Checkmating the Big Ten: Calling the ACC

The topic of conference expansion in college athletics comes up from time-to-time with the last major move being the ACC raid of Big East teams Virginia Tech, Boston College, and Miami (FL). The Big East was forced to reshuffle with unknown teams in Louisville, Cincinnati, and South Florida, which may thought would result in the death of the Big East conference at least in terms of remaining a BCS auto-bid recipient. That proved false, with Louisville provide a strong team in the first years, an improved South Florida, and Cincinnati currently leading the Big East with an undefeated record and a Top 5 national ranking.

With that said, I’m going to let you in on a little secret. Expansion by major conferences is coming again and is going to be led by the Big Ten scooping in and taking either Rutgers or Syracuse for the New York City television market to rape every grandmother in the New York/New Jersey with in-footprint Big Ten Network fees. Of course, that will only be after Notre Dame rejects them to stay an independent and funded by NBC. That will not be the end of it though. You will quickly see the ACC, PAC-10, and SEC evaluate their own options to increase revenue and prestige within the individual conferences.

The ACC may be the only conference that could challenge the Big Ten for viewership in the Northeast region, which contains most of the largest television markets. If the Big Ten does make the decision to take Rutgers for the New York/New Jersey market couple with Penn State’s large pool of alumni in the region, the Big Ten would be uncontested for Northeastern viewership. It would be a vulnerable viewership though, with the Big Ten being a Midwestern conference…one that could be overthrown with the right moves.

The ACC made the decision years ago to come north of the Mason-Dixon Line to grab either Boston College or Syracuse (with BC eventually going to the ACC). What is stopping them from doing it again? More importantly though, what would be the potential gain in making a move again?

Theorize for a second that the Big Ten does take Rutgers. It is a logical pick for the Big Ten, as it does not provide another challenger to Ohio State and Michigan in football and gains them the biggest television market for the Big Ten Network. Big East teams would be scrambling not to secure a replacement for Rutgers this time around, because frankly there is not another team that would make a worthwhile selection and be realistic at the same time. An educated move by the ACC would not only strengthen the conference in both major sports, it would also present the opportunity to contest the northeast market from the Big Ten and provide the conference the power to create an All-Atlantic Coast Television Network. An ACC Network with the right teams could easily charge a rate well above the Big Ten Network current charges when you consider the value of viewership outside of football season (namely basketball).

Since the ACC expansion, there have been some rumors that Boston College and Maryland would like to see some teams added from the northeast to lessen travel costs from an outstretched conference. If the Big Ten does take Rutgers, lets consider that the ACC would come north and offer membership to Pittsburgh, Syracuse, UConn, and West Virginia. All would make a great deal of sense for multiple reasons:

-- Traditional football powers in Pittsburgh, Syracuse, and West Virginia
-- Current above average football teams in Pittsburgh and West Virginia.
-- Big time basketball programs in UConn and Syracuse with close-to-elite teams in Pittsburgh and West Virginia.

Most important of them all, four brand new states under the ACC footprint. Why is this important? Look at the Big Ten Network model for charges against viewers in states that have a Big Ten team compared with those outside the footprint. Consider that the Big Ten Network price for states within the footprint is $1.10 per household compared to only $.10 for those in other states. Big difference. By adding Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, and West Virginia, your adding some major television markets that under the same agreement as the Big Ten market would be forced upon subscribers in the state. Without even considering these states as a whole, just consider the major metropolitan areas and the number of televisions in those alone.

New York, NY (7,493,530 TV Households)
Philadelphia, PA (2,955,190)
Pittsburgh, PA (1,154,950)
Hartford/New Haven, CT (1,010,630)
Harrisburg/Lancaster/York, PA (743,420)
Buffalo, NY (633,220)
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, PA (593,480)
Albany/Troy, NY (554,070)
Charleston/Huntington, WV (501,530)
Rochester, NY (392,190)
Syracuse, NY (385,440)

While just sample of the major television markets in those states, your looking at ~16.5 million TV households. Pretty sizeable when you put into perspective the $1.10 per household the Big Ten Network charges and that is only considering the proposed new teams. When you look at the entire in state viewer footprint, over 37% of the country would be covered within the footprint.

