Or at least a nagging cold.
Pitt needs a win tomorrow. It’s personal. A loss and my wife, a Cinci alum, will have bragging rights in the house. Even worse, like most Cinci alum all she cares about is the b-ball team, so she would more likely feel bad for me. I just, I just can’t have that.
So, on the injury front, a couple good returns. Rashad Jennings will be back in the line-up.
“All he has to do is get the ball one time, and he’ll reintroduce himself to people with the way he runs,” Panthers running backs coach David Walker said.
“It’s good to see him back there. He adds something to the mix, and we need everything we can get right now. We don’t have much room for error Saturday and for the remainder of the season. We need a lot of guys to start of contribute a little bit more.”
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During spring drills, Jennings was impressive with his size (6-foot-1, 240 pounds) and ability to slip between the tackles. He won the starting job in preseason camp, and had 20 carries for 70 yards in two games before going down with the injury.“He’s a guy who’s going to wear down defenses,” Walker said. “How many people are going to be excited to tackle 240 (pounds) every time? He’s a smart kid, a good pass protector. And when he gets his shoulders squared, he’s a man when he has the ball in his hands.”
Kirkley is still expected to start the game. LaRod Stephens-Howling, while technically questionable, would appear closer to doubtful for the game based on the story
Josh Cummings is recovered from his surgery and will resume kicking duties this weekend on the field.
A day or two after Coach Wannstedt said he wouldn’t blow Freshman Conredge Collins’ redshirt, he is reversing fields.
After thinking about it and talking with Collins and his parents, Wannstedt said he will most likely get Collins ready for the Panthers home game Oct. 15 against South Florida and have him in the lineup the rest of the season.
“It is very doubtful that Kellen Campbell will be back this year,” Wannstedt said. “We’re looking at this as an opportunity to get a young guy in and get him some experience. He is a guy who is a possible starter next year and we’d like it not to be that the first time he is lining up, it is opening day vs. Virginia next year.”
There had been some question about whether Collins, who was one of the Panthers top recruits this year, would be a fullback or a halfback. Wannstedt said that Collins is a fullback but that doesn’t mean he won’t run the ball his fair share.
“He’s definitely a fullback and I think the guy has special talent to be really special at fullback,” Wannstedt said.
“He could be a four-year starter for us. And with his talent, we’ll get him the ball. This year, we have, [Starting fullback] Tim Murphy, and when we go to one-back sets, Murphy will carry the ball. So, as coaches we can and will make it work. He just wants to get his hands on the ball and we’ll make sure that happens.”
During preseason, Collins said he didn’t expect to redshirt. He probably won’t play tomorrow, since the decision to burn the redshirt was made so late in the week. Any chance of counting half of a redshirt?
I’m undecided about the “reading between the lines” meaning. Is it part of a conscious decision by the coaches to start playing the new kids more and get them ready for next year? Is it desperation to just get some wins? Were Collins and his parents getting loud about giving him a chance this year — threatening transfer or such? All? None?
Looking at the Big East stats, Pitt is ahead of Cinci in all but a handful of places. The only key stats where they are ahead of Pitt — Rushing Offense, Rushing Defense, Red-Zone Offense (perfect but only 9 times in the Red-Zone while Pitt is 12-17), Red-Zone Defense, and Time of Possession.
Cinci will also have issues at QB. The starter Dustin Grutza has been lousy in the last few games and Cinci Coach Dantonio has decided that if he stays lousy he will get yanked quickly.
“As we move through the game, we’ll make decisions,” UC head coach Mark Dantonio said following Thursday’s practice at Nippert Stadium.
Asked if that meant it would behoove the redshirt freshman to get off to a good start against the Panthers, Dantonio replied, “I guess it would. We’ll make that decision based not just on his performance, but there are other things that go into it.”
The back up is a JUCO Nick Davila would take over. Whether that would just further confuse a very young Cinci team or provide a spark probably depends on whether Pitt can make things difficult.
Cinci’s leader in all-purpose yards, Mike Daniels is doubtful with a sprained ankle. He handles punt returns, shares in kick return duties and sees limited action at RB (4-5 carries).
