If there was one theme to Coach Wannstedt’s remarks after practice today, it is that he wants the players to be in pads and hitting. From his first to last remark that kept coming through — it was very subtle, though.

I’d rather watch paint dry then practice without pads on to be very honest with you. I coached defensive line for about 10 years and it’s blocking and tackling. And when we don’t have pads on, particularly with those linemen, it’s very difficult because all your screaming is “back off, slow down, back off, slow down.” That’s so contrary to what were trying to get done out here. So you try to spend more time with assignments and that’s what we did today. We have one more day of no pads.

I hate having to try and read between the lines and look for the nuance.

He finally got to see Charles Sallet and Tim Murphy practice — they were both down with injuries in the spring. He seemed impressed with Murphy. Really, of all the upperclassmen in the backfield, Murphy’s running style should be the most appealing to Wannstedt. Power and strength. A straight ahead runner, with good speed. It is more a matter of Murphy staying healthy.

Another article on finding Pitt’s #2 QB. Both are seeing a different game, even in practices.

“We’ve been working hard to get the playbook down over the summer,” Stull said. “We’re learning something new all the time, but we’ll continue to work hard during training camp. And we’ll see what happens. It should be a good competition, and we both should get better.”

Murray marvels at the increased speed of the college game.

“When you go full with the linebackers and linemen, the speed is amazing,” Murray said. “You have to get rid of the ball, and you have to have hot reads and things like that. You get used to it, but you can’t just automatically pick it up. Gradually, we’re picking things up.”

Another story points out how the secondary remains loaded with guys from Aliquippa. Not just Lay and Revis, but add Freshman Tommie Campbell to the mix. Campbell is just looking for a way into the game any way he can.

Campbell said moving into Pitt’s secondary at either safety position – or even as a corner – would be great, but he’ll do whatever he has to do to get on the field. Expect him to return some kicks as well.

“I think I bring size and smartness to my position and being at the right place at the right time,” Campbell said. “I know all the coverages and everything, and Coach (Dan) Short got me ready to play at this level.”

Campbell has very good speed, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see him get in the mix for punt and/or kick returns. After last year the competition for that should be wide open.

So this should shock no one. The odds on winning the Big East this year (via BearcatsBlog).

Louisville 2/9
Pittsburgh 13/2
West Virginia 17/1
Rutgers 17/1
Syracuse 19/1
South Florida 30/1
Connecticut 40/1
Cincinnati 60/1

I can’t believe Rutgers even got those kind of odds.

This is the AP wire article on Pitt’s opening day of camp that is making the rounds. It leads with the throwback unis story and includes a quote from Freshman RB Rashad Jennings about wanting to go against ND.

Some nice puff pieces.

One on Cornerbacks Josh Lay and Darrelle Revis. Both are considered to be very good corners with NFL potential. It will be interesting to see how they do this year. Last year, they played in a defensive scheme that was much more passive and more about keeping receivers in front of them. This had the corners playing off and giving up moderate chunks of yardage out of fear of the big play. Coach Wannstedt is stressing a faster, more aggressive defense which includes the secondary.

Lay and Revis should have the speed to recover and react with tighter coverage. It is vitally important for Lay, a senior to show this. He has gotten a lot of respect (more than I expected) in the preseason mags. Regularly listed as part of the 1st or 2nd All-BE team.

The other piece is about Pitt commit Dorin Dickerson being the do everything player on his team this season. There’s just a touch of athleticism in his family.

Dickerson comes from a family of standout athletes. His father played basketball at Kansas State and Lock Haven. One cousin, Ron Dickerson, played football at Arkansas. An uncle, Ron Dickerson Sr., is a former head coach at Temple and assistant at Penn State. Another cousin, Jordan Mabin is one of the best junior running backs in Ohio.

Family reunion football games must be something.

Pitt has lost its back-up punter. Nick Krut is transferring to East Stroudsburg.

Kicker Josh Cummings will not be suspended for any games for his summer DUI. He is getting the nebulous “internal discipline.”

Something almost forgotten, but apparently still unresolved, the fight from April 2004 between some Pitt football players and frat boys at PiKA. The case has been postponed yet again.

I just don’t get kids today.

Joe DelSardo came to camp with a new hairstyle. The junior wideout’s shoulder-length locks are gone, replaced by a buzz cut. “It was getting too hot,” DelSardo said. “On July Fourth, I told my cousin, ‘I’m taking it down,’ After the fireworks, we went home and shaved it all off.”

