Let’s give credit to Pitt Wide Receivers Coach Aubrey Hill. I’ve been thinking about this as I start to consider all the things that went wrong and right for Pitt this year. The brightest spot and biggest surprise (in a good way) has been the emergence of a solid young receiving corp.
Think about it. After spring practice, Derek Kinder was the default #1 WR who no one was sure was really more than a possession guy. Joe DelSardo was the default #2 guy. Oderick Turner, Marcel Pestano and Cedric McGee had all done nothing to really separate themselves from one another. They all looked shaky and unsure.
By the first game of the season, that all changed. Kinder showed he was more than just a possession guy. He was a complete receiver who was willing to go over the middle and could handle getting under the deep ball. And, of course, his downfield blocking. Well, even in the bad loss to WVU, his taking out 2 Hoopies to spring Revis on the punt return was a season highlight.
Turner, Pestano and McGee all made tremendous progress and continued to be solid all year long. They were running great routes, making the catches and just doing everything you want from receivers. Turner and Pestano got more time and opportunities at a suddenly crowded WR spot. Turner and Pestano were 2nd and 3d on the team for receptions (44 and 28) and yards (660 and 424). They combined for 10 TDs and had a virtually identical yards/catch average (15 and 15.1).
It’s part of the reason Freshmen like T.J. Porter saw so little action and Dorin Dickerson wasn’t seeing any time at WR. Not to mention a factor in DelSardo spending most of the games with his helmet by his side sitting alone or with the injured players.
The players obviously did the work and its a credit to them for really stepping up this year. But Aubrey Hill deserves a ton of credit. Watching the WRs this year has been an area to enjoy. All the receivers were catching the ball with their hands up. They ran good routes and they were doing the downfield blocking as they were supposed to. Doing all the fundamentals and doing them right. He has developed the kids and got them playing WR using their natural skills but not relying on them to make the play.
It is also clear that Hill has earned more responsibilities and challenges in recruiting.
Wannstedt said Pitt will place a greater emphasis on recruiting in Maryland and Northern Virginia, a region that will be handled by receivers coach Aubrey Hill, and concentrate less on recruiting Florida.
The talent in that area has been rising the last few years, so it makes sense to mine it. It’s part of what Pitt’s basketball team is trying to do.
2 p.m. – 1982 Sugar Bowl: Pittsburgh Panthers vs. Georgia Bulldogs
Dan Marino throws a 33-yard TD pass with 35 seconds remaining to lift the Panthers to 24-20 victory over No. 2-ranked Georgia. The lead changes hands five different times in this battle highlighted by the duel between Marino and Georgia’s Herschel Walker.
Didn’t we have a lot of stiffs on our team from Florida this past season? And it’s not just us, Rutgers, and the Florida schools that are recruiting a lot down there. A lot of schools are.
That greater D.C. area is booming right now, and it’s talent base isn’t as hyped up as Florida’s is yet. Now is a great time to make inroads there. I don’t think it was a matter of us not being able to recruit Florida either, didn’t we get plenty of talent in our big recruiting class last year from the Sunshine State?
Also, don’t give up on our Western PA guys yet either. I know it’s not the same as it was 30 years ago, but still, given the size of the area and population, there are a lot of good players to be found there. I noticed WVU has plenty of them on their roster this year.
Pure speculation above by the way.
It’s interesting to read the past posts on this board and on ‘Panther Rants’ regarding this subject. Some feel that just by virtue of us being PITT and having done well pre-WWII, and over that span in the late 70-early 80s, we somehow need to/must reclaim our past glory. But, if you look at our football history as a whole you’ll see that in the Post WWII modern era we are right in line with the vast majority of Div. I schools – winning in some stretches and losing in others.
Nothing in my 51 years has ever led me to believe that we will ever be an “elite†program (whatever that actually means – I suppose those are the teams that compete for a National Championship every year). I’ve been going to PITT games since birth, and was a student at PITT in the mid-70s, and while I loved watching the teams win a championship, and following how well they did under Jackie Sherrill, it was pretty obvious that we were enjoying a run that was exceptional and wouldn’t happen forever.
I am of the mind that we should be satisfied with a winning record, exciting competition and a well run, high standard athletic/academic program. I try not to get too discouraged by the events of the last two years as I do feel that while DW hasn’t had a winning record, he has been a good coach in other ways – and he holds the kids responsible for their actions. Whether or not that will be enough for all the critics, I guess time will tell.
That said I hope to see PITT get back to being competitive in each and every game, year in and year out. I’m personally optimistic that this will happen sooner rather than later, and that we’ll win our share of games, conference championships and perhaps, if we are very lucky, another national championship in my lifetime.
