Any hope Levon Kendall had of using his experience at the U-21 World Tournament as a springboard to a solid season with Pitt is dead and buried. Canada managed to salvage a win against Israel, 78-66.

Kendall, however, wasn’t the reason. He had 7 points on 3-10 shooting. He had 3 assists, 3 turnovers, 6 rebounds, 1 steal and 2 blocked shots.

The difference was the return of Canada’s outside threat, Andy Rautins (Syracuse recruit), from injury.

Kendall has a lot of work ahead of him.

Post-Training Camp, Day 2 Commentary from Coach Wannstedt.

On freshman running backs moving to defense:

I’ll sum it up this way — blue jerseys are defense and white jerseys are offense. Irvan Brown is now number 35 in blue. We need LaRod (Stephens) to stay on offense but we did move Irvan Brown over to defense for two reasons. One, I think he has the athletic ability to be a corner. The second reason is that I don’t really know how much he realistically could’ve been in the (offensive) mix as a freshman this year. But he could be in the mix on defense when we get into our nickel packages.

On the punt and kick returners:

Right now we’re trying to decide on the kicks and the punts. And LaRod Stephens is one guy we’re looking at seriously in both of those areas. What we’re going to do is have some kind of controlled scrimmage work for our special teams. I think we need to do that a couple of times so he’ll get some opportunities before we start for real.

According to the media guide (PDF, pp. 96 and 99), Stephens is 5′ 7″ 165 pounds and Brown is 6′ 0″ and 185. At Stephens size, he would have had to have shown some incredible instincts, not just speed (which he seems to have), for the secondary. Brown, physically, would appear to be a good fit to play in the secondary.

Stephens could be very good in returns. He’ll be fighting for time with Revis, Campbell and don’t forget about Marcus Furman. In some ways, this is already the kind of team Coach Wannstedt should want. Lots of speed in places that hopefully will yield a big impact, perhaps dare I say some game breaking spots.

Other topics covered in the press conference include the battle for Center and the overall state of the Offensive Line, when the coaching staff will get serious about preparing a depth chart, and more praise for Offensive Coordinator Matt Cavanaugh. Really, this press conference seemed mostly about the offense.

For those hoping he would comment on the announced commitment of Nate Byham, forget it. NCAA rules prohibit him from saying a public word until after he signs in February.

Man, decide to take the afternoon wait around all day in lines — kick-back and relax at the BMV to renew my driver’s license followed by giving blood — and this happens.

The Pitt football team landed a top high school football recruit this afternoon when Nate Byham, a senior tight end from Franklin High School in Western Pennsylvania, made a verbal commitment to the Panthers.

Byham (6 feet 4, 220 pounds) is ranked by one scouting service (scout.com) as the No. 1 tight end in the country. Nationally-known talent scout Tom Lemming ranks him No. 2 and Rivals.com No. 6.

Byham had dozens of scholarship offers, including ones from Southern California, Miami, Tennessee and Miami. He caught 45 passes for 883 yards last season. He is a good athlete, running the 40-yard dash in 4.6 seconds and averaging 15 points a game in basketball. He also is an excellent student with a 1,470 score on the SAT.

“I kind of knew in the back of my head that I wanted to go to Pitt,” Byham said. “I just didn’t know when to let it out and let everyone else know. So I just decided to do it today.”

More from the Keystone Recruiting E-mail:

“I called Coach Gattuso about 45 minutes ago,” says Byham, “and then he put Coach Wannstedt on the phone. They were very excited.”

One of the top five tight ends in the country, Byham always had the Panthers in the lead despite national offers from such powers as USC, Tennessee, Iowa, and Miami.

“I like all of the coaches,” says Byham, “and they are all really nice. Plus, it’s close to home. We have a chance to be very good and I want to help build a power in my own backyard.”

What is there to say at the moment, but “wow.” I would never have believed that Pitt, Coach Wannstedt and the entire staff could move this quickly, strongly and deftly in recruiting.

Screw drinking the kool-aid at this point, if I had any blood left in my system I’d spill it for Coach Wannstedt right now.

More later, hopefully with just a touch more perspective.

Former Pitt QB John Congemi gets a piece looking back on his career. Congemi took over for Dan Marino and was there for the start of the tumultuousness of Pitt football that slowly spiraled down. Congemi, of course, is also a color analyst for ESPN. Usually doing Big East regional games

John Hendrick was a defensive lineman for Pitt under Jackie Sherrill. For the last couple of years, he has been the head coach at Benedict College. Benedict College, in Columbia, South Carolina, plays in Division II and is part of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Hendrick is hoping for a winning season this year.

You know what’s frustrating, in a selfish, asshole-ish way? Having a coach, player or manager you have spent time demonizing or just don’t like, humanized a bit. It takes some of the edge and viciousness away. It happened to a small degree last year with Paul Hackett — now I actually feel a twinge of guilt when I take a shot at him.

Now Defensive Coordinator Paul Rhoads gets to elicit some of my sympathy with a story about his parents and specifically how his mother has Alzheimer’s.

Another story (that is prelude to a longer column) comes from Naples. The columnist was in Canton for Marino’s Hall of Fame induction and the exhibition game for the Dolphins, and did a sidetrip to Pittsburgh to interview Coach Wannstedt.

Three days, three former Miami Dolphins and three completely different twists of fate.

There stood the hero, the villain and the scapegoat of the Miami football franchise. It wasn’t exactly the butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker. But it sure felt like a nursery rhyme.

There stood Dan Marino, Ricky Williams and Dave Wannstedt.

A punch line should follow. Stop the laughing. They weren’t all together in one room. Now that would’ve caused a few jokes and an even bigger media frenzy.

