Always good when walk-ons earn their way to full scholarship.

Pitt rewarded redshirt junior walk-ons Frank Kochin and Austin Ransom on Friday by giving them scholarships for the 2007 football season, Panthers coach Dave Wannstedt announced.

Kochin, a 6-foot-4, 280-pound offensive tackle from Keystone Oaks, played in all 12 games last season as a member of the point-after and field-goal units. Ransom, a 5-11, 210-pound receiver from Williamsville, N.Y., is a special teams star who had three tackles in 12 games last season.

The calculating, cynical, cold-hearted part of me, though, worries about whether Pitt can afford to give up those scholarship spots.

This might be worth remembering in the first game or two.

Q: How has Bill Stull looked at practice compared to the other quarterbacks of the past?

Zeise: That’s a tough question, to compare players who aren’t much alike. To be honest, Rod Rutherford and Tyler Palko had more similarities than either has similarities with Stull. He is a different kind of quarterback than those two. He has improved greatly since the beginning of camp and he seems to have a good command of the offense. The key for him will be getting off to a good start and finding his confidence quickly. If you remember, it all clicked for both Rutherford and Palko in their second or third career starts.

[Emphasis added.]

Of course, both were under a different offensive system, but it took both until the second-half of their second game as starters (2002, Texas A&M; 2004, Nebraska). Getting comfortable under center in real game situations for more than a couple snaps for the first time since he was playing high school ball in 2004 is still going to be very different.

Either someone asked him about it or Coach Wannstedt was feeling a little defensive about his job performance and the so-called “hot seat.”

Wannstedt believes the Panthers will take the next step soon and start winning at a higher level, but he isn’t going to cut corners to achieve that success. He said he knows he has the full support of the decision-makers at Pitt as well as his players and that he will get things turned around in the very near future.

“I’m just doing things the way I believe they should be done and, whether people believe it is the right way or the wrong way, I don’t really care,” Wannstedt said. “I’m to the point where I know that I am representing this university right, I know how to build a program and what it takes [to win] and I know that our chancellor is on board with that, our athletic director is on board with that and I know our football players are on board with that.

“End of discussion.”

I’m guessing it was a mix of the AP article and all the preview mags that have used the words “disappointing” and “underachieving” to describe the team’s performance the last couple of years that prompted this kind of response.

I don’t find the AP article particularly upsetting since it does reflect a good deal of fan feelings. The feeling that things should be further along and there better be something to show for this season; contrasted with the sense that it will happen and that things are getting closer.

He has several strong recruiting classes on hand, more depth and more speed than in the last two seasons. What Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt hasn’t yet enjoyed as he enters his third season at his alma mater is improvement — in the offense, in the defense, in special teams.

Most of all, in the won-lost record.

…

Despite Pitt’s lack of success the lack two seasons, it’s evident Wannstedt still has strong support among those who hired him, athletic director Jeff Long and chancellor Mark Nordenberg. His players appear to respect him, and the struggles of the last two seasons mostly created cries for patience from top boosters, rather than cries to oust him.

But this is a pivotal season for Wannstedt, and he knows it. Harris’ third season was the one that propelled him and the Panthers to a string of five consecutive winning seasons and bowl appearances. But this third season was the one that proved the undoing of Majors his second time around; of Hackett in 1992, of Foge Fazio in 1984.

It is a big season. Everything that is talked about — whether amongst fans, from the media, the athletic department — it is either explicit or implied that 2008 is the year. That’s the year everything will come together. All the frustrations, losses, bad stuff will all be worth it as 2008 unfolds as Pitt ascends. Not a national championship, but challenging for the Big East. Showing that a lot will continue beyond that season and that it has all been worth it.

