Coach Wannstedt’s Saturday Post-Practice Press Conference.

On the running backs:

Right now Tim Murphy is working at fullback and tailback. I think we have to give him a day or two of full-pad work, tackling work when we’re doing live inside drills and then make a determination (as to whether he’ll play tailback or fullback). I like what he’s done thus far. Rashad Jennings has really picked up where he left off in the spring, there’s nothing negative there. I think it’s just the addition of Murphy and the addition of LaRod Stephens that has changed the picture of that position.

On freshman running back Conredge Collins:

You know what, he’s probably in a similar boat like Murphy. I think the biggest thing we need to determine there is does he have the best chance to play and help the team at tailback or would he be best suited at fullback. That’s the decision we have to make. And when we’re going to determine that is when we get in live work and hand him the ball.

I think of Stephens with the potential to be a good, change-of-pace back. He seems too small and light to be a full-time back, but would be great to come in to provide bursts. Kind of like what the Philadelphia Eagles do with Brian Westbrook and Correll Buckhalter in the same backfield.

There has been no mention of Brandon Mason, Ray Kirkley or Marcus Furman for the starting tailback position to this point. Read into that what you will.

Other parts: the d-line is doing very well, the offensive line seems to be getting some depth; redshirting won’t be determined for at least a week-plus.

Coach Wannstedt is itching to get the kids into full pads and start scrimmaging, but it appears that he might actually wait until Monday.

I know this will be a shock, but the Sports Illustrated preview of the Big East picks Louisville to finish #1 and Pitt #2 in the Big East.

If anyone can stand up to the Cardinals, it’s the Panthers, who return the bulk of what was truly a young team last season and are now under the direction of former NFL head coach and Pitt alum Dave Wannstedt. If anyone else emerges as the champion, it will be a surprise. West Virginia, after losing 14 starters, and Syracuse, with new coach Greg Robinson, are both teams in transition. Upstart Connecticut must replace four-year QB and NFL Draft pick Dan Orlovsky. And Rutgers, though it should field its best team in years, still only won one conference game a year ago.

They also do a slide-show thing of the 10 best players in the Big East. Louisville placed 4 players at numbers 2, 4, 8 and 9 (Brohm, Leffew, Dumervil and Bush). Pitt had 3 — Greg Lee #1, Tyler Palko #3 and H.B. Blades #6. Running Backs Andre Hall of USF, Cornell Brockington of UConn and Fullback Brian Leonard from Rutgers were the others.

Gene Collier worries that while Pitt has an offensive philosophy, the team isn’t actually ready to do what it says it wants to do.

A run-the-ball philosophy is to be applauded, it says here, but you can’t beat Notre Dame with philosophy majors. You need a top-grade stud to tote the bladder, just as you need an accomplished, cohesive offensive line to clear some stud space.

For the moment, Pitt has neither.

“The bad situation,” Wannstedt was saying the other day, “is that I don’t know who the starter is. We’ll give [senior fullback Tim] Murphy a shot to be the tailback, and as for [freshman Conredge] Collins, is he a tailback or is he a fullback? Miami and Florida were recruiting him as a fullback.”

Wannstedt’s looking for a featured tailback and already has said he’s pretty much “a one-back guy,” so the next three weeks ought to be fairly manic on the South Side. Collins is the freshman out of Florida Wannstedt had to promise a shot at tailback just to win the feverish recruiting war, and it wouldn’t surprise anyone if the son of former New England running back Tony Collins becomes the focus of Wannstedt’s first Pitt star search.
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Not that things are a whole lot more stable up front.

“On the o-line, I think Simo [redshirt junior John Simonitis] is the one guy who’ll be at the same spot,” Wannstedt said. “Dominic Williams is at guard and Spence [senior Charles Spencer] has been moved out to tackle. We’re juggling people, trying to put players in the position to give us the best chance to win and to give them the best chance to be successful.”

What I find interesting/amusing about the column is the way Collier’s own favorites for tailback are in the piece. He likes Marcus Furman and LaRod Stephens. Rashad Jennings isn’t mentioned, despite being at the top of the pre-season depth chart after spring practices. Mason gets nary a mention (and he was something of a favorite of Paul Zeise last season). I have my bias towards Murphy.

I guess that’s the fun when the job is so wide open. Everyone gets to project their own favorite in the position, and then second guess the coach if he doesn’t make the “right” choice.

Strength and Conditioning Coach Mike Kent gets a piece today about the work he’s done to get the players leaner and faster.

Kent said he and Wannstedt agreed that many of the offensive linemen and some of the defensive linemen were too heavy. But it wasn’t just linemen — every player on the team was asked to either lose weight or decrease their body fat.

So far, the offseason program seems to have been a success as the Panthers have a number of players who are already performing at a higher level than in the past. A prime example is defensive tackle Corey Davis, who has lost about 40 pounds and dropped his body fat by nearly 5 percent since January. In the meantime, he has actually increased his strength and the results have been easy to see by his play in training camp.
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“But we had receivers who may have gained weight but actually dropped their percentage of body fat. All of it is with the idea of putting a quicker, speedier team on the field.

