Really, is there a college coach who wouldn’t want to redshirt his freshmen if he could? They’d also like to be able to lock the players for all 4 years with 1 or 2 extra years of eligibility. Last year 16 freshmen played and 11 redshirted for Pitt (2007 Media guide, page 107). With 23 freshmen (including gray shirt Justin Hargrove but subtracting Kyle Hubbard), Coach Wannstedt can talk about it for the future, but it is likely to be a similar comparison this season.

In fact, the actual number of freshmen who see the field likely will be less than a handful, and Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt said that is a sign his program is slowly getting to the point where it has enough depth to not have to rely on many freshmen.

He said that will be a welcome change from the way things have been in his first two seasons, when a number of freshmen were thrown into action out of necessity before they were ready. And while he believes there will always be a need for some freshmen to play, he hopes to get to the point where he has the luxury of redshirting most of his freshmen.

“It would be nice to be able to redshirt as many as we can,” Wannstedt said. “I’d hope to be able to do so. You’d like to get to a point where you have enough depth where you’re playing only four or five of the guys, particularly the skilled guys. We’ll redshirt as many as we can but we’re not there yet. We probably need two more recruiting classes. We’ve had two full classes since I’ve been here and need probably two more to really have the depth to start being a little more choosier about who we play and who we redshirt.”

Here are the players not likely to redshirt from the 23 because of depth and/or talent reasons:

• Justin Hargrove — DL
• Dom DeCicco — S
• John Fieger — OL
• Greg Gaskins — OL
• Jordan Gibbs — OL
• Chris Jacobson — OL
• Tony Tucker — DL
• LeSean McCoy — RB
• Maurice Williams — WR
• Aundre Wright — WR
• Aaron Smith — CB
• Buddy Jackson — CB
• Sherod Murdock — CB
• Henry Hynoski — FB
• Shariff Harris — RB
• Myles Caragein — DL

That’s 16 possible. Again, not all of them will, but based on the first week reports from camp, projected talent and (lack of) depth at positions these are the most likely to be on the depth chart and seeing playing time this season.

The battle for the remaining back-up Defensive End was the subject of this story. Chris McKillop and Joe Clermond are the starters and Greg Romeus seems to have one back-up spot nailed down. That leaves the other with redshirt freshman Tyler Tkach, and freshmen Hargrove, Tucker and Sheard.

“They’re different kinds of players with different strengths,” defensive line coach Greg Gattuso said. “The hard part is getting them comfortable, because in our system they’ve got to know both sides. The faster they can learn, the faster they can play.”

Sheard appears to have the inside edge. He worked with the second unit opposite Tkach in team drills Monday, while Romeus ran with the first team in place of McKillop, who was resting a sore hamstring.

Sheard was also the focus of the story. The hook is that Sheard was a swimmer and a lifeguard. He’s raw but athletic and talented according to Gattuso.

In Zeise’s brief Q&A yesterday evening he thinks a lot more of the balls that would have gone Derek Kinder’s way will be spread among the three tight ends.

Bruce Feldman of ESPN.com blogs briefly (Insider subs.) that he doesn’t buy the Ron Cook premise that Pitt will be better in the long run with Kinder out for 2007.

I disagree. To me, that’s like saying I was better off in the long run when I told my parents the truth behind what happened to their sofa while they were out of town when I was in high school. Sure, it opened the lines of communication, but did that year of awkwardness really make things better between us? No, of course not. Now Pitt is more likely to struggle in 2007. This will only further undercut Dave Wannstedt’s talk of being a top 25 program to recruits and make it that much harder to battle the West Virginias and Louisvilles of the world.

Good point, since we’ve been focused on wins and losses and the possibility of 2008 as the season actually gets close. Recruiting and perception-wise another sub-par season only hurts Wannstedt on the recruiting trail and whispers that he can’t do anything with the talent he recruits.

According to the press release statement from his dad, Pat Bostick will be at training camp today.

