Offensive Coordinator Matt Cavanaugh will be inducted into the Youngstown Curbstone Coaches Hall of Fame tomorrow. You know, I lived in Y-town for 2 years and never heard of this group. I have no idea where they put the plaques.

My first thought was that they had resurrected the “Youngstown Walk of Fame.” Apparently at some in the early 90s they had various “famous” people and athletes from Youngstown on one of the once busy streets. What they had used though was that stuff you see around swimming pools usually looking like feet, to make the starts. So by the time I got there in ’97, most of the stars were ripped or unreadable. I didn’t recognize most of the names I could make out. The only one I knew then was Dave Dravecky. A mediocre starting pitcher in the 80s. Most might remember the clips of his arm breaking while pitching.

The other thing, is just an amusing piece of delusion from a sportswriter for East Carolina. They still like to think they will make the jump to the Big East someday.

There is also speculation that the addition of a 12th game could bring new discussions about expansion of the Big East, a conference now with just eight football schools. Adding a game will bring scheduling opportunities and challenges for those schools.

The new Big East football conference is comprised of Cincinnati, UConn, Louisville,
Pitt, Rutgers, Syracuse , South Florida and West Virginia.

The status of the Big East in the Bowl Championship series has become tenuous since the exodus of Miami, Boston College and Virginia Tech. There’s no question the Big East has lost some glitter as a major football conference, in terms of perception.
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Would adding ECU help or hurt in that regard? There is no question that the Pirates’ recent football woes have come at a very bad time. In fact, timing could not be worse.

Looking ahead, however, there is a renewed sense that ECU could be back on track in the near future. At the very least an argument can be made that the commitment is there.

Bringing in national names like Terry Holland and Skip Holtz have raised some eyebrows around the country. This should be helpful if, indeed, the Big East makes a move anytime soon.

Having South Florida move ahead of ECU in this sweepstakes the first time around is still a bitter pill for many Pirate faithful. Perhaps there is another opportunity around the bend. And it could be rushed along a bit by this 12-game schedule.

I realize the pickings are slim for finding more football schools when the Big East splits in about 5 years and the football schools need to pick up some other teams. East Carolina, though, is way down on the list. Memphis, Southern Miss., Marshall, Central Florida are all in front of ECU.

I said Chevon Troutman was making a mistake for trying to play any football while still holding out hopes of playing in the NBA. Yesterday, Ron Cook, said it was a mistake for Troutman because he didn’t have the passion for it.

Well his first tryout ended quickly. Troutman was cut after the first day.

It was a bad sign when coach Joe Gibbs at first couldn’t place Troutman. Gibbs had been asked for his assessment of the player whom the Redskins hoped might be the next Gates, who zoomed from Kent State basketball star to Pro Bowl tight end for San Diego in just two years.

“That’s a good question,” Gibbs said. “I wish you hadn’t have asked it. … oh, the basketball player. … San Diego starts it off and they get a tight end [Gates] who came out of basketball and plays great. You’d have to say running around in college basketball, there’s a lot of good-looking tight ends. Every time I see them, you’re like, ‘Good gosh, they’re all tight end potential.’ “

Sounds like Gibbs really wasn’t too enthused about bringing Troutman into camp in the first place.

“Chevon showed a lot of toughness and physical prowess on the basketball court that you hope translates onto the football field,” tight ends coach Rennie Simmons said. “When I saw him catch the ball, you could see that Chevon has some athletic ability, but he has a very long way to go. He started to come around towards the end of practice, but unfortunately, if you’re not sure what you’re doing, where to go or what foot to step with, you’re like a duck out of water.
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“When they first threw everything at me, it looked like Spanish or something,” said the 6-foot-6, 240-pound Troutman, who halted his football career after he played defensive end and tight end as a high school junior. “It’s a lot different than basketball.”

You get the sense that both Troutman and the Redskins had, shall we say, ridiculous expectations of how it would go.

Well going into it, Troutman’s dad seemed more realistic that this was just a little test the waters thing.

Troutman and his father, Steve, drove to Washington yesterday. Steve Troutman said several NFL teams were interested in his son, who will be tried out at tight end.