Josh Cummings had a shaved head at spring practice. Kids, just grow the hair now. Take it from someone who should just shave the head and be done with it (wife won’t let me). Enjoy it while you have it.

For Pitt fans out of the Pittsburgh media market, Pitt is close to having its radio broadcasts on satellite radio. AD Jeff Long won’t say which provider — XM or Sirius — yet.

Keith Jackson will be calling the ND-Pitt game. He apparently asked to call this game.

On the subject of the “River City Rivalry,” here is the Bearcats press release.

“I think this is a natural rivalry,” stated UC director of athletics Bob Goin. “When you think about the NFL rivalry between the Steelers and the Bengals, you’ve got to think about the Panthers and the Bearcats. I think this will develop into a tremendous rivalry.”

Uh-huh. Now as mentioned before, the wife is a Bearcat alum. I explained the new “rivalry” to her and the Ohio River connection. She just rolled the eyes. Then I added her AD’s statement about the Bengals and Steelers — a look of pure contempt. Of course, to be fair, she is a Browns fan.

I’m just picturing the trophy presentation following the game.

I’m guessing there are visions somewhere of the Pitt fans standing as one, cheering as the trophy is presented to the team, the gleaming, uh, something they haven’t actually crafted at this point, held high in the air and displayed to the fans. A loud collective cheer in response.

My vision is one where the fans are just kind of trying to get back to their cars, have something to drink and eat and a few curious fans looking at the field asking their friend, “what is that thing?”

Well, the big question is who’s #2? With Joe Flacco hiding somewhere in New Jersey, two freshmen Shane Murray and Bill Stull will battle to back-up Tyler Palko.

There will be extra precautions attempted to shield Palko during training camp.

Of course, the same policy was supposed to be in place during spring drills, too.

“One of the best qualities Tyler has is his competitiveness,” Wannstedt said. “Half the time in the spring when I was screaming at the defensive guys not to hit Tyler, he was the guy doing the hitting. That’s gonna happen when we start playing.

“For us to beat Notre Dame, he’s gonna have to make plays on his feet. But we can control that in training camp, and we will.”

The 2 freshmen have contrasting styles.

Stull, 6 feet 3, 200 pounds, is a pocket passer who thrives on accuracy and ability to make quick decisions. Last season, he set a WPIAL record by throwing for 3,310 yards and 40 touchdowns. He threw 15 interceptions.

Murray, 6-1, 185, and is more of a runner than a top-flight passer. Coaches love his toughness — they were contemplating moving him to safety — and he led the Vikings to a 29-2 record the past two seasons, including a 16-0 record and the WPIAL and PIAA Class AAAA titles last year.

“I think if you look at them both there is a lot to like about them,” Cavanaugh said. “Bill played in a much more pass-oriented offense and threw the ball more, whereas Shane likes to get outside the pocket and make things happen with his legs. The good thing is Tyler does a little of each, so both of the freshmen will be able to execute most of what we already have designed for Tyler.”

I have nightmarish visions of when Rod Rutherford was coming off the bench his first couple years. If he came in for a series or even a down, everyone and their dog knew he was going to end up running with the ball. Hopefully, Coach Cavanaugh will be a little more creative when using the two back-ups.

The loss of Flacco also ends any speculation that Shane Murray might get moved to defense and play some safety.

As long as they don’t try and move Darrell Strong back to QB, it should be okay. I don’t want to see Strong lose another year of development because the coaching staff couldn’t decide where he will best help the team. Last year they bounced him from QB to TE to WR and now back to TE. He’s too good an athlete to waste.

The concern for the #2 QB hasn’t really been an issue for the last few years and Smizik notes that Pitt has been very lucky over the years when the starter has gone down with injury. I don’t know why, but that hardly makes me feel better.

Final thing, to file under “be careful what you wish for.” Luke Getsy looks like he will start for the Akron Zips. His offensive line will return only one starter. Good luck with that.

Last year, Levon Kendall played very well for the Canadian Under-21 team and had confidence in his game that carried him about halfway through the season. This year, any confidence he has will not be coming from his play or the play of the Canadians. They dropped yet another game, this time to Greece 62-53.

Kendall has been playing worse each game. This time, he managed to avoid any foul trouble but still only played 24 minutes. Mainly because he was ineffective. He shot 1-6 and finished with 4 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocked shots, 1 steal and 3 turnovers.

They have a final attempt to save some face when they face Israel. Regardless of the outcome, their tournament will be over after that game.