11:02:00.001-04:00

Pitt came in at #15 in the preseason USA Today Coaches Poll, recently released, meaning they will begin with the exact ranking they ended with last season. The Panthers, preseason Big East favorites, were the highest-ranked Big East team.

Immediately ahead of Pitt was Penn State at #14. WVU came in tied for 24th with Pitt's opening opponent, Utah.

This is right around where I figured Pitt would end up - in the 12 - 15 range. I'm a little surprised PSU was ranked ahead of them based on the other preseason polls that have been out there all summer. But then again, they're preseason polls, so it's hard to complain.

Pitt is in a much better spot than last year. When you start out unranked or near the bottom of the polls, it can be an uphill battle to climb up. Even if Pitt begins its season with a loss, it still may remain in the polls and in the public's consciousness. It's particularly good to see Utah ranked as a loss wouldn't look so bad, being it was to a ranked team.

I know - optimistic, aren't I?

Scott McKillop Likely Out For Season

2010-08-06T10:51:00.001-04:00

Former Pitt LB Scott McKillop was hurt during practice on Wednesday. An MRI showed he is likely out for the season after tearing his patellar tendon and ACL. McKillop was huge for the 49ers last season, leading the team in tackles on special teams. And while he wasn't tabbed as the starter ahead of Takeo Spikes this season, he was a strong contender for the backup position.

It's even more unfortunate that the injury took place this season as it could be an audition of sorts to take over the MLB job if Spikes, in the final year of his contract, doesn't return. His backup this season may have the advantage. Still, McKillop is a hard worker, so it not be too much for him to overcome.

This ironically opens the door for Penn State draft pick Navorro Bowman to come in and get more playing time.

The injury is just the latest one of a handful of others for the 49ers.

Russ Grimm And Rickey Jackson Set To Enter Hall Of Fame

2010-08-06T09:41:00.000-04:00

Former Pitt stars Russ Grimm and Rickey Jackson will enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame this weekend. We'll be posting articles and covering the induction over at SB Nation Pittsburgh on the storystream.

Be sure to stop over and check it out.

Pitt Faces Mild Test In Fourth Win In Ireland

2010-08-05T16:19:00.000-04:00

Pitt faced its stiffest competition on Wednesday vs. the Dart Killester Club Team. The Panthers won the game 88-62, but only led by nine points heading into both the third and fourth quarters. At one point, Pitt was only up 47-41. Pitt also trailed early, 14-9 - its largest deficit of the trip.

Dante Taylor had his best game of the trip with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Gilbert Brown also added 14. Balance was again the story as nine players ended up with at least six points.

The big difference in these games have been rebounding. For the second straight game, Pitt doubled up its opponent on the boards, 50-25. Unless a team is shooting lights out from the field, it's virtually impossible to stay competitive when getting killed on the glass like that.

Pitt's next game will be against the Melbourne (yes, Melbourne of Australia) on Friday.

Jabaal Sheard Resolution

2010-08-04T14:42:00.002-04:00

Pitt DE Jabaal Sheard was ordered today to pay court costs and the medical bills of the man whom he fought during an altercation several weeks ago. No mention was made of the window which was broken during the fight, but Sheard offered to pay for that damage previously.

This is a lesser charge than the felony count of aggravated assault as well as various misdemeanors.

Sheard pled gulty to a summary charge of disorderly conduct and now comes the part Pitt fans have been waiting for - punishment from coach Dave Wannstedt. The lesser charges may help his cause, but a game suspension could still be forthcoming.

UPDATE: Per an update to the PG story above, Sheard has been reinstated to the team. Wannstedt says internal discipline will take place. To me, that sounds like possibly no full game discipline (which would be a surprise to me), but I could be reading that completely wrong.

Pitt Basketball Wins Third Game In Ireland

2010-08-03T21:39:00.000-04:00

Pitt won its third game on its Ireland trip, beating the Irish National Team for the second straight time today, 110-61.

The team was again led by freshman J.J. Moore who was 6-12 from the field, scoring 14 points. Moore, J.J. Richardson, Ashton Gibbs, Gilbert Brown, and Nasir Robinson were all in double figures in scoring. Pitt continues to rebound well - so well in fact that their 22 offensive rebounds were more than the Irish National Team's overall rebound total of 20.

Jamie Dixon again used a different starting lineup and he's apparently testing out chemistry issues.

Pitt shot 54% from the field and is averaging more than 50% through their three games thus far. The team's Big East style of play, however, landed them in a bit of foul trouble as Ireland got to the line 31 times.