“This gives him a chance to see how he feels about it,” Steve Troutman said. “It keeps him busy. The worst thing you can do is sit around and do nothing.”

Look, his heart is still set on playing basketball. There will be teams that get back in contact with him to gauge his interest after he figures out if he wants to play basketball overseas or not.

If you have to do the Antonio Gates comparisons, remember Gates tried to get into the NBA first. He failed, and then had to train for football. Then it took a year before he really saw playing time.

Dennis Dodd’s notebook column is just chock full of goodies. Well worth reading it all. I’m going to pick out some that I feel like adding comments.

In some people’s eyes, Notre Dame’s new BCS status might be matching its football status.

Second tier.

Beginning in 2006, the maximum Notre Dame can earn from a BCS appearance is $4.5 million. That’s the same amount currently earned by second teams from conferences in BCS bowls.

BCS coordinator Kevin Weiberg made the announcement as the annual BCS meetings wrapped up on Wednesday.

The $4.5 million represents a decrease of approximately $10 million per appearance Notre Dame earned under the old BCS agreement that expires after the 2005 season. The school essentially traded an all-or-nothing shot at a $14 million pot of gold for guaranteed income each year.

In years that Notre Dame does not play in a BCS game, it will earn approximately $1 million, essentially equal to a minimum share received by each BCS conference school.

That means beginning in 2006, Notre Dame could play in a BCS bowl once every 10 years and not make as much money it did in 2001 for its one Fiesta Bowl appearance under the current parameters ($14 million vs. $13.5 million). That 2001 Fiesta Bowl remains Notre Dame’s only BCS game in the seven years the system has been used.
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The changes seem to be a net loss for Notre Dame, but given its recent football fortunes, it doesn’t have much leverage.

“They’ve accepted that, it’s something we agreed to,” Weiberg said.

They also made the standards for ND to qualify for a BCS bowl a little tougher. They will not be sharing the BE’s BCS berth.

My first reaction was: Heh. On reflection, though, it strengthens ND’s football independence. Taking the guaranteed money reduces some of the pressure on them financially. Most importantly, it gives ND time. I think they were building to a point where, for finances, they had to really consider a full conference affiliation — the alumni and boosters be damned. This relieves that issue. Much like the BE affiliation in all other sports did for the basketball program.

Now on the subject of the future BCS telecasts by Fox Sports:

Fox will begin televising the Fiesta, Orange and Sugar bowls (as well as BCS title games) beginning in January 2007. Current BCS rights-holder ABC retained the Rose Bowl.

“Sometimes it’s been one of our most frustrating areas,” Weiberg said, referring also to ABC. “We felt like at times the self-promotion within the telecast … is a real problem. … We’re frustrated about the amount of time it takes to put the ball back in play. Fox wants to bring to the BCS its unique approach to production. … We’re excited about the energy they’ve already brought to these discussions.”

ABC’s self-promotion within the telecast was a problem? Have they ever watched Fox Sports televise games?

Then the subject of keeping automatic BCS bids:

In 2008 and 2009, the number of conferences getting automatic BCS berths will be capped at seven. Conferences will be judged BCS worthy at that time based on average rank of their champion and other criteria from 2004 through 2007.

However, Weiberg said that a conference could qualify based on “market size”. That seems to give the benefit of the doubt to the Big East remaining in the BCS despite losing Boston College, Miami and Virginia Tech. The league still has a sizable demographic on the East Coast.

That’s bad new for the Mountain West, which has been campaigning heavily for BCS status coming off the great the season by Utah.

The BCS system is doing everything they can to keep the BE in and the Mountain West out. They counted Louisville’s finish in the BCS standings this past season for the BE. They are going to include “market size,” which kills the Mountain West and clearly benefits the BE just based on Syracuse and Rutgers covering NY and NJ

At this point, the only thing that can screw the BE out of the BCS is the BE teams not performing. It’s all on the programs in the conference.

ESPN has a recap of all the Big East teams spring football and some of the expectations. Good thing to check out for an idea of the competition. It gives you some idea about why Louisville is so heavily picked to win the BE. The thing to note. Like Pitt, they have issues of depth on their lines. That can sink either teams season really easy.

