Here’s something no one saw coming, Chris Taft looks more likely than ever to go to the NBA Draft. He has time to make his decsion — until May. Funny thing about both stories. No one is hearing anything from Taft since his “50-50” comment after the Pacific loss. The P-G story is much more critical of his game with some comments from ESPN analyst Fran Fraschilla.

Many NBA scouts love his athleticism, but others are not confident he has enough of a post game to be consistently successful in the NBA.

Those discrepancies make Taft one of the most controversial prospects of the year. In various mock drafts on basketball Web sites (nbadraft.net, probasketball.com and collegehoopsnet.com), Taft is projected as a top-10 pick, but he could slide as other high school, college and international players declare.

“Could Chris Taft go in the lottery? Possibly,” Fraschilla said. “But he would be better served to stay and dominate in the Big East for a year. This season, it was one night he looked like a first-round pick and the next night it looked like he didn’t care about being out there. I was disappointed with Chris’ sophomore year. I thought he would dominate the [Big East]. I can see him going anywhere from No. 5 to 25.”
…
“Chris fits into the range of someone who could be a good pro or he could be out of the league quickly and having to learn to learn a second language. Chris could be in a situation two years from now where he’s playing in Turkey. Chris’ stock would rise if he focused on having one great college season”

I think we know the cliches, “you can’t teach size,” “potential,” and “upside.” All apply to Taft. I haven’t seen a mock draft yet that doesn’t have Taft in the top-10. How can you not go for the guaranteed cash of a 1op-10, especially with further cap and salary restrictions likely in the NBA after this draft?

Sidenote a Chevon Troutman ranges from anywhere to a late 2nd to just outside the draft board. It will be worth watching to see if Troutman can help his stock at some of the workout camps.

In other notes, an article mentions in passing that past Pitt point guard Jerry McCullough is playing in the Italian Basketball League for A.J. Milan.

From the “regrets, I’ve had a few” department, an article talking about the numerous departures from the Penn State basketball team.

Center Rob Summers, who is currently redshirting at West Virginia, left Penn State after last year’s 9-19 season because he simply couldn’t take the losing.

“Once the season was over and we went to Big Ten tournament, I thought it was time to move on,” Summers said. “Losing took its toll on me.”

But why, then, did he commit to Penn State as a high school senior when the Lions finished last in the Big Ten with a 7-21 record?

“The coaching staff and opportunity to play and not redshirt attracted me to Penn State,” Summers said. “It came down to Pitt and Penn State, but Pitt wanted me to redshirt.”

And instead he is now sitting out the year at WVU.

With the Trib. getting the scoop on everyone else yesterday, there are choices.

Option 1, just report the story without acknowledging who broke it first.

Pitt was the first school to offer a scholarship, but Johnstown coach Bob Arcurio said 15-20 Division I colleges had requested film on Corson.

Corson attended “junior days” at Michigan State and Maryland.

“After he went to Pitt, he just said he enjoyed the coaching staff so much,” Arcurio said. “And it wasn’t just the big man [Wannstedt]. He said all the coaches were down to earth.

“Big Man.” That could work.

The other, especially if you are in the business of covering recruiting, mention that the story was false, though accurate.

Greater Johnstown (Pa.) high school was planning a press conference this morning so defensive tackle/offensive lineman Scott Corson could announce his intentions to attend the University of Pittsburgh. A local newspaper ran with the story early this morning, one problem though Corson wasn’t committed.

“I was a little surprised when I heard about that,” Corson said. “I told the guy I was in the process of committing. I never committed until about 9:50 AM this morning, that’s when I called Coach Wannstedt and broke the news.”

According to Scout’s Big East/Pitt Recruiting analyst Rob Lichtenfels

Corson is a slender 280-pound lineman, if that’s possible. He has the frame that should enable him to gain an additional 20 pounds and most would not be able to tell. His size will be the determining factor as to which position he plays at the next level.

“No one ever believes me when I tell them I weigh 280 pounds,” laughed Corson. “Pitt likes me at defensive tackle, but it will depend on how big I get.”

