You know, I love having the transcripts of the press conferences with the coaches. It’s easier and quicker than trying to watch or listen to some video (which isn’t up yet for today). The problem, is there seems to need some sort of sub-titles or something to fill in the gap (you mean beat writers or something?). Yesterday it was McKenzie Mathews, that required waiting until the beat writers filled in the gaps. Today its something with T.J. Porter and an injury with Bill Stull from today’s scrimmage and practice.

On T.J. Porter:

He’s been excused for personal reasons. Hopefully, he’ll be here tomorrow. He was out here this morning, and we talked and he said he needed a little bit of time so we’re going to give it to him and we’ll have some discussions with him tonight. But I expect him here tomorrow.

…

On Bill Stull:

Hopefully [he’ll be ready to take snaps] in another week. I don’t know. No, he will not scrimmage this week, I can tell you that.

Your guess is as good as mine. Hopefully we’ll know more tomorrow.
What I did get from the press conference transcript is that Kevan Smith is ahead of Dexter Davidson at the QB position among the freshmen. Smith is working with the second team while Stull recovers from whatever it is.

On Kevan Smith’s progress:

Very pleased. I probably haven’t mentioned his name [enough]. We’ve talked about [Nate] Byham. We’ve talked about [Aaron] Berry. [Kevin] Collier’s done some good things. Joe Thomas. [John] Malecki’s had two good days. I kind of sense him coming along a little bit. Probably the two freshmen that were the unsung, quiet guys that really flashed are Ty Tkach and Kevan Smith. Because of Billy Stull’s situation, Kevan Smith has taken all the second team work, and he’s really done a commendable job.

Really not much else from the transcript.

Aaron Berry gets love from his local paper.

Aaron Berry might not be the most impressive physical specimen, but when the freshman cornerback from Bishop McDevitt gets on the football field he is lavished with praise.

Just ask University of Pittsburgh coach Dave Wannstedt. Even though he has only practiced with the Panthers for a week, and the workouts have been with other freshmen and young players, Berry has turned heads.

“Aaron Berry, he’s off to a fast start,” Wannstedt said. “He’s a player. And we’ve got Reggie Carter. KC [Kennard Cox] did some good things. Jovani Chappel, he’s like a little pit bull out here, so we have some serious competition for that other cornerback spot out there.”

One of the reasons Berry came to Pitt was his chance to get out and play early.

“The freshmen, we’re definitely getting more reps, so it’s been great,” Berry said. “When you’re a freshman, for most guys, they’re at the bottom of the depth chart. But this gives us a chance to work on things and not worry too much about that. We’re all together, and this helps us learn a lot more than usual.”

Even if Berry doesn’t contribute in the base defense this season, special teams are a possibility. The majority of his recruiting class should make an impact of some sort this season. They have to for Pitt to be successful.

“I wanted to play early, and this was the school where I could do that,” Berry said.

“And Coach Rhoads, he’s definitely one of the best DB coaches and defensive coordinators in the country. He puts a DB in the [NFL] league like every year. So, it was definitely the place for me to go to school.”

Now, I am not the biggest fan of Defensive Coordinator Paul Rhoads, but I will say he is a very good Defensive Backs coach.

LaRod Stephens-Howling gets a nice piece from Smizik.

Still, when you think of Pittsburgh football, you think of running backs who could move the pile, not dart around it.

Which maybe is why so many people have a difficult time with the fact that Pitt’s starting running back this season in all likelihood will be LaRod Stephens-Howling, who stands 5 feet 7 and, after gaining 15 pounds, weighs 175. The thought of such a specimen being an every-down back on the NCAA Division I-A level is hard for people to grasp.

It’s possible, even the Pitt coaching staff is having a problem with this concept. Certainly, when Stephens-Howling was recruited out of Johnstown High, it wasn’t to fill such a role. Players of his size are mostly seen as little more than gimmicks, someone who can catch a pass out of the backfield, run a reverse or a sweep and return kicks.

But to pound the line down after down, well, that’s for the big boys.

Except that the memory of Dorsett, arguably the most exciting athlete in Pittsburgh history, is too fresh to dismiss a player based on size. As a 19-year-old freshman in 1973, just months removed from Hopewell High School, Dorsett weighed about 160 pounds and ran for 1,686 yards. The most amazing aspect of that accomplishment is that he did it behind a line that returned intact from a 1-10 team the season before.

This is not to suggest Stephens-Howling is the second coming of Dorsett or even remotely comparable. It is to suggest, though, that body mass is not the key ingredient to successfully running the football. There’s more to the art than brute force. Quickness, the ability to accelerate and vision are at least as important as size.