DePaul hired Jerry Wainwright away from Richmond to be their new b-ball coach.

Is he a good hire? I dunno. It depends on who you ask.

This is what Mike DeCourcy at the Sporting News said.

So this next statement might be hard to accept, but I firmly believe it to be the truth: Jerry Wainwright is the best pure basketball coach to work at DePaul during the NCAA tournament era.
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Wainwright was an ideal choice for DePaul because of his deep Chicago background, his ability to deal with, accommodate and entertain the media, his track record as a recruiter at Xavier and Wake Forest and his accomplishments as a head coach at UNC Wilmington and Richmond. He took both those programs to the NCAA tournament. Wilmington had never been there before. Richmond had been there only once in the previous 12 years.

But more important than what his record says is what his opponents say. However shocking it might be, there have been coaches in the NCAA tournament who weren’t really all that capable. They got the right players in the right circumstances and managed not to foul it up. And some of those guys are pretty well known.

Privately, when coaches talk about those in their business that earn respect, Wainwright is someone whose name comes up frequently. Wainright’s admire how he deals with his players. They envy his eye for talent. They respect his ability to teach and coach defense.

Sounds glowing. But wait. How about Greg Doyel at Sportsline.

Wainwright to Leitao’s old office? That’s a fast hire. That’s a frugal hire. But a great hire? No, not a great hire.

Bearing down on Wainwright, who went 50-41 in three seasons at Richmond, is like sitting down at a nice restaurant and ordering the first thing on the menu. Maybe it’ll taste good. It better, because this place costs too much to do it again next week.

The spin coming out of Chicago — did you know Wainwright’s from Chicago? — is that DePaul has hired a coach with a track record of winning seasons and postseason appearances. Those are nice words, but the numbers aren’t quite so nice. Black and white, here goes:

DePaul has hired a coach who has never failed to lose at least 10 games in a season. DePaul has hired a coach whose career record in 11 years is 186-144, which means a typical season for a Jerry Wainwright team has been 17-13. And those seasons happened in the Colonial Athletic Association and Atlantic 10.

DePaul knows about those numbers, obviously, but doesn’t care. This hire wasn’t about finding the best possible coach to lead DePaul into the best possible conference, the 16-team Big East. If DePaul wanted the best possible coach, it would have taken more than four days to zero in on someone coming off a 14-15 season at Richmond.

This hire wasn’t even about Jerry Wainwright. It was about Leitao. DePaul went for greatness when it hired Leitao three years ago off Jim Calhoun’s bench at Connecticut, and greatness — or the hint of greatness — is what Leitao delivered. He won 58 games in three seasons at DePaul, recruited better than a Conference USA school with such shoddy facilities deserved, and then bolted for Virginia.

It was a smart move for Leitao, but a stick in the eye to DePaul. Being jilted hurts, and DePaul responded like so many jilted lovers — by vowing not to love again. DePaul will like Jerry Wainwright, but it will never love him. He’ll win between 13 and 18 games a season at DePaul for as long as DePaul will have him, he’ll steer clear of NCAA problems, and then he’ll retire. You don’t fall in love with a coach like that. You esteem a coach like that.

No matter what the truth is, Wainwright and DePaul are in for one hell of a baptism this season.

Pitt might be in the running to secure an experienced successor to Tyler Palko for the 2007 season.

Tennessee Tech Coach Mike Hennigan said yesterday that he was unaware of anyone from his staff inquiring about the possibility of recruiting former University of Tennessee quarterback Brent Schaeffer.

There were two radio reports Tuesday, one on WLAC-AM 1510’s PrimeTime Sports, saying Tennessee Tech was one of three schools that had asked UT officials for permission to contact Schaeffer. The other two schools were Kansas and Pitt.

Schaeffer actually started the 2004 season as the starter, but found himself co-starter with the other freshman QB Eric Ainge. Schaeffer broke his collarbone in the 8th game. He was considered the better athlete of the two. Ainge, though, looks to be the starter this year, and Schaeffer is looking to transfer. If he transferred to Pitt, he’d have to sit for a year.