2007, though, is about showing that Pitt is getting to that point. That the defense is actually better. That the lines are improving. That Pitt can have a running game. I think most fans are trying to be patient. Wanting to believe in Wannstedt and what he is doing. We see the recruiting rankings and have to be encouraged. On the field, though, has been different.
Regardless of what happens in 2007, there’s going to be a lot of pressure on Wannstedt and Pitt for 2008. The difference is that if 2007 goes in the tank, the mood from the fans going into the 2008 season will be with an “..or else.”

Finally, back online. Not that anyone really cares, but school starts on Monday for my kid and apparently (according to the wife) we didn’t have absolutely everything we should for her first day of kindergarten (a flask of bourbon for me apparently wasn’t on the list. So, it took ’til this point to have some quiet time and a chance for me to get away.

Joe Clermond deals — somewhat with his arrest and subsequent dismissal of marijuana possession charges.

Pitt junior quarterback Bill Stull said Clermond had the unwavering support of his teammates all along.

“We know Joe Joe,” Stull said. “He’s not that type of person.”

That’s what mattered most to Clermond.

“That really felt good, that they had faith in me,” he said, “that they believed I was innocent even before I was proven innocent.”

Vindication came nine days later, after Clermond showed proof that he wasn’t the owner of the SUV in question. The charges were withdrawn before a scheduled hearing in Pittsburgh Municipal Court.

It was a valuable lesson for Clermond, who is being held as a different example to Panthers players: Beware not only of what you do but the company you keep.

“They already know what type of person I am, and they know it could happen to them,” Clermond said. “They know they better watch out. Just being a ballplayer, it could be with other ballplayers, with friends or family. You’ve just got to try to put yourself in the right situation.”

What impressed Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt was Clermond’s character in reacting to the arrest. He showed up at Wannstedt’s office at 6:30 a.m. that Monday and volunteered to do whatever it took to clear his good name.

“Joe dealt with an unfortunate situation the way we would hope that any of our players would deal with,” Wannstedt said. “You’re not doing anything wrong, not committing any crime. You get caught in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong people, and you handle yourself the right way. That’s what he did.

“During that whole episode, he handled everything the way we would have wanted him to. It didn’t affect anything he was doing as far as the football goes.”

I’m very glad the charges were dropped. And the rumors of how Clermond did anything he could to clear even the perception to the coaches that he was  smoking is great.

I’m also glad that he gets that the bigger lesson, may be to beware of with whom you hang and what they are doing. It happens far too often — and not just with the Michael Vicks and those extremes. It happens with hanger-ons even with potential 3d or 4th round draft picks.

I’m still a little troubled by the whole thing. I don’t know what team punishments were given — if any.  Maybe there shouldn’t be any. I don’t know. I’m really undecided at this point.
Clermond, though, is a 23-year old redshirt senior. A presumed team leader and captain. I can’t shake the feeling that there should be some consequences.

Yesterday I promised words and pictures for this post. That’s before I found out that my camera was not going to work with me in uploading the pictures I took onto the computer — so we’ll move along without pictures until a) someone sends some to my e-mail address, or b) I am able to get my own pictures to upload. Anyways…

Thursday night was the first time I had been to a Pitt Football Fan Fest, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. We walked in Gate A (by the river, under the scoreboard) and were handed a roster by some cheerleaders, which turned out to be a handy tool during both the autograph sessions and the practice.

The seniors were sitting at tables on the south plaza (or what I call the “giant patio”) facing the scoreboard so that they could meet the fans and sign autographs. The combination of me not being big on autographs as well as long lines kept me from talking/taking pictures with any of the seniors. Over to the far left, near the tunnel the team comes out of, Stan Savran was doing his show, interviewing Dave Wannstedt and a handful of players.

Onwards to the Great Hall where the rest of the players were broken up by positions to sign whatever fans brought to them. Once again, I didn’t get in line but I was happy enough to just see some of the players up close in street clothes (read: game jerseys and jeans).

The autograph session that was supposed to last from 6:30 to 7:30 was ended ten minutes short. One of the security guys said, “The coach wants ’em down there” — not sure if he was serious or not. As he walked from his table to get down onto the field, I was able to shake Oderick Turner’s hand (my personal favorite player), and he thanked us for our support.

