The one downside to the switch in websites for Pitt, is that all past links to press releases no longer work. I hate broken links, but I’m not nearly that insane to go back and fix things.

Pitt has announced its TV programming with FSN Pittsburgh.

The regional sports network will kick-off its Pitt coverage with a special edition of Savran on SportsBeat live from Fan Fest at Heinz Field on Thurs., August 25. Then on Wed., August 31 at 7:30 PM, FSN Pittsburgh will present an exclusive Pitt Football Preview Show, immediately followed by the debut of Dave Wannstedt -Homecoming. Throughout the fall season, FSN Pittsburgh will feature Dave Wannstedt’s weekly press conferences hosted by Rob King on Tuesdays at 1:00 PM and Panthers Weekly every Tuesday at 7:00 PM.

Dave Wannstedt -Homecoming takes an in-depth look at Wannstedt’s coaching career, ties to Western Pennsylvania and his plans for the future of Pitt football. The half-hour special will have additional air dates throughout the season.

Shame Fox’s regional (Fox Sports Atlantic) doesn’t air any of this stuff other than Pittsburgh Sports Report. Well, that’s not true, they did air Panthers Weekly. Just a matter of finding when it airs.

Not to this site, but the Pitt Athletics Website is now launched. All new, and including a handy-dandy countdown clock until the ND game.

Realized something was up, when the Pitt site wasn’t loading right. Here’s the official press release.

File this one under “things I didn’t need to know“.

The glare from Tyler Palko’s shaved legs blinds even receiver Greg Lee’s keen vision.
…
Throwing for 17 touchdowns in the Panthers’ final six games, Palko’s abilities have garnished the most attention with his smooth legs running a close second depending upon which gender is asked.

“See how they’re glistening over there,” Lee said about Palko’s legs during Pittsburgh media day. “He shaves his legs and he only does it during the season I think. They say the girls like it.”

About the only benefit I can see for a guy to do this (who isn’t a swimmer, cyclist or perhaps a sprinter) is to avoid having the hair ripped out by the roots when you get tape put on your legs.

Still, if hairless chests are considered desirable these days, why not the legs? I guess.

Defensive End Charles Sallet is still recovering from a shoulder injury and subsequent surgery in the spring has found himself behind Chris McKillop on the depth chart — for now. Not that they aren’t still teammates.

During a morning workout yesterday, Sallet delighted Pitt defensive ends coach Charlie Partridge, when he approached McKillop and offered some advice.

“Chris McKillop was working in a pass-rush drill,” Partridge said, “and I coached Chris and then got the next guy going. I turned around and looked over my shoulder and there was Charles Sallet, following on the coaching points that I made with Chris. That’s the guy he’s competing with for the spot. It’s that kind of leadership that gives you a chance to be pretty successful.”

Patridge conceded to being surprised — to a point.

Said Sallet: “I’m not one of those guys who would down somebody just because they are in the same position as me. I take pleasure in motivating my teammates. If they ask me stuff, I tell them what to do. I tell them the right thing to do.”

When it was suggested that Sallet was the ultimate team player, he nodded in full agreement.

“You’re always trying to get a feel for the chemistry for your football team, and one of the things that we, as a coaching staff, really believe right now is these kids enjoy each other,” Partridge said. “Let’s be honest, when you have 105 people from all different walks of life, that’s a hard thing to have happen.

“Fortunately right now, we’ve got the kind of kids that truly get along with each other. We’re very fortunate right now that we’ve got the chemistry we need.”

Everyone wants to win.

With position changes and new emphasis on speed, Corey Davis is a prime example. He dropped more than 30 pounds and has been moved from Defensive Lineman to Offensive Right Tackle.

Davis sometimes misses his old position. Linebackers, he said, get the glory after making highlight-reel tackles. He also feels different after a long day’s work on the line.

“When I played linebacker, my shoulders and hands used to hurt,” he said. “Now, my whole body — from my ankles to my neck — hurts. The physical part is really brutal.”

When that first depth chart comes out, there’s going to be a lot of, “but I thought he was…”

From the beat writers’ notebook pieces, Tyler Palko is trying to pump up the receivers a bit after they took criticism from Coach Wannstedt the day before.

Palko said he’s happy with the progress the receivers have made and offered a gentle reminder that they may be playing at a bit of a disadvantage.

