A mellower Walt Harris on Friday. Not a large amount of quotes (PDF version). He was vague on whether the scrimmage for tomorrow would take place and didn’t want to talk about the injured players who came back to practice today — beat reporters to fill in gap. A little special teams talk — apparently punter Adam Graessele is struggling. A couple comments about Darrelle Revis including a potential red flag — academics.

On defensive back Darrelle Revis’ academic progress:
“He took care of his business. A lot of people, I’m sure, were apart of that equation to help him figure that out and do what he had to do. It’s great. I think it was a family situation, too. I know they worked hard. I know (his uncle) Sean (Gilbert) was involved in being able to help him get help and to do well on all of the academic requirements he had to do, which is great. They’re a great family, by the way. They are really enjoyable. It was probably one of the most fun nights I had at a home (visit) was the night I went over there after a basketball game for an official visit to his home with his mother Diana and her brother Sean. I met Sean, but I had never had a chance to be around him before. He’s quite the personality.”

Didn’t know about the Sean Gilbert connection. Revis is a talent, but the academics bear watching.

Both beat writers do a full story on Coach Walt Harris’ very strong comments about the heart and will of the players. Zeise at the P-G called it “a line in the sand” for the team. Bendel for the Trib. considered it a “candid and powerful message.” Both said Harris was very frustrated by the number of injuries and at having to cut practice short for a second day.

Since they were there, and saw and heard much more, I will defer to them. Neither one seems to suggest that this was part of a “Not my fault” Walt moment. They seem to read it as a lighting-the-fire-under-the-ass type ploy. I hope it works. These sort of tirades to the media can blow-up on a coach real easily. You are still talking about dealing with pain thresholds and kids. With a young team, they are still learning about playing with and through pain.

As for walk-ons who could start, there look to be at least two. Rob Federick at Left Guard, and Joe DelSardo for the split-end WR position. DelSardo is also the subject of a puff piece. The kid is 5′ 8″ and 200 pounds. 5-8 and he appears #1 on the depth chart right now. Walt may have a real point.

Bendel’s notebook seems to very subtly suggest that Palko is starting to open up a lead in the QB derby. Freshman cornerback Allen Richardson has switched to offense and will play wide receiver.

Zeise’s notebook focuses on the number of NFL scouts attending Pitt practices this year. Zeise has more on other injuries.

Maybe it’s just the fact that I’m seeing the direct quotes for the first time, but Coach Harris seems especially prickly this year. The other possibility is that he’s already feeling a lot of pressure to have a good season after last year’s flop. This one stood out:

On the possibility of having walk-ons start at various positions:
“It does concern me. You’d think some of the scholarship guys would wake up or transfer. We don’t know who it is, though. We want the best player that is available. Some of those scholarship guys need to wake up, if that’s the way it’s going to be.”

Man, that seemed like a pointed comment at someone. Hopefully the beat reporters will help make it clearer about whom he could be talking.

Greg Lee no longer has a hamstring problem, it’s his quad. It was his hamstring, but now… I don’t know. I do know that he almost sounded like he was questioning Lee’s injury.

The cynic in me is starting to wonder. Harris is complaining about a lot of injuries and making a lot of questionable comments about the heart and drive of some players after a little more than a week of practices. Is Harris looking to set a fire under his players or is he already into the “Not My Fault” Walt mode. Something doesn’t feel right, and I’m getting fearful about how this season will play itself out.

Well, damn.

The Big East can’t impose a $5 million fine on Boston College for defecting to the Atlantic Coast Conference, and it can’t force BC to remain in the conference for an extra 15 months, a Superior Court judge has ruled.

The decision passed down by Wednesday keeps Boston College on track to join the ACC next July and pay a $1 million withdrawal fee to the Big East.

The Big East is “extremely disappointed,” and considering an appeal.

More on the cornerbacks, seems to be the theme today. Sophomore Reggie Carter gets the focus. Carter wants to play like, Deon Sanders, and like Sanders needs more work on his run stopping. His pass coverage is good. Carter admits the need to be more physical. There is also a more general piece about the other players vying for starting positions in the secondary. Pitt lost a lot of experience from its secondary.

Bendel’s notebook also did the injury thing. There were 14 players out with some sort of injury, but none were terribly serious. Bendel noted that Harris was very frustrated, though, in part because it cut the 3-hour practice short by about 20 minutes.

