As previously noted, the spring drills are the time for the receivers to bond with Palko and try and jockey for position on the depth chart before the highly heralded commits arrive for the fall.
Joe DelSardo, Derek Kinder, Marcel Pestano, Cedric McGee and Oderick Turner all could be a factor for Pitt.
“I’ve tried to spend as much time with those guys as possible to find out their likes and dislikes,” Palko said at spring practice Thursday. “Are they a put-your-arm-around-them type of guy or do you need to get on their tails or do you just need to talk to them? Hopefully, I’ll find that out pretty quick here.”
Kinder, who will be a junior in the fall, made eight starts – including the final seven games – and steadily improved throughout last season. He finished second to Lee with 37 catches for 374 yards and three touchdowns. But Lee’s defection left a void at the split end spot.
DelSardo, who was replaced by the bigger, faster Kinder, dropped to just 15 catches and no touchdowns after making 49 catches with four scores as a sophomore. The speedy Pestano had just one catch for five yards as a redshirt freshman, while Turner and McGee both redshirted last season.
“No one is penciled in as a starter on opening day yet, and I think that’s the way you have to look at it whether you have good freshmen coming in or not,” Palko said. “Competition always makes you play better, and that’s what we’re experiencing now during practice. We have a talented recruiting class coming in, but it’s their time now. And the guys that are here need to step up.”
Derek Kinder is feeling more comfortable as a starting receiver and that he has Palko’s confidence.
Redshirt Freshman Oderick Turner gets a puff-piece as he tries to get a good spot on the depth chart.
Oderick Turner is a freshman, so he didn’t want to sound cocky or greedy when someone asked how he felt when wideout Greg Lee decided to bolt for the NFL.
“I don’t know if I was surprised,” Turner said. “But he was good enough to go. So, if he had the chance, it was probably the best thing for him. That’s his decision. It wasn’t that I was happy …”
Turner paused and smiled.
“But, then again, I am happy.”
He does have his cliches down. An important first step.
“I’m just trying to be more consistent and (get a) better understanding of the offense,” he said. “Whatever they want me to do, I’m going to do it.”
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By the end of camp, Turner suspected he would be redshirted. Wannstedt confirmed it a couple of weeks into the season.“It was the best thing for me to do,” Turner said. “That way, I could get to know the system better and be more comfortable. Plus, I had Greg and all those other receivers to learn from. I just sat back and watched them, and it taught me a lot.”
Turner’s father Odessa played receiver in the NFL from ’87 to ’93, and played his college ball at Northwestern St. — the school that knocked off Iowa in the NCAA. His roommate this season is Freshman CB Jovani Chappel. They like to go at each other.