“We need a guy to step up but you have to remember something — we have two of the best corners in the country,” Palko said. “[Darrelle Revis and Josh Lay] — those two are really good. So it is tough enough for young guys to learn the system but to then have to do it against two really good players makes it tougher.”

One receiver who did have an excellent practice yesterday is freshman Oderick Turner. He made some catches, including a tough one for a first down when he jumped high and pulled the ball out of the air.

The (Redshirt and True) Freshmen receivers should have excellent opportunities to earn playing time and vie for the 3rd receiver. Terrell Allen, for all his talent and expectations, can’t seem to stay healthy to earn playing time (this year’s Princell Brockenbrough). None of the other receivers stepped up last year and don’t seem to be this year.

Freshman Irvan Brown broke up a pass play in a goal line stand in scrimmage with everyone watching and cheering. Should do wonders for his confidence at being converted from RB to DB.

Shane Brooks and Conredge Colllins both looked good in the backfield yesterday. Definitely a good day for the new kids.

No new injuries. Right Guard John Simonitis was back from his sore hamstring. Greg Lee is getting closer to returning.

Defense that is. Coach Wannstedt’s post-double practice day press conference had him a little bothered by the run defense. Something that was a problem last year.

On Pitt’s running defense and passing defense:

If we can get people in passing situations we’ll have a chance. We have to find a way to stop the run. I was not happy at all with our run defense today. It wasn’t nearly good enough. There were too many third down and fours and fives. We’ve got to find a way to generate more third and longs. We will.

He had plenty of good things to say about the freshmen. The running back situation looks more like a committee every day.

From Matt Hayes at The Sporting News.

Ladies and gentlemen, meet your Notre Dame guinea pig: Paul Rhoads. Pitt’s defensive coordinator will be the first coach to defend new Irish coach Charlie Weis’ offense–an offense that will be vastly different from the West Coast scheme former coach Tyrone Willingham used the past three years. The objective of Weis’ attack: spread and stretch. Spread the defense, forcing it to cover sideline to sideline, and stretch the defense by taking shots on deep routes. Rhoads says his staff has looked at game tape from Weis’ New England Patriots offenses to get an understanding of the scheme for the September 3 opener at Pitt. Pitt also has looked at last year’s Notre Dame-Pitt game to break down specific player tendencies. The problem: The Irish had 438 yards in a 41-38 loss last year. Speaking of the Irish, count Rhoads among those who believe QB Brady Quinn will thrive under Weis: “He has a ton of talent, and he’s still developing.” . . .

On the flip side, of course will be how Pitt’s revised defense will appear. Pitt is expected to be faster up the middle of the d-line and play a more aggressive defense. The corners won’t be playing off so much to permit the receivers easy catches. The more I find myself thinking about the 1st game of the season, the more I conclude that last year’s results, style, everything — mean absolutely nothing in this game. Both teams are going to be very different in how they play.

Bruce Feldman lists his top-10 gamebreakers for the last 20 years.

1. Deion Sanders, FSU. No one is even close when it comes to the theatre and drama of owning the moment. The Godfather of all gamebreakers.
2. Barry Sanders, Oklahoma State
3. Michael Vick, Va. Tech
4. Tommie Frazier, Nebraska
5. Marshall Faulk, SD State
6. Rocket Ismail, ND
7. Desmond Howard, Michigan
8. Charlie Ward, FSU
9. Randy Moss, Marshall
10. Larry Fitzgerald, Pittsburgh

Just Missed the Cut: Champ Bailey, UGa; Charles Woodson, Michigan; Matt Jones, Arkansas.; Beau Morgan, Air Force QB; Antonio Bryant, Pitt WR; Hart Lee Dykes, Oklahoma State WR; Terry Glenn, Ohio State; K-Jana Carter, Penn State; Eric Crouch, Nebraska; Ricky Williams, UT; Donovan McNabb, Syracuse; Joe Hamilton, Georgia Tech QB; David Allen, K-State; Napoleon Kaufman, Washington; Peter Warrick, FSU; Tim Brown, ND; Deuce Palmer, ‘Bama; Tremain Mack, Miami; and Wes Welker, Texas Tech.