On tape, you can see what coaches like about Corson. He has exceptional feet and balance for a big man. He moves really well, he gets to the second level very fast, he has outstanding hip and knee bend. He is still raw in many facets of the game, but he has the frame and speed that college’s love in a lineman. With one to two years in a college strength and conditioning program Corson will be a specimen.

Corson will attend Pittsburgh’s Blue Chip junior day this weekend. He will also attend the Scout.com Combine at Akron University, May 28th .

According to the article, Corson had transferred from a smaller high school to Johnstown the previous year. Sounds like a familiar discussion.

Also worth noting, a puff piece on defensive end Azzie Beagnyam coming back from a fractured ankle he suffered in the Nebraska game.

Look, maybe I’m trying to find the dark cloud in all of this, but I have to get this out of my system. These really early recruits make me a little nervous. It’s along the line of what Paterno does/did with recruiting. Where he’d lock up his class really early, only to find out that those evaluations weren’t as accurate. Then have no more scholarships to offer other blue-chippers who would have helped and were still out there. It was part of what caught up to Penn State the last couple of years.

Now having said that, I understand that Wannstedt is doing this in part, to show to the area coaches and recruits how important they are and how much he is focusing on Western Pennsylvania. And of course, because the recruits look to be very good.

The latest verbal comes from Johnstown — Scott Corson.

He chose Pitt, which sent a written offer last week, over verbal offers from Maryland and Michigan State.

“I’ve wanted to go to Pitt for a long time, anyway,” Corson said. “I’ve always liked the school and its athletics. I’m pretty excited. It’s a great school. I’m real happy about it.”
…
Corson was a two-way starter for the District 6 champion Trojans last season after transferring from Conemaugh Valley. He started at left tackle, both offensively and defensively.

Johnstown coach Bob Arcurio said Corson is still “raw” athletically, but opened scouts’ eyes with his speed. Corson said he has been timed at 4.9 seconds in the 40-yard dash.

“Fundamentally, he needed a lot of work – he still does – but he’s quick,” Arcurio said. “That’s what Pitt liked. Coach Wannstedt is looking for speed.”
…
Arcurio said Corson decided to pick Pitt after receiving handwritten letters from more than a dozen schools, including Michigan, Nebraska and Penn State.

Corson will be playing both Defensive End and Right Guard this year. Line play. Line play. Line play.

There isn’t much info yet at the recruiting sites, but the list of interested schools include a several from the Big 11.

Nothing not already reported in any of the stories writing up the lawsuit. Pitt isn’t commenting. The lawyers for the case have plenty of quotes about how the season ticket holders had an iron-clad guarantee and are being wronged.

They are seeking an injunction before the expected reseating in May.

Question for the readers: are any of you season ticket holders for Pitt basketball? Not the student section. I’m talking about the mandatory donation for the right to buy season tickets group. I’m wondering whether season ticket-holders have to sign anything else or get further documentation from Pitt, to the effect that the “university reserves the right to change the terms, yada, yada, yada.” Send me an e-mail if you are.

I’ve been looking over the complaint for the class action. It makes the basic claims, but there is not much there. The causes of action are: Breach of Contract; Promissory Estoppel; and Violation of the PA Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law (73 PS Sec. 201-2(xiv)). The last is essentially a codified contract claim (“Failing to comply with the terms of any written guarantee or warranty given to the buyer at, prior to or after a contract for the purchase of goods or services is made”).

All of the claims are essentially based on the brochure sent out in 2000 that stated they would be guaranteeing the right to their seat.

They don’t cite to any precedents in the initial complaint. I live and practiced law in Ohio, so I don’t know how Pennsylvania would treat this sort of fact pattern. It doesn’t really pass my “sniff test,” but you never know if the case ends up before a grandstanding judge in the Allegheny Common Pleas Court.

