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.

Hat tip to Pittgirl for the Pitt Press Conference transcript being online.

On Greg Lee’s injury:

Greg’s a little banged up. But the good news is there’s no surgery or breaks or anything, and it’s just going to be day-to-day. I don’t know the extent of it. But he was feeling a lot better today. We’ll just take it a day at a time and as quickly as we can get him back, we will.

We checked it over last night. He’ll be out here today watching practice. As soon as he can start catching and jogging we’ll do that. We’ll ease him into practice as soon as we can.

Today’s the first day with shoulder pads. If there was a disheartening reaction (to Lee’s early injury), it was because we didn’t even have pads on yet.
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On possible benefit for young receivers with Lee’s absence:

I don’t think there’s a positive side. Now do we have other receivers who are capable of going in and performing, or do we need to look at other options when we throw the ball? The good thing is we do have some capable tight ends, and we’ve got some capable backs who can catch the ball. The first reaction would be it’s a great opportunity for other receivers to fill in and get a lot more work and prove they can do the job. If they can’t, then we’ve got to find other people who can get the job done.

Coach Wannstedt was quite bitter, it seemed, about not being able to have pads on the kids. The point of not having pads, of course is to keep the coaches from having the players trying to do too much right away. Not the worst idea, from an idealistic standpoint, but reality is a little different. The news of no serious injury was enough to make the AP wires.

Coach Wannstedt also talked about the defensive position battles, specifically at defensive end and getting some more depth for the secondary.

Yes, I know most of you don’t even want to think about basketball at this point, tough. Kendall going off like he did in that game — against US College basketball players no less — is huge.

I am somewhat annoyed that the AP write-up is perfectly willing to mention that Allen Ray plays for Villanova, but Kendall is merely from Canada. Vancouver. The Canadian version only mentions that Kendall is from Vancouver. The quotes are priceless:

“Personally, I had a great afternoon,” Kendall said. “As a team we played hard defence and took good shots. It is the first time I’ve scored 40 points in one game.”
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“Canada’s performance was outstanding,” U.S. Coach Phil Martelli said. “Kendall scored 40 points, but as a team they played very well. Their defence was exceptional. They took 16 offensive rebounds.

“Our mistake was that we scored fewer points than they did.”

That will usually cost you a game.

And Kendall scored in crunch moments.

With the United States up 82-78 and less than a minute to play, University of Pittsburgh’s (Pa.) 6-9 forward Levon Kendall scored in the lane to close to 82-80. The U.S. was unable to convert on the other end and Canada came up with the board, got it to Kendall, who tied it with 29.9 seconds left to play. Canada’s defense forced the U.S. to run out the 24-second shot clock without getting off an attempt, but Canada wasn’t able to get the ball up the court in the final seconds and overtime was forced.

Canada struck first in the extra period and Taj Gray (Oklahoma) evened it up with a pair from the stripe at 4:13. Kendall scored at 3:50 to give Canada an 86-84 lead, one it would keep for the rest of the game. The ball went back and forth before Rajon Rondo (Kentucky) was sent to the line at 2:49, but sunk just the second attempt. Canada got its final field goal of the game at 2:24 from UNC-Wilmington’s 6-10 center Vlad Kuljanin to make it 88-85.

After a pair of turnovers, the ball was back in the USA’s hands but Marcus Williams’ (Connecticut) 3-point attempt bounced around the rim, wouldn’t go in and Canada recovered the board. Heading inside again, Kendall was fouled by Curtis Withers (Charlotte), his fifth of the game, and nailed both attempts with 58 tics remaining. On the USA’s next trip up the court a 3-point attempt failed. Rondo grabbed the rebound and started to drive, but turned it over to the Canadians.

[Emphasis added.]

Now that’s the kind of performance to take into the coming season.

Someone get me the words to “Oh Canada” really fast.

The US lost to Canada today in the quarter-finals, 93-90. A big hat tip to Tony DeFazio at Pittsburgh Sports Report (just dropping names all this week) for e-mailing me about this when it was a shocker in the making. The big stunner, Levon Kendall got off. Big!