I never thought of Antonio Bryant as a “gamebreaker.” He came on as a force in 2002, but that was a surprise and seemingly out of no where. In 2003, when he was expected to be a gamebreaker, he was out for almost half the season with injuries — opening the door for Larry Fitzgerald to appear on the scene.

Feldman also notes another story on recruiting sites and their interactions with recruits.

Most Division I teams are covered by Rivals.com and Scout.com, the two predominant Web sites when it comes to college football recruiting.

When a player is being pursued by a university, he can expect to get a call from both sites that cover that particular school. The two such sites concerning Nebraska football are huskersillustrated.com (Rivals) and bigredreport.com (Scout).

“If it came out you were interested in Michigan, you’d get a call from both (Michigan Web sites) the next day,” Holt said.

And the questions that came from these Web reporters?

Almost always the same, Holt said.

” ‘What’s your top five?’ ‘What’s your strengths as a player?’ They always ask that one. ‘Have you been to any camps?’ “

Rivals.com comes off looking better and has quotes from their general manager, Bobby Burton, than Scout.com. Of course, Scout.com is now with Fox Sports, so who knows what is going to happen. What just keeps seeming clearer is that there is going to be some major fighting coming regarding internet recruiting sites, and probably rumblings of some sort of regulations.

Pitt Athletic Department put out a press release on Kendall’s performance at the U-21.

University of Pittsburgh junior forward Levon Kendall earned all-tournament team honors after leading Canada to a Bronze Medal finish Sunday at the FIBA Under-21 World Basketball Championships. Canada’s Bronze Medal marked the first time a Canadian age-group team has medaled at a FIBA World Championship event.

In its first-ever appearance at the Under-21 World Championships, Canada defeated Australia 79-74 to earn the Bronze Medal. The victory completed an outstanding tournament for Canada, which dropped its semifinal game Saturday to Greece, 74-61.

Kendall led Canada into the medal round after he scored a tournament-high 40 points in a 93-90 overtime victory over the United States on Friday. In the win, Kendall hit 16 of 22 field goals (2-2 3-pointers), pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds and dished out three assists in 42 minutes. The Canadians erased a seven point deficit with three minutes to go and Kendall sent the contest into overtime with a game-tying basket with 25 seconds remaining.

Amazing what one stunning game can do for a guy’s profile. From miserable tournament to being named as one of the 5 best players in the tournament.

Andy Katz has more on his blog (Insider Subs.)

Levon Kendall a 40-point scorer? Don’t look for it against UConn or anyone else in the Big East.

Against Team USA in the Under-21 World Championship? That’s a whole different story.

Kendall dropped 40 on the United States in Canada’s shocking overtime win in the medal round quarterfinals Friday in Mar del Plata, Argentina. Kendall’s encore was the 15-spot he posted against Australia in Canada’s surprising bronze medal victory Sunday.

His college coach was impressed … and surprised.

“I don’t think he’ll score 40 for us,” Pittsburgh coach Jamie Dixon said of the 6-foot-9 sophomore forward who averaged 3.5 points and 2.5 rebounds in 13.9 minutes a game for the Panthers as a freshman.

“It’s tough to score 40 in those [tournament] games, especially when he had been averaging around seven points a game,” Dixon said.

USA coach Phil Martelli put Charlotte’s Curtis Withers on Kendall, but nothing seemed to matter, as Kendall scored at will. It was shocking, since Kendall had scored just 30 points in Canada’s four previous tournament games (and then only had eight points on 2-for-10 shooting in a semifinal loss to Greece). Still, that one performance helped propel Kendall to the all-tournament team, essentially recognized as one of the five best players in the tournament.

That’s some heady company for a role player at Pitt who will be counted on heavily to replace Chevy Troutman next season.

“He was going to play the four for this team — he’s a four-man but we had to play him at the three last year,” Dixon said. “He’s always been confident. Nobody had heard of him when we signed him. I think we beat Santa Barbara for him. But he’s been a good player and he backed up an all-league guy.”

Dixon said the perception was that the Panthers would be weak at the power spots this season. But if Kendall can replicate his performance in this tournament, the Panthers could be solid, with Kendall and 7-foot sophomore Aaron Gray.

