Pitt Back On Track

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.

Dave Wannstedt Talks About...The Call

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.

The Aftermath

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

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.

Views From The Enemy

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.

Camp Broken

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 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.

Football News and Notes

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.

News and Notes 7/22

Pitt comes in at #5 in Dennis Dodd's top five schools for football and basketball. This is a slight surprise to me - not that they don't belong there, but Pitt never seems to get the credit they deserve for having a top basketball and football program. It's not yet been sustained as they had some down football seasons this decade, but the school's teams have had quite a bit of success.  The best part, though, is that it doesn't look like it's slowing down anytime soon.  Both programs have recruited extraordinarily well and could be successful for quite a while.

My bets for the others? If we're talking about the past 2-3 years, let's go with Texas, Ohio State, Wisconsin, and Florida not in that order. Pitt fans might not be happy with it, but you could also make the case for WVU even instead of the Panthers.  But his article seems to indicate Pitt made it instead of WVU.

I normally don't mention Bleacher Report too much on here, but a writer for the site believes that Mark Myers can seriously contend for the backup QB job.  I don't see how that's even a remote possibility - especially in a year when they are starting a new quarterback.  No way Wannstedt doesn't use Pat Bostick as his safety net if Sunseri struggles.

Another gambling site predicts big things for the Panthers, calling them a darkhorse to win the whole shootin' match.

And Panther baseball coach Joe Jordana wins the ABCA East Region Coach of the Year Award.

Football Notes

Sorry for the long delay in updates - this past week has just been flat-out hectic with a concert, power outage, vacation planning and a slew of other offline stuff.  Plus, not much has been going on with Pitt, so it was a good time for a respite.

Here are a few football things out there:

Stewart Mandel at SI.com talks about the Heisman race and some of the preseason favorites.  I think this is the first article I've seen where Dion Lewis is not mentioned as one of the top picks.  Mandel places him in a second group to watch for after his initial top ten.  With Pitt getting more play as a Big East favorite, I was a little surprised to see Noel Devine in that first group.  Pitt WR Jonathan Baldwin is also in that second group.

Lewis will be hard pressed to win the Heisman, but I do think he's right there in the discussion.  Along those lines, make sure to hop over to our SB Nation Pittsburgh site this week, where we'll have a breakdown of the area's top Heisman hopeful running backs (PSU's Evan Royster, Lewis - Wednesday, Devine - Friday).

Joe Butler of Metro Index says that Pitt could have five first-rounders in next year's NFL Draft.  We're a long way from that happening, but just the fact of it even being discussed is incredible. 

Dave Wannstedt, even with two straight very successful seasons under his belt, still takes a lot criticism about Pitt not getting to that next level.  Some of it is deserved and some is undeserved.  But one thing that cannot be denied is that he has Pitt on the right track.  His staff not only has an eye for talent, but they are regularly getting that talent to come to Pitt.  Programs are not rebuilt overnight and Pitt is still a ways off from being mentioned as a consistent national power.  The good news is that things have been looking up.

Brian Bennett over at ESPN.com had previously released a list of the Big East's top offensive triplets.  With Dion Lewis, Baldwin, and Tino Sunseri, Pitt was at the top of that list.  His defensive triplets are now out and Pitt (headlined by Greg Romeus, Dan Mason, and Dom Decicco) comes in at second behind WVU.

Keep in mind this isn't a team's three best players.  Rather, it's a team's best DL, LB, and DB.  If it were the three best, Jabaal Sheard would likely replace Decicco (in my opinion) and Pitt might be #1 on his list.

Minor Football Tidbits

Another day, another 'accolade' from a gambling site.  Pitt is picked as the odds on favorite to win the Big East along with UCONN and WVU.  I'm seeing a lot of love out there for UCONN this year.  Not sure I'm buying into it, but just remember, they did take Pitt to the wire last year - in Pittsburgh.

Speaking of that UCONN team, their local paper, the Hartford Courant has a very brief preview of Pitt.

And here's a story on QB Tino Sunseri that correctly points out he'll have help...and lots of it.  One thing caught my eye near the end of the piece:

While all expectations are that Sunseri will be up to the task, if 2009 was any indication, it won’t matter who is under center for the Panthers — they’ll be efficient and fun to watch every Saturday.

