Jason Taylor of the Miami Dolphins became a top defensive player (and very well compensated) under Coach Dave Wannstedt. He is optimistic for Pitt and Wannstedt.

Count Taylor among those who believe former Dolphins coach Dave Wannstedt will be successful as the new head coach at the University of Pittsburgh.

“He’s a good football coach,” Taylor said. “The pressures in college will be a little less than they were in the NFL and I think it’ll work out for him. Dave can come into anybody’s home and tell you why you should send your kid to his school. He’ll talk you into it. Dave can convince you to send your kid to his school and he’ll take care of him and try to help him grow up and show him the way. Dave’s a great guy. I love Dave and I always will.”

Meanwhile former Pitt safety Tyrone Gilliard is only one class away from graduating, so he’s coming back to Pittsburgh to take it. In the meantime, he’s been home in West Virginia helping with his old high school team. Obviously written and/or edited by a graduate of WVU’s J-school, the piece keeps referring to Pitt’s defensive coordinator, Paul Rhoads, as “Paul Rose” — at least fact check the easy things, guys. Gilliard does want to keep playing football. He’s also very high on Pitt this year.

Gilliard’s agent is talking to some Arena Football League teams and a few National Football League clubs.

“Even if a deal is put together, I’m going to get my degree before reporting to camp,” Gilliard explained, “because the Arena League doesn’t begin its season until after the first of the year.”
…
As he heads back to Pitt, Gilliard believes his old college team will be ready to make waves in the Big East, with the hiring of Dave Wannstedt as the Panthers’ new head coach. Wannstedt was the Miami Dolphins’ head coach last year and had previously served as head coach of the Chicago Bears.

“I’ve met Coach Wannstedt, and he’s a good person and terrific coach,” Gilliard said. “I still have a lot of friends on the team at Pitt. I know they’ll do well for him. In a way, I wish I had one more year of college eligibility so I could play for him.”

Finally, there was a piece on early Pitt commit, Nate Nix and his upcoming senior year.