The Panthers get back fifth-year senior point guard Carl Krauser and have solid returning guards in Ronald Ramon, Antonio Graves and forwards John DeGroat and Dante Milligan. If Kendall is a legit scorer, the Panthers could be much more of a player in the Big East this season.

I really don’t know how Kendall will ultimately do with Pitt this season. He will get the shot at starting at power forward, but I expect him to be pushed. He will have to be much better on defense to keep the job. Even in the U-21, he often got himself in early foul trouble. My feelings on Pitt, very, very preliminary though they are. This season Pitt will go anywhere from 6-10 to 10-6 in the Big East.

Canada won the bronze at the U-21. Levon Kendall was the leading scorer in the win over Australia. He had 15 points on 6-17 shooting, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 2 turnovers in 25 minutes.

Winning the bronze was the first time Canada has medalled in a FIBA-sanctioned event since winning the silver at the Munich Olympics in 1936.

The American squad (and those following were still in shock over losing to Canada). From Andy Katz (ESPN Insider Subs.):

It was Pittsburgh reserve forward Levan Kendall, who lit the Americans up for 40 points in 42 minutes. In the past five games, Kendall didn’t crack the top 30 in scoring in the tournament. He scored just seven points against Israel, four against Greece, nine against Argentina and 11 against Australia. He averaged a mere 3.5 points in 13.9 minutes in 22 games for the Panthers last season.

Get the picture?

“He was shooting 31 percent and averaging eight points prior to this,” Martelli told ESPN.com by phone from Argentina. “He was backing guys down and shot running hooks and banking in 3s. It was just one of those things.”

Martelli had Charlotte’s Curtis Withers, he of a 2-for-11 night, on him.

The Canadians essentially challenged the U.S. at every chance in this game.

“Every time they scored it was like a nine-point play instead of a two-point play,” Martelli said.

But how does this happen? If the U.S. was going to lose, the thought was it could occur in the semifinals or finals with the possibility that Australia, or maybe host Argentina or even Lithuania would clip the Americans. But Canada?

“There were a lot of things, it’s a really, really long trip and you have to factor in the players’ maturity level,” Martelli said. “They’ve hung in there for a whole trip but this is a different game. This isn’t an excuse but the way J.J. [Redick] and Allan Ray were guarded they would have shot double-digit foul shots in the college game. It’s not an excuse because we knew what we were getting into. We had to sustain our concentration, our focus and that’s challenging for a young team away from home.”

Sounds like an excuse. And since when do American players and coaches complain about physical play in basketball?

You know, I started to think that my observations last night of Coach Wannstedt might be warming up to (or at least accepting out of necessity) the idea of using more than one running back in the backfield might have been a bit of wishful thinking on my part. Looks like it was actually close to reality (broken clock, twice a day, correct). According to the beat reporter notebook.

Running backs coach David Walker said, “We’re going to have to be a running back by committee, I don’t think there’s much question about that and the guys understand that. We don’t have a Hershel Walker in our backfield and that is no disrespect to the guys we do have. We just don’t have a clear guy who is so much better than the competition that it is a no-brainer.

“So we’re going to be running back by committee. That way we’ll be fresh in the games and be able to play extremely hard and guys will be able to compete throughout the whole year. It is a very healthy situation for us.”

The key player in the mix is Tim Murphy, who could end up as the starter at either fullback or tailback. If he moves to fullback, that means the starting tailback job would likely be Rashad Jennings‘ to lose.

“Rashad is doing well, but don’t forget, there are a number of freshmen and there are some veterans like Brandon Mason and Raymond Kirkley who will have a lot to say about this before the season gets here,” Walker said. “Everyone is competing and they are all pushing each other so the players that are the most productive over the next few weeks are the ones who will play.”

The notebook piece also observed that the defense seemed to have a little more of the advantage in practice. Not terribly surprising. The defense may have players shuffled, but there are more returning starters on the line and in the secondary. The defensive edge, was also echoed in this collection of quick observations and quotes.

Freshman Running Back LaRod Stephens(-Howling) gets a positive piece on his performance in training camp.

The one area where there has been some disappointment has been in the receiving corp. Greg Lee being out with his sore shoulder (no longer in a sling, though) was supposed to give some of the other receivers a chance to step-up. So far no one has shown any consistency. The closest appears to be Redshirt Freshman Marcel Pestano.