The problem is, Schaeffer may have to resolve his legal issues first.

Tennessee quarterback Brent Schaeffer and receiver Bret Smith were suspended indefinitely from the team Monday, a day after they were charged with hitting a student who was arguing with Schaeffer’s girlfriend in a dormitory.

The players were arrested at a dorm where many athletes live. They were charged with misdemeanor assault and released on their own recognizance Sunday after the early morning fight at another dorm. Their arraignments are set for April 18.
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Part of Schaeffer’s actions was caught on tape by a video camera in the dorm lobby, University of Tennessee police said.

According to an affidavit campus police filed in court, student Quantavios Emerson was arguing with Schaeffer’s girlfriend about her cell phone Sunday when Schaeffer hit Emerson in the neck.

The affidavit also said Schaeffer and Emerson grabbed bats but dropped them before hitting anyone and Schaeffer then picked up Emerson from behind and threw him down. Emerson struck his head on the floor and was then hit by Smith, the report said. Emerson needed four staples to close a cut on his head, authorities said.

Yes, Schaeffer is one of the many players from the wild Tennessee team in trouble with the law.

I’m having some very mixed feelings right now.

Keeping options open. That’s the best way to describe Chevon Troutman’s latest move.

Former Pitt power forward Chevon Troutman will put on a helmet and shoulder pads for the first time in six years tomorrow when he goes through a tryout with the Washington Redskins.

Troutman, who has not played football since his junior year at Williamsport High School, will participate in a minicamp at Redskins Park with Washington’s draft choices and rookie free agents. Troutman will be tried at tight end at the three-day camp.
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If he impresses, he could get a free-agent contract offer and an invitation to training camp.

Troutman is still trying to attend the Chicago pre-draft camp for the NBA. This does not seem like pursuing basketball first, then football. This seems like a dual track, which just seems dumb. The conditioning for each sport is so different, it just seems he is going to hurt his chances for both.

The other thought, as an Eagles fan, is not the Redskins.

Over at the Sporting News, Mike DeCourcy thinks that Pitt isn’t losing that much in Chris Taft.

Once again there are some early entrants who won’t be sorely missed next season.
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Chris Taft, C, Pittsburgh. The Panthers can replace the 13.3 points and 7.5 rebounds per game Taft produced as a sophomore. It’ll be tougher to find someone who can manage more than 11 field-goal attempts for every one assist. Pitt’s concerns mostly are on the perimeter. It will be just fine with 7-0 Aaron Gray in the middle. Gray has better post moves than Taft and is unselfish. Gray does not move as well, but Taft was so unsound defensively that his athleticism rarely made a difference.

He may slightly overstate the lack of drop-off from Taft to Gray, but it seems that most Pitt fans are more down on losing Troutman and the possibility of Krauser than seeing Taft go pro.

At the 22nd annual Mon Valley Panther Club Chapter Banquet the other day, the key speaker was of course Football Coach Dave Wannstedt. He spoke of high expectations for the team. Coach Jamie Dixon also spoke at the event.

“I like the group we have coming in,” he said. “We have some big, strong talented kids. This is the best recruiting class in my six years here.”

According to Dixon, the futures of graduating Chevy Troutman and junior Carl Krauser — who made himself available for the NBA draft but retained the option to withdraw since he won’t sign with an agent — are still up in the air.

“Chevy is going back and forth with football while Carl could be coming back. He’ll be going to Chicago for a pre-draft camp to go against foreign and high school players to see where he stands. Sixty players have already committed for the NBA draft and there’s still three more weeks to go. It’s almost an epidemic.”

Dixon looks for sophomore Chris Taft to go in the first round of the draft.

“It’s a good situation for him and his family,” said Dixon. “We had him for only 18 months but we’re real proud of him.”

Wish they had more on what Dixon said. I doubt he said much of any consequence, but I’d love to know if he said anything even approaching disappointment regarding the past season.

A few pieces on the national sites. Over at SI.com Stewart Mandel lists his very early top-25. He puts Pitt at #21

Spring star: RB Rashad Jennings. The freshman wasted no time establishing himself as the Panthers’ feature back.

