Writing from a city with only one daily, I really appreciate the fact that Pittsburgh manages to support two. A lot of what is reported at practices can be duplicated, but you also can see the biases and different perceptions from the writers. Take the all important QB Derby.
The view from P-G beat writer, Paul Zeise.
In the competition for starting quarterback, the main attraction in camp, Palko had his second strong performance in two days. He has outperformed Getsy so far.
Now the Trib’s Joe Bendel take.
The quarterback derby between Tyler Palko and Luke Getsy was not especially eventful.
I think you could get a clearer idea of where things stand by reading cat intestines.
Zeise’s beat report starts with a bit on Freshman QB Darrell Strong’s big arm. I guess we know who asked about him to Harris yesterday. He’s expected to redshirt. Assuming Tim Murphy goes to tailback fulltime, there is a battle for the fullback position between Kellen Campbell, Justin Acierno and Tyler Tipton. Jawan Walker, the RB with “academic work to do,” was no where to be seen. Rampant speculation is that he is going to transfer or be academically ineligible for the season.
The Bendel report from above is not that different from Zeise’s but there are more details concerning WR Princell Brockenbrough practicing for a little bit, but in some obvious pain and having to sit for the last 2 hours of practice. Cornerback, Josh Lay, also with “academic work to do,” was at the practice facility working out individually with the new strength coach. It’s not clear when he will be able to begin practicing with the team. Pitt starts practicing in full pads on Monday.
Bendel has another beat report, with notes on 3 players. Senior walk-on kicker Gibboney is a “pure country kid” and class clown; Larry Moore is not surprisingly inconsistent in his transition from CB to WR; Marcus Furman, the forgotten man in the RB battle looks good to Bendel — might be one of Bendel’s favorites. As a side note, Pitt has 10 players at 6′ 5″ or taller (the biggest is 6′ 8″ and 315 pounds).
Bendel has two more articles on the running back battle. It looks like a battle between Kirkley and Murphy. Kirkley built himself up more over the offseason, but Murphy is a bit faster. Both are 5′ 10″, and there is only 10 pounds difference between the two. Murphy appears to be in a can’t lose situation. Even if he doesn’t win the job for tailback, he will still see plenty of action back at fullback.
The question, though, is whether there will be any holes for them to run through. One big Pitt player is trying to help as he moved from defensive tackle to the offensive line. Charles Spencer seems to be doing decently with the move. Spencer is 6’5″, 330 pounds. If he can make the change successfully, he could be a huge help as the left guard. Rob Petitti raved about him in the story.
