Pitt Football Training Camp Update

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.

Todd Thomas To Start At WR

Dave Wannstedt confirmed that there was some debate about where incoming freshman Todd Thomas would play, but in the end, it looks like he's starting out at wide receiver:

Although Wannstedt doesn't expect many of his incoming freshman to make an immediate impact this fall, he left the door open for former Beaver Falls star Todd Thomas to make his mark, surprisingly enough, on offense.

"I wasn't sure where we were going to put him," Wannstedt said. "We've got him playing wide receiver and the guy is a playmaker. We were thinking about playing him at safety or linebacker, but the plays he's making on offense right now I think we're going to leave him at wide receiver."

I previously said that I had hoped Thomas would start out on defense and I still feel that way.  Next year, Pitt has All-American candidate Jonathan Baldwin starting at WR.  He'll be joined by Mike Shanahan who should be very productive and converted ex-QB Greg Cross.  After that, you've still got potential playmakers in Cameron Saddler, Devin Street.  From there, you've got some lower tier guys like Ed Tinker or Aundre Wright.  Next year, you've got super athlete Bill Belton coming in.

And that's not even factoring in the tight end position, which Pitt will hopefully utilize as a key part of the offense.

I don't have a major problem with this because Pitt will likely get production from him no matter where he plays.  And after this year, Pitt doesn't have a guaranteed superstar at that position as Baldwin is likely NFL-bound.

Still, I think there is more of a pressing need in the secondary and his services would be better utilized there.

One FINAL Spring Wrap-Up

Okay, so I saw some new spring football stuff out there and wanted to throw it in. After all, unless there are any big stories over the spring/summer, there won't be much football talk until the fall.

Paul Zeise of the PG talks about filling holes, including the one left by Adam Gunn:

A player who came into his own this spring is sophomore middle linebacker Dan Mason, who won the starting job early in drills and has not looked back.

Mason, a Penn Hills graduate, played some last season but his inexperience was evident. He struggled making the right defensive calls and at times was out of position on the field.

But he said last season's game experience, combined with the fact that he took nearly every snap with the first-team defense this spring, he will be ready to play at a high level.

"I learned a lot this spring," Mason said. "I really learned the calls this spring and we will add some in the fall. But just learning all of the basic calls and getting a chance to play in a lot of situations is really something I needed to do.

"I got the opportunity to do a lot of different things and play a lot so I feel like when the season starts I'll be ready to go."

I'm really looking forward to see Mason in there full time. He showed some glimpses last year and I expect him to have a big year.

And speaking of Mason, it's a little hard to determine just what he meant by this quote:

“It was a good conclusion for the spring camp, as far as the defense was concerned,” Pitt sophomore middle linebacker Dan Mason said. “The scoreboard tells the truth on things like that, so I really don’t have to say anything.

Meanwhile, the Trib provides another breakdown of the Blue-Gold game that I didn't mention yesterday.

What's that you say? More Blue-Gold breakdowns? Brian Bennett of ESPN.com has another one. Frankly, I'm a little surprised Brian took the bait on the whole Pitt offense struggling thing:

One thing about springs games is, you don't really want one side of the ball to dominate. Because then you worry more about the side that got pushed around than you praise the side that controlled the action.

That was the case Saturday at Pitt, where the defense won 62-24 in a modified scoring system. The offense scored only one touchdown, a 9-yard run by quarterback Tino Sunseri. Dion Lewis had a 52-yard run, but he totaled just 74 yards on five carries. As a team, the Panthers managed just 119 yards on 38 carries.

Pitt's players said they kept things very basic because the game was broadcast on the NFL Network and they didn't want to give opponents a lot of scouting material. Still, the lack of a strong running game raises questions about the offensive line, which needs to find answers at center and right guard before the season begins.

Brian acknowledges that Dion Lewis only had five carries, but then notes how badly the running game struggled. Well, Dion's the starter, and he looked fantastic. True, it would have been nice to see a little more from Ray Graham who figures to get some carries, but the bulk of the work will go to Lewis - and he looked very good. So, no, I'm not buying that the running game is taking a hit due to the offensive line just yet. If Dion had struggled, that would be one thing. And even then, it's still Spring and the offensive line is going to take some time to get going. I imagine they'll improve at least a little by the fall.