Lowdown: Dave Wannstedt spent his first spring installing a power-running mentality that should make the Panthers more balanced and, in turn, more dangerous offensively. Similarly, the defense will have more of a “pro” look, but it may lack enough impact players along the line to be dominant.

Louisville was ranked #12.

And he had this to say in his review of spring practices:

Pittsburgh: Though he has at his disposal one of the nation’s most promising quarterbacks in Tyler Palko, coach Dave Wannstedt spent much of the spring trying to convert the Panthers from the finesse style of predecessor Walt Harris into more of a power running team. In doing so, he found a potential star-in-the-making in freshman RB Rashad Jennings, who carried 19 times for 119 yards in the spring game and likely will be the opening-day starter.

Expectations keep rising.

Over at ESPN.com, Bruce Feldman lists his hot 100 players.

The college football season is still a few months away, but it’s time to take a preseason look at the Hot 100 list for 2005. As always, this isn’t a projection in regards to draft prospects, but simply a run-through of who will be the biggest impact/value guys to their programs in the ’05 season.
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51. Tyler Palko, Pitt, QB: Should be even better now that he’s working with Matt Cavanaugh.
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75. Greg Lee, Pittsburgh, WR: A combination of Larry Fitzgerald and Antonio Bryant and he gets to work with a better QB than they had.

H.B. Blades was ignored.

The outgoing Sports Editor of the Pitt News tries to do the right thing.

My roommate says it’s a damn shame, and I couldn’t agree with him more. Sleepless nights have plagued me ever since I heard the news: My younger brother will be getting a degree from Penn State.

Craig, a senior in high school now, has been top on my list of recruits. I made the calls and the house visits, just as Jamie Dixon and Dave Wannstedt do, yet it was all a waste. I tried so hard to steer him clear of the dark side, but I have failed.

Buck up, Jimmy! You made an honest effort. And what’s more, you’re not the only whose family has been torn asunder by such a misguided notion (My own aunt is a PSU alum, for example). What matters is that you stood up for your soon-to-be Alma Mater.

We salute you, Sir!

A few pieces to note.

The article today about the facility deficiencies at Pitt for the “other” sports. It mentions the status of facilities at other Big East schools and the problems for Pitt in finding enough land nearby to construct the new facilities envisioned. Big surprise that a Pittsburgh agency with some desired property would just let it lie fallow (though for once it isn’t the URA).

In Chicago, Coach Dave Wannstedt recalls drafts gone horribly wrong.

Dave Wannstedt can feel Lovie Smith’s joy right now. He hopes Smith does not wind up sharing his pain when it comes to selecting promising running backs in the first round of the NFL draft.

Wannstedt felt as euphoric when he drafted running backs Rashaan Salaam (1995) and Curtis Enis (1998) for the Bears as Smith must have felt after the Bears took Cedric Benson of Texas with the fourth pick of the weekend draft.

“It’s Christmas all around the NFL today,” Wannstedt said Monday during a break from his first recruiting trip as head coach of the University of Pittsburgh. “Everybody feels like they got the best players and everybody feels like they got the guys they wanted. It’s a wonderful life right now.”

This time 10 years ago, Wannstedt felt wonderful about selecting Salaam out of Colorado.

“How about getting the Heisman Trophy winner with the 21st pick of the draft that year? I mean, we liked him ahead of a couple of the other guys, so we were excited,” Wannstedt said. “It worked out for a year. He rushed for [1,074] yards his rookie year? In my mind we were off and running. But things happen.”

Salaam became involved with marijuana and then fumbled his way out of the league three years later.

In ’98, Wannstedt and the Bears believed they were taking a safe pick in Enis.

But a lengthy contract holdout, numerous injuries and a questionable work ethic hastened the running back’s downfall.

“Curtis Enis was about as sure a bet as I thought I was ever going to make,” Wannstedt said of the former Penn State star. “Between me and [former Bears player personnel boss] Mark Hatley and Greg Schiano on our staff then, who recruited Enis out of high school … you can’t do anymore homework on an individual unless the FBI and the CIA are involved. It just didn’t work out.”

He drafted a Penn State running back, that is never a safe pick.