Okay, the Trib site seems to be functioning again, after not working all morning.

The Pitt-Penn State story.

Long contacted Curley several months ago about renewing the series and said Wednesday that he is optimistic a deal can be worked out. Curley also expressed hope that the two schools can come to terms. Penn State no longer is demanding a 2-for-1 setup, in which it would host two games at Beaver Stadium for every game played in Pittsburgh.
…
Penn State’s concession alone won’t guarantee the series’ return. Several other factors, including the possibility of a permanent 12-game regular season, could come into play.
…
However, the NCAA could permanently increase the number of regular-season college football games from 11 to 12 as soon as next season. If the 12-game schedule passes, Penn State would instantly have an opening.
…
Pitt coach Walt Harris has been vocal in his desire to resume the series. He’s even suggested that politicians should get involved.

Penn State officials and coach Joe Paterno do not believe lawmakers in Harrisburg should mandate an annual football game.

Florida law mandates an annual game between Florida State and U of Florida. If Penn State doesn’t want the state involved, do it voluntarily or don’t take state money.

Looks like the only way it will start befor 2010 is if the NCAA allows the permanent 12 game schedule. Showing their usual concern for the student part of the student-athlete by adding another regular season game to be played.

The dropping of the 2-for-1 dealbreaker seems to be a sign not just of the increased pressure from PSU alumni and donors for the game, but the economic reality to bring in more fans to an increasingly emptier stadium. Beating up on Temple no longer guarantees a packed house.

I am still a little cautious at this point, since I have said I don’t think the game would return until after Paterno was in the ground. Paterno, could still gum this up, but apparently there are more forces working against him than in the past.

There’s something screwy right now with the Tribune-Review website. I had trouble even getting on the site, and individual articles are giving me error messages. Really frustrating when you see this in the sports section:

Pitt-Penn State rivalry may be renewed
The Pitt-Penn State football rivalry might soon be revived if discussions between athletic directors Jeff Long and Tim Curley continue to make progress.

Hopefully the site will be working soon and this and the other Pitt stories will be linked here.

That just leaves the P-G articles for now. A story on the new cornerbacks, specifically focusing on Darrelle Revis. Revis, a freshman, has looked spectacular in practice looks like he could earn a starting position. He may also be returning kicks. Tom Lemming for ESPN (subscription only) lists Revis as one of the freshmen who will have an impact in the Big East.

In Zeise’s notebook, a little more on the injuries that had Coach Harris so pissed.Three linemen,

John Simonitis, Charles Spencer and Rob Petitti all failed to finish practice because of unknown ailments. Starting strong safety Tyrone Gilliard left practice after his hamstring apparently was pulled.

The list of players who didn’t practice at all includes starting middle linebacker Clint Session (headache), receivers Tom Kail, Greg Lee (hamstring), Tom Kail, Brandon Ballard, Larry Moore (hamstring) and Kelvin Chandler, defensive tackle Andy Alleman, fullback Justin Acierno, running back Marcus Furman (hip) and defensive tackle Michael Hearn.

On the positive side, right tackle Mike McGlynn (knee) and defensive tackle Vince Crochunis (knee) returned to practice.

I guess that is a kind of high, though it really should be expected in the first couple weeks that there will be some kids that will get a little too banged up. Trying to do too much too soon.

While Jeff Adrien visited with Pitt, the message boards were saying he was really wowed when he visited UConn. Now it appears that he has given a verbal to UConn. While the actual story is behind the Rivals subscription wall, the profile notes “solid verbal” next to UConn.

UPDATE: Here’s the story from the Hartford Courant. He decided to stay closer to home, and he liked the idea of playing for Calhoun.

I’m not sure, but judging by some of the answers, Coach Harris seemed a little annoyed today (PDF version).

On linebacker Clint Session’s absence from practice today:
“He’s got a headache.”
…
On Pittsburgh’s veteran wide receivers :
“I don’t think there are any veterans out there at receiver other than Joe Del Sardo. To say he’s a veteran, he’s a true sophomore, that isn’t saying much right now.”
…
On defensive lineman Phil Tillman:
“We like Phil, but it’s still a little too early to talk about guys who just showed up in horrible shape. He does have some football ability but we’ll see.”

