News and Notes

Paul Zeise of the PG reports that Robb Houser will join Adam Gunn in Green Bay's minicamp in hopes of landing a contract. Houser was a solid center on a line that produced one of the best running games in all of football, so it doesn't surprise me that he'll get his shot.

Brian Bennett of ESPN.com has stories about Greg Romeus working to improve his draft stock and about Ray Graham staying put:

"Leaving never crossed my mind," he said. "I'm a competitor, and I just feel my chance is going to come."

Personally, I think he's probably smart to stay, though I wouldn't fault him for leaving. Even if Dion Lewis doesn't leave after this year, which could be an option, Graham could still have a year as the starter if he doesn't get beaten on the depth chart. Plus, as I mentioned before, he needn't look very far back in Pitt's history to see that the school is capable of sending backup players to the NFL. Nate Byham was selected higher than the more heralded Dorin Dickerson who not only had a great year, but a great workout. And after backing up Shady for about two seasons, Larod Stephens-Howling is not only on the roster, but playing, for the Arizona Cardinals. Graham should get his chance and can still show his abilities even when not starting.

The NBA Playoffs are here and DeJuan Blair is still making an impact. Levance Fields and Tyrell Biggs are putting up decent numbers in their first year of pro ball overseas.

From the Panthers' website, this is a bit old, but Pitt's basketball program ranks among the 20 most valuable in the country:

For the second consecutive year, the Pitt Basketball program was listed among the nation's top-20 most valuable college basketball programs by Forbes Magazine. Pitt was ranked No. 18 and was one of only three Big East schools to be listed among the top-20. Four factors were measured in the magazine's evaluation: value of contributions to the university, net profit generated from the basketball program, estimated value to conference and estimated direct spending by visitors to the county attributable to basketball games.

Fairly interesting stuff. Louisville (3rd) and Syracuse (8th) were the other two Big East teams in the top 20. North Carolina topped the list. The report says Pitt earned a profit of $6.5 million and has a total value of #13.2 million.

And I normally don't comment on women's basketball recruiting, but this one deserves a small mention as Pitt actually ADDED a player rather than losing one.

Finally, there would have been hell to pay if we couldn't get our fried fish sandwiches from the Towers food court back in the day.

More Football Talk

I found the conversation ESPN.com blogger, Brian Bennett, had with Dave Wannstedt mildly interesting, but nothing much more than that. There was one quote about QB Tino Sunseri in particular causing some buzz:

"He's ready to play now," Wannstedt said. "It's his time. He understands the offense, and we've got a good feel for his abilities and what he can do."

You could take that a number of ways - you could say it's Tino's job and it was a slip of the tongue by Wannstedt because there's an open competition. The other way you could read it (the way I read it) is it means that Tino as a backup wasn't really ready to compete. He's ready to compete for the job now. I don't think it in any way meant that it was Tino's job or even Tino's job to lose in camp.

Glad that Wannstedt plans to have it wrapped up by the Spring as whoever will be the starter will need a large amount of reps with the first team in the Fall. That opener at Utah will be staring us down before you know it.

Bennett also wrapped up his top 30 Big East players of the year and Pitt ended with eight on the list, including three in the top five and the #1 overall player (Dion Lewis). Seems like there were plenty of blockheads ready and waiting to rip apart a top 30 list that concluded nearly two months after the final college game of the year.

Sticking with the draft theme, former Center Robb Houser gets a local story and discusses playing at the next level. A few draft sites (not that I've heard of any of these) offer some ratings: Evaluators believe Houser has a decent chance to find work in the league. For instance, NFLDraftSpot.com rates him as the 12th-best prospect at center. On NFLDraftSpecialist.com, he is No. 18 and a site called WalterFootball.com lists him as 16th.

Apparently Nate Byham didn't look so hot (subscription needed).

And it looks like old Pitt recruit Anthony Morelli isn't giving up on his dream of playing in the NFL:

Former Penn State quarterback Anthony Morelli is back, looking for a second chance after getting cut by the Arizona Cardinals two years ago. Morelli, who will be 25 in June, insists he's not just older.

"I've gotten bigger, faster, stronger, I'm jumping better," he said. "I think the chances are pretty good, I just need to get in front of some people."

Morelli will do that next Friday in Indy when he holds a personal workout on the same day this year's big-name quarterbacks, receivers and running backs are measured and take tests during the combine at Lucas Oil Stadium.

He seems willing to also play in a lower-tier league, if need be:

Since getting cut by the Cardinals two years ago, Morelli bided his time by working out on his own, coaching quarterbacks at Pittsburgh's Plum High School and helping his uncle with construction jobs.

All the while, Morelli maintained the dream of playing football. Morelli's wife finally persuaded him to move back to Indy, where he's been getting help from former NFL quarterback Jack Trudeau.

"I'm only 24 years old, and I've played against a lot of these guys in college. So when it comes to age, I feel like I haven't hit my peak yet," Morelli said. "I'm going to keep going until I exhaust all my opportunities, and if I have to go play in a lower-level league, I'm going to do that until everyone tells me to give it up."

And this one's a little off the board, but for iPhone junkies, a special Pitt app, is now available for purchase on iTunes. One is due out soon for Crackberry addicts, such as myself.