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.