Between the autographs and the practice, we headed over to the team store. We were greeted by a display of about 8 shirts — every single one of them plastered with the new logo. I might be able to live if it was 2×2 inches but the thing was HUGE. I’m also wondering why they are selling replica jerseys that look nothing like the game jerseys.

The block PITT is nowhere even close to being the same size and the shades of gold are different on the replica compared to the real deal. I realize that’s exactly what it is, a replica, but a replica of what? Certainly not the jersey the players wear.

After grumbling to myself about not liking anything I saw over at the clothing tent, we moved to some seats a few rows off the field near the corner where the visiting fans usually sit.

The practice was basically a big joke; players going at 50%, no fun drills or anything. The first thing the skill players did was field punts/kicks, with one of the groups catching kicks from who I believe was Henry Hynoski. One thing that will stick in my mind was that the first time everyone got to see LeSean McCoy in action, he dropped his punt return. I didn’t really watch the practice too closely (and do any sort of real reporting like I could have), but instead chose to take in the whole thing and talk about the upcoming year with two friends: one being very cynical, one very optimistic — which leads to some interesting chats.

Fan Fest was something that I needed to attend simply because I was going through some serious college football withdrawal — thankfully the real games start in only a week.

Heck of a human interest story on Nate Byham’s upbringing.

In mid-July of that year, Byham’s wife died of a sudden illness. A few months later, he had to decide whether to take custody of his 6-month-old grandson, Nate, whose mother — Ron’s daughter — was only 16.

“She was just a child herself,” Ron says.

The baby’s father was out of the picture, which left Ron, a 45-year-old grieving widower and grocery store produce manager in Greenville, with a hard choice: Should he step in and raise the child himself?

Ron didn’t see it as a choice. He saw it as an obligation. He went to court, signed the papers and began a new life riddled with uncertainty. He was a single grandfather.

How’d he do it?

He just did.

“I changed a hell of a lot of diapers,” Ron recalls with a laugh. “And when I was working, I had neighbors who would take him in the afternoon. I didn’t do it myself. There were a lot of coaches, parents, friends, his aunt (Kim Baptiste), so many people who helped.”

Whether by design, necessity or just because it was the best situation at any point, he also was shuttling about where he was living for periods. Unbelievable how well he has turned out to this point.

Moving to football and the always unnerving offensive line

Jason Pinkston and Jeff Otah are the starting tackles at this point and right now there isn’t a lot on the depth chart directly behind them. That is, I guess, as good a reason as any to keep them out of the final scrimmages.

Both players were healthy enough to play but are dealing with minor aches, so the coaches were not going to risk losing either of them.

“We thought it would be wiser at this point to let them rest and try and get them back healthy because we can’t afford to be without them,” said Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt.

Even assuming Mike McGlynn will be medically cleared and ready for the opening game, it seems to be obvious at this point that he will be under center. There is just no room, it feels, for any injuries to the line.

I realize, he wasn’t going to be the starting back and may have been #3 on the depth chart behind LaRod Stephens-Howling and LeSean McCoy, but the news that Kevin Collier broke his wrist and is done for the season is barely mentioned. Did this happen during the FanFest open practice?

That stinks for Collier. He has the medical redshirt available, but on the last day of camp. Jeez.

“What this does is puts [backup fullback] Shane Brooks back in the tailback position and I would think that the possibility of redshirting [freshman] Henry Hynoski is not going to happen because he’ll move up a spot on the depth chart and become the No. 2 fullback,” Wannstedt said.

I have to admit, I’m not totally following why Coach Wannstedt believes that Hynoski will not be redshirted now. He seems to be insisting on having a 3 backs in the tailback depth chart and 2 in the FB.  Exactly why, when Coach Wannstedt has insisted that it won’t be a tailback by committee. It seems unnecessary to decide (or at least declare)  the likelihood of Hynoski’s redshirt status immediately with 2 tailbacks and 2 fullbacks presently set on the depth chart.