Ignoring the financial impact and look at the conference as a whole. It has some big names both currently and historically. For football: Clemson, Florida State, Boston College, Georgia Tech, Miami, Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, and West Virginia. For basketball: UNC, Maryland, Duke, UConn, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, West Virginia, Wake Forest, Boston College, etc.

Two conferences would be need and would make sense to split them up geographically, as it also seems to naturally account for strength of teams currently as well.



Northern Conference
Boston College
Connecticut
Maryland
Pittsburgh
Syracuse
Virginia
Virginia Tech
West Virginia

Southern Conference
Clemson
Duke
Florida State
Georgia Tech
Miami
North Carolina
NC State
Wake Forest

The number of either historical matchups or rivalries would be hard to between in-state and out-of-state teams without even consider some of these teams use to play each other on a regular basis.

My advice to the ACC Commissioner John Swofford, “Lets talk.”

Looking Ahead: 2010 Running Backs

When LeSean McCoy took an early exit to the NFL, many fans worried about what would happen to Pitt’s offense for the 2009 season. Shady was Pitt’s offense during both the 2007 and 2008 campaigns. One major event however happened in months prior to McCoy’s decision to go pro that would significantly affect the 2009 campaign: a tape sent by an otherwise obscure running back playing football in New Jersey.

The story is well known. Jeff Hafley in his first year as a position coach received a tape from a HS coach within his recruiting territory in New Jersey. After looking at the tape, Hafley knew he had something…a special player. He didn’t go to Wannstedt immediately with the film, but began making trips to Blair Academy to see if this was just a sliced-together highlight reel or if the kid was the real thing. What he heard from other scouts in attendance was “oh that kid is just too small for D1A football” or “we don’t project him as someone who could take the carries at the next level”. Hafley did what most people would do in that situation…he told a little white lie and agreed with them. Low and behold, he went behind the scenes and spoke with his head coach and the running back. He knew he found a gem…significant offers from other schools be damned. Hafley took the film to Wannstedt, basically leaving himself open to full critique by the head coach who was known as a great recruiter. What Wannstedt saw was a running back who reminded him of someone who sliced and diced his own defense only a couple of years prior in Ray Rice. That was all he needed to see. An official scholarship letter went out the next day.

Dion Lewis, the nations leading freshman running back and candidate for some of college footballs most prestigious awards, has some fans asking “Shady who?” Now in all fairness to Shady, he got Pitt to this point almost solely on his own between lackluster play at other positions in the offense but more importantly an inept former offensive coordinator. But how can you question Dion Lewis to this point when he looks to erase McCoy’s Pitt running back records (which he took from the one and only Tony Dorsett). The guy has performed beyond all levels of expectations. He left high school early to get to Pitt, learn the new system being put into place by new OC Frank Cignetti, and get a head start in the Buddy Morris S&C program. Lewis put in the work and took the job by storm starting in Spring practices.

In 2010, Pitt returns two running backs who exploded onto the college football scene in just their first year in the program. While Lewis will be the featured back for at least the next two seasons, don’t forget about another kid from New Jersey who has broken some ankles of defensive players in his freshman year as well. Ray Graham (AKA Ray Sherman) also has produced when given the ball this season and is only getting stronger as a running back. He is learning quickly what it takes to be a running back at this level and that you have to protect the ball if you want to play for Dave Wannstedt. What else can be said though, Graham is getting stronger as the year goes on and has a 6.1 YPC average going into the final two games against West Virginia and Cincinnati.

There is additional talent behind them that simply was overtaken by the dynamic duo. Chris Burns was one of the highlights of camp a year ago as a true freshman, but was redshirted due to McCoy being the featured back. Many thought he was destined to fill McCoy’s spot, but had a spotty Spring and Summer on the practice field. Going into next year, it looks as if he will be moved to the other side of the ball and into Pitt’s secondary to help some potential depth issues. Don’t be surprised though if he takes a role in the secondary in years to come, because he is extremely athletic. Sharif Harris was another back who showed some ability in the yearly Spring Game. As a slightly bigger back, many thought he would fill that third-down back role. After being suspended for two weeks for disciplinary reasons, he just never made a move that would put him above Burns or the stud freshmen.