Final note from Texas, surveying the college football landscape.

Get used to these names. It’s a good bet that next fall, we’ll be hearing them more often.
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Pittsburgh offensive coordinator Matt Cavanaugh quarterbacked the Panthers to a national championship in 1976. He believes Pitt junior quarterback Tyler Palko has the qualities necessary to do the same. Over his last six games in 2004, Palko averaged 303.5 yards passing while throwing for 17 TDs with just two interceptions.

Rising expectations.

They have been meeting for the last couple of days to figure out how to work the BCS for this upcoming season. With the AP poll out, it is still unclear what they will do. Dennis Dodd at Sportsline wonders if they are going to do anything.

Administrators gathered here for the annual BCS meetings have discussed the idea of essentially leaving the much-tweaked formula as is. After the Associated Press pulled out in January, the BCS was left with just the coaches poll and six computers.

So, it was inevitably asked here in a conference room at the Royal Palms Resort, why not leave the dang thing alone?

“It’s possible,” BCS coordinator Kevin Weiberg said. “It’s not an option we’ve taken off the table.”

The commissioners listened to presentations by the National Football Foundation and National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics on Monday. Both entities are seeking to organize and administrate a new poll to replace the AP’s.

But it’s becoming clear it’s a monumental task, especially if, as Weiberg says, everything must be in place by July 15. First, approximately 40-60 voters would have to be found who were willing to disclose their ballot each week. That could be a challenge in itself. Some AP voters were harassed by fans last season.

The American Football Coaches Association, which has never publicly released its ballots, is reluctant to take even the tiny step of releasing ballots after the completion of the bowls.

“Ya’ll will have a field day with that,” AFCA executive director Grant Teaff told reporters. “Coaches will be duckin’ and divin’ (if their ballots were released). I’ll be going on vacation right about then. The situation basically called for it because of what happened last year.”

That’s when the BCS endured its most intense scrutiny. Undefeated Auburn couldn’t get into the BCS title game. Meanwhile, voters basically decided on the last day of the season that Texas would edge out Cal for a BCS berth.

Teaff seemed to indicate that if another human poll is established, the coaches would consider releasing their final ballot. But don’t hold your breath on the coaches ever releasing ballots during the regular season; if that were a requirement, they’d be gone.

This story, though, suggests that there might not be any choice but for the coaches to start releasing their votes for the final poll.

Opposite of Dodd, Matt Hayes at the Sporting News thinks they will add another human poll.

The National Football Foundation outlined a plan at this week’s BCS meetings that would have former players, coaches and administrators vote in a poll to replace the departed Associated Press poll. And the plan, although in the early stages, appears to be the answer in yet another chapter of tweaking the controversial system.

“That looks like the way we’ve got to go,” says one BCS administrator.

Because it’s the safest way to go — a way with the least amount of complication and a way to bring back some legitimacy and integrity to the series points system. The problem: getting it set up and put in place by July 15, a deadline Big 12 commissioner and BCS czar Kevin Weiberg has set for the points system to be rolled out for all to see — and criticize.

“My personal preference is human polls,” Weiberg says. “But there are a lot of people in that room with a lot of ideas.”

Other proposals that will be discussed Tuesday include the formation of a selection committee, having the coaches poll and computer polls stand on their own or the potential for a hybrid of those ideas. Each of those, though, have serious flaws and the objective, one BCS administrator says, is to keep the point system from straying too far from previous years.

Weiberg says the new weekly poll would have to have anywhere from 40-60 voters, and the first vote likely would be released on Oct. 1 — not in the preseason like the coaches poll and the now eliminated Associated Press poll. The pollsters would be evenly chosen from all points across the nation to eliminate any potential regional bias.

I’m sure the next system will be just as effective and controversy free as the previous.

A piece on Vince Crochunis hoping to sign with a NFL team via free agency. He will be earning his masters degree at the end of the semester. A legitimate credit to the concept of the student-athlete (or cynically, the exception that proves the rule).

On the other hand, there are all these high school day camps for seniors to try and raise their profile for scholarships — for a fee.