“We’re driving out [in the morning], speaking for Pat, he’s really excited to get back with his teammates and the coaching staff. He’s looking forward to it. I know he’s going to be there [for the afternoon practice], I don’t know if he’ll be in pads or not, but he’ll be there. I don’t think he’ll be thrown out there tomorrow, but I think he’ll be competing relatively quickly. The situation will depend on how things play out.”

Barring injuries or just a complete grasp of the playbook and physical dominance, the odds of Bostick not redshirting this year are looking very slim.  In the longterm, that is probably a good thing.

Just keeping watch on players who might sign a LOI with Pitt.

Johnathan Baldwin had a Q&A with the P-G yesterday and today it’s an interview with the Trib. Baldwin won’t be announcing anything until signing day. From a family connections standpoint there’s the fact that his dad, Jeff, played DE at Pitt. There’s also the fact that he looks at Darrelle Revis as an inspiration.

“I was the water boy for two weeks when (Revis was in) camp (at Aliquippa),” Baldwin said. “He was telling me I had potential and I could be a big-time player at Aliquippa in the years to come. He just told me to stay humble and be focused, just do what you have to do. Leave it all on the field.”

Perhaps the man who has the biggest influence on Baldwin is his father, Jeff, who played defensive end at Aliquippa and Pitt. Jeff Baldwin takes a notepad with him to every one of his son’s games, noting his flaws so they can work on them at home. More importantly, Jeff Baldwin makes sure his son lives up to his incredible athletic potential.

The thing that makes me worry, though, is how much he wants to play football and how much it is just because it is perceived as the easier path.

“It was this year after the (NFL) Draft and I decided I was going to go for football,” Baldwin said. “If I had a good college career in football I think I probably had a better chance than if I played basketball.

“I always thought about the NBA, all the time. I never really thought about football, NFL football. I’d probably pick basketball (if I could go to pros in both), but I’m going for football so I got to love it,” he said.

That doesn’t mean, though, that Baldwin is settling for football. It’s now his focus since he gave up AAU basketball this summer and lifted instead. Now, he runs stadium stairs or extra laps after practice and wakes up at 5:30 a.m. to start his day by doing 1,000 push-ups in an hour.

“I just stay focused,” Baldwin said. “I was already a good student. I was working hard at my game. My mom and dad tell me to run extra laps after practice, run full sprints, make sure you finish first every time, don’t let anybody beat you … so I do what they say.”

It’s a candid admission, and logical. Given his reputed talent, it may not be a big thing in high school, but it still seems like his heart is still on the hardwood. Just that little bit of desire not being there for the chosen sport can be huge at higher levels.

Up in the Rochester area, Averin Collier is preparing for his senior season. He has his choices narrowed down to Georgia Tech, Pitt and Clemson. Clemson has a slight lead he has indicated, even if Pitt has been the only campus he actually visited. Some of it may come down to the position he wants to play. Pitt seems to have him as a defensive back, but he seems to be focusing on the offense and as the running back this season. He has increased his conditioning.

It’s helped that Collier also has bought into Dick’s offseason program. He can deep-squat close to 450 pounds and bench-press 300 pounds.

“I’m by no means saying he is as good as an NFL running back, but with those lifts, he’s definitely as strong as an NFL running back,” says Dick, who won a silver medal at the U.S. Olympic weight-lifting trials 19 years ago. We had a lot of kids go from boys to men in the offseason because they put the time in and realized championships are won in the offseason.”

The article also indicates that Tackle Steve Dunn (he plays offensive and defensive) is drawing interest from Pitt.

Finally another player drawing Pitt’s attention is Linebacker Michael Matt of Jeannette. Matt tore the ACL in his right knee last October and is itching to get back out there to show he’s recovered. Pitt and several other schools are also watching.

Matt is hoping to have a big year and earn a Division I scholarship. He’s received interest from Buffalo, Tennessee, Pitt and Penn State. He expects more during the season.

“Teams want to see how my knee holds up,” Matt said. “But I’m ready.”

It probably doesn’t hurt that he’s close friends with teammate Terrelle Pryor.