Personally I always feel comparisons to transcendent sports figures are completely unfair and do more harm than good — and Dorsett is a transcendent figure in Pitt football. They create ridiculous expectatoins and resentment from others who inexplicably blame the player for getting the comparison.

I’m a fan of Stephens because I think it is very rare and hard to find a single back anymore in college. I prefer seeing a couple backs sharing the load, staying fresh and if this is going to be a run-first offense really being able to keep the defense off-balance with different running styles. He’s got a style that is more elusive and frustrating for a defense. He forces them to stay in position and react. Trying to be aggressive against Stephens when he is running can give him the opening for a quick burst.

Finally, if you have faith or trust in the bloodlines of athletes, then Pitt is in better shape then you may realize.

Forgive the Panthers if they express a nonchalant attitude toward their pro football surroundings, as 16 players have relatives who are current or former NFL players. Pitt has a cadre of Panthers who are hoping their success on Saturdays will translate into paydays on Sundays.

“It’s in your bloodlines,” said Pitt sophomore fullback Conredge Collins, whose father, Tony, played for the New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins. “If you’ve got football and NFL that’s in your bloodline, the majority of the time you can go to that level, too. (When) you’ve got people that come from the NFL, you know what it takes.”

Collins is one of three Panthers whose fathers played in the NFL, joining senior linebacker H.B. Blades and redshirt freshman receiver Oderick Turner.

The others have cousins or uncles with NFL history.

McKenzie Mathews is apparently having a little trouble adjusting to college and being away from home.

Heralded freshman defensive end McKenzie Mathews has left the Pitt football team, but the coaches are hopeful they can convince him to return. If he does not return, it would be a tough loss for the Panthers’ defensive line, not just for this year but also for the future.

“He’s been excused for personal reasons,” Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt said. “I’m really not going to get into it any more than that right now because I’m still optimistic. We’ve had conversations, his brother was down today and we’ve had several conversations with his mom. I think he just needs little bit of time, and we’ll see where that goes.”

Mathews is one of the highest-rated defensive linemen the Panthers signed and was one of Wannstedt’s most-coveted recruits. Pitt ultimately won a recruiting battle for Mathews, beating out Ohio State, Michigan and Notre Dame.

Coaches raved about Mathews ability after the first three days of practice, and he was likely on his way to landing a spot on the two-deep at defensive end, but he did not practice the past two days. Mathews, from Syracuse, N.Y., is still at Pitt, but he told some of his teammates earlier this week that he was homesick.

From that, it would seem his family seems to think he will get over it with a little time. Hopefully he will be okay soon. If he were to decide to transfer closer to home — say Syracuse — there is no way Pitt would release him. He’d have to sit out the year without a doubt.

The running game looked strong, as multiple backs made big plays. Brandon Mason and Shane Brooks both had very good days. Oderick Turner seems to be ahead of the pack to be either starting with Kinder or being the 3rd WR on the depth chart. There was also an opening drill to fire up the team.

In their first practice in pads, the Panthers circled around their biggest recruits – literally and figuratively – for an abbreviated Oklahoma drill.

It featured 6-foot-7, 340-pound left tackle Jeff Otah against 6-5, 315-pound defensive tackle Jason Pinkston.

“We wanted to get it off on the right foot, and we did,” Wannstedt said. “That type of energy and excitement is what it’s all about.”

Pinkston won the battle of the bulge, getting underneath Otah’s pads and knocking him backwards.

“Pinkston actually probably got the better (of Otah), but the way he finished practice, he must have used up all his energy on that one play,” Wannstedt said. “I wish he would have saved a little for the inside run.”

That problem on the D-line means that the linebackers will be looking to help more.

The Panthers’ problems against the run started up front with an inexperienced defensive line, but Session admits the linebackers didn’t make enough plays, either. That is something he and his teammates are determined to correct.

“When you can’t stop the run, you feel helpless,” Session said. “An offense can do what they want to you. But we feel like this year we have the best linebacking corps in the nation, and it is our job to shut that run game down. You come off a 5-6 record, you’ve got so much to prove to the world. … Us being run on is a thing of the past.”

…

The Panthers have had a shortage of gamebreakers on defense, but Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt believes Session will change that this year. Session always has been viewed as a player with great potential, but it wasn’t until late last season that he began to realize it.

Coaches expect Blades to play at a higher level than he has in the past because the other linebackers around him are better. Wannstedt would like to see Blades’ tackle totals cut because he carried too much of the load last season, when he had 121 tackles.

“The thing about Clint is he really understands it now — you can’t just run around the field and look to hit everyone wearing a different color uniform,” Pitt defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads said.

By the end of training camp, you can expect to be sick of hearing about Pitt’s issues with running the ball and stopping the run. Unfortunately, those are the most glaring issues and biggest questions.

Today is the first 2-a-day and a controlled scrimmage.