I don’t think much of the ticket policy, as I keep repeating, and I think Pitt is badly overestimating the demand for season tickets. Rex, in the comments, probably summed this up best.

leave it to Pitt to ruin a good thing. The Pete was always filled, fans and alumni were happy, the team was winning, now they are gouging the fans and expect them to have no opinion. Another stupid mistake.

A particularly ham-handed approach.

H.B. Blades was one of 54 players named to the Lombardi Award Watch list. The Lombardi Award is eligible to “down linemen and defensive players who line up within five yards of the football.”

According to the press release on the watch list, this is the preliminary list assembled based on those who received accolades in the post 2004 season. In Blades’ case, being named to the 1st team All-Big East. Additional names will be added to the watch list in August.

The first, last and only Pitt player to win this award was, of course, Hugh Green in 1980.

Well, the threatened lawsuit against Pitt for its new donation/seating policy at the Pete is happening.

Prior to the opening of the Petersen Events Center in 2002, Pitt created and promoted a season ticket plan that promised in writing that season ticket holders would be able to keep their same seats every year if they maintained or increased their contributions to the Athletic Department’s fundraising program “Team Pittsburgh,” which is now called “The Panther Club.” Last month, Pitt announced a new plan that reassigns non-Club season ticket seats every year based on a number of factors, including the size of contributions to the Athletic Department’s new fundraising drive.

They have a website for this. You can download a copy of the complaint and exhibits (PDF).

I haven’t had time to read the just filed lawsuit, so I don’t yet have an opinion of the merits. From the press release and the previous story on this, I am suspicious. There is an awful lot of reliance on a brochure encouraging people to get season tickets to form the contract claim.

I’m not a big fan of the approach Pitt has taken in this scheme for increasing “donations,” and I think they overestimate the actual level of interest in acquiring season tickets. So, what may be the result is that Pitt drops the reseating strategy. We’ll see.

The “rumor” (I consider it virtually a given) is getting stronger (via Yoni).

Look for Pitt’s big man, Chris Taft, to formally announce that he’s heading to the pros after the Final Four. Taft, out of Coney Island, could be a lottery pick, depending on his predraft workouts.

The only question, now, is if he even finishes the semester.

It’s been a while since I wrote about the future of the Big East. Now that we are starting into the lull period of football and basketball, finding material to talk about on PSB becomes a little more difficult. The good news, is that means more of what I write will be more analysis and less link and quotes. The bad news, it means putting up with my prose.

When the Big East was raided by the ACC, the logic was there. Money from football. The ACC wanted a bigger share of the BCS pie, the money from a conference championship, and money from the TV rights.

The Big East football contract for TV is going to be a major factor in splitting the conference. Without Miami, VT and even BC (market not marquee value for the last), the BE is facing not just lower amounts of money for the TV contract, but also less control over when the games will be played if the schools want to get on TV and get the money.

This cannot be understated. The BE football teams will be playing a lot of games on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights in the next few years. While occasional games like that are good for highlighting the schools and the conference, it is hell on actual game attendance and enthusiasm. Football has to fill much bigger crowds than basketball. With fewer games, there is a reason for the evolution of tailgating and such. For football you draw fans from a much larger area who come with the plan of making it a full day event. You can’t do that with weekday games.

People like Lee or I who come in from the 100+ mile range are going to start missing more games. (Yes, I’m being a bit selfish, but that doesn’t change the point.) It means more empty seats — which is not what you want to see on the TV screen if you want to promote the team and program. It means more disgruntled fans and alumni who can’t make the games or don’t like the hassle. It means more unpredictability as the games are shifted late and after the schedule was announced and season tickets are sold. It also means pissing off local high schools with Friday night games to hurt their attendance and focus.

The Mountain West Conference had several years of that before they finally had enough.

Last year the Mountain West became the first I-A conference to leave ESPN. Mountain West TV (carrying league football and basketball games) kicks off in 2006 on new cable network CSTV.

College Sports Television is trying to stay a step ahead of the copy cats.