Ignoring the statement about it won't matter who plays QB for Pitt (because I don't buy that), Pitt SHOULD really be fun to watch.  If you think about last year, the team was extremely exciting.  Try to look past the loss to WVU.  Ignore the ugly effort against NC State.  And while you're at it, step right past the Cincinnati game that I only refer to as "Nova Part II."  The team was really fun to watch - Couple players like Dion Lewis and Jonathan Baldwin with a very good defense and it all equaled a talented team.  All indications point to it being another fun year.

News and Notes

Haven't had a news and notes section in a little while - lots of small tidbits out there recently:

ESPN.com's Brian Bennett has a Top 30 Big East list and he's down to his final two.  Pitt will wind up with five players in the list as the top two will be Dion Lewis and Noel Devine.  Even better, Pitt has three of the top four in the list with Greg Romeus, Jonathan Baldwin, and Lewis.

Along those lines, Bennett lists his top triplets in the Big East and to no surprise, Pitt is #1 with Lewis, Baldwin, and Tino Sunseri.

Top triplets?  Yes, things are officially slow.

Here's an interview with former Pitt player and new Seton Hall coach, Kevin Willard.  Judging by the length of some of these answers, it looks like Willard was either not in the mood to talk or standing on a tee box with driver firmly in hand. 

And speaking of Seton Hall, Willard says in another article that Herb Pope is recovering nicely:

“Herb’s doing great, Herb’s doing great,” Willard said Thursday. “Taking classes, working, getting back because he did miss quite a few classes. He’s really working hard to get back academically what he needs to do and get back on track for graduation. Herb’s doing pretty good.”

Former Pitt great and current Pope mentor, Charles Smith, also comments briefly via text in the article.

And Bob Smizik of the PG notes that the negotiations to move Pitt games to the new radio station The Fan may hinge on coverage of women's basketball.  I can't make this stuff up.

A Little More On Bill Belton

Bill Belton was a wanted man. Pitt recruits well, but is many times beaten out by more prominent schools. But in the case of Belton, they were able to land one of the better athletes available for 2011.  His coach was one of those who last year noted that he would be a prized recruit:

“He’ll be one of those big recruits. He’ll be in that type of water,’’ McBride said. “People will come from all over.

“The possibilities are endless, and he’s a great kid. He’s very unassuming, very humble. I’ve been around a long time. The great ones are real unassuming. They run around and practice like any other kid. But he is as good as I’ve been around.’’

And opposing coaches also are impressed:

After watching Belton rush for two scores and throw for another in a 48-42 win over his Renegades, Gushue said: “He’s a high school Michael Vick. It was a frustrating day for me, I was so impressed. He could take off the rest of the season, not play next year, and some college would still give him a scholarship. That’s how impressed I was.’’

Belton is also a four-star recruit as rated by ESPN.com and is currently an ESPNU 150 recruit (must be an insider to view) as of the latest update today.

Then comes the tricky decision of position.  Pitt is pretty well off at QB next year with Tino Sunseri, Mark Myers, new recruit Gary Nova, and potentially Anthony Gonzalez.  He could also play corner, but the bet here is that it will be wide receiver.  With the potential loss of Jonathan Baldwin to the NFL Draft next year, Belton could fit in nicely there.  This blogger also projects him there as well.

Wherever he lands, this appears to be a strong 'get' for Pitt.

Football Notes

Tino Sunseri gets a nice piece on Rivals. For whatever reason, I really like this kid's attitude. I think he's obviously got it right when he points to the offensive line as the key to Pitt's success:

"I don't know if so much depends on me," Tino said. "It's about our team as a whole. The offensive line is a huge part. They have to open lanes for Dion and provide protection for me so Jonathan and our other receivers can run downfield. If it happens that we lose containment, I need to make plays on my feet to extend the play and make a throw downfield. We just have to prepare for the worst and hope for the best on every play."

And we've heard this before, but his dad says he's a tough kid:

"He has the toughness of a linebacker playing quarterback," Sal said. "He understands the toughness of the game, mentally and physically. He understands the importance of taking care of the football and managing the game. He understands that sometimes you're going to get hit and you've got to get up. He doesn't mind blocking, either."

There was a time when Sal thought his oldest son would be blocking all the time.

"When he was little, he was thicker, and I thought he'd be an offensive lineman," Sal said.

And I love what his dad says about if Pitt and Alabama found themselves lining up against each other: If the Panthers and Tide met, the only protection Tino would get from blitzing linebackers would come from Pitt's offensive line.

"You always have love for your child," Sal Sunseri said. "But if that would ever happen, he'd better be prepared."

Gotta love it.