Yet, within 48 hours, these misunderstood misfits managed to show that so much has changed in just a year. And all of this fodder occurred some 1,200 miles from Miami.
…
Eight hours later, and a short drive to Pittsburgh, Wannstedt walked to the podium at the Pitt Panthers’ training camp.

The new head coach wore a navy blue polo with his alma mater, PITT, in gold letters where it belongs: close to his heart.

Later, Wannstedt sat in his expansive office with glass walls overlooking the practice field. With the sun brightly bursting through the room it provided quite a contrast from his 1-8 start last year with the Dolphins.

“Last year is just an aberration,” Wannstedt said. “It’s as if it never happened. I don’t even think about it.”

But when it comes to the Dolphins’ demise it’s hard to forget about the saint, the sinner and the sacrifice. They — Marino, Williams and Wannstedt — have gone their own way now.

It is a testament to Wannstedt and how likeable he is, that he still gets positive press in Florida.

On a hot humid day, I guess Coach Wannstedt liked the feeling that he was back down in South Florida.

Since Pitt had a late-afternoon start to practice, the temperature rose into the 90s with high humidity. And Wannstedt loved it.

Wannstedt had the team do a little bit of extra running after practice.

“I think the heat’s good for us. You can’t manufacture this kind of weather ever again, and I think we have to take advantage of it being warm while we have it,” Wannstedt said.

Naturally some players including Left Tackle Charles Spencer suffered cramps. Just keep the guys hydrated and let them take some breaks at times. This isn’t the “Junction Boys,” and no one really wants to see paramedics working on a kid who collapses.

Coach Wannstedt talked about practicing without pads as emphasizing the fundamentals. Given the lapses of those sort of things at times last year, I’m happy for them to have a couple more days without pads.

There are (mostly) no guaranteed spots has been a mantra from Coach Wannstedt prior to the start of camp. The players know there are opportunities for them if they take it.

Redshirt Freshman Corey Davis is trying to grab one of those spots on the defensive line. The light went off for him after spring practices about some of what he needed to do if he wanted it.

The Panthers have an opening at defensive tackle, and Davis was one of the prime candidates to fill it. But he hadn’t distinguished himself, mostly because he was carrying too much weight.

“I knew the options were either lose weight or sit the bench,” Davis said. “That’s it. I want to play, so I committed myself to the offseason conditioning program, left all that McDonald’s and Wendy’s stuff alone, stopped drinking pop and, once I got started, it became easy to lose weight.”

As a result of his change in eating habits, Davis has lost about 40 pounds. He reported for camp at a lean 285. And the first day of conditioning, he not only finished all of his wind sprints, but he also was among the leaders for the linemen.

Now he is ready to seize the starting job he believes is his to lose.

“It is all about working hard now,” Davis said. “It is about being the best player I can be, continuing the things I’ve started. You can tell a big difference now in what I am able to do — it almost feels like high school again.”

Davis said one of the things he had to learn was discipline because as a high school star he often got by on talent alone. He quickly realized that would not happen in college.

The part about learning that the talent in high school is not enough at college is a story I find surprising isn’t told more often. Maybe because it is so common.

Then there is the competition to be the primary clipboard holder at quarterback.
Bill Stull’s first day on the practice field in Pitt preseason camp went by in a blur.

“It started out a little crazy — my head was really spinning — then it started to slow down just a little bit,” Stull said with a sheepish grin.

Stull and Shane Murray, both true freshmen, are auditioning for the backup job behind starting quarterback Tyler Palko. Wednesday’s three-hour practice session at Pitttsburgh’s South Side facility was the rookies’ introduction to the speed of the college game.
…
“One of the two is going be back our backup quarterback and the other is going to be the third. That’s what we’ve got,” Wannstedt said with a shrug. “Does that concern me? Yeah, because they’re young. Now, is it anything totally unusual? Not really.

“Both of those kids have the ability and they’re smart enough to understand the responsibility that goes along with that.”

Pitt opens its season 23 days from today with a prime-time showdown against Notre Dame at Heinz Field. That night, either Stull or Murray could be one blown pass-blocking assignment away from taking the reins in front of a sellout crowd and national television audience.

“I’m so overwhelmed with everything that’s going on right now — our playbook, schedule times and everything — that I really don’t have a chance to think about it,” Stull said.

Then there is the running back position, and testing a few of them for defensive back potential.

Yesterday, Irvan Brown and LaRod Stephens were working out with the defense. Wannstedt put some of the freshmen through drills to gauge their potential as defensive backs.

“Two or three of those kids could play defense, and we could use some depth in the secondary,” Wannstedt said.

“I just hope I’m not one of ’em,” laughed freshman Shane Brooks, a Duquesne High School grad.

“I’m not worried about that,” Conredge Collins said confidently. “I’ll be all right.”

Collins, a top recruit from Miami, is safe. For him, the only question is whether he will be slated as a fullback or tailback.

“Right now, I’m looking at my job as playing running back — not fullback,” Collins said “And I expect to play. I don’t expect to redshirt.”

Collins chose Pitt over Miami and Florida in part because those other schools wanted him as a fullback.

“We told him we’d give him the opportunity at tailback when we recruited him here,” Wannstedt said. “We know he can play fullback. What is to be seen is where he ends up.”

Kirkley and Furman, despite being seniors, might have a hard time getting on the field this season. I do wonder where Brandon Mason is going to fit in all of this. He seems to have been totally forgotten at this point.

Rashad Jennings was actually a recruit from 2003 (choosing Pitt over VT — where they have been finding some good RBs in the last 5 years) who had to go to prep school. It only seems like he came out of no where in the spring.