Having to play midweek games and perceived second-class status became too much for the conference’s presidential board. Commissioner Craig Thompson was charged with finding a new TV home. In what was a largely ignored, but significant, deal, he was able to sign a deal with fledgling CSTV in September.

“Us leaving ESPN was the chink in the armor,” Thompson said. “They lost a client for the first time ever, so to speak. Not that we meant that much to them.”

Time will tell whether the move to CSTV (College Sports Television) was progressive or ill-advised. ESPN is still the 800-pound gorilla but even it can’t account for the increasingly fragmented college sports market. Conference USA followed the Mountain West to CSTV, although some of its inventory will remain on ESPN.

Sure, the Mountain West got a 71 percent rights fees increase but it also lost “reach,” the pairs of eyeballs that could see its product. CSTV, which debuted in 2003, is on most major cable systems but lags far behind the Worldwide Leader in terms of viewers and clout.

“They realized they were not going to get the attention they deserved for the sports they deserved stuck as one tiny piece of ESPN’s (empire),” said CSTV cofounder Brian Bedol.
…
The league’s first televised game was Washington-BYU six years ago on a Thursday night. It was eventually asked to play more midweek games. League presidents finally had enough. The midweek games were starting either too early (5:30 p.m. in the Mountain and Pacific time zones) or too late (7:30 or 8).

“We were getting so far away from Saturday football,” Thompson said. “Each year incrementally … (they were) pushing us back to the edges. Our (presidents) said, ‘Monday night at 10 o’clock (Eastern Time)? I’m losing thousands of fans.'”

Playing on actual Saturday afternoons should allow the league to get stronger.

The Big East, with its markets in larger, more eastern areas would be an attractive pairing with CSTV as it tries to get into more markets. Or perhaps the BE might strike a deal with one of the Fox Sports new college networks. It would put more games back on Saturday, and it would get more attention and publicity on CSTV or elsewhare than it will from ESPN. Yes, ESPN is the kingmaker of TV college football, but the BE is going to be relegated increasingly to weekday games which isn’t good for the long-term health of the programs.

The problem is the basketball side of things. The basketball schools have no incentive to leave ESPN. They see none of the football money. What do they care if Pitt and UConn are playing a football game in October on a Wednesday? How does that hurt St. John’s? They get good money and exposure from the basketball portion of the deal. They have no reason to want the change. In fact, for them, it is a bad deal. The money may not be quite as high, and the national exposure definitely drops. They would fight against any move away from ESPN.

For the Big East football schools, though, they risk a little to gain a lot more. Especially if they work a deal with CSTV — which as seen in the NCAA basketball tournament — is already pooling resources and working relationships with CBS Sports (network TV access). Think about media market attraction for a new sports channel by swinging a deal for the college rights for football and basketball for Louisville, Cinci, Syracuse, UConn and Pitt. Even Rutgers gets into the NY/NJ market.

Twenty-five years ago, the Big East was forward thinking with regards to TV contracts and cable. They need to start thinking about taking some new risks.

Not a lot to talk about today or this evening.

An article talking about Pitt’s secondary. No surprise that the corners are talking positively about playing tighter coverage in 2005.

Cornerbacks Josh Lay and Darrelle Revis couldn’t be happier about that. The former Aliquippa High School teammates should excel in that in-your-face style, and they believe Pitt’s defense will be better this season.

“I like that much better,” Revis said. “We’re not going to let anybody punch us in the mouth anymore. We’re trying to take the first punch when we come out there and let people know that we’re going to be aggressive.

“We’re going to be way more aggressive and physical, up in your face, that style of defense. We got a couple tapes from the Miami Dolphins, and we’ve studied tapes like that with them up in your grill.”

Revis was a fuzzy-faced freshman last fall, but he quickly blossomed into a clutch performer and earned freshman All-America honors. Lay, going in his third season as a starter, is the senior leader of an experienced secondary. He also supports the new defensive style.

“They put us on the line to help redirect the receivers,” Lay said. “And, once people put their hands on receivers and mess up their timing and their routes, it’ll be a great advantage for us. That’s my style.