Next up will be the Dart Killester Club Team on Wednesday.

Pitt Football FanFest

2010-08-03T19:56:00.001-04:00

Pitt's annual FanFest will be on Monday August 23rd at Heinz Field from 6:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. The event will include autographs, live music, games, and more. New flagship 93.7 FM will also be there for a live radio broadcast.

It's free to attend, but there is a $10.00 parking cost.

Pitt Named Preseason Big East Football Favorite

2010-08-03T09:14:00.003-04:00

Pitt came in first in the media poll at the Big East's Media Day, receiving 22 of 24 first-place votes. WVU and Cincinnati tied for second.

For more on this and continuous updates on the activities of Big East Media Day, catch our stream over at SB Nation Pittsburgh.

UPDATES:

Desmond Conner of the Hartford Courant squashes the pretty ridiculous rumor about Memphis joining the conference today.

Dave Wannstedt plays down the expectations.

Noel Devine missed the media day due to food poisoning.

Dom DeCicco talks to ESPN.com's Brian Bennett.

This year, the Big East will issue weekly injury reports.

In case you missed it, the Big East is not expanding. John Marinatto feels the need to continue issuing ridiculous statements:

"The Big East is stronger today in every way than it has ever been," commissioner John Marinatto said during Big East media day Tuesday in a seaside resort town not far from the league office in Providence.

It's statements like these that make me fear for the future of the conference. Instead of being proactive, it seems the status quo is fine with everyone. The Big East needs to face the hard fact that if it loses three teams, the conference has a strong chance to be kaput. Saying foolish things about the conference being in a position of strength borders on lunacy.

Marinatto is a tough guy to figure out. One minute he's talking big about utilizing the New York market for all sorts of things and the next, he seems perfectly willing to sit back and do nothing...unless this is all some sort of smokescreen. I hope it's the latter.

By the way, he's still talking Big East network:

“We may create a television network of our own or maybe a hybrid of the two,” Marinatto said. “Everything is on the table.”

Meanwhile, the schools are happy to survive.

Finally, Paul Zeise of the PG is up at Big East Media Day and has a good column with some news and notes.

Dom DeCicco Named To Watch List

2010-08-02T13:54:00.001-04:00

Dom DeCicco was named to the 2010 Jim Thorpe Award watch list. Each year, the award is given to the nation's top defensive back. Last year, DeCicco started all 13 games at strong safety for the Panthers and was named to the Big East's Second Team. He had 88 tackles, three interceptions, and a forced fumble.

Eric Berry of the Tennessee Vols won the award last season and other past winners have included Deion Sanders, Charles Woodson, and Roy Williams.

Darnell Dodson Out At Kentucky?

2010-08-02T13:29:00.001-04:00

Former Pitt player/recruit and current Kentucky Wildcat Darnell Dodson could again be off of a team. While he is academically eligible, according to a Facebook post by coach John Calapari, Dodson is not making a trip to Canada with the rest of the Wildcats. The article says that he will not play for the team this year.

Here's a site that has the alleged Facebook post.

Not much else is known at this point, but Calapari did leave the door open for him to potentially return and said he could practice with the team. For now, it appears he may be off the team.

Dodson, if you remember, was enrolled at Pitt but never played for the team as he had academic issues. He transferred to a junior college before going to Kentucky last season. He led the team with 50 three-pointers and averaged six points in 14.5 minutes per game off the bench. With the depatures of the five freshman that went in the first round of the NBA Draft last year, he could have seen even more playing time this season.

Pitt Wins Second Game

2010-08-01T20:45:00.000-04:00

I'm again taking the easy way out and directing you to my post on SB Nation Pittsburgh for the recap of the second game.

Let The Beatdowns Begin

2010-08-01T10:15:00.001-04:00

Pitt basketball began its Ireland trip with a 99-54 drubbing of the Irish national team.

Not sure how big the building was, but only 1,650 attended. Judging by photos on the website, it looks to be a pretty small gym. Tickets were fairly cheap at around $9 (7 Euro) for adults. Gil Brown led Pitt with 22 points including 4-6 from three-point range. Ashton Gibbs contributed 15 and Brad Wanamaker had 12 points and 10 assists.

At first glance, it would appear that he big men, Gary McGhee and Dante Taylor (combining for 13 points and 12 rebounds) had quiet games. But one important thing to note is that all 11 players received equal playing time. Talib Zanna and J.J. Richardson likely saw minutes that McGhee and Taylor would have, so no need to worry about those numbers.

Here's the full box score.