40 points! He shot 16-22 (2-2 on 3s), 12 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 turnovers, 1 steal in 42 minutes. The leading scorer and rebounder in the game. Unbelievable.

Had things to do again, but it appears there were no big announcements (for now). No word on Lee’s shoulder yet. Other things to pass along.

The YSU/retro uniform game is now scheduled for 2pm. Here’s the only frustrating thing, like the Furman game last year, I don’t think there will be any TV coverage. That would mean no chance to see even a glimpse of the old unis on College Gameday Final. Can’t the Pitt student TV station cover this or something? Anything?

Something else regarding the unis worn that day:

The uniforms will ultimately go on sale to the public at the Panthers Team Store in the Petersen Events Center and as a special selection for Pitt’s online auction at www.pittsburghpanthers.com.

Hopefully, they will be laundered first. Shame, though, that the kids don’t get to keep the jerseys. A heck of a keepsake from their time (or just a good way to make a buck on eBay).

Want to know how much Coaches Dave Wannstedt and Joe Paterno actually make? Looks like the public may actually find out.

The public has a right to know Penn State football coach Joe Paterno’s salary, a divided Commonwealth Court panel ruled Friday.

The State Employees’ Retirement System board correctly decided last year that a newspaper reporter could see salary information for Paterno and other high-ranking university officials, the court said in a 3-2 decision.

Jan Murphy of The Patriot-News of Harrisburg had asked for documents that reflect years of service, salary and salary history for Paterno, Penn State’s coach since 1966, and three other Penn State administrators.
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Penn State is one of four “state-related” universities in Pennsylvania. Total state aid to Penn State and the three other schools — Temple, Pittsburgh and Lincoln — has been about $650 million per year in recent years.

Penn State spokesman Tysen Kendig said Friday the university is likely to appeal to the state Supreme Court.
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The four state-related universities are exempt from the state’s Right-to-Know Law.

I do love how Penn State has been arguing against releasing this sort of information:

Penn State has said releasing individual salary amounts could help competitors recruit talented faculty and would be unfair to people who were hired not knowing their pay rate would be publicly disclosed.

Yes, because then they may actually have to pay a competitive salary. It’s not like keeping the salaries secret has kept tuition down at PSU or Pitt.

Kicker Josh Cummings has been put on the Lou Groza Watch List. Not exactly a shock, but good nonetheless. The Lou Groza Award, of course goes to the top Division I-A kicker. The official list of 30 candidates is here.

ESPN The Magazine reporter and blogger, Bruce Feldman took note of Pitt’s latest recruiting noise.

PANTHERS ON THE PROWL
Pittsburgh got a commitment from one of the top prep tight ends in the nation, Nate Byham, who has a 1470 SAT and supposedly can run a 4.6 40-yard dash. I’ve said this a few times before and I’m even more convinced now that the hiring of Dave Wannstedt will have a huge impact on college football. He is going to make Pittsburgh a legit top 15 program again. He’s actually the former NFL coach with the Super Bowl rings that will end up returning a once-proud program to the top.

[Emphasis added.]

Hmm. I wonder what coach and program he would appear to be taking a subtle swipe at?

More from ESPN.com, a chat with Mel Kiper, Jr.

Mike (Pittsburgh): Hey Mel, Tyler Palko seems to show signs that he could be great. Just how good is he, and how much upside do you see in him?

Mel Kiper: Tyler Palko showed such great improvement last year. He has 7 INTs but 5 were in the first 4 games. He struggled early but overcame it. They have not depth on the OL and they need a RB to emerge. Working in his favor is WR Greg Lee and a nice TE. He has some good weapons but that OL is a question mark. The way he played after those early struggles was impressive. He could be a great college QB.

Staying with the ESPN chats, Craig Haubert, Scouts, Inc.’s recruiting coordinator yesterday.

Greg (Pittsburgh): With the addition of top TE Nate Byham, where do you see Pitt’s recruiting class ranking this year? and do you think Pitt has a shot at Darrin Walls and LeSean McCoy?