“If I can put my hands on you, it’ll be better off for me instead of being 9 yards off and letting them come to you before making the break.”

The test, of course, will be to see the corners stay with their guy and not pick up penalties.

Another article discusses the transition for Coach Wannstedt and other pro-to-college coaches with the limits on practice times while recruiting 365 days a year. Seems Coach Wannstedt is also letting the players grow facial hair and wear jewelry.

Final item, really isn’t about Pitt, but the column was too stupid to let pass. Smizik has a piece decrying the “unfair advantage” of private high schools and being able to recruit kids from outside limited geographic areas for sports. Wow. Startling stuff. Didn’t see anything like that, say, 10 years ago when Hoop Dreams was released.

Maybe I’m just cynical about this sort of thing since I’ve seen it anywhere I’ve lived — Chicago, Cleveland, Youngstown, Pittsburgh — not exactly a quiet secret.

Of course, nothing like that happens in public schools. Why parents wouldn’t “move” into an apartment in another school district so their kid could be “living” within a different area. I mean, gosh, I didn’t see that happen at Lebanon High School (my high school), where the father of some hot young QB named Kerry Collins, was pissed at the way his son was being used in his freshman year. He suddenly found an apartment to live in the Wilson High School district, and it just so happened that his son transferred there despite living most of the time at his mom’s house in Lebanon.

I will call some attention to it. One of the very infrequently posting members of PSB, John has a website to promote his new (and future) books.

Deadhouse chronicles the exploits of a diverse team of death investigators at a coroner’s office in Pittsburgh. Ed Strimlan is a doctor who never got to practice medicine, so instead he diagnoses how people die. Mike Chichwak is a stolid ex-paramedic, respected around the coroner’s office for his compassion and doggedness. Tiffani Hunt is twenty-one, a single mother who questions whether she wants to spend her nights around dead bodies.

All three deputy coroners share one trait: a compulsive curiosity. A good thing too, because any observation at a death scene can prove meaningful. A bag of groceries standing on a kitchen counter, the milk turning sour. A broken lamp lying on the carpet of an otherwise-tidy living room. When they approach a corpse, the investigators consider everything. Is the victim face-up or down? How stiff are the limbs? Are the hands dirty or clean? By the time they bag the body and load it into the coroner’s wagon, Tiffani, Ed and Mike often have unearthed intimate details that are unknown even to the victim’s family and friends.

We’ll skip the CSI: Pittsburgh jokes.

Congratulations, John, but now you have less excuses not to post some more from Hoopieland.

In the final basketball Q&A for Ray Fittipaldo, it would appear that the overwhelming majority of the questions were declarations that Coach Dixon sucks and then asking variations of when will he be fired. Similar bile was spewed Dixon’s way in the letters page. You would have thought this team was Providence.

Over at ACC BasketBlog there is an interesting piece regarding ever-embattled NC State coach Herb Sendek as a zen master:

But we have not wanted our short, balding leader to only conform to our peers’ successes, we’ve wanted him to conform to our expectations of a good coach and strong leader. You know, to do things like, well, win lots of games. Or, at least demonstrate good communication skills. I mean, if he can’t connect to us and the media, how can he possibly make sense to his players? It’s very hard to picture Sendek rallying his kids in the locker room, shouting before taking the floor, “our paradigm for defense is more holistic!” You know what though, I can totally picture him calmly reciting parables from Bhudda in the middle of a timeout.
…
The criticisms that have plagued Sendek in the past reemerged stronger than ever. He can’t win close games. He had at least four games to show that he could draw up a play at the end of a game to get off a good shot, and his team failed each time. He can’t adjust his diligently prepared plans in mid-game. He had no answer when woeful UVa, of all teams, surprised him with a stall and possession game plan. He doesn’t know how to develop players or best utilize his personnel. Andrew Brackman, after starting so strong, all but disappeared from the box scores in midseason.

[Emphasis added.]

