Nothing like previewing tomorrow’s stories tonight by peeking at the transcript from Coach Wannstedt’s post-practice presser. This morning the story was that Tommie Campbell was not quite ready to be a starter at Linebacker. This evening…

On the linebackers:

Right now we’ve got three linebackers. (Tommie) Campbell, (H.B.) Blades and (Clint) Session. Then in my mind, everybody else is competing.

We’re trying to figure out who the fourth and fifth linebacker is at this point.

We have two more scrimmages, one this weekend and one next week and that will help in our evaluation process but it’s going good.

That means that Campbell is now a starter over Derron Thomas and Brian Bennett. Whether that will remain, or even if that’s to send a message to Thomas and Bennett that just because they are upper-classmen (redshirt junior and senior) they can’t expect to be starters, is something of a question mark in my mind.

Also being pushed is Connor Lee for the field goal kicking duties. Unfortunately, David Abdul’s name wasn’t mentioned.

On the progress of the kickers:

We have two field goal kickers, (Dan) Hutchins and Lucas Stone. Both those kids have been kicking well. One kick was a 47-yarder. I don’t know what the other one was. I was real pleased the way our kicking game has been progressing. With Adam (Graessle) punting the ball, he’s had a great camp and the field goal kickers are pretty consistent, so that’s all good.

On the possibility of using Adam Graessle as a field goal kicker:

Sure, we would use him if he’s the best guy, which right now I don’t know.

Dorin Dickerson is practicing at tailback, not wide receiver. Coach Wannstedt said it’s because it seems the fastest way to get him on the field. Again, that seems a little reading between the lines to suggest that in the running game noone has truly separated from the pack. The alternative is to suggest that the WR corp is that solid and set. I don’t think anyone sober can really say that right now.

Finally on Brandon Mason, Coach Wannstedt didn’t directly say why the Redshirt Sophomore RB was “excused for personal reasons” but he sure made it clear to anyone with half a brain.

… We have had a few (players dealing with personal issues), but it’s all part of the process. I think some of the freshmen situations are different from upperclassmen. Most upperclassmen, if they leave, it’s because they feel they’re not going to have an opportunity to play. With the freshmen, it’s they’re homesick, or the girlfriend, or their high school buddies, you know, it’s a whole different set of environments.

Hmmm?

Several little things to pass on and clear off the browser tabs.

Brian Walsh a Moon Junior and player on the AAU Pittsburgh J.O.T.S.  had a very good AAU summer tournament season. Before, it was expected that he might be a MAC/A-10 level recruit. It has led to more offers than initially expected. This now includes Pitt.

Walsh, a 6-4 1/2 guard, met with Pitt coach Jamie Dixon Wednesday and was offered a scholarship. In the past month-and-a-half, he also received scholarship offers from Duquesne, Memphis, Xavier, Penn State and Maryland is very interested.

Walsh opened college coaches’ eyes with his performance at the Reebok ABCD camp this summer in New Jersey.

“When I came back from a few camps, I just started getting calls,” Walsh said. “I was kind of blown away by the Pitt offer. They’re going to be one of the top five teams in the country this year. For coach Dixon to think I can play at that level, is really something.”

South Carolina is out as Pitt’s opponent at MSG on December 21. Alabama might be in if they can move another game (Insider subs.).

South Carolina abruptly pulled out of a Dec. 21 game against Pittsburgh in the Aeropostale Classic at Madison Square Garden. The Pitt-South Carolina game was supposed to be the undercard of the headline game of Gonzaga-Duke. Well, according to multiple sources, South Carolina withdrew from the game because the Gamecocks weren’t getting any kind of financial guarantee. South Carolina picked up a home game against Baylor in place of Pitt. Now MSG is scrambling to find a replacement for the Panthers. Alabama is trying to get NC State to move a date so the Tide can take South Carolina’s place. Virginia Tech was interested, but couldn’t move a game. MSG is sending out feelers to loads of teams. Pitt is still committed to the game, but is getting nervous about an open date. The Duke-Gonzaga game is on ESPN, while the Pitt game would be on ESPNU. Alabama needs another home game, but is willing to go to New York.

You get to play at MSG. You get national exposure. You get to play a pre-season top-10 (and in some cases -5) team on a neutral court. And the concern is over a financial guarantee? Riiiiggghhhtt.