Coming in next season is a stud running back from Virginia in TJ Peeler and a shifty back from Ohio in Andre Givens. Peeler has rushed for 1640 yards, 18 rushing TDs, and average 9.1 YPC in limited playing time this season (due to being pulled for a large portion of games). Peeler looks to bring a slightly different dimension than Lewis or Graham, as he brings a little more size to the position (6’1, ~200lbs). Givens is a little more similar to Graham in his style of running and had an excellent junior season. He dropped back slightly in his senior year due to missing some games due to illness, but remained the focal point of Hubbard HS offense and still produced big numbers include 21 rushing TDs. Both are headed for redshirts due to the current depth chart at the position.

Going into next season, there is little doubt that Dion Lewis will be Pitt’s featured back with a good helping of Ray Graham. Those two are only going to get stronger next season, but may have a slight challenge playing behind a slightly less experienced offensive line. Burns is most likely going to move to the defensive side of the ball and Harris will stay on offensive to provide depth. The incoming freshmen will definitely be redshirted, which will not only benefit them from an S&C standpoint but also in them having an extra year of potential carries.

With Pitt’s dynamic duo of Lewis and Graham, the position is an area of extreme strength going into 2010.

Looking Ahead: 2010 Quarterbacks

While Dave Wannstedt and staff are out on the recruiting trail leveraging a 9-1 record and a win over Notre Dame in front of a packed Heinz Field, the bye week for fans always brings about topics of the future and potential bowl opponents. This week provides the opportunity to speed ahead and look at the returning Pittsburgh Panthers in 2010. Over the next few days, we will look at a couple positions for next season, what players are returning/entering the program, and the impact the 2010 season.

Quarterbacks
While at the beginning of the season, it looked as if Pitt might be breaking in another starting quarterback for the 2009 season. The coaching staff had other plans however and remained confident in Bill Stull to name him the starter back in spring practice. Against a lot of fan pessimism during Fall camp, the coaching staff proved smart in their decision making. Stull has performed like a fifth-year senior should and has improved in many areas, which has transformed him in to a quality D1 quarterback. While much credit goes to first-year offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti (and deservedly so), Stull put the time and effort in to improving his game this season. If you look through the archives of my now defunct blog (pittpantherfans.blogspot.com), I was very optimistic from what I saw through practices and multiple Spring Games from Stull. Last year though, he disappointed me and I will be among the first to say I questioned the coaching staff naming him the outright starter going back to spring practices. Gladly, I was right in my earlier assessment and wrong in my pre-2009 season thinking. Now it looks like Stull will have the opportunity to experience an NFL roster, even if only as a summer arm for a few weeks; that is very different from where even my highest hopes were for him.

In 2010, Pitt’s roster will have two quarterbacks with college game experience competing for the starting role. Pat Bostick, a much-heralded QB recruit, has had an up-and-down ride to this point in his career. Some fans looked to him as the “Next-Marino” before even arriving to Pitt. When he got to the South Side in the summer before his freshman season, he abruptly left and missed the first week of training camp. An injury to Bill Stull forced the inexperienced freshman into the starting role for most of the season, which hindered both his and Pitt’s development. Bostick has always been the consummate teammate and after speaking with the coaching staff, agreed to redshirt this season. During this year, he has taking on a coaching role and learning Cignetti’s offense from the ground up while improving on some physical limitations in his game. Cignetti made big strides with Stull over the course of only a few months; Bostick will have had over a year under that same tutelage.

Stull’s main competition in fall practices was a freshman, who also happened to be a Pitt Legacy with a winning record from a major program right up the street from Pitt’s Oakland campus. Tino Sunseri showed ample arm strength and threw the best ball out of all the quarterbacks in camp. Where he fell slightly short is in learning the offense to the same capacity as Bill Stull. The coaching staff saw a lot to like from the young quarterback and felt it was necessary to get Sunseri college game experience in multiple games this season. While a limited experience, Sunseri showed some of his ability that is only going to get stronger with another year in the program and an increased opportunity for learning under Cignetti.