Craig Haubert: Pitt has gotten a lot of good prospects but I wouldn’t necessarily call them difference makers. So far it is shaping up to be a very sound class, however they have not been able to keep a top QB prospect in-state so far. Otherwise, Pitt has done a nice job keeping the players they need to keep in-state in order to be successful.

I’m not too concerned about the QB position yet. Mainly because I think Pitt will get one from Florida.

Greg Lee got hurt in practice.

Greg Lee let out a yelp, and Pitt receivers coach Aubrey Hill felt his heart leap into his throat.

Lee, one of the top wideouts in the Big East, sustained a shoulder injury about one hour into Thursday afternoon’s practice. Lee was back on the field — wearing a sling on his right arm — at the end of the workouts, but did not speak with reporters.

“Hopefully, he’ll be out just a few days,” Hill said.

The nature of Lee’s injury was not immediately disclosed. Panthers coach Dave Wannstedt, who held his daily press briefing before practice, was not available for comment.

Lee sustained the injury while making a tumbling catch in the end zone of the far practice field. He and free safety Tez Morris went airborne after the ball, and they rolled after crashing to the ground.

Lee had a quad injury last year at training camp, that led to Coach Harris calling him out about nursing it too long — and some questions (including from me) about Harris’ decision to go public about calling him out. Even Fitzgerald in 2003, had to miss a practice or two because of training camp injuries. So, I’m not going to panic yet. Of course, both were leg issues, not a shoulder issue (some reports are calling a shoulder bruise and a day-to-day injury).

Some notes from practice, including the observation that Irvan Brown also played some linebacker in high school, which should help him learn the defense.

The Offensive Line, once more is brand new. Some are just shifting positions on the line, but it should be pretty good. My main concern is the depth. Injuries will happen, and there are big questions about what happens then.

Center Joe Villani earns a puff piece, explaining how a walk-on would appear to be Pitt’s starting Center.

The summer before his junior season at St. Anthony’s High School in Long Island, Villani, who was a heralded defensive end, was beginning to get plenty of interest from major-college programs. But in the second game of that year, his knee was injured and he missed the rest of the season.

Villani spent the next year rehabbing his knee, lifting weights and returned for his senior season 35 pounds heavier. That prompted coaches to move him to center and he quickly became a standout.

“I had a lot of programs interested, but once I got hurt, everyone stopped calling,” Villani said. “So I was content to go to school for academics and play football for fun. I had a good senior season then decided to head to Bucknell because it is a great school.”

Shortly after arriving at Bucknell, Villani realized he had sold himself short and might face a lifetime of regret if he didn’t make a change. So he called his parents and told them he’d finish the season but would look to transfer to a Division I-A program.

“The first day of practice at Bucknell I was working against a guy who was like a two-time All-American and I was throwing him all over the place and pushing him on the ground like nothing,” Villani said. “I realized right then I could indeed play at a higher level — the highest level — and it had always been a goal of mine so I wasn’t going to let my career pass me by without giving it a shot. I knew I was good enough to play here.”

Villani chose Pitt because his coach had worked with the Jets at the same time Walt Harris was an assistant coach with the team and recommended him. He sat out the 2003 season because of NCAA transfer rules but last year learned all three offensive line positions and showed he was capable of filling in at any of them.

Tim Murphy, one of my favorite players on the team, gets a nice piece on his versatility.

At the outset of camp, it’s a five-man derby — Murphy, freshman Rashad Jennings, sophomore Brandon Mason and seniors Raymond Kirkley and Marcus Furman.

“Murph is not as quick as some other guys, but he’s shifty,” running backs coach David Walker said. “He knows how to get to seams. He’s got good eyes. He can see the open gaps and attack them.

“That’s a lot of what it takes to be a running back. It does you no good if you have ability but you’re constantly running to darkness. Getting to the openings and running to daylight, that’s what makes a guy productive. He can do those things.”
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Murphy remains the best blocker on the team. But Walker said Kellen Campbell and Justin Acierno have made enough strides in that area to be able starters at fullback.