Pitt attendance wasn't so hot, but all of the Big East teams struggled with that same issue this weekend. Bennett hit this one straight on. You can make an argument for the Big East if you talk about them having better teams than the ACC. But when you look at some of those attendances from schools such as NC State, North Carolina, Clemson, and Florida State, you see that most of the Big East really pales in comparison in terms of interest. Yes, the weather wasn't great. But I've been at Blue-Gold games in good weather and the attendance wasn't so hot then. Yes, Pittsburgh is a town with three pro sports teams. But none of them were playing at the time. Bottom line is that the reason the Big East gets little respect is because it has a long way to go to catch the other conferences in terms of fan bases and prestige.

The main page on Pitt's home page (off to the right) has some video highlights of the game and the recap page also includes some post-game interviews.

Also, Chas of Pitt Blather was on the sideline at the game and took some photos.

Finally, Greg Cross and Antwuan Reed received the Ed Conway Award, signifying the most improved player during the Spring.

Spring Wrap-Up

So Spring ball has now concluded and it's a good time for a few last thoughts.

The question about the starting QB position appears to be answered. Even though I havne't seen an official announcement, here's what we know:

- Tino Sunseri took a greater number of the first-team reps in practice.

- Sunseri played much better in the Blue-Gold game.

- Comments by the coaching staff seem to slightly favor Sunseri.

As I alluded to yesterday, Wannstedt seemed like Tino was his favorite and in comments about Bostick, there was a lot of talk about, and I'm paraphrasing here, not to leave Bostick out of the discussion. I think it's a done deal. And I give Wannstedt credit for putting himself in position to do what he said he wanted to do - name a starting QB by the end of the Spring. He hasn't done that yet, but it appears he's in a position to do that. The advantage is that Tino can take the bulk of the snaps in the Fall and give himself time to get in sync with teammates. And if he really struggles early on, there's nothing that says he can't go back to opening it up (though I think once Tino is named, he'd really need to struggle for Wannstedt to do that).

Looking back at the Spring game, the easy observation is the whole caveman "Offense good. Defense bad" theory. But you've a few reasons that contributed to the defense's domination:

1. The offense was likely watered down due to the game being televised nationally:

"I don't think there was much concern about [scoring only one touchdown]," said quarterback Tino Sunseri, who completed 9 of 17 passes for 82 yards. He scored the lone touchdown on a 9-yard run on a bootleg.

"We wanted to keep it very simple because [the game] was on the NFL Network and things of that nature, and we wanted to establish the ground game and get certain guys touches and we wanted to spread the ball around and we did a good job of that.

"It was very vanilla by design. We wanted to come out here and just do some things that were very basic in our offense."

2. The offense's two stars, Dion Lewis and Jonathan Baldwin didn't play a whole lot. Lewis did nothing to make fans think he won't have a strong season with that long run yesterday.

3. The wind didn't help.

Plus, I think defenses tend to do a little better in these types of games. It's early in the season and the offense is working with a new quarterback and many new players on the O-Line. It will take some time to grow, but I'm not concerned at this point.

Moving on from the final game, it looks like Greg Cross is finally going to get his chance. After scoring a TD on his first play with Pitt, I think it's safe to say that no one thought that was the last we'd really see of him. But that's exactly what happened. It's premature to think he's going to come in and have the same impact as Dorin Dickerson did in moving to tight end. Pitt has several quality receivers including Baldwin, Mike Shanahan, and Devin Street and it may be hard to crack that rotation. But I'm glad it appears he's at least going to get a shot.

Looking at tight end: Call me crazy, but while I don't expect the same production in terms of touchdowns from the position this year with the loss of Dickerson, I think Pitt fans will be pleasantly surprised by the the production the position produces this year. Much of the success at tight end had to do with Dickerson being an absolute freak. But I think Offensive Coordinator Frank Cignetti really knows what he's doing and I believe he'll find a way to again get good numbers at that spot.

Of course we'll know more once the Fall comes and we'll see if any incoming freshmen can make an impact. There's much work to be done and I can't help but think that Wannstedt would much rather have New Hampshire as the opener rather than a tough road game at Utah. Still, should be an exciting season.

Spring Notes

Lots of Spring football notes over the past week or so. The themes seem to be focusing on players with increased roles to play.

First up, though, I've never seen an official site for a college team make an official announcement that someone is EXPECTED to join their coaching staff:

CALIFORNIA (April 7) – Although details have yet to be finalized, California University of Pennsylvania anticipates adding Walt Harris to its football staff under the direction of head coach John Luckhardt.