Kolby Gray’s season quickly ended after some soreness led to the UPMC medical staff finding some issues with his shoulder that required surgery. Expectations were that Gray would redshirt and not factor into seeing the field this season, but he resembled a slightly different style of QB than the ones currently in the Pitt system. Some fans were excited that a more athletic QB might bring something to the table that “slow-trotting” pro-style QBs in Stull and Bostick didn’t bring to the table.

Incoming recruits Mark Meyers (St. Ignatius) and Anthony Gonzalez (Liberty) both will be in the mix, but it is anticipated that a redshirt will be best for both players. Meyers limited experience of only starting for one season in high school and Gonzalez needing to learn a slightly different style than that ran at Liberty are solid reasons for why they will not see the number snaps or be in the starting competition for 2010. Both are highly regarded prospects, with Meyers being considered one of the best in Ohio despite only having one season under center as a starter and Gonzalez being physically talented to potentially even switch positions.

My best guess is that it will be a truly open competition between Bostick and Sunseri. From what I have seen in Cignetti’s coaching ability and play-calling, both should be able to continue where Stull left off. Each brings a slightly different factor to the game. I believe Bostick truly understands every caveat of Cignetti’s offense, which has been nurtured in his role as a coach this season. His arm has improved noticeably and his release quickened. Sunseri will always have the arm over Bostick and more athletic-ability, but he still needs to improve in the mental part of the game. Stull has set an excellent example this season in that regard (learned under Palko) and something that will carry through to all of the quarterbacks in future seasons.

BEast Champions Again!!!!!

What a great way for some of the seniors to bring their Big East careers to an end, especially those that had the opportunity to go home to Madison Square Garden. You could tell everyone wanted a victory badly, but nowhere near as much as Keith Benjamin, Tyrell Biggs, Levance Fields, Ronald Roman, and Austin Wallace (all New York kids). Congratulation to the 2008 Big East Champions!!!!!

Now looking ahead to the tournament, Pitt will need to keep the fouls down especially for someone like Blair. The other thing they absolutely have to do (and I cant stress this enough), is they have to make free throws when they are given the opportunity. The Georgetown game last night would have been a much larger victory if Pitt makes more than half of their free throws.

I look for Pitt to end up with a 5 seed or a 4 if they get lucky and the committee looks a little deeper to our injuries and how they correlated to our losses. I'll go into a little more detail later on once the picks are made during Selection Sunday.

Some Upcoming Stories

There will be some new articles coming up today and in the next few days including an interview with a certain QBs father to get some perspective on the upcoming season as well as an inside look at the recruiting game from a parents perspective. Just a heads up that I havent forgotten about this blog, rather time to sit down and write consistently has been a bigger issue.

Trust me, there is more to come.

Forgot A Coach!

Its been brought to my attention that I completely forgot to talk about Dunn being let go and Tony Wise being hired. Seems like so long ago that this change ever happened and its probably the 2nd biggest change out of the position coaches.

Dunn, a former Panther lineman himself, was brought in to replace Tom Freeman (who needed replaced regardless of who would be coming in). While I wasnt exceptionally high on his coaching skills, I thought we would see some development of talent on our roster from 2005-2007 especially considering we started/played some true freshman on the offensive line since 2005 (Davis, Thomas, Pinkston, etc). But has Davis improved much since he was that starter as a frosh in 2005? I would say not really. With Thomas, I would say he regressed some but did some good things late last season that I would attribute to finally getting into game shape. A team that wants to have a great run game MUST be able to develop talent on the offensive line regardless of the number of stars by their name. Dunn just didnt get it done to the level we needed.

Wise was a great choice for an offensive line coach for teaching good fundamentals and technique. The only other guy I would have rather had over him was Art Kehoe, but Wise was a great choice who has worked for a long time in the NFL. Wise and Wannstedt have worked together before and are personal friends. While the bulk of his experience is at the NFL level (19 years), he also was Jimmy Johnsons line coach at Oklahoma State. JJ would drag Wise to many future stops to head his offensive lines, where Wise coached up some very good offense lines (especially for running games) with the Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins.

