Pitt has put out its game notes for the UVa-Pitt game (PDF). This is likely the Cavaliers toughest non-con game. Their other non-con foes are Western Michigan, Wyoming and at East Carolina.

The depth chart for Pitt is listed. Oderick Turner gets the starting WR spot over Marcel Pestano. Jeff Otah is not the outright starter at Left OT, instead listed with an “OR” with John Bachman. Jovani Chappel and Aaron Berry are both listed to be behind Darrelle Revis at CB. These aren’t even surprises, but might reach mild interest.

In Coach Wannstedt’s press conference, the discussion was mostly about his own team, not Virginia. Lots of stuff to point out. Best if you read it all.

On how many carries LaRod Stephens-Howling will get during a game:

To his credit and our strength program, he is about 10 pounds heavier than he was a year ago. I believe he’s stronger. He’s plenty tough enough, we know that. I’m optimistic that he’s going to be more durable. Will we spell him? Yes. Shane Brooks is going to play some, Kevin Collier is going to play some. There is no question that it’s going to be running back by committee.

On the importance of winning the season opener:

There’s two ways of looking at an opener when you have a very good opponent like Virginia. It’s easier from the standpoint of when you’re going through your summer drills, you’re running, you’re conditioning, your training camp. You kind of got Virginia in your sights. They’re an easy team to talk about, they’re a very good team. We’re playing at home. Obviously the 30-year reunion (of the 1976 national championship team), the ’76 team is coming in. There’s excitement in the air. We expect to go out and play well.

[Emphasis added.]

Of course it was expected Pitt would go out and play well in last year’s season opener…

Running back by committee is not at all surprising, but it’s the first time he’s openly admitted that will be the way it is.

He also addressed the T.J. Porter situation that was reported earlier this morning.

On the status of T.J. Porter:

He is part of the team. He will practice today. We’re just working through some growing pains. It really doesn’t have anything to do with football. I mentioned before, with these young kids it’s more transition adjustment. I really feel an obligation to the player and just as importantly, his parents and our university to try to do everything we can to help these young kids with the transition, if there’s problems, as long as it doesn’t compromise anything we’re trying to do as a football team. You have to be able to separate the two. It has not been determined yet (whether or not he will dress on Saturday vs. Virginia). I expect him to come out and practice today, have a good practice and we’ll go from there.

I think Coach Wannstedt is handling this exactly right. Consider that part of the pitch any coach, but especially Coach Wannstedt makes to the kid and the family during recruiting. That he will be part of a family. That he will be looked after and people will be there for him. Porter is apparently having a harder time than most. This is something Coach Wannstedt can point to as tangible evidence on the recruiting trail that he keeps his word. Also, consider that while Porter is having issues and maturity issues, he is not behaving like a thug or punk. He just seems like a scared, overwhelmed kid.

Other stuff: Conor Lee still looks like the favorite to kick as long as his groin is fine; the D-line is not written in stone, other players can and will work their way in to playing time including Jason Pinkston and McKenzie Mathews; yes, the receiver position is a bit thin;

Well this should be interesting.

The BIG EAST Conference and ESPN will announce a major new media agreement from ESPN Zone in New York at noon on Tuesday, August 29. The press conference announcing the agreement will be streamed live on ESPN360, ESPN’s customized broadband service.

Michael Tranghese, BIG EAST Conference Commissioner, and John Wildhack, ESPN Senior Vice President, Programming Acquisitions and Strategy will participate in the press conference. Bill Raftery, college sports personality and winner of the 2006 Curt Gowdy Media Award from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, will serve as host.

It seems that some of ESPN360 is generally available to view and some is “exclusive.” Meaning that your highspeed ISP has to be a partner with ESPN on this. Verizon appears to be a partner, but AT&T (formerly SBC) is not. The BE website will post details after the press conference.

We’ve been waiting on this for most of the summer. Rumors have been plenty, but not particularly clear.

Some stories on key Pitt verbals for the next recruiting class.

Pat Bostick always wanted to be a quarterback.

Last year’s 9-2 mark was one of Manheim Twp.’s best marks in years and resulted in the Blue Streaks’ first District 3-AAAA playoff ap pearance.

All of that has led to Bostick be ing chased by re cruiters last win ter, a process he ended on July 11 when he told everyone that he was going to attend Pitts burgh.