Harris, former head coach at the University of Pittsburgh and Stanford University, is noted for his ability to produce talented quarterbacks. His title and duties at Cal U have not yet been decided.

Wow, talk about being excited.

Now, moving onto Pitt's team:

The guy who may benefit the most from Jonathan Baldwin:

Shanahan's role in the offense might be labeled as a "possession" receiver because, as Wannstedt notes, Shanahan has the ability to hurt teams that underestimate his athleticism.

"He's a big guy who, because of his basketball skills, can position you," Wannstedt said. "If they're going to double-team Baldwin and leave Shanahan one-on-one, the guy covering him is going to have to go up and be able to make a play on the ball, or [Shanahan] is going to beat you."

I'm really torn on how much of an impact Shanahan will make. If he's the starter opposite Baldwin, who will obviously draw a lot of attention, a lot of people are calling for him to have a great season. But with an inexperienced line and quarterback, I don't know how much the passing game will be relied upon. Part of that, of course, will depend on the individual games, if Pitt is ahead or behind, and down and distance. But while I expect Shanahan to have a good season, it will be interesting to see just how much the passing game is utilized. Still, I like his game enough to think that he will make a sizable impact. So how good will he be? I don't know, ask me tomorrow.

And speaking of that inexperienced offensive line, walk-on Alex Karabin could be the starting center. The somewhat surprising thing to me is that he might STILL be a walk-on:

That leaves Karabin as the starter entering camp in August. Even if he does earn the job, he might not get a scholarship. Last season, Wannstedt gave scholarships to three former walk-ons -- kicker Dan Hutchins, reserve quarterback Andrew Janocko and defensive lineman Chas Alecxih.

"If we have one, nothing would make me happier than to give one to Alex," Wannstedt said. "He's deserving."

Karabin would like it, too, to take some of the financial burden off his parents.

I'm sure Wannstedt will do his best to get him a scholarship. I think you've got to find one for anyone who starts for your team.

Shayne Hale and Brandon Lindsey will see time as backups this year.

And of course you've got fan favorite, Henry Hynoski:

After two seasons of being mostly a battering-ram blocker for Dion Lewis and LeSean McCoy, Hynoski is champing at the bit to being a bigger part of the offense.

"I'm thrilled about it," he said. "I love when the ball is in my hands. I was used to that all throughout high school. Now I have the opportunity as a fullback to run, block and catch equally. I'm just thrilled to death about it. I'm just very excited that I have the opportunity."

I love what Hynoski brings and would love for Pitt to find a few opportunities to not only get him the ball in short distance situations, but think they might be surprised if they can find a way to get the ball in the open field on things like short screen passes. That might be unrealistic, but man, would it be scary for an opposing cornerback to try to take him down one on one.

And could little-used Greg Cross turn into this year's Dorin Dickerson - a skill player making an impact at another position? He apparently didn't mind the move:

"I got stuck playing quarterback," he said. "I love (playing receiver). I'm learning every day to go out and compete."

Also, the Blue-Gold game is next Saturday - free admission.

Lots of Notre Dame Stuff

Lots of Notre Dame stuff to get in with a short hiatus due to....stuff.

But first, Paul Zeise's Redshirt Diaries has a lot of interesting stuff including the deal about the Gator Bowl, Greg Cross redshirting, Dion Lewis possibly leaving earlier than anticipated, and non-conference scheduling. I always hesitate to declare 'must-reads', but this post has a lot of info in it not related to the game this weekend.

So, it seems there are a lot of questions this week.

Can Pitt get to Jimmy Claussen?

Why does the Big East allow Notre Dame to take bowl spots from the conference?

Who should Pitt fans be rooting for in the Cincinnati / West Virginia game on Friday?

Paul Zeise has answers.

Despite Dave Wannstedt saying the game doesn't have the meaning of some other rivalry games back in the day, (which, by the way, it doesn't) make no mistake that this is a big one. Pitt will have a large part of the country paying attention for it for perhaps the first time since last year's bowl game. We all know how that turned out. But seriously, Pitt has a legitimate shot to have an incredible season and even they go on to win the conference, a loss would be a disappointment.

I'm getting way ahead of myself, but a 10-1 season would mean so much to the program in my opinion. Perception is a funny thing. Dave Wannstedt has recruited well since he's been here, but a 10-1 record could legitimately show bigger recruits that Pitt might not be all that far from a run at a national championship. With the schedule getting tougher, this game is the beginning of a possible program-defining stretch.