Wise will have question marks on his ability to recruit, but 19 years experience at the NFL level will sell itself on its own. But really, Wise was brought in to develop some dominant lineman, especially with Wannstedt bringing in some of the most highly recruited linemen Pitt has seen in some time. Top national players like Jacobson, Thomas, and Nix are players that have exceptional talent and need a coach to harness their raw potential. I believe Wise can do this and despite having to replace two NFL draft picks at the tackle positions (including a first rounder) and a center, I expect instant dividends with Wise as our line coach. You see a much more fundamentally sound offensive line starting this Spring and especially in the Fall.

QBs: The Review

Starting today, I'm going to go through each position and do a break down of where each players stands and what they need to do to improve. Today, I figure we would start at the most important position on the field and one where I think we have question marks....the quarterbacks.

The Potential Starters

Bill Stull, JR, (6'3, 200lbs):

Stull is a quarterback who we really have yet to see on the field. Though named the starter for 2007, the injury monster grabbed his thumb and decided to end his football season in the 3rd quarter of the Eastern Michigan game (which he happened to go 14-20 for 177 yards and 1 TD before his injury).

During the Spring of 06', I attended and witnessed quite a few spring practices and came away very impressed with Stull (though I had seen him in HS at Seton-LaSalle where he was the first WPIAL player to throw for 3000 yards in a season). I would go as far to say I think he outperformed Palko that Spring.

Stull has an average arm, average mobility, a good head, and really knows Cav's West Coast offense. He will have his shot to reclaim his starting spot this Spring and we'll know a lot more after the Spring Game where he is with his game.

Pat Bostick, SO, (6'3, 215lbs):

Is funny saying this, but Pat Bostick has the most Division 1 football experience at the QB position for Pitt. After missing much of training camp with "personal issues", Bostick was asked to fill in for the lost Bill Stull. This would not be an easy transition for any true freshman quarterback, but it made it even more difficult for one who missed part of training camp and showed up over-weight. It was a bumpy ride and between losing Stull and having to play freshmen qb's Kevin Smith and Pat Bostick , Pitt probably lost 3 more games than it would have had Stull been at QB.

After the season ended, I went back and watched Bostick's high school videos to see his throwing motion and look to see the type of throws he was making there. While the hitch was there with the wind-up throwing motion, Bostick was able to make every pass that was asked of him. When you add in the Cav's offense is predicated on the short and medium routes, Bostick has plenty of arm strength to succeed.

On his throwing motion, they have already worked with him to help compact it. Dickerson (since his move to Flex-TE) and him have been a stable partnership of going out and throwing a lot balls on their own time. Not a bad thing for either player, as Bostick improves his throws and motion and Dickerson gets adjusted again to the offensive side of the ball. Another key to the puzzle for Bostick is that he dedicated himself to losing some weight and working with Buddy Morris. It will go a long way for Bostick, who is not the greatest pure athlete.

As the Intelligencer Journal article said:

"I think Pat is our most experienced quarterback, and if we were to play a game tonight, he'd be the starter," Wannstedt said. "But it's a wide open competition. We're going to give Pat a shot, we're going to give Billy a shot. It's going to be a battle."

Bostick has a shot to be a 4 year starter at Pitt and I do believe Stull and him are the two competitors dueling out for the starting role for the 2008 Pittsburgh Panthers.

The Package Specialist

Greg Cross, JR, (6'2, 215lbs):

Cross comes to Pitt from Fort Scott Community College and was ranked as one of the best JUCO quarterbacks in the country (#2 JUCO QB by Rivals). Cross pretty much single handedly led his CC our of the gutter and onto two conference titles and bowl games while he was the starter.

Cross has a good arm and can throw a deep ball. I have some concerns on his short and intermediate routes, but that is not the reason he was brought to Pitt. After installing the WildCat package last year, the staff loved having that option to switch into that offense and put the ball directly in the hands of the teams playmaker, Lesean McCoy. However, teams knew that McCoy was not a threat to throw the ball and the keyed on him and it lead to the decline of the effectiveness of the WildCat package. With that in mind, I think the coaching staff was determined to get an athletic quarterback to throw in the mix and will be used right away in the WildCat package. Look for the WildCat to morph from a direct-snap offense to a spread option look. It will never be our major offense, but it will be utilized in every game and packages are already being looked into to use Cross this year in this role. It should pay dividends all season.