While I don’t see Dixon as a zen master, the issues of communication and what is expected from a head coach is a factor in the number of Pitt fans ready throw Dixon off the bus after this season. His public communication skills has been something that has driven me up a wall these 2 seasons.

Let’s face it, Pitt fans (and most Pittsburghians) like their coaches and managers to be loud, forceful, emotional and blunt. On and off the court/field. There is a sort of appreciation with that. Like the coach understands the fans’ emotions and feelings.

With Coach Dixon, no matter how much he yells and stomps on the sidelines, when it comes time for that interview — ugh and yawn. He just drops into zombie-cliched-coach.

Another piece rating the draft and top Power Forward prospects (Subs. only).

Most GMs will tell you that they always draft for talent, never for need. The problem with that theory is that most teams always need more big men.

The ability of an athletic, 6-foot-10 power player to change the course of a game or season is proven and most teams, especially bad ones, are always in the hunt for them.

That’s why, year after year, the lottery is usually dominated by folks 6-8 and taller.

As many as five of this year’s lottery picks will likely be power forwards. Nowadays they come in all shapes and sizes. Some are big, burly bruisers like Pittsburgh’s Chris Taft and Duke’s Shelden Williams. Others are skilled fours who dominate outside as well as inside like Utah’s Andrew Bogut and Lithuania’s Martynas Andriuskevicius. And then there’s your yearly quota of guys like Hakim Warrick and Wayne Simien who would be lottery picks if they grew two or three more inches in college.

And here’s the rub. Different scouts like different types of power forwards, meaning that the stock of everyone except Bogut and Spain’s Fran Vasquez is all over the place. A few scouts still have Taft in the top five. Others have dropped him down into the late teens. Some scouts have Warrick in the late lottery, others in the 20s. A couple of scouts have Simien in the middle of the first round, others in the second round.

In other words, creating a consensus ranking of the top 10 power forwards this early, before we know who is drafting where, is almost impossible. It’s a bit of a mess.
…
2. Chris Taft, Pittsburgh
The line: 6-10, 260, Sophomore
The skinny: After sleepwalking through the season, Taft might have done enough in the first round of the tournament to help resurrect his draft stock. Taft has the rare combination of size, athleticism, strength and power that had NBA scouts calling him a top-three pick before the season began. However, his lackluster performance during the regular season has raised serious questions about his work ethic and attitude. Despite the hand wringing, everyone still concedes that the chances of Taft’s falling out of the top 10, if he declares, are slim. There’s a dearth of athletic big men in college basketball. When one comes along, very few teams are willing to pass him up. If he can follow up his solid tournament performance with some great individual workouts, his stock will rise. He’s not the stellar prospect he was at the beginning of the season, but in the right system, with the right motivation, Taft still has the most potential of any big guy on the board. Where that leaves him on draft night is anyone’s guess. Most scouts still have him rated between the Nos. 5 and 10 picks. However, a couple have moved him entirely out of the lottery.

In other words, if this season didn’t really hurt his draft stock by more than a couple spots, what does coming back actually do for him?

Specifically the offensive line.

Offensive tackle Mike McGlynn felt almost powerless as Utah’s defense mercilessly blitzed Pitt quarterback Tyler Palko in the Utes’ 35-7 Fiesta Bowl shellacking of the Panthers in January.

He was horrified when he watched film of the game and found out Palko was sacked nine times.

How do you think we felt?

The players on the offensive line seem very optimistic about the running game. Saying this gives them a chance to be more aggressive and attack. I like the optimism, but I’m hoping for more than that. I’m hoping they, you know, learn more technique and get more skilled. Pitt’s running game last year, was practically null, in large part because the offensive line couldn’t produce any penetration or create holes.

The change in offensive philosophy, while welcomed by the offensive linemen, will not come without sacrifice. The first thing is, all of the linemen have been asked to drop a little bit of weight — on average between 15 to 20 pounds — because they will be asked to move around a lot more.

Losing weight, however, does not mean losing strength. McGlynn and Simonitis said they are losing weight gradually while getting stronger and quicker. That should produce a line that is not only fast and physical, but lean and mean as well.