It was mostly good for Pitt, who shot 56% from the field, 50% from three-point range, and forced 22 turnovers. But the team did turn the ball over 16 times. Though, in a scrimmage game, in an unfamiliar environment and with lots of travel and hoopla surrounding the trip, that's kind of to be expected.

The freshman, J.J. Moore, Cameron Wright, and Aron Nwankwo, were not eligible to play due to NCAA rules, but should suit up for today's (Sunday's) game.

I'm mildly confused as the schedule listed on Pitt's website says the game with the National Team was to take place today with the team playing the Southern Regional All-Stars Saturday night. Maybe the games have been flip-flopped.

Pitt's Satellite Sites Are Back

2010-07-31T19:47:00.002-04:00

Pitt has again created satellite sites for a few of its players. This year, Dion Lewis, Greg Romeus, and Jonathan Baldwin got the honors. The pages are pretty extensive with photos, videos, stats, etc.

In past years, Lesean McCoy, Scott McKillop, and Andy Lee have had sites.

Pitt also has its special football-only satellite site again this year (http://www.gopittfootball.com/).

Running Back U?

2010-07-31T19:00:00.002-04:00

With the recent commitment of running back Jameel Poteat, it got me thinking about Pitt's recent success with running backs. Lots of schools can stake a claim to being called "Running Back U" all-time. Pitt has two all-time NFL greats with Tony Dorsett and Curtis Martin, but is still behind schools like USC. Here's a reasonable list from a year ago, before the success of Dion Lewis. Still, I think Pitt is a little low.

But how about currently?

With Lesean McCoy and Dion Lewis over the past two seasons, Pitt has had one of the most productive running games in the country over that span. And don't forget about Shady's backup, Larod Stephens-Howling. It's hard to imagine many schools having a backup capable of rushing for 220+ yards, as LSH once did against Syracuse. Stephens-Howling is in the NFL and if Dion Lewis bolts for the pros either after this season or next as expected, Pitt will have its three starting running backs all in the pros.

No one can identify just how good Poteat will be, but Lewis' current backup Ray Graham has shown glimpses of being very good.

And if you really want to get technical, you can count Rashad Jennings, who transferred to Liberty and ended up with three straight 1,000 yard seasons (including a 1,500+ season as a senior). Liberty may only be a I-AA school, but Jennings proved he's a talented back as he's in the NFL now as well.

Go back a few years to 2000 and you've got Kevan Barlow, who after that season was an NFL Draft Pick as well and had a fairly long career.

Over the past decade, Pitt might be it for running backs.

Terrell Chestnut Commits To Pitt

2010-07-29T19:15:00.001-04:00

Consensus four-star recruit, QB/DB Terrell Chestnut, has committed to Pitt. To save me the time of breaking down the story again, check out my post over at SB Nation Pittsburgh on the situation.

Poteat Version 2.0

2010-07-28T19:36:00.000-04:00

So there's the news out there today about Jameel Poteat coming into the fold, verballing to Pitt. The Bishop McDevitt pipeline is alive and well and it's always nice to get over on USC....twice:

Five years ago, the USC Trojans went all-out to land a premier tailback talent out of Bishop McDevitt High School in Harrisburg, PA. And though they failed to sign former Pitt Panther and current Philadelphia Eagle LeSean McCoy in the class of 2006, that attempt could pay off in a big way with class of 2011 standout Jameel Poteat.

Maybe next time, there, cheaters. I've got to say it's great news, but I'm mildly shocked by the exuberance of Pitt fans hailing this as the second coming of Tony Dorsett. Or far worse than that - those claiming this suddenly vaults Pitt amongst the elite.

Whoa there, slow down.

Poteat is good to be sure. I'll even call him a great recruit. There have been mentions out there that he had over 40 offers...though I'm sure he never came close to really considering that many schools. Those offers came from schools such as Florida, USC, Notre Dame, and Tennessee. He's rated as a four-star recruit by both Rivals and Scout and both sites rate him as the #15 running back in the country.

On top of all this, the underlying theme is that Dave Wannstedt continues to not only pursue big recruits, but he's getting some of them. Even the group of his greatest detractors (of which I've been a card-carrying member at times in the past) cannot dispute his ability to recruit at a level significantly above Pitt's actual success on the field.

That said.

I'm not convinced that Pitt fans can point to this commit and proclaim themselves as getting close to moving in amongst the elite. Poteat is a fine player, but he's not even a five-star recruit by most (if not all) accounts. This is far from a monumental signing by any means.