Receivers coach Aubrey Hill said Pestano could be on the verge of breaking out.

“He made some plays in the spring,” Hill said. “We’re looking for that total consistency. He has taken that approach these first few days and has been very consistent. We look for him to do some good things this year.”

Pestano played a lot of roles — quarterback, running back, receiver — on the scout team last fall. The season off gave him time to hunker down in the weight room and bulk up from 165 pounds to 190 pounds.

“When spring (practice) started, I was fourth on the depth chart,” Pestano said. “I had a couple big plays. Other guys were making big plays, too, but I was consistent. Coach kept moving me up the ladder.

“I knew I wasn’t ready for it last year. Now, my mind’s right, and my body’s ready. We’ll see what happens.”

Terrell Allen, once again, seems to be having some injury issues.

A few articles on Dexter Davidson committing to Pitt. This is the most detailed piece, with probably the best quote.

“It factored in a little bit,” Davidson said. “The tradition played a big part of that, and Dan Marino is a big part of Pittsburgh’s tradition. If any day I could be in that situation, Pittsburgh would best set up for that kind of success.”

Davidson chose the Panthers over scholarship offers from Brigham Young, Kentucky and Rutgers. Davidson said Louisville, Ole Miss and Tulane were showing interest. Davidson originally was planning to wait until his official visit to Pitt for the Notre Dame game to decide.

“They’ve got the nation’s top tight end (Franklin’s Nate Byham), a top-five wide receiver (West Allegheny’s Dorin Dickerson) and a great defensive lineman in (Baldwin’s Jason) Pinkston,” said Davidson, who was recruited by defensive ends coach Charlie Partridge.

“Their recruiting class is something special, something I want to be a part of.”

[Emphasis added.]

There isn’t much in this article not already covered other than a note at the end indicating that Aaron Smith is going to commit to Pitt on August 27. It has previously been reported that he is still deciding between Pitt and Maryland (keep those handwritten notes coming).

Full pads, but scrimmages won’t be until tomorrow. Coach Wannstedt seemed happier, though, to have everyone fully covered. Interestingly, Wannstedt seems to almost indicate that going with more of a committee approach at running back might make more sense at this point.

On his observations of the running backs thus far:
We may have to have plays specifically for each guy. We kind of have a group of guys. Tim Murphy and Rashad Jennings do things right and Conredge Collins did a couple things right, Raymond Kirkley had a nice run. It’s going to be tough. I wouldn’t want to pick it (starters) after today. I mean, I could if I had to but we need a little bit more time and fortunately we have it. It’s only a week

Yes, way too early. This is just my own bias. I’ve always been more of a fan of adapting the plan to the players rather than the other way around. I’m not sure at this point (okay, I doubt it) if Pitt has a single back capable of dominating; but I think Pitt has a group of backs who can really mess up the opposition with various styles, fresh legs and power. I like the idea of taking advantage of that.

Okay folks, barring an absolute stud 4-5 star guy saying so, I think Pitt is done offering for quarterbacks for the 2006 class. Dexter Davidson appears to have made a verbal. Not totally shocking, since Dan Marino was giving him tips, but welcome nonetheless.

UPDATE: Here’s some more on the Davidson commit:

“He committed to Pittsburgh yesterday,” said North Broward Head Coach Maurice Dixon. “We called Coach Dave Wannstedt yesterday and gave him the official word. Dexter is a big Dan Marino fan, and he wanted to follow in his footsteps and go to Pittsburgh.. That was one of the big reasons. He likes what Coach Wannstedt has said about getting up to campus and getting on the field early and competing for playing time.”

According to Dixon, Wannstedt’s ties to the NFL have helped to play a big role.

“He knows what it takes to get his players prepared and get them ready for the next level.”

Davidson chose Pittsburgh after heavy consideration of Kentucky and Louisville; any chance those teams get back in the mix?

Dexter is only going to take one visit. He’ll go to Pittsburgh for the Notre Dame game and that’s it.”

Pittsburgh continues to be one of the biggest surprises and hottest teams in the country for the 2006 recruiting season.

My feeling is that to close the deal on a lot of these great verbals, Pitt needs to win early. Call it extra paranoia if you will, but winning just makes things easier.