Andy Katz also has the news on a nasty bit of legislation that is pissing off the membership of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC).

Beginning Aug. 1, a school’s director of basketball operations (99 percent of the time a man, but there have been cases of a woman or two people holding the spot) will no longer be allowed to recruit. That means the person can’t write letters, make a call, pick up a player, nada, nothing, zilch.

“We were very opposed to this in the Big 12,” Baylor coach Scott Drew said Wednesday. “In the past, we’ve utilized the DOB with letter writing and that’s how you worked your way up. Usually, the DOB takes a second or third list and recruits off of that list.” The membership’s complaint is that if there were preexisting relationships with high school or AAU coaches, then how will the compliance staff be able to police whether the DOB is actually recruiting or just having a conversation with someone he knows?

Pitt will be in an interesting position since its new DOB, David Cox, has a lot of preexisting relationships with many players Pitt is now recruiting. Pitt is going to be very careful not to get tripped up by something like this.

While on the subject of dumb NCAA rulemaking, how about the re-institution of some dumb practice rules.

A lot of schools operating on the semester system begin classes in the next week or two, which means basketball players will be returning to campus. They’ll be allowed to head for the gym to work with their coaches. But heaven help them if the entire starting five winds up on the floor at once.

That would be a violation of NCAA bylaw 17.1.5.2.2.

This new rule declares Division I players starting school before September 15 can take part in their customary two hours per week of supervised skill work but says only four of them can be in the gym at any one time. After September 15, programs operate full-squad workouts.

A year ago there were no such restrictions. Skill workouts started when classes started, they ended when classes ended, and coaches could have as many players as they wanted in a session. That was the first year for this approach, which pleased college coaches, who had been stuck with the four-at-once limit since offseason workouts had been approved a decade earlier. Most hope one day to have year-round access to train their players, a scenario that would bring the United States in line with what young players around the world are allowed.

Why go back? Because schools that operate on the Quarter system — especially those in the PAC 10 — whined long and loud how unfair this was to them since they started later than September 15.

“The problem is, we had it right,” says Dayton coach Brian Gregory. “And we had an opportunity over the next year or two to show the NCAA we wouldn’t abuse that. And then you could go back in a year or two and say, ‘This really should be extended to year-round.’ ”

It’s only a few weeks we’re talking about here. It’s not a life-changing inconvenience. The NCAA was moving forward — slowly forward — on the issue of allowing coaches to make their players better. This should be among the foremost issues for college basketball coaches because it’s an essential part of improving the game in this country. It certainly should be of greater importance than petty, baseless, selfish concerns.

You expect coaches to risk any perceived disadvantage in the short-term? No matter how questionable?

Jamie Newberg at Scout.com looks at Pitt‘s recruiting so far (likes what he sees) and looks at some of the other targets by position.

Already Pitt has 11 commitments led by quarterback Pat Bostick and a very good offensive line group. The Panthers are looking to sign around 20 prospects and they have a chance to finish very high once again if they close strong.

Worth the read.

So is this.

Yesterday, August 14 Coach Roth had organized a press conference for me to declare my intentions to play football. In addition to my coaches and teammates, there were approximately 50 people there. I verbally committed to University of Pittsburgh. It was such a relief, to remove all the stress and tension of recruitment. Now I can concentrate on the upcoming season without any distractions.

And this.

Personally, I am pumped for this season. Our offense continues to get more complex and I am very comfortable with it. The reads and progressions I do now will be similar to what I will experience at Pitt. Coach Melnyk talks with Coach Cavenaugh at Pitt and some of our terminology this year will be similar to what I will experience next year. I look forward to coming out to a few Pitt games this year and spending time with the team and recruits. I also plan to see Southern Columbia play and check out this Hynoski kid!

Pitt commits Henry Hynoski and Pat Bostick are doing player diaries at Eastern PA Football A big hat tip to Tony DeFazio of PSR for the link.

Finally, a new blog to point you to. Panthers in the Pros from Adam Menzies will be tracking Pitt players in the NFL and NBA. It’s been added to the Pitt-Centric links on the right.

The SI college football preview issue is apparently out now.