“It was just a really good situation for me there,” Bostick said. “Plus, I really like [Pitt head coach] Dave Wannstedt. He’s a really down-to-earth guy, and he has a good eye for talent.”

…

“I’m just a normal guy; I don’t take that notoriety into account at all,” said Bostick, who grew up in Manheim Twp. “I have kind of a boring life outside of football. I’m not the most social guy around.

“I grew up wearing a football jersey [future trivia answer: Randall Cunningham’s], so football has been my focus for a long time,” Bostick said.

The other story is a longish “day in the life” with Henry Hynowski, Jr. in his local. The “day” in question was about a week before he verballed to Pitt. It’s just a little on the fawning side with sentences like, “His arms are thicker than a San Francisco fog, his shoulders would give Atlas pangs of envy.” (I’m not making that up.)

Although Hynoski isn’t a nationally known superstar like the fictitious Ricky Bobby — not yet, anyway — he’s already made enough amazing plays to count as a local legend. Entering his senior season, he’s rushed for nearly 5,000 yards and scored 72 touchdowns. He played arguably his greatest game while just a sophomore in 2004, when Southern met Pius X in the state quarterfinals; Hynoski ran for 419 yards and scored six touchdowns in the Tigers’ 76-47 win. In a regular-season game last year, he rushed for 238 yards and two touchdowns as Southern rallied from 15 points down to beat rival Mount Carmel 32-21. Three months later, he led Southern to its fourth consecutive state title by running for 271 yards (setting the record for a Class A final) and four touchdowns (tying another record) in a 50-19 win over Duquesne.

Yes, being a local legend has its privileges, but you wouldn’t know that by watching Hynoski this morning, just 12 hours before finishing his day by downing a few hot wings with his friends. Hynoski is working coach Jim Roth’s football camp for middle-school kids. The youngsters want to learn football, but they’re still kids, which means they chat with one another as Hynoski tries to show them how to run a proper pass route out of the backfield. “Yo! Pay attention! Hey!” Hynoski yells to get them focused again.

The kids, who are all assigned to different teams, go through a few drills, then they play 7-on-7. When lunchtime comes around, Hynoski and some of the other players file out and go to Sheetz for lunch. Hynoski will make three trips to Sheetz on this day, and each time he runs into a handful of people that he knows. One person ends their discussion by saying, “I’ll see you out on the field this fall.”

The conversation is reminiscent of a scene in “Dazed and Confused,” when an old man runs into the town’s star quarterback, grabs him at the elbow and says, “This arm ready to throw about 2,000 yards next fall?”

Later, when it’s suggested that he’ll be in a much larger pond in college, Hynoski doesn’t seem fazed. “I’m the kind of kid, I can adjust to anything,” he says. “I don’t think I’ll have any problem.”

Hynoski and a few friends make their way to his home in Elysburg. His cell phone goes off as he turns into his driveway. Staring at the origin of the call, he says, “It’s an (Internet) reporter. I’m going to ignore it — they call 10 times a day.”

But the important thing is he’s just a regular guy.

Since everyone loves list, Chris Dokish for PSR has the top-50 preseason recruits in Pennsylvania. Six of the top-20 are already Pitt verbals (out of the 8 verbals on the list):

1. Pat Bostick

7. Chris Jacobson

11. Myles Caragein

17. Dom DeCicco
19. Dan Matha
20. Henry Hynoski

29. Greg Gaskins

46. John Fieger

Penn State has 5 verbals (all 5 are top-20)

WVU has 3 (0 top 20)

ND has 1 (1 top 20)

Virginia has 3 (2 top 20)

UConn has 4

UNC has 2

‘Cuse has 2

Michigan St., Northwestern, VT, Ohio St., Colorado, Temple and Rutgers each have 1 from the list.

There are 15 undecided at this point (6 in the top 20).

It isn’t exactly shocking to read this.

The Panthers are among the youngest teams in the Big East, if not the nation, with seven freshmen and four redshirt freshmen among the top players on their depth chart.

Redshirt freshman Oderick Turner will start at split end. Another redshirt freshman, Doug Fulmer, is the starting right defensive end.

Wannstedt had to play many first-year players last year, meaning there are several sophomore starters this year — tailback LaRod Stephens-Howling, fullback Conredge Collins, nose tackle Gus Mustakas, defensive tackle Rashaad Duncan and weak-side linebacker Tommy Campbell.