This is the best way to sum up the game that I've seen:

The game against an unranked opponent falls right before No. 8 Pitt plays archrival West Virginia followed by perhaps the biggest of this season's Big East showdowns - against No. 5 Cincinnati.

Winning probably won't substantially boost the Panthers' ranking. Losing might derail all the momentum they've spent a half-season building. It's the kind of non-conference distraction many players and coaches dislike so late in a season.

There's also been a lot of talk about the different directions Wannstedt and Charlie Weis have gone since their first meeting four years ago, which was also their first game. Had you asked me back then which coach would be with his school longer, I probably would have gone with Weis. I wasn't sold on Wannstedt really until this year. But a lot can happen in four years. Wannstedt is now a trendy pick as a top candidate for Coach of the Year Awards (must be an insider to view) while the Notre Dame media has lots of questions regarding the fate of slumping coach Charlie Weis.

And speaking about coaches, does this mean if Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo takes over at Notre Dame, that Associate Head Coach Norwin Brown wouldn't be retained?

Defensive philosophies are different between each team. Pitt relies on its front four to bring pressure, while Notre Dame uses the blitz quite often. John Malecki and the offensive line will have their hands full. All-World Tight End Dorin Dickerson and the passing game will look to burn them on blitzes.

And speaking of defense, Pitt's secondary will be tested by the Michael Floyd / Golden Tate combination. We should have a pretty good idea whether the secondary's issues have been solved after this game. I think the secondary will be the key to whether Pitt wins or loses this game.

Meanwhile, the City of Pittsburgh officially jumps on the bandwagon with the Turn It Blue promotion. To be honest, it'd be nice if the City supported Pitt a little more in my opinion. You rarely hear of this type of stuff. I'm well aware that Pitt is only one of several universities in the area, but it's the main one as far as athletics are concerned. Despite being a solid football program and recent basketball power in a city that has no NBA team, Pitt always seems to get the short end of the stick when it comes to hyping up the major sports teams in town.

Quick hitters:

- Game preview from the Notre Dame side.

- Dion Lewis makes the cut for yet another award

- Ditto for Dorin Dickerson

- Speaking of Dickerson, here's another 'redemption' piece for Dorin Dickerson

- And I may be wrong on this, but I have a hard time believing Pitt isn't a little more excited than they're letting on about the top ten. It's a big deal.

Now onto a prediction since a post may not happen due to a visit from in-laws. I expect Pitt to win this game as I don't think Notre Dame is a strong as people have been making them out to be. I think the only thing that may keep it close is if the secondary plays poorly. I don't expect the ND defense to shut down Pitt's offense, but they are fully capable of outscoring them.

Let's go with 30 - 24, Pitt.

Here's something we haven't heard in a while - Pitt short on Tight Ends? Well it's only temporary:

Pitt is suddenly short on tight ends, as redshirt freshman Mike Cruz was excused for a second consecutive day for what coach Dave Wannstedt called "personal reasons", and seniors Nate Byham (headache) and Dorin Dickerson (hamstring) were held out of Sunday's afternoon session.

This was a minor note in the Trib's camp review today, but it actually brings up an interesting question. Just how relevant will Pitt's tight ends be this year?

An outsider looking at the circumstances may say quite a bit. With a struggling QB and options such as Byham and Dickerson, Pitt could line up a lot of two TE sets. Sounds like the logical thing to do, but....well, never mind.

And speaking of Dickerson, you've got to wonder how he feels about his Pitt career. He's been moved more times than an Army brat and after so much hype, hasn't really had the chance to prove himself. Couple the handling of his situation with that of super-athletic (so we're told) Greg Cross, and you wonder if Pitt will struggle to land the type of super-athlete this team could desperately use. Not saying Pitt hasn't/won't land talented kids - they have every year since Wannstedt has been here. But when it comes to the Terrelle Pryors of the world, someone multi-dimensional, you've got to question whether Pitt can land someone like that with the way they've handled Dickerson and Cross.

Anyway.

I don't know if Cameron Saddler is the answer at returning kicks, but I sure as heck don't want to see Aaron Berry doing it.

Paul Zeise sees a trend developing, further damaging the little faith I have in Bill Stull, and also answers questions about the possible QB controversy.

Meanwhile, taking a break from camp, Brian Bennett tells us who Pitt's greatest villains are. Yes, one is the old guy.