“I think we’ll have a solid guy, whether it’s Murph or someone else,” Walker said.

Spending his first two college seasons as a fullback boosted Murphy’s tailback talents because it make him a better blocker and pass-catcher. It also could raise his stock among NFL scouts.

“It’ll be a better opportunity for me in the long run,” he said.

I like Murphy at least sharing times as the tailback. He has the strength to get through the hole and pick up good yardage.

I just have to keep reminding myself that getting fired-up about a 17 year-old kid announcing his intention to go to Pitt does seem just a little silly. Not to mention, a tad unfair to the kid. Still, it is nothing but positive. Next year it should be interesting to see if Pitt works in more plays with two tight ends — Strong and Byham — to really take advantage of the talent and athleticism at the position.

Byham really liked the coaching staff.

“I kind of knew in the back of my head for the past few weeks that I was going to Pitt,” Byham said. “I just wasn’t sure when I wanted to bring it out and let everybody else know.”

Byham had visited Pitt a few times and was on campus Tuesday for the opening of preseason camp. Besides talking to Pitt’s coaches, he met with Pitt Chancellor Mark Nordenberg. But he didn’t commit. After a talk with his grandfather yesterday about his future, Byham got on the phone and called Greg Gattuso, Pitt’s tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator. He informed Gattuso of his decision. Then Gattuso got Byham in touch with coach Dave Wannstedt.

Byham said probably the biggest factor in his decision was Pitt’s coaching staff.

“I really like Coach Gattuso. That’s why I called him first. He’s quite a personality,” Byham said. “They have put together a great staff. Plus, they’re going to be a strong team in the future. They’re building a strong program. And it’s close to home.”

The Gattuso hiring has been an overwhelmingly smart hire. Not just because of getting Byham, but for his experience and connections all over Western Pennsylvania. He probably has more knowledge about how the area high school coaches and how they feel about Pitt than any of the coaches on Pitt’s staff. And all from a different perspective.

Then there is another recruit, Aaron Smith, who gets a nice piece. Here’s a rarity, a QB who is ready and eager to become a receiver. Seems to be in the bloodlines and the training.

For the Smiths, it has become a family tradition.

You throw passes in high school. You catch passes in college.

Harvey Smith did it. He played quarterback at Gateway High School in the early 1980s. Then he went to West Virginia University and became a starting receiver.
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Harvey’s younger brother, Terry, repeated the process. He led Gateway to the WPIAL Class AAAA championship as the starting quarterback in 1986. Then he became a stellar receiver at Penn State.

But even though Aaron Smith made a mark at quarterback, he never forgot about being a receiver. His father and uncle knew that would be his college position. In workouts, they trained him as a receiver.
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Maybe Harvey’s and Terry’s pasts helped convince colleges about Aaron’s future. Whatever the reason, many big-time colleges believe he will make a good receiver. Penn State, Florida, Tennessee, Michigan State and Minnesota are among the schools that have offered Smith scholarships. But his three favorites are Pitt, Maryland and Virginia (all have offered scholarships). Maryland was his top choice for a while, but now it’s Pitt.

“He went to an adidas camp at Pitt’s practice facilities in May,” Terry Smith said. “He did the receiver work there. From that day, he became a priority for them.”

Aaron Smith got 13 hand-written letters from Pitt coaches Tuesday. Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt called Terry Smith Tuesday, the first day of Pitt’s preseason practices.

“He just called again to let me know they want him bad,” Terry Smith said.

Now, Pitt just needs to have success on the field.

UPDATE: According the latest e-mail update from Pittsburgh Sport’s Report Keystone Recruiting, Aaron Smith will announce his verbal on August 27. It will likely be between Pitt and Maryland.

“The battle is really heating up between Pitt and Maryland,” says coach Smith. “Maryland has put the full court press on him, sending five and six handwritten letters per day.”

I guess I get the flattery of “handwritten letters” but it still strikes me as a bit silly.

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.