Part of it seems to be that the number of dinged up players is limiting some of what he can do in practice. Lots of questions regarding that today. I don’t know who else got hurt today. Most of the injuries to this point seemed kind of normal as you get more contact drills. With issues of depth, though, any starter being out is a big problem.

Plenty of articles. Not a lot of news. The shine of fall practices has started to come off, and now it is just reporting basic information and some sightings.

Not a player puff piece or profile, but a story on Greg Lee now being the leader of the now thinned wide receiver corp. Lee seems to be handling the role of “the guy coming after Larry Fitzgerald” well. After Lee, the other 2 positions are still open. It does look that Senior Joe Stephens and walk-on sophomore Joe DelSardo are getting the most first team reps. They have the most experience in the offense, so that makes some sense.

A couple complimentary stories concerning the defense. Specifically, improving from the “non-existent” pass rush of last year. For that to happen, the linemen have to actually get pressure on the QB. The numbers from last year were pathetic. Only 21 sacks in 13 games (and 6 came against Temple). A lot of the bad pass rush of last year is laid at the feet of now gone, Claude Harriott’s hideous season. That his bad year, “contaminated” the whole defense. Sorry. Can’t buy that. The pathetic defense was a team effort. Harriott played poorly and underachieved but no one else was doing anything on the line. Of some concern for this line is that several of the linemen are undersized. Now speed and power are good and can help, but you do get worn down in a game and a season. Something to watch.

Now the beat reporter notebooks. Both had similar items, but Bendel had personal observations on players in practice: Murphy had a good day in the battle for the starting RB battle; and the QB battle was a draw. Both noted Brockenbrough’s knee surgery and the growing list of (mostly) minor injuries to players. Zeise’s notebook went more in-depth on the changes to fall practices dictated by the NCAA, and Harris’ dissatisfaction with them.

Both notebooks mentioned it, but Zeise’s was more detailed and this is a juicy tidbit for the basketball team.

Pitt basketball coach Jamie Dixon stopped by practice, along with assistants Joe Lombardi and Orlando Antigua. The trio was escorting prospective recruit Jeff Adrien, one of the top power forwards in the country, who was on an unofficial visit to the campus. Adrien, who is 6 feet 5, 225 pounds and is from Brookline, Mass., visited Connecticut over the weekend and is reportedly going to decide between the two this week. He will play at Brewster Academy in New Hampshire this season.

Us or UConn for a top-50 recruit for 2005 (though not listed in the top 100 in another list). Now that would be sweet. Also very important if Mike Davis doesn’t qualify academically in time.

Selected quotes from Coach Harris‘ Monday press conference after practices (PDF version).

Greg Lee looks great in filling the WR spot previously held by Fitzgerald. Lee, though, has tweaked his hamstring. This bears watching closely.

Still nothing on the quaterbacks, let’s try not to read anything into everytime he gives a response.

Brockenbrough’s surgery went well. “They didn’t have to do a complete reconstruction.” No timetable on when he might return.

Since the topic of the week seems to be WVU (and because I feel guilty for not contributing since about week two of PSB), here’s a missive from Morgantown. All over the country, WVU is being inexplicably touted as a top-dozen team (which has gotten Lee all hot and bothered, since WVU is not a Big Ten team, where being perennially overrated is a birthright).

Yet here in hoopieland, the thing that strikes me is how little it seems to be affecting the Mountaineer faithful. Now maybe I don’t hang out with the rabid football fanatics here. Or maybe the town is in the grip of that end-of-summer, I-can’t-believe-twenty-some-thousand-kids-are-descending-next- week-upon-our-sleepy-little-town haze. But the buzz seems to be at a minimum, considering this is apparently the highest pre-season ranking ever for WVU. The local rag has dutifully reported the rankings, of course, and pondered on them in a column or two, but nobody seems particularly curious or fearful or even excited. As far as I can tell, it seems about as unexpected as today’s front-page headline: “WVU Ranked #4 Party School in Nation.”

Last year, when the Panther expectations were so high, the hue and cry in Pittsburgh seemed much greater.

Maybe it’s some kind of West Virginia mindset, a lack of trust in those outsiders in the national media combined with a lack of self-esteem. Or maybe it’ll all change when school starts next week and football season feels like more of a reality.