The Not Ready Yet

Kevin Smith, rSO, (6'3, 225lbs):

Kevin Smith showed a lot of promise as a freshman and even during the summer leading up to fall. He has a great arm and is also very athletic. There was a reason why after Stull went down, they immediately looked to Smith to take over the QB position. What hurts him though is the lack of experience and development you just cant get in practice. Even when he was in HS, he was injured and really only led him to play in 12 games as a starting QB in HS.

While Smith has a great arm and legs, he doesnt have the decision making skills and very good feet during his drop back (and even taking snaps) that comes only with game experience. I think he has a battle to ever see the field again and should maybe consider a position switch or considering playing baseball for Pitt (as he is a great baseball player).

Tino Sunseri, FR, (6'0, 200lbs):

Sunseri, the son of Pitt legend Sal, decided to go to his fathers alma mater after leading PCC to an undefeated record on its way to a Quad A State Championship. Sunseri wowed scouts as a ball boy at the Elite 11 camp a few years ago, where some coaches even said he may have been the most accurate QB at that camp. I've said for some time that I see a lot of Palko in him. Maybe not so much the part of him that lower his shoulder and trucked over the BC defender:

Decent arm and has athletic ability, but most importantly he appears to be a leader. It certainly doesnt hurt that he is also a coaches son who has been around the game since the day he was born. Look for him to redshirt, use this year to gain some knowledge of the playbook, and then find himself somewhere on the depth chart next season.

The Replacements

I figured I would go back a take a look at our three new coaches and how they compare with what Pitt had last year on the coaching staff.

Partridge/Tumpkin

I give this one a push. Partridge's strength was always his ties to Florida and his ability to recruit (which I really believe was overblown, but you have to give him credit for some players like Sheard). With that said, he will never be confused with a good positional coach. There was a reason why he was never really given a full position to coach. When he worked with the defensive line with Junko, Junko was the line coach and Partridge "worked with" the defensive ends. When Gattuso moved to the defensive line position to take over for Junko who was suffering from health issues, Partridge was again moved to assistant linebackers coach. Lets not forget though that the defensive coordinator was also moved to be the DC as well as the linebacker coach.

To sum it up, Patridge is a likeable guy with contacts in a state with a lot of talent. I'm glad to see him at a good program like Wisconsin, but I'm really indifferent from a football standpoint.

I'm going to be honest and say I really dont know a lot about Tumpkin. His resume is not a "who's who" of colleges, but that being said he has coached linebackers before (something Partridge never did before last season). Tumpkin also brings Florida connections that will have to be explored. I dont think we can look at his other coaching stops and recruits he brought to those schools from the Sunshine State, because really none of those kids are the type we would be going after to hopefully get them to come North.

Right now, its a push in my book when you take everything into account. He coached with Phil Bennett at SMU and Bennett (and Wannstedt for that matter) felt compelled enough to pursue Tumpkin even after signing up to be UCFs linebackers coach about a month prior. He has some talent to work with, so lets see where they go with it.

Ball/Hafley

Ball was given a promotion (assistant head coach and co-defensive coordinator) and an opportunity to move back close to family. Most people knew he was looking to move up and become a DC in the very near future. Washington State provided that for him. He was well liked and thought he could play a role in the recruiting game and was really sad to see him go after only one year.

Hafley is someone many are going to doubt but let me tell you this....if Fields continues to be on the right side of academics and gets on the field this year, a lot of his improvement is because of Hafley. Hafley spent a ton of time with Fields this past season when he redshirted as part of a suspension for some "no-no" activity. Fields is going to be a terror this year, just FYI.

Hafley's resume may not be huge, but he had a chance to learn under Rhoads, then Ball, and now Bennett comes in (although is partially coaching linebackers) who has coached some very good secondaries. He gets to pick all their minds and has some different input with our secondary players. From a recruiting standpoint, Hafley is working New Jersey now and that is a state Pitt should continue to go after recruits from yearly. Hafley is already making many contacts in the area and has ties there. He was also the recruiting coordinator when he was coaching at Albany before becoming a GA at Pitt.