They rank Pitt at #60. They put Rutgers (#47) and USF (#50) ahead of Pitt. The Big East, not surprisingly is ranked 6th in conference strength.

In their bowl projections Pitt goes to the new/old Texas Bowl in Houston to play Baylor.

Darrelle Revis made their All-American team.

Pitt defensive coaches are working hard to get the two fastest players, Tommie Campbell and Elijah Fields, uh, up to speed at new positions.

“Tommie is scary fast,” Rhoads said. “Scary because you watch how effortlessly he runs and how athletic he is, and it is as pretty to watch as a deer. Elijah does so many things that you can’t coach someone to do because of his natural ability that his potential is unlimited.”

Despite their athletic talent, neither is ready for a big-time role because they are learning new positions, a process that can be slow. Campbell was a safety last year, but he was moved to linebacker in the spring and is trying to unseat Derron Thomas at weakside linebacker. Fields was recruited as a receiver, but was moved to safety the first day of camp and has played catch-up since.

Both are potential difference-makers, big-time playmakers Pitt’s defense has lacked in recent seasons. That’s why coaches are pushing them so hard.

Speed is so vital for a Wannstedt defense.

In other notes, Zeise says that Brandon Mason not being at practice has something to do with his unhappiness with where he is on the depth chart. Zeise has been a big supporter of Mason, but Mason’s biggest problem has been an inability to stay healthy for longer than two weeks.

Pitt will help Tipton find another school. I’m guessing Tipton is looking for a Div 1-AA school. He is a redshirt sophomore, and I doubt he really wants to sit out another year.

Lowell Robinson had a very good practice at WR, and RB Kevin Collier has excelled when playing with the second team.

Pitt’s screw-up with the schedule is starting to be noticed outside of Pittsburgh. What do you expect? It’s mid-August and training camp stories get repetitive after a while.

Someone in the Pitt athletic department needs a calendar.

The school scheduled its Sept. 16 game with Michigan State at 3:30 p.m. and the game was scheduled for ABC regional telecast. Heinz Field, though, shares parking spaces with the Pittsburgh Pirates’ home field. The contract calls for any football traffic to clear out two hours prior to a home game.

Yep, you guessed it. The Pirates have a game scheduled at 7:05 p.m. on Sept. 16. Pitt will probably have to reschedule the game for noon. Both conferences (Big East and Big Ten) plus Michigan State will expect someone — yep, you guessed it, Pitt — to make up the difference in television money lost because of the switch.

I’m guessing this is not the kind of story on Pitt the Athletic Department is hoping to see making news.

It really seems Pitt would be more interested in changing the time of the game rather than do anything about parking.

Further complicating the scenario is a new partnership between Pitt and the Pirates. PNC Park hosts the Panther Zone, site of pregame activities for Pitt students, for all home games. It also is the starting point for Pitt’s March to Victory and the Panther Prowl to Heinz Field.

…

Molin said he talked to Michigan State athletic officials yesterday to inform them of the conflict. He said Pitt would continue to look into changing the game time “until someone tells me for the record that it can’t happen.”

While alternative parking and using shuttle buses is mentioned, it doesn’t seem to be the desired option by the Pitt Athletic Department.

Now, the pressure is on the Pitt Athletic Department to solve this problem. They, essentially, are responsible for the mess. If I’m in the Pirates organization, though, I see a big opportunity here.

Let’s face it, the crowds haven’t really been there this season, despite the boost in season ticket sales tied to possibly getting tickets to attend the All-Star Game. More importantly, the other revenue streams — parking and concessions can not have been that good with all the no-shows. Plus, anyone with half a brain knows the team will draw really poorly next year after this season.

So, if I’m in the Pirates organization, I want Pitt to keep the 3:30 start time. I then want to let the Pirate ticketholders to be very aware of that. Highly recommend they come early to the ballpark to avoid the traffic congestion when the Pitt game would be expected to end around 6:30 or 7 pm. Do whatever it takes to get people coming to PNC Park early. A big boost for the concessions as people get to the park early and eat dinner, snack and drink there.

So, the Pirates should work with Pitt on some of the parking. Maybe let them have part of a lot. It wouldn’t hurt the Pirates in the PR area — which they always are in need of help — and it would make them appear altruistic while really serving their own finances quite handsomely.