Brian Bennett of ESPN.com is now up to the running back rankings and it should be surprise to anyone that Pitt is #1:

1. Pittsburgh: The Panthers have the Big East's offensive player of the year returning in Dion Lewis, who rushed for 1,799 yards and 17 scores a year ago. Backup Ray Graham, who averaged 5.7 yards per carry, could start for most teams. Henry Hynoski should be the best fullback in the league this year. That's enough to merit the No. 1 spot here.

Heck, when you factor in Graham and to a lesser degree, Hynoski, Pitt may not only be #1 in the Big East, but #1 in the country.

Brian also picks out some key rivalries for Big East members that need to start up again. Of course Pitt/Penn State heads this list.

And on the pro side of things, former Pitt cornerback Darrelle Revis is looking to be the NFL's highest-paid player at his position. Revis is refuting reports that he's asking for $20 million per season:

"I don't know where the $20 million came from," Revis said. "I never told you guys that. Don't know who brought that up but I'm sure it is not going to be up in that area. That's insane. That would be great. Who wouldn't want $20 million? But that is a high price."

I don't know if any corner is worth that.

Getting to Know Tino

So Tino goes into the Fall as the starting quarterback. The bad news is you really don't want to enter a season in which you can win a conference with a new quarterback. The good news is that Tino should be at least serviceable and is being given the keys to something better than an El Camino.

He comes in with possibly the best running back in the country in Dion Lewis. Then mix in a dose of playmaking WR Jonathan Baldwin and a very good defense, and you can see he's stepping into a pretty good situation. I also feel a little better since Sunseri's been in the system for two years now. He's had some experience and should have an idea of what it takes to be successful at this point.

Athlon's Big East preview says Pitt will need to bank on Sunseri getting better as the season goes on to gear up for their final four-game stretch, which includes three road games.

Brian Bennett of ESPN.com blogging fame talks with Tino about the Spring. He also gushed about Tino's ability to throw a great ball when he was in town.

Is Tino going to face pressure from a fan base that wasn't even totally happy after Bill Stull put up incredible numbers last year? No doubt. Dave Curtis and Matt Hayes of the Sporting News think so as well and place Tino in their top ten of first-year QBs under the most pressure.

I don't know what it is, but I like this kid. Maybe it's the fact that he at least has something of a tough persona:

For most of his youth football career, Tino Sunseri eschewed the glory positions. Instead, he played offensive and defensive line and fullback.

"I always liked to hit people," he says.

Tino Sunseri has done the most work with the first team this spring and is expected to start this season.But he also had a stronger and better arm than anybody on his team, and in the middle of one game his coach tried him at quarterback. Sunseri tossed a couple of touchdown passes, the team won and his days in the trenches officially ended.

I also like the fact hat he can scramble, too, as evidenced by his 12-yard TD scramble in the Blue-Gold game.

Even his most glaring 'weakness' doesn't really seem like that much of an issue:

Although Sunseri can throw all the passes, has a strong arm, quick release and all the intangibles to be an excellent quarterback, the one question that seems to follow him is his height.

He is listed at 6 feet 2, but that seems to be a little bit of a stretch as he looks smaller when he is in the pocket.

Still, he has had very few passes deflected at the line of scrimmage and has been very good at finding or even creating passing lanes to throw the ball.

"I think that's funny [when people question his height] because I am actually a little bit taller than Drew Brees [of the New Orleans Saints, who is listed at 6-0]. I've looked that stat up plenty of times," Sunseri said, then he laughed. "If you look across our offensive line, they are all tall, and with those guys being so big I've been able to find the lanes in between them and also I've been able to throw over them because we've been taught high elbow and things of that nature.

"The bottom line is, that it isn't an issue because I've shown this spring I can make the throws and we won't see a taller offensive or defensive line than ours."

Are there going to be times when he has balls batted down at the line or doesn't have a clear line of sight? Sure. But I won't believe it's going to be a major problem until I see it. He mentioned Drew Brees and, well, Drew hasn't had that much of a problem.

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.

Blue-Gold Review

I've got to admit that my attention wasn't completely on the game. Even with the miracle that is I DVR, I missed some chunks of the game and didn't have the patience to rewind to catch everything I missed. But here are a few observations I had:

- Tino Sunseri is clearly the starter. If fans had any remaining doubts, they should have vanished today. Sunseri was 9/17 for 82 yards, zero interceptions, and nice rushing TD from about ten yards out. Pat Bostick on the other hand was 6/13 for 59 yards, no TDs, and two interceptions.