I’m testing new, less pejorative terms than “puff,” to describe the individual pieces on players and coaches. I’ll probably end up sticking with “puff” and derivatives because it really is the most accurate descriptor.

Offensive Coordinator Matt Cavanaugh comes in for a big puff piece. I’m actually shocked it has taken this long to get to one on him.

In 1997-98, Cavanaugh served as offensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears. The head coach at the time was another Pitt alum, Dave Wannstedt.

Last winter, Cavanaugh and Wannstedt connected again. After Walt Harris left for Stanford, they were among the finalists to become the Panthers’ next coach.

A few days after Wannstedt took the job, he dialed up Cavanaugh’s number.

“Even though I went out and interviewed three offensive coordinators, Matt knew all along that it was his job,” Wannstedt said.

“It was a pretty easy sell,” Cavanaugh said. “I had gotten so excited about the opportunity to be the head coach and coming back to this school, that I was already halfway sold.”

Cavanaugh said that among the other assistants Wannstedt hired were two — he won’t reveal their names — who Cavanaugh would have placed on his staff had he gotten the head-coaching job.

Even though only one of them was able to fulfill his ambition at Pitt, there is no friction in the meeting room between Wannstedt and Cavanaugh.

“No, because I was the guy who recommended him for the head coaching job,” Wannstedt said. “Matt and I are good enough friends and we have enough respect for each other that there was no ulterior motive or anything like that.”

Their shared history in the NFL makes things easier. Sometimes, as they map out schedules or strategies, Wannstedt will turn to Cavanaugh and say, “Remember how we did that in Chicago?”

Um, uh, given what happened in Chicago that year, I hope that sort of question is followed by one of them saying, “Let’s not do that again.”

Redshirt Freshman Defensive Tackle Craig Bokor gets his own minor focus article. He’s been backing up Thomas Smith at Left Defensive Tackle, but is hoping to pass Seniors Phil Tilman and Ron Idoko for the Right Defensive Tackle starting spot.

Mike Phillips gets his own piece concerning his shift to Strong Safety from Cornerback.

“Corner is my favorite position, it always has been,” he said. “But, when people told me they thought I’d be a better safety, I guess it was a compliment because I am a pretty physical player and safeties are the ones who are usually associated with hitting.

“So that’s all that is — I am a physical player and I play aggressively like most safeties, but I can play anywhere they want me to. I just love to play.”

Although Phillips began his Pitt career at cornerback and he is a corner at heart, he is now a safety. It is more than just a state of mind.

Phillips was asked by coaches in the spring to move to strong safety because the corner position is set with Darrelle Revis and Josh Lay.

The move was a natural one for Phillips, and it was a move designed to solidify the Panthers’ secondary, which, perhaps, might be the best in the Big East Conference.

Phillips and Sam Bryant create great depth at the Strong Safety position. Phillips familiarity as a CB also gives Pitt more flexibility. With a more aggressive, physical, and faster secondary; last year’s weakness should be a strength. The trade-off will be more pass interference penalties.

A puff piece on Pitt commit Dorin Dickerson and his goals for his senior year of high school. He is not only a top player in the country, but he has a very solid family nucleus to assist him along the way.

Final puff piece is on a high school junior, Steve Paskorz.

But Paskorz already is known. He has a scholarship offer from West Virginia, with offers from Pitt, Penn State and Michigan most likely coming soon.

“A lot of schools have said they’re going to offer,” Paskorz said.

“The college coaches who have come to our school and watched film on him, there hasn’t been one who’s not interested in him,” Mihalik said.

“By the time he’s a senior, he’s going to have quite a selection of colleges to choose from.”

Paskorz already has visited Michigan on his own, but said Pitt and Penn State are two schools at the top of his list.

“I don’t really want to go too far from home,” he said.
…
Mihalik, and most college coaches, project Paskorz as a defensive player. He would be on the order of Upper St. Clair’s Sean Lee, a running back-linebacker in high school who’s a freshman linebacker at Penn State.

“Steve is a kid you could probably put anywhere,” Mihalik said. “But if I had to pick a position, he would probably be an outside linebacker-type of kid.”

Still feels creepy talking about the college commit future of a high school junior.

Well, it obviously didn’t make it into Coach Wannstedt’s press conference yesterday, but there was some extra activity.

