For just a post. Lots of good stuff over at CollegeFootballNews.com. There is the spring preview of the Big East. Less than a month until the first spring football practice.

Pittsburgh Spring practice starts March 19, Spring Game April 16
What needs working on … Pass defense. Dave Wannstedt had his faults as an NFL head coach, but there’s no questioning what he was able to do as a defensive coordinator. Pittsburgh gave up 255 yards per game through the air last season and needs to stiffen up despite the loss of starting strong safety Tyrone Gilliard.
The most important position to watch is … Receiver. Greg Lee isn’t quite the next Larry Fitzgerald, but he can certainly be the next Antonio Bryant and become the Biletnikoff winner is he comes up with another huge season. As a sophomore, Lee caught 68 passes for 1,297 yards and ten touchdowns averaging 18.9 yards per grab. Joe DelSardo is a strong enough number two to burn defenses that don’t take him seriously.
Spring attitude… Prove that this really is the best team in the Big East. No one was ecstatic about Pittsburgh being in the BCS, but it did what it had to do to get there and proved to be the Big East’s most deserving team. Now is a chance to take a step up and really be the elite power worthy of being in the BCS with a good defensive head coach and a fantastic passing game.

Then there are the storylines of the Big East. The biggest will be the ongoing issue of whether the BE should have an automatic BCS bid. Worth reading, especially #7.

Final thing is a review of all the new coach hirings and thoughts on each.

Pittsburgh
Head Coach: Dave Wannstedt
Former Coach: Walt Harris — Head coach at Stanford

Bio: After 16 up-and-down seasons with three of the most storied NFL organizations, Wannstedt, 52, heads back to college determined to lead his alma mater to the glory days of the 1970s. He’ll forever be linked to Jimmy Johnson, for whom he served as defensive coordinator at Oklahoma State, Miami and the Dallas Cowboys. Together, the two won a national championship in 1987 and a pair of Super Bowls in the early 1990s. Wannstedt’s head coaching career with the Chicago Bears and Miami Dolphins was a mixed bag of mediocrity and unfulfilled expectations.

The Skinny: If the transition to the college game is a smooth one, Wannstedt looks like an ideal fit for Pittsburgh. For years, the Panthers tried to lure him back home, but only after last year’s debacle in Miami did it come to fruition. He leads with passion and integrity, and has already created the kind of commotion around the Steel City that was foreign to Walt Harris. Like Pete Carroll, Wannstedt relates well to young people, and could be better suited for coaching at this level.

Putting Out the Welcome Mat: LB H.B. Blades. Already the Panthers’ top defender, Blades should become an even bigger factor in a defense that’s predicated on speed and attacking.

Seems like a cautious thumbs up for the hire. Plenty of qualifiers.