Haven’t seen the latest depth chart yet. Apparently some have.

Wannstedt had maintained all along that the best player for each position, regardless of class, would win the job, and he came through on that promise. At least 11 members of the recruiting class will play Saturday against the Cavaliers and the number of newcomers who play could grow to as many as 14 by the end of the season.

…

Although many of the newcomers are being counted on to play, they will be mostly be reserves. That doesn’t mean that many of them won’t get plenty of playing time or earn starting roles in the near future.

Only two newcomers, junior college transfer left tackle Jeff Otah and freshman defensive tackle John Malecki, likely will be in the starting lineup Saturday and a third, freshman tight end Nate Byham, could start depending on which formation the Panthers open up.

The other newcomers who will be in the rotation on offense are tailback Kevin Collier, tailback/receiver Dorin Dickerson and offensive guard Joe Thomas. The newcomers in the rotation on defense are tackle Jason Pinkston and cornerbacks Aaron Berry and Jovani Chappel. Linebacker Nate Nix and safety Elijah Fields will play mostly on special teams.

Three other newcomers — freshman kicker Dan Hutchins, freshman defensive end McKenzie Mathews and junior college transfer receiver/kick returner Lowell Robinson, also are likely to play this season.

I’m going to go with the conventional wisdom that Pitt will be relying heavily on the tight ends, at least to start the season to key the passing game.

Fifth-year senior Steve Buches and junior Darrell Strong return. Buches had 17 catches and two scores, while Strong added 16 and one. Those numbers should double, at least, with freshman Nate Byham also in the mix.

Byham is probably more than “in the mix.”

After an up-and-down training camp, Tyler Palko is in the difficult position as the Senior QB. Not to lead the team, but to have trust in the younger players.

“He’s got high expectations of himself,” Cavanaugh said. “There’s times when his mentality is, ‘I’ve got to be perfect.’ I try to tell him that’s not going to happen, just make sure the mistakes you make don’t kill us.”

Palko plays a position often scrutinized and requiring a short memory. His final training camp was something of a roller coaster ride, one that tested his patience and showed his resolve.

He played behind an improved offensive line that continued to be overwhelmed at times, handed off to backs that struggled to find running room and threw to young receivers that showed talent in flashes but were inconsistent.

As a result, Palko pressed early in camp. He held onto the ball too long, either taking sacks or throwing into coverage. His emotions showed in his body language, whether it was hanging his head or throwing the ball away in frustration after another play ended in a whistle.

…

The problem, teammates say, wasn’t Palko.

“Tyler’s not one of the concerns,” redshirt junior right tackle Mike McGlynn said. “Tyler’s a fiery guy and he wears his emotions on his sleeve. He’s a leader. There’s not a guy on this team that works harder than him. When (Saturday) comes around, we’re not worried about him on the field.”

Added senior tight end Steve Buches, “I trust Tyler. I’m not worried about him. I think what’s going on is, we’re surrounded by young kids. A lot of these young guys don’t know what’s going on. They’re throwing a lot of guys in there, a lot of new faces who don’t know what’s going on. The veterans know what the deal is. With new guys, you have to explain the same thing over and over.”

Trusting the new kids after they make a mistake will probably be the toughest thing for Palko.

Buried at the bottom is some disappointing news.

One freshman who would have been in the lineup Saturday is receiver T.J. Porter, but he walked off the practice field Friday and his status with the team is uncertain. Porter, who is from Pahokee, Fla., was a heralded receiver and one of the team’s fastest players, but he struggled making the adjustment to college football.

Porter had left the team once before, but he returned a day later.

Earlier this week, however, there were some signs that Porter’s heart was not in it as he began to sit out of practices and miss drills because he said he wasn’t feeling well. The final straw came Friday when he walked off the field and went back to the locker room in frustration after Revis lined up opposite him in press man coverage and wouldn’t let him get off the line of scrimmage.

That’s a shame if he quits. There’s no question he’s got some growing up to do. From a talent standpoint, he appeared to be the top freshman receiver. It isn’t clear what the problem was — whether it was having to work so hard, homesickness, immaturity or what. It’s no longer simply being overwhelmed.

Given his talent and how he could still potentially help the team, do they just let him go? Do they work with him, maybe have him redshirt this season while he tries to get a grip on everything with a little less pressure and another season to mature?