They’ll have more opportunities than ever before, whether it’s at free, invitation-only day camps sponsored by adidas, Nike and New Balance or Joe Butler’s Metro Index camp, which costs $160 per camper for each four-day session.

Sparkling performances at the Nike camp were instrumental for former Penn Hills quarterback Anthony Morelli and former Gateway cornerback Justin King to be ranked No. 1 nationally at their respective positions and among the top-10 overall.

“These things are key for recruiting,” West Allegheny all-purpose back Dorin Dickerson said. “You have to be prepared and focused going in. It’s crucial when you do one-on-one drills against the best kids.”
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MSL Combines ran that event, and is staging one May 7 at Gateway High School. MSL Combines, sponsored by New Balance, measures athletes to NFL standards, then creates a profile of each prospect, complete with digitized highlights and their results from the combine. Access to the Web site is $25 for prospects, but much pricier for college coaches.

“It’s a pretty amazing deal,” said Sara Ellison, MSL Combines event producer. “We don’t like charging kids for things. A lot of times, the really good kids don’t need it.”

Add the adidas Elite Camp, to be held May 14 at the UPMC Sports Performance Complex, to the growing number of one-day combines to come to Western Pennsylvania this year.

Nothing like seeing the shoe companies do these camps at the schools they have deals with.

Of Rob Petitti being the only drafted Pitt player from last season’s squad suggests that the Pitt team should be better as the they didn’t lose a lot of talent to graduation. It also points out the yin and yang of former Coach Walt Harris. He definitely didn’t do a good job at recruiting, but he did do a good job in coaching up what talent was there.

Naturally, a Jersey kid is happy to go play for Bill Parcells.

As for why he dropped.

“Coach Parcells called and asked if I was a hard worker,” Petitti said. “I told him I was, and he said they’d draft me. I was so ecstatic when he called again. I talked to him and Jerry Jones, and they said I could win the starting right tackle job if I came in here and worked hard. So, I’m ready to go to work.”

Petitti was a four-year starter at left tackle for the University of Pittsburgh, playing in 49 of 50 career games, and he was a second-team All-America selection in several publications after last season. He likely dropped to the sixth round due to offseason weight gain, a poor game against Utah in the Fiesta Bowl and a foot injury prior to the Senior Bowl.

The injury also contributed to a poor performance at the scouting combine.

But let’s put the fact that Pitt had only one player drafted in some perspective.

That means Division II IUP had one more player drafted than Penn State, which had one of the longest streaks of producing draft choices. The Nittany Lions had at least one player drafted every year since 1960. They were the only team from the Big Ten Conference not to have a player drafted.

I think it was a sad day for nepotism everywhere when Penn State moved Jay Paterno out of the position of recruiting coordinator.

At least as far as the draft goes. At this point, the highest drafted player from a PA college was Rian Wallace, Inside Linebacker from Temple. He was drafted in the 5th round, the 166th pick by the Steelers.

Rob Petitti tumbled from an expected late-3rd/early 4th round to near the end of the 6th round by the Cowboys with the 209th pick.

No body from Penn State and other PA colleges have been drafted as the 7th and final round gets underway.

UPDATE: LeRon McCoy, a WR from IUP was drafted #226 (7th round) by the Arizona Cardinals.

UPDATE 2: It’s all over but the undrafted free agent scrambling. New England selected Tight End Andy Stokes from William Penn University in Iowa (???) with the 255th and final pick. Expect Vince Crochunis, Dan Stephens and Malcolm Postell to at least get a shot.

It’s cold and rainy in Cleveland today. I have until sundown to drink the beer in the house. Sounds like the perfect day to watch the NFL Draft.

Rob Petitti gets a home town piece today.

“Everyone’s pretty energized,” said Bob Petitti. “Rob’s brother and sister will be home, and everyone’s just hoping for the best. There’s a lot of intrigue. Not only don’t you know where he’ll get drafted, you don’t know what team. There are so many different scenarios that need to play out. The location of the team. Some teams have indicated there’s a chance for early playing time, while other teams are more established on the offensive line. Whatever happens, I don’t think anyone will be disappointed.”