Need further proof that Pitt has a lot of work to do? All you need to do is check out this list of Scout's most recent recruiting rankings. Pitt checks in at #20 after the Poteat signing. That's pretty good and when it's all said and done, this could even be a top 10-15 class. But that's not the important part. Check out the number of five-star recruits and top 100 recruits. Pitt has zero and one respectively. Compare that to some of the top schools: Texas (10/7), Ohio State (5/2), and LSU and USC (4/2 each). For the work that Pitt has done in moving up the food chain, they're a distant 20 behind some of those top 10 schools.

This chart is just one site's opinion, but it's easy to see that there's quite a disparity between some of the elite schools and Pitt.

That's not to say that Pitt isn't making progress - they're taking remarkably large steps compared to the Walt Harris era. The good news for Pitt fans is that while programs aren't built overnight, the school is doing everything it possibly can to speed up its return to prominence. Pitt is not going to land five-star prospects in bunches after a couple of good seasons. It's going to take a while, but the school is on its way.

So for that I tip my hat to Wannstedt. However, for Pitt to be considered a serious player, landing guys like Poteat will need to become a regularity - not a special occasion.

Jabaal Sheard Hearing Delayed

2010-07-28T18:52:00.001-04:00

The hearing for Jabaal Sheard, scheduled for today, has been postponed until next Wednesday. There are a few reports out there right now.

KDKA-TV has been updating the story all day and they are reporting something less than ideal for Sheard:

Today in court, Sheard reportedly wanted to plea to a lesser charge. He also agreed to pay the victim's medical bills, totaling about $1,000.

However, the victim would not accept either and now wants the case to proceed.

Meanwhile, the Post-Gazette is reporting that Sheard's lawyer says the extra time is needed to determine the exact amount owed to the victim. Either way, it sounds like more money to me.

With training camp coming up around the corner, I'm sure Sheard and Pitt are anxious to put this behind them and determine an appropriate punishment. At this point, it's looking more and more like a quick fix may be out of the question.

Jonathan Baldwin Is No Larry Fitzgerald

2010-07-27T22:23:00.001-04:00

Jonathan Baldwin's gotten a lot of hype during the offseason. While he's one of the best receivers in college football, I'm not necessarily ready to compare him to Fitz:

"I was at that game scouting Stull and [tight end Dorin] Dickerson," said one scout in attendance. "I knew who Baldwin was, but I had never seen him play in person. That drive was impressive, and it really showed how dominant he could be on the big stage. But, that catch he made in the end zone, against a pretty good defender, brought back memories of Larry Fitzgerald."

Fitz was too special of a player. I'll have to see a lot more out of Baldwin before I annoint him to anywhere near that level. As great as JB has been, let's keep in mind his career high for yards came last season - 'only' 57 catches for 1,111 yards. That, of course, is a pretty good year. But it's not Heisman-worthy as Fitz' best season was - 92 for 1,672.

And as I've pointed out before, Baldwin had several games where he disappeared last year:

- 1 catch for 17 yards vs. Rutgers

- 1 catch for 5 yards vs. Syracuse

- 4 catches for 44 yards vs. Buffalo

That won't get it done if you're trying to slide next to the greatest wideout in school history.

Sticking with Baldwin but moving onto...fantasy college football? My thoughts on that are another issue for another time, but here's one guy who isn't sold on Baldwin putting up big numbers:

Let someone else reach for...

Jonathan Baldwin. Sure he's one of the more physically gifted wide receivers in the country, but I'm not sold on the Panther offense in 2010. Only two offensive linemen return, Tino Sunseri has some big shoes to fill, and this will remain a run-first and run-second offense. I'm not telling you to avoid Baldwin, just that there are reasons to doubt that he'll match his 57-1111-8 from 2009.

I think the new line and QB will hurt Baldwin, but I think the running game will be enough of a threat to warrant a lot of looks his way. So with that said, I expect him to improve upon his numbers from last season.

Stop The Madness

2010-07-27T18:37:00.002-04:00

This time of year is admittedly slow. There's always the usual Heisman hype in the Summer and there's been some pushes to find the next Ndamukong Su. CBSSports.com thinks Greg Romeus may be said person:

Greg Romeus, Pittsburgh: With the Panthers projected to be a force in the Big East, look for the senior to improve on his numbers from last season. Romeus racked up a team-high eight sacks and 11.5 tackles for a loss. The first-team All-Big East performer and Hendricks finalist just might be able to garner some votes if the Panthers are near the Top 15 most of the year. Keep an eye on how Romeus does in the team's biggest games -- at Utah (Sept. 6), Miami (Sept. 23), West Virginia (Nov. 26) and at Cincinnati (Dec. 4).