While I hated to see Ball go, I think many will be surprised by Hafley

Hill/Bossard

I liked Hill from the first time I met him. He is a good guy who as he gains additional experience, could potentially become a good coach. I know the players really liked him and his recruiting was only going to get better as he gained more contacts at the HS level.

As a position coach, I think we saw some good areas with Hill as a coach and also some areas for improvement. Its tough to analyze this year because of the QB situation, so really going on previous years. Lets not forget that Wannstedt gave Hill his first coaching opportunity and was kinda learning on the fly. For recruiting, the staff had just given him the crucial DC/VA/MD/DE area and was not an area where Hill had many contacts. Despite this, he helped land Tony Tucker in 07'.

Hill didnt leave Pitt because he was unhappy here or anything like this. His daughter is in Florida as well as other family members and his move to Miami was really only for that reason when Shannon asked him if he was interested in the position on his staff.

Bossard is really an ideal candidate for Pitt and what they were looking for in a receivers coach. Experience-wise, you are looking at someone who has coached receivers for quite some time (starting in 1994 for his Alma Mater, Delaware) including coaching at Maryland. He has also dealt with young receivers being asked to contribute early. Two recent occurrences of this are Freshman All Americans LaQaun Williams and Darrius Heyward-Bey.

Recruiting-wise, you get many local contacts and relationships that have already been built in the ever expanding region of the Beltway/N. VA/MD/DE, which now Pitt gets to take advantage of. Its an area Wannstedt has wanted to recruit more and more of since he came to Pitt and for good reason.....there is a lot of talent there.

Many might disagree with me, but I think adding Bossard strengthens Pitt at receivers coach and you can't under-sell recruiting links at the high school level.

Rhoads/Bennett

This one is the most interesting of the group.

My thoughts on Rhoads are in another article I wrote last year. I really liked the guy and the players fed off him. I always thought it was interesting that his parents drove from Iowa to every home game to watch their son coach (and many times be booed and cursed at). Was he a great DC? I dont think so. Was he a bad DC? I dont think so. All I know is I watched too many years of inconsistency from his defenses, much of which can be attributed to his cushion coverage and his non-aggressive defenses. I'm glad he was given the opportunity to go to another good program, especially since I do believe he has ambition to one day become a HC. From a recruiting stand point, Rhoads wasnt exactly a recruiting monster despite him being one of Walt's best guys when he was the coach (says a lot about Harris' recruiting desires).

Bennett is someone that I though was a HUGE pickup for Pitt as a DC. The guys resume as a DC is pretty impeccable. He has been a DC since Reagan was in office. DC stops include Iowa State, Purdue, LSU, Texas A&M, TCU, and Kansas State (he was also a recruiting coordinator for Oklahoma). Pretty much everywhere he went, his aggressive defenses were known for being one of the best. Look at his Kansas State tenure. The entire time he was there coaching the defense, Kansas State was ranked in the top 5 nationally in total defense.

From a recruiting stand point, I think its wait and see. Wannstedt has said he wants his coordinators to coach and his position coaches to recruit, so that says something. I think many players and recruits will like his "ole shucks" type personality who will also get after you when you need a kick in the rear. Very nice guy. Something many dont know is that his wife was killed by lightening back in 1999 and he has been raising his two kids on his own.

I dont think it will be long before we see Bennett's impact on this program and we get used to seeing defensive sets and calls like we saw during the WVU game this year.

The Q&A

For those new to this, I generally refer to questions that Pitt fans ask in weekly Q&A sessions with Paul Zeise at the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. Instead of going with his answers, I put my own thoughts out there combined with what I know as far as what is going on behind the scenes. And here we go!

Paul Zeise's Answers

With a lot of incoming talent (Cameron Saddler, Jon Baldwin, Greg Cross, etc) do you see our offense evolving/changing at all?