It’s already been a hectic week for Rob Petitti. On Tuesday, he held a private workout for the St. Louis Rams on the field where he played his high school football. A day later he was at the beach enjoying the good weather with his friends, spending most of his time doing anything to keep his mind off the Draft.

“When Rob’s in town the kids will all come flying into the weight room when he’s in there,” said Rumson-Fair Haven football coach Shane Fallon. “The kids just gravitate to him. Or when he’s in town they’ll see him and come tell me he’s home. He’s pretty tough to miss. With the stature he has around here, it’s tough for him to sneak into town without someone knowing.

“It’s going to be an exciting weekend for the whole town.”

Petitti is expected to go sometime in the 3rd round.

Yesterday, I noted the new Big East logo in the background of a Marquette function. Joe T tipped me off to the when this went down. This actually happened at the end of March.

Beginning in August, just in time for football, the collegiate athletics conference that includes the University of Connecticut will unveil a new logo designed by The Silverman Group.

“Right now, we’re in the midst of working on a whole new re-branding plan,” said Jim Keenan, vice president of marketing at The Silverman Group, which is located at 436 Orange St.[New Haven, Connecticut.]

Commissioners for the Big East chose the company from a field of 18 competing bidders to devise a multimedia marketing campaign.
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Its athletic directors decided to re-brand the conference this year in light of the changes, said Big East Associate Commissioner John Marinatto.

As of July 1, the conference will lose Boston College, but gain five schools — University of Cincinnati, DePaul University, University of Louisville, Marquette University and University of South Florida.

Officials with the University of South Florida recommended The Silverman Group, which previously worked with the school, Marinatto said.

The Silverman Group presented Big East officials with 19 variations for a new logo, he said. The conference has had its current one since 1996.

“I liked the fact that they took chances,” Marinatto said of the proposal.

The new marketing campaign will include print and television ads, public service announcements, on-campus promotions and community events, Keenan said.

The primary goals of the campaign, Keenan said, are to introduce the Big East into its new members’ markets and to make existing members’ markets aware of the new schools.

Big East officials are in the process of choosing an official trademarked conference tagline, Marinatto said.

There you have it.

Paul Zeise has a Q&A up. It’s the last until (likely) sometime in August. As usual, it’s a must read. He sees some holes on the defensive line, the offensive line is good but shallow, and figuring out the depth chart at WR (after Greg Lee) is going to be fluid.

Q: Do you think Pitt’s pass rush will be better this season than the last couple of years?

ZEISE: Could it be any worse? The pass rush has been non-existent the past few years to say the least. I think it will be better because the coaches will do a lot of scheming and blitzing to make sure there is pressure. I think you’ll see more linebackers blitzing and defensive ends in a straight pass rush trying to get to the quarterback. It will be interesting to see how much heat the defense puts on opposing passers. Again, however, a key is the middle guys and their ability to collapse things in the pocket. Right now, there is only one player – Thomas Smith – who looks like he can make things miserable for opponents in the middle.
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Q: Do you think early commitments might hurt Pitt later because they won’t have scholarships available for players who may surprise during the season?

ZEISE: No, if there is a player that needs to have a scholarship offered to him, colleges always find a way. They might have to gray shirt someone, push a fifth-year guy into his life’s work and there is always a couple of guys who won’t make it academically. There are ways to juggle your numbers so that any player you really desire can have a scholarship available to him.
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Q: What do you think of the uniform changes?

ZEISE: I love putting PITT back on the helmets just because that’s the school name. I never understood why, when you have a name that is unique to your brand, you throw it away and go by a name that three professional teams use. So becoming Pitt again is a good thing. One person e-mailed me this thought and I agree – why put Panthers on the front? Why not put Pitt or even Pittsburgh? The fan who e-mailed me raised a good point – he lives in a different state (I think Florida) and when he wears his Pitt gear he wants people to know who he is rooting for. Now, he’ll be wearing his Pitt jersey but nobody will know who it is from because the shirt just says Panthers on it – that could be a high school team’s jersey, perhaps for someone whose never seen the Carolina Panthers jersey, they could think it is that. Again, instead of having your brand name on the front of the jersey’s for all to see, you put a generic name that only those familiar with the program will recognize.

Optimism abounds.