CBSSports.com isn't the only one out there looking for defensive players who can make a push for the award. According to the Detroit Free Press, Sports Illustrated is also in search of some and apparently mentions Romeus:

The other seven defensive players SI mentioned for the Heisman were Adrian Clayborn (Iowa), Jared Crick (Nebraska), Von Miller (Texas A&M), Greg Romeus (Pittsburgh), Patrick Peterson (Louisiana State), Rahim Moore (UCLA) and Greg Reid (Florida State).

Not to be outdone, Bleacher Report lists Romeus as one of their defensive favorites to have a chance at the Heisman:

Now Romeus, a 2010 "Lott watch list" candidate, will attempt to cap off a stellar Panther career as he matriculates his way to the NFL.

And perhaps thrust himself into the Heisman conversation along the way.

Frankly, I don't see it. First, for any Pitt player to be in contention for the award, the team would need to have a pretty good year. If they do, the team is going to need an offensive star and it's much more likely a candidate like Dion Lewis or even Jonathan Baldwin would be pushed. Su was a rare case on a team that didn't have an offensive star large enough to chase the Heisman.

Continuing with Su...It's true that he did finish fourth in the voting last year. But fourth is a long way from first. Further, he was a distant fourth, despite being one of the most impressive defensive players I've watched in recent memory.

If a defensive player does happen to make it to New York this season, I don't think it will be Romeus.

Notebook 7/26

2010-07-26T22:28:00.000-04:00

Jonathan Baldwin may be the best wideout in the Big East, but are Pitt's receivers the best in the conference:

When the Panthers are not handing off to speedster running back Dion Lewis, they will be passing to the 6-foot-5, 225-pound Jon Baldwin at wide receiver. Baldwin leads a unit that has potential, but lacks real experience. Baldwin is a genuine threat downfield, and defenses doubling him will take some of the pressure off the new guys. Last year Baldwin averaged almost twenty yards per catch. Two new guys on campus are expected to make an immediate impact catching the ball for Pitt. Drew Carswell and Salath Williams should be two of the best freshmen receivers in the nation.

Best freshmen receivers in the nation? I don't know about that. Isn't it a bit much to say two of the nation's best will land on the same team...espeially when we're talking about freshmen? And I was surprised to not see any mention of Todd Thomas who I don't expect to redshirt.

Meanwhile, looking ahead to the season, ESPN.com's Brian Bennett pulls out what he believes is Pitt's key stretch:

Key stretch: at Connecticut (Nov. 11), at South Florida (Nov. 20), West Virginia (Nov. 26), at Cincinnati (Dec. 4).

Considering that span is more than half of the Big East season, I'll narrow it down a bit. For Pitt, it will come down to the two final games - vs. West Virginia and at Cincinnati. The Panthers start off the conference season fairly lightly and even a loss to UCONN or South Florida alone won't be enough to derail their championship hopes. However, wins against their final two opponents might be needed.

More Big Ten talk? Eh, I'm not going there. I will say this, though. I'm mildly disappointed that there hasn't been more talk about Big East expansion lately. That's not to say the conference is done discussing the possibility. I'm sure it's just happening between closed doors. Still, I hope the Big East is aggressively coming up with options because this expansion thing ain't going away in the long run.

NBE has a pretty short look at the upcoming Big East women's basketball season and doesn't see big things for Pitt.

And I normally don't discuss recruiting misses, but here's a mention on one only because the kid was local. He chose Virginia over several schools including Pitt.

Football News and Notes

2010-07-25T17:57:00.000-04:00

To start, I've seen the report out there about Greg Romeus possibly attending the famed Frank Gore party. I've waited on commenting on it because it seems as if it's a while away before any actual news breaks on it. It's not confirmed that he was there, and it's certainly not confirmed that the party was paid for by agents or what kind of 'perks' there may have been. For now, I don't think it warrants much other than a brief mention. We'll see.

But speaking about Romeus, he was named to the AFCA / All-State Good Works Team watch list. From the 100+ nominees, 22 will be selected (11 Division I-A and 11 from other divisions). Players will be selected based on community work and academics.

Yes, seriously, there's a watch list for this.

And speaking of parties, Tino Sunseri, Joe Trebitz, and Hubie Graham visited one in NE Pennsylvania. Okay, well, it wasn't a party - just a gathering at a bar. Yes, news in Scranton is slow.

Here's a reasonably decent Pitt preview from a betting site and another betting site thinks Pitt will fall just short in the Big East to WVU.