- And it wasn't so much the play, either. You could tell that Tino was the starter simply by the way Dave Wannstedt gushed about him throughout the day. And he was completely baffled on Bostick's first interception, which was not in the vicinity of any receivers. At first Wannstedt sounded as if a receiver ran the wrong route. But when he saw the replay, it seemed like he may have changed his tune. You can say that Tino had the first team to work with, but he also had to go against the first team defense, where Pat went against the second team.

- Speaking of that second team, the offensive line for that unit wasn't good. At all. Pitt fans should really hope that the first-string doesn't have any injuries because they second team needs a lot of work. The second team defensive line had a field day against them and Bostick was under a lot of pressure.

- Dion Lewis was, well, Dion Lewis. He only had five carries, but still managed to break one for 52 yards. Ray Graham had five carries, but only managed 16 yards.

- Kind of a side note because we're talking about the backup kicker, but Kevin Harper has some kind of leg. The coaches say he needs to work on his accuracy, but he's definitely got the distance part down. He made a 45 yard field goal with probably about 10 yards to spare.

- Also related to the kicking game was the fact that Pitt used two other punters in addition to Dan Hutchins. I'm wondering if either of them will get a look to take the punting duties from Hutchins or if they were just trying to get backups some work.

Odds and Ends

Real quick hitters as all of this is pretty minor stuff:

The Pitt News calls for Tino Sunseri to start next year.

Former Tight Ends Dorin Dickerson and Nate Byham both worked out for the Baltimore Ravens in preparation of the upcoming NFL Draft.

A website picks Pitt basketball to win it all next year. Seriously.

That same website calls Pitt football a potential sleeper at 30:1 odds to win the BCS National Championship next year.

Pitt baseball is moving on up after a great start to the season. The team is ranked 24th in the Collegiate Baseball Rankings.

Heinz Field, home of the Panthers, is named as one of the 25 best stadiums at night...albeit not by all that strong of a source. PNC Park was also named as one.

Football Talk

So after a long hiatus from football discussion, with basketball out of the way, let's get into it.

For starters, former Panther Elijah Fields could end up at California University. There were some grumblings of this as a possibility almost immediately after he was dismissed from the team and it looks as if it could be a possibility:

Elijah Fields, who was dismissed from Pitt's football team last month for violating team rules, might end up at California University.
Head coach John Luckhardt said Fields has shown interest in transferring to the university. The 6-2, 225-pound safety would have one season of eligibility remaining.

"Everything is still in the processing stage," Luckhardt said.

As much as he botched his chances at Pitt, I still try to convince myself that he's young and still learning. I hope he can turn things around there.

Paul Zeise of the PG thinks that while Tino Sunseri had the first crack at reps with the first team, that Pat Bostick seems to have the slight edge in terms of knowing the system. It's been documented that Coach Wannstedt would like this battle to be settled this Spring. I don't know - with the way last year's competition went on, I'd be kind of surprised if that happened. Both quarterbacks say they're ready.

ESPN.com blogger, Brian Bennett, goes over the usual questions in his Pitt spring preview video. He also talks to Offensive Coordinator, Frank Cignetti, about Pitt's many offensive weapons.

SI.com wonders if Pitt is ready to dethrone Cincinnati. More Pitt-Cincinnati talk. Everything I've heard this offseason has been about Pitt and Cincinnati. I'm a little surprised that it appears West Virginia isn't even being passively seen as a contender with both Jock Sanders and Noel Devine coming back.

Cam Saddler's opportunity to get on the field more comes - at wide receiver: I really think he could turn into a great kick returner and hope his focus remains there. But with the losses of Oderick Turner and Dorin Dickerson, there's definitely a need there for another receiver.

And with all the NFL Draft talk about Dorin Dickerson and Nate Byham getting drafted, after Bill Stull's season and experience with a pro-style system, he is getting some looks as well:

Stull, who was one of 15 former Panthers who worked out Tuesday for scouts representing 27 of the 32 NFL teams, is considered a late-round draft pick or a desired free agent.

After the year he had, I'm a little surprised there hasn't been more discussion about him as a middle-round draft pick. He has experience in a pro system, made very few mistakes last year, and despite his weaknesses such as throwing an accurate deep ball, makes for a reasonable NFL prospect.

Meanwhile, speaking of Dickerson, he's having a hard time gauging where he might be selected because of all the interest he's received.

More to come...

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.