Practice resumed yesterday, as the team starts preparing for Louisville.
Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt took it a step further and said his biggest challenge in the next week may not be getting the Panthers prepared to play the game. Instead, it will be to get them to concentrate on football and not the many distractions that come with a big game.
“We have to be careful we don’t look at all that extra stuff and let it cloud what we’re trying to do,” Wannstedt said. “There will be enough said about Louisville — they have one of the best offenses in the country — they have a lot of talent, they were ranked and we are playing on the road — but we can’t get caught up in all of that and [have to] approach it like we’ve approached the games the last few weeks. We’ve had success by taking it one at a time and making sure we take care of our business.”
Derek Kinder has become Pitt’s reliable #2 receiver and gets some love from Coach Wannstedt.
Kinder has 28 receptions for 288 yards and two touchdowns.
“Derek has been a real positive,” Wannstedt said. “He has gotten better every week. He is kind of a self-made type of receiver. Nobody works as hard, he never makes a mental mistake and he is always in the right place. Every long run we have or pass, Derek Kinder is usually in the middle of it blocking somewhere.
“Plus, he is on the punt team and he’s making tackles on the kickoff coverage team. He is one of the unsung stories that people haven’t talked about enough.”
Of course, during the first part of the week, the coaches were out recruiting. Apparently some are still out there.
Assistant coaches Aubrey Hill, Curtis Bray and Charlie Partridge were not at practice because they were still traveling as part of their recruiting duties, and offensive line coach Paul Dunn arrived just as practice ended.
Hill and Partridge were probably down in Florida. Dunn works the Eastern part of Pennsylvania. Bray could have been in Maryland/Virginia or Michigan. TE Coach and recruiting coordinator Greg Gattuso may be working to reel in another important recruit.
In search of several blue-chip offensive lineman, coach Dave Wannstedt and the Panthers were the latest to offer highly touted tackle Lee Tilley. The distance from home has peaked Tilley’s interest as well as playing time.
However, Tilley has already visited South Carolina, Arizona State, LSU, and Oklahoma. With one official visit remaining, the Panthers look to be a possibility should Tilley take his final visit.
Tilley is a 4-star recruit out of Columbus, Ohio with offers from all of those schools along with Florida and Virginia Tech. Scout.com has him ranked as the 16th highest OL. Rivals.com has him ranked #20, and is the 13th best prospect from Ohio. ESPN.com/Scouts, Inc. lists him at #23 for OL (Insider subs.).