I can’t believe I have to defend WVU, but Lee said,

“Nobody goes from unranked and bitchslapped-by-Maryland to #10 in one year, especially with their vanilla recruiting.”

I’d love to have found a website that lists the preseason and final rankings in a poll for the last 5 years, but nothing came up on Google. If anyone knows, pass it on.

Lee keeps throwing up the Maryland loss as his justification. That any team that got pounded by a top #20 team at the end of the year like that shouldn’t be ranked very high. As I recall, they were ranked before the loss, and deservedly fell out of the top #25. I also don’t know why Lee cares so much about preseason rankings that are mere predictions and expectations of teams. Reality is only tangentially related.

As I said, Maryland was the only team that completely destroyed WVU (twice) last year. They inexcusably gave away the Cinci and Wisconsin games. Right now, it just looks like Maryland is in their head

So, let’s take a look at the top 25 in pre-season.

Hey, look at #10: Florida. Finished last season at #25 (barely), after losing 37-17 to Iowa.

#11 WVU. See above. Considered to have the 9th best offense in the country. The #6 offensive line (and we all know how important that is).

#15 California. Finished unranked after winning that wild shootout with Virginia Tech, with an 8-6 record.

#18 Auburn and #19 Virginia both finished their seasons strong after disappointing most of the year, but still ended unranked.

#22 Wisconsin. Ended the season losing 5 of 6. Do that over the last 6 games, and ranking that team anywhere in the top 25 seems like a more egregious sin than putting WVU too high in the polls.

#25 Oregon. 5-3 in the Pac 10 without facing USC last year. Had a stretch where they lost 4 of 5 including a 59-14 drubbing to 5-7 Arizona State (also 55-16 to Wash. St. and 42-10 to Washington).

So that makes 5 teams, unranked at the end of last season in the top 25. Plus one that barely made it in the top 25 at #10. Explain the outrage again?

For the life of me, I don’t know why Lee just doesn’t make it a post when he actually has enough of a rant to fill 2 comments.

The same team that had Miami almost beaten before a couple great catches on a last minute drive kept Morgantown from burning to the ground.

I’m not going to try and explain the Maryland game, because I can’t. They laid a frickin’ egg. About as close as I can come, is that Maryland has their number. They’re in their head. Much the way Pitt had gotten in the head of VT the last few years.

I gave my reasons why a couple weeks ago (also see the comments). You disagreed. Great. Their offense looks very good (and with a good o-line); their bigger question will be the defensive line. They have a shut down corner in Jones. They have some depth and a veteran team.

Re-read the post, the point is, we actually need them to be good for the security of Pitt and the Big East. I don’t like it. It’s more fun to root for them to crash and burn, but because of the present situation, there is more a need for esprit de corps among the survivors in the Big East.

If the Big East can keep a team in the top 12 of the BCS for the 4 year probation, then the Big East isn’t at risk. In the bigger picture, that would help Pitt on several fronts.

Of course the story in the papers is the return of Josh Lay to team practice. He appeared to look good in scrimmages and was hitting hard. Lay is Pitt’s most experienced cornerback, so he is very important to Pitt’s defense.

There doesn’t seem to be a lot of optimism about WR Princell Brockenbrough playing this season. Brockenbrough undergoes exploratory surgery today to discover the extent of the damage to his knee.

Shorter versions of those stories are in Zeise’s notebook column, along with a list of who didn’t practice with what ailment and NCAA eligibility issues.

A focus piece on picking a starting running back. Zeise seems to like Murphy for the position because of his speed, but says the job is probably Kirkley’s to lose. Pitt has only had one 1,000 yard rusher in the last 7 years. I don’t think that will change this year, because I think Kirkley and Murphy (along with Marcus Furman and possibly freshman Brandon Mason) will split the load. Unlike the QB position, it isn’t so bad to split time.

Some quick hits from Bendel’s notebook column. Freshman CB, Darelle Revis, has opened eyes with his play so far. He looks to at least get some playing time at corner and do some kick returning. Charles Spencer, the subject of a glowing story on his conversion to the offensive line, is not going nearly as well as the earlier piece suggested. “Charles is swimming right now.” Bendel has written off RB Jawan Walker as rejoining the team this year.