“I think the one thing that seems to get lost is that the kids are making it happen. The kids should be commended for their commitment and for buying into the program and for taking responsibility and doing their part during the offseason.

“The thing I tell them now is ‘let’s make sure we put all that hard work to good use on Saturday’s.

“Let’s make sure that you get rewarded for all of that hard work.’ “

Kent, along with his assistant Darren Honeycutt, have earned rave reviews from the rest of the coaching staff. They emphasized that all of the weight loss and body fat reduction was done in a safe, structured way over a period of eight months. Players who lost 30 pounds, did so gradually and did so while they were maintaining or increasing their strength in the weight training program.

The other part of the equation, though, will be how healthy the players stay over the course of the season. Pitt actually got through last year with a minimum number of injuries. Considering the overall lack of depth, this remains a concern.

Coach Wannstedt likes to make everyone suffer.

Before the start of yesterday’s practice, coach Dave Wannstedt noticed the two exercise bikes were parked in the shade under a tarp. He ordered them moved onto the fields — under the sun, in the 93-degree heat.

“Nice day to do some bikin’. Blue skies,” Wannstedt said, grinning.

The bikes are there for use by players who are too nicked up to practice. Defensive tackle Thomas Smith spent most of yesterday with his feet on the pedals. Midway through the workout, he was joined by tight end Darrell Strong .

Nothing about why they went to the bikes was disclosed.

Final story on Pitt commit Greg Webster‘s upcoming high school season.

Opportunities and injuries are the idea.

With Lee out for a few days, the other receivers have an opportunity to make a move on the depth chart, or even win the #3 receiver role.

With Lee out of action, two or three of the other receivers in the mix — Joe DelSardo, Marcel Pestano, Terrell Allen, Derek Kinder and Kelvin Chandler — must step up.

“It’s an unfortunate situation (with Lee), but I think it’s gonna make the receiving group come together more until we get him back,” DelSardo said. “Maybe it’s a way for some of us to show, “I can step up and be the guy that Tyler can go to later (this season) if Greg is out for a play or if something happens.’ “

I realize Del Sardo to some degree has to prove himself again, but he still seems safe as the #2 or even 3 if one of the others takes the opportunity. This is a big chance for Terrell Allen who many thought would be better than Lee, until he got hurt.

Senior Dale Williams has been moving around on the line and is trying to snare the starting Right Guard position.

There was no warning on the day earlier this week when Pitt senior Dale Williams was moved to the right guard spot — a position he had never before played — with the first-team offensive line.

“When you get a shot with the 1s, you’ve got to pick up your game and do your best,” Williams said. “There’s no reaction. There’s only doing.”

So far, he is making the best of it.

John Simonitis, a three-year veteran at right guard, tweaked his hamstring Wednesday, about two hours into the first workout of the season. That meant Williams, who missed spring drills while recovering from knee surgery, suddenly found himself in a new role.

“I think I stepped in and did a good job,” Williams said. ” I have to pick up technique — little things like step and hand placement. A lot of that stuff is so much different at guard than at the tackle spot.”

Then again, this is not the first time Williams has had to learn on the fly. In the middle of the game last season against Connecticut, after Rob Pettiti went down with an injury, Williams was switched from right to left tackle.

If Williams can get a good handle on the Guard position, he has a better shot of being on the 1st team considering Spencer and McGlynn seem to have locked down the Left and Right Tackle. At the very least, the versatility of learning the Guard position as well, would make him a very important back-up in an injury situation.

Meanwhile, Cornerback Reggie Carter is trying to earn more playing time after last year.

Before last season, former Pitt head coach Walt Harris said one of the starting cornerback jobs was Carter’s to lose. And that’s what happened. Josh Lay, now a senior, outperformed Carter in practice and won the starting job.

Carter called the demotion an “ego-bruising experience.” But he keeps reminding himself that this is a new season.

“I’ve got to let it go and play better than I did then,” Carter said.

New Panthers head coach Dave Wannstedt, a part-time Naples resident, likes Carter’s athleticism and his 6-foot, 185-pound frame. Wannstedt, who spent 4-1/2 seasons as head coach of the Miami Dolphins before joining Pitt, feels Carter just needs some seasoning before he can regain the starting role.

“He’s only going to get better with experience,” Wannstedt said. “But he’s got a great attitude and a great work ethic and that’s going to help him go a long way.”

Last season, Carter saw limited action in six games. He recorded seven tackles but no interceptions. A couple different leg injuries, however, slowed his progress, but defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads saw Carter grow despite the low output.

“Reggie is starting to mature and come into his own,” Rhoads said. “He is gaining confidence in his abilities as both a pass and run defender.”

I think he will have opportunities this season. Maybe not as a starter, but if Pitt is playing a more aggressive and tighter coverage he should be getting on the field more to keep the secondary fresh.