Because Wannstedt wants his linemen to be leaner and quicker, there could be a number of players who will lose their jobs. The competition for starting jobs on the offensive line figures to be intense as the players must prove they are capable of playing physical football.

Well, that and graduation of a number of players on the O-line.

The P-G Pitt football beat reporter Paul Zeise has a Q&A this first week of spring practice. A lot of the questions involve individual present and former players. But there is this.

Q: Is it true Pitt is changing its uniforms for the 2005 season?

ZEISE: Yes, but from what I understand the changes, while noticeable, will be more subtle than the rumors out there would suggest. This is not going to like 1976 or 1982. From what I was told it will look more like last year with some slight alterations to the numbers and the logo. You never know, though, the athletic department is trying to keep this secret until they have a grand unveiling later in the spring or early summer. You’d think by the way everyone is so hush, hush about it they were holding nuclear secrets or something.

Q: How well is Dave Wannstedt being received by high school coaches in recruiting?

ZEISE: Tremendous. He is being given celebrity coach status almost everywhere he has been. That’s the kind of respect and attention that is usually reserved for the big-name coaches out there. One assistant told me they used to walk in the back door of a lot of schools in Florida, for instance, and head straight to the coaches office. Now, they walk in the front and they are greeted by teachers and students looking to meet coach Wannstedt and even get his autograph. That kind of buzz is what the last regime lacked, although they obviously had success in a lot of areas as well. I think — although the Penn State-conspiracy theories about certain high school coaches in this area are juvenile – it is significant that Wannstedt’s first recruit for next year is from Gateway. The last staff seemed to shun and push away, rather than embrace and work with, Terry Smith because of his Penn State roots, which was a mistake. Pitt likely wouldn’t have gotten Justin King anyway, but let me tell you, as many players as Gateway has and will have, this is certainly a coach you want on your side. So that’s a great sign and it is an even better sign that I’ve seen Smith at practices this spring with some of his other players and I’ve talked to him and he really likes and respects Wannstedt and appreciates the way Pitt is doing things.

Also, the strength and conditioning coach, Mike Kent is still with the team. Zeise seems quite pleased with that.

Apparently Coach Wannstedt talked about the Big East announcing that it will have replay next season. Not surprisingly, for a former NFL coach, he’s in favor of it.

Thursday, Wannstedt backed the Big East’s decision to begin using replay this fall. In the system, which was pioneered two years ago by the Big Ten, the decision on whether or not a call should be reviewed rests solely with an official in the press box.

“This is going to be a lot more coach-friendly than the NFL’s system,” Wannstedt said. “We’re really not going to have any decision in it, and I think that will be good.”

I guess I’m agnostic on the issue. It’s fine to have it, but I’m not thinking of it as one of the burning issues of college football.

In a change for the secondary, they will be playing closer to the receiver and the line. That 8-12 yard cushion they were giving last year should be history.

With all the talk about how Pitt will be running the ball more, it is still unclear who the starter will be. Competition appears to be wide open. Even Freshman Rashad Jennings looks like a possibility.

The Dave Wannstedt Summer Football Camps have been announced. There’s the Little Panther Camp (PDF) for kids 6-11. Then there are camps for everyone else (PDF). The camps take place in June.

Final piece on Pitt’s only likely first day draft pick, Rob Petitti. Just a puff piece about his increasing maturity and becoming an adult. Standard fare.

Last year, Joe Starkey defefended Carl Krauser after the Oklahoma St. game. He reprises the defense once more. I know most of the complaints I read or get about Krauser tends to be about his turnovers. I find it a bit misleading considering how much he handled the ball and the fact that Pitt as a team was about average in turnovers (#169 out of 330).

Krauser seems to create love or hate feelings. I’m on the love side, but his game is still nowhere near ready for the NBA.

Now, regarding the Trib article where they were looking for Pitt fans rooting for WVU? The results are rather shallow.

Louisville Coach Rick Pitino briefly talks about going to the Big East next year.