If you think you are going to see major changes to the offense, forget about. We will still be running a lot at of the tradition I with Collins at FB and McCoy at RB. That being said, I do think the Wildcat Package does evolve this year. Greg Cross was brought in for a few reasons (depth, athletic ability, competition), but I believe since the day the offered him they contemplated him running the Wildcat Package with McCoy this year. The Wildcat will also have a different look with an athletic QB in the mix, as we wont have Bostick splitting out as a wide out when everyone and their grandmother knows he is not going to be thrown to. Instead, the Wildcat now becomes a variation of the spread option with Cross getting the snap and being able to not only run with the ball or give it to McCoy, but also have a realistic threat to pass the ball out of the offense (any one remember McCoy's duck to Byham last year?). While you won't see it become our bread and butter, adding another scheme and system to your offense will really make opposing teams have to dedicate additional time to cover both systems. It will also be nice for situations where an opposing team may be able to halt the traditional system and the Wildcat can be thrown in as a change of pace. I think it is a great strategy and one I plan to watch throughout Spring practices.

Back to the rest of the question on the other offensive talent at the skill positions, I think we will see a lot of redshirts for those not named Cross or Baldwin. Its actually a testament to some of the depth Wannstedt put together in his 06' and 07' classes that will finally be Juniors and Sophomores (if they didnt redshirt).

Now that signing day has come and gone, how many of these incoming freshman do you actually see having an impact on the team THIS year? They don't have to lead the league in their category, but anyone you think will fight for a starting position?

I know any people want to see some of the talented freshmen play right away, but luckily we are starting to get a lot of depth with some very high talent (06' and 07' classes who are not even upperclassmen yet). I do see potentially spots on the offensive line that could be up for grabs for Lucas Nix and Robb Houser. With both offensive tackle spots being vacated by what looks like a first round draft pick and probably an early day two pick, there is some wiggly room there on the 2-deep. While it is a given that Pinkston will man one spot as a starter, the other is up in the air. Thomas may scoot over to fill the other tackle position, but Nix is good enough to come in and challenge for the position. Not saying I like the idea of a true freshman starting on the line, but it is what it is as far as Pitt's depth and Nix's pure talent. Won't go into much detail with Houser, as he is was the top JUCO center in the nation and brought in to start at the position. Buddy has him working hard and it will be an interesting Spring to see if he locks up the position.

As far as the others, Burns will redshirt because depth is loaded at RB for this season lead by Lesean McCoy. Ryan Turnley is a few years off before making his way to the 2-deep. Saddler may see time on punt/kick returns, but with Audre Wright available coming off a redshirt, I think they do their best to get 5 years out of Saddler. With Shanahan, just to much depth at receiver right now. With Dickerson's move to tight end and Byham and Pelusi looking to be on track, Cruz and Virbitsky will redshirt.

As I said earlier, Greg Cross will see time in certain packages at QB. Baldwin is simply to talented to keep off the field, especially in the redzone (despite what I would call excellent talent and depth at receiver for 08').

We all know the 4- and 5-star recruits projected to be major contributors out of this class, but do you think there are any guys in this class that have Greg Romeus-like potential (a two-star recruit that became a freshman All-American)?

The good old sleeper pick. For me, its Manny Williams. Yes, he is already a 3 star but I think many people forget about him. He was a star at Clairton and was named to the Post Gazette's "Fab-22". Its a shame he was injured in the Rochester game late in the year, especially with a knee injury. The injury is coming along and although he is headed for a redshirt this coming season, dont be surprised if in the coming years he makes an impact at either safety or WLB.

I Guess I'm Back

So here we go again Pitt fans. I decided after doing some thinking, it may be time to start this thing up again. For those that were around last year when I made my first entry into the blog, it went really well for quite some time. 22,000 hits for only the short time that this blog was up for last time around. As the news died down though during the Summer and my life became a little more hectic, the blog went on hold.

That all being said, it is good to be back! I will try and updated this daily. For those that are new to my blog, please take a look at my previous posts and you will see what type of articles I write. I tend to write opinion pieces, sometimes I may leak something I get wind of (though not through either of the main recruiting networks), and I also tend to do some evaluation of recruits. Seems like I hit the mark right on this time last year with Chris Burns, who no one knew when he committed.

If anything comes up that you would like me to address, please feel free to email me and I'll see what I can do. Hopefully this goes as well this time around and that I will also be able to maintain this site for the long haul.