Yesterday, things came to a head when the offense squared off against the defense and got in a brouhaha. The two sides had to be separated.

The hit that set things in motion came when linebacker J.J. Horne laid out running back Rashad Jennings after Jennings caught a short pass over the middle. Offensive tackle Mike McGlynn protested the hit and was shouted down by members of the defense.

The next play, wide receiver Joe DelSardo caught a pass and was hammered by safety Sam Bryant. DelSardo was on the ground for a few minutes, but he got up and walked off on his own.

Before DelSardo hit the ground, quarterback Tyler Palko led the charge of offensive players into the pile in protest of the hits in what was supposed to be a two-minute drill. No punches were thrown, but there was plenty of shoving and trash talking. Cooler heads prevailed and practice quickly resumed at an even higher intensity level.

DelSardo himself, was the one after practice, downplaying it as no big thing. Clearly the Junior is doing what he can to assume a leadership role on the team. It is a bit of a natural role for DelSardo. He earned his teammates respect last year when the former walk-on was given a scholarship and stepped up to be a solid #2 receiver for Pitt.

The major issue is, of course, who will earn the starting running back position.

Since the Pitt Panthers added shoulder pads to their practice uniforms Saturday, the running backs appeared to get a little more work than they did the first couple days, and now players can begin to separate from a huge pack of candidates.

Pitt has a baker’s dozen players listed as either running back or fullback on its roster, and freshman Irvan Brown already moved to cornerback after a couple practice days.

Freshman Rashad Jennings, an early enrollee, ended the spring as the No. 1 tailback, but senior Tim Murphy did not practice after having off-season surgery. And frosh LaRod Stephens-Howling had not yet enrolled in school.

“Right now, Murphy is working at fullback and tailback,” Wannstedt said. “I think we’ve got to give him a day or two of full pad work, tackling work, when we’re doing live inside drills. And then we’ll make a determination about whether we’ll leave him at fullback or not.

“Rashad Jennings has really picked up where he left off in the spring. There’s nothing negative there, but it’s just the addition of Murphy and LaRod Stephens has changed the picture of that position a little bit.

“And (freshman) Conredge Collins probably is in a similar boat to Murphy,” Wannstedt added. “We have to determine if he has a better chance to play and help the team at tailback or is it at fullback.”

(Now, if you are like me, you might have been distracted by the question of “where the hell did the Stephens-Howling hyphenated last name come from?” Or maybe you just glossed over it. As far as I can tell, Stephens is his mother’s maiden/kept name. His father is Rodney Howling. As a guess, I’d say there has been something of a reconciliation, resulting in him hyphenating his last name to honor both as of late. But I digress.)

The one hope, of course, is that injuries don’t determine the job. The logjam at RB is interesting, because, despite my hope of seeing Stephens-Howling (we’ll see how long that lasts) as a good change of pace back, Wannstedt and Cavanaugh have a noticeable history of favoring just one back for the entire season. Whether Pitt has a back that can handle that kind of load remains to be seen. My personal view is that it would be a mistake. It may require more work and expecting a lot more out of the offensive line, but the idea of using at least 2 backs right now that offer such different running styles seems more appealing and likely to cause more problems for defenses. Not to mention, reducing dissatisfaction among the corps and transfers.

Conredge Collins is doing his best to earn the starting role. Seems to be missing chances to see the fair city. The piece, though, is one of the few to indicate that Furman and Kirkley are getting more than a fair chance to get the starter’s role.

Okay, I know everyone wants to read about camp and recruits and such, and believe me there are plenty of articles this morning. I’ll get to them. First, some basketball info, because it is quick and I have a 3-year old insisting on watching the Sports Reporters with me.

Canada lost its game against Greece. It wasn’t even close. Kendall only played 25 minutes because of a knee strain. The Canadians have a final game against Australia for 3rd place. Kendall in his time out there had 8 points on 2-10 shooting (4-4 on Free Throws), 7 rebounds (to lead the team), 3 assists, 1 turnover, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot.

His coach was still feeling hyperbolic about Kendall.

“If Levon gets to play in college, plays for Canada and does what he is really capable of doing, he is an NBA player. Period,” wrote Rautins.

Those are a lot of “ifs.”

A notebook piece on very early Pitt commit, Herb Pope’s rising stock among high school juniors.