What am I missing?

Sadly I couldn’t make it out to Pittsburgh for FanFest or any of the practices this time. Hard to believe that the first college football games are in less than a week. The Big East will kick off on Thursday with 3 games as official ESPN programming filler — games on regional, ESPN360 (expect more of it) and ESPNU.

Add another Pittsburgh columnist to the conventional wisdom pile of wait until 2008 just before the start of 2007.

None of that will add up to a breakthrough campaign, but we should finally get a glimpse of how Wannstedt intends to win big in 2008 and beyond.

This year will be about taking the formula from the chalkboard to the trenches.

In doing so, Pitt will turn a significant corner.

That’s reason enough to be encouraged, if not overly optimistic.

If that wasn’t enough, there was this gem.

If the front four can generate consistent pressure, it’ll allow defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads to blitz when he wants to rather than when he feels he has to.

Oh, god no. If Rhoads is allowed to only blitz when he wants to, then we’ll never see it. Really, that’s just an indictment of how little Prisuta knows about Pitt and Rhoads’ tenure/philosophy. He doesn’t blitz. He doesn’t like it. It has never been his thing.

The scrimmage on Wednesday was quite limited contact and a lot of players resting, so it didn’t reveal much.

The scrimmage wasn’t much of a workout for many starters, as a handful were rested due to various bumps and bruises. Starting tailback LaRod Stephens-Howling had just one carry, but it went for 44 yards.

Not to mention banged up lines — and it’s still a week until the first game.

Still, Pitt needs some of its starting linemen such as tackles Jeff Otah (hamstring) and Jason Pinkston (shoulder) and guard Joe Thomas (shoulder) to get healthy in a hurry. The same goes for senior defensive end Chris McKillop (elbow, hamstring).

“Our line is at a disadvantage right now,” Wannstedt said.

From the Zeise Q&A today.

Q: Will Pitt get a marquee victory against Louisville, West Virginia or Rutgers this year?

ZEISE: If I knew answers to questions like that, I’d retire tomorrow and move to Las Vegas and become the next Ace Rothstein. I will say one thing that has been disappointing about the first two years of this new regime is that the Panthers have failed to beat a team they weren’t supposed to beat. They haven’t pulled any upsets, so that would be a great sign of progress if they could knock off one of those teams, or even Virginia or Michigan State. This team needs to beat a team it isn’t supposed to beat this year.

[Emphasis added.]

To follow that up, what only makes it worse is that Pitt has lost 2 games in those first two years that it shouldn’t have (Ohio in 2005 and UConn in 2006). You can argue that but for a play here, a stop there and they would have been wins — and Pitt would have gone to a minor bowl each year — but its still hard to excuse letting it come to that in the first place in those games. It feeds the feeling that the team has underachieved so far.

Part of a sign of progress will be at least beating all the teams Pitt should this season –EMU, Grambling, UConn, Navy, Cinci, Syracuse and either Virginia or Michigan St. on the road. Pitt needs to show something tangible in the wins and losses this year. There has to be more.

A week of website redesigns in Pittsburgh; first the Post-Gazette decided that they wanted to be NOW, and today the PittsburghPanthers.com redesign was revealed.

Most noticeably, the redesigned PittsburghPanthers.com features a larger lead photo for fans to appreciate the great photography and great moments in Pitt Athletics. The site also features a media player to provide users with free samples of Panthers All-Access as well as listings of upcoming events on Panthers All-Access.

Aspects of the website that remain but have been slightly refined is the Store/Tickets/Auctions tabs, Fan Poll and easy access to purchase tickets, merchandise and links to the Panther Club.

The navigation has changed from the left-hand side navigation to a horizontal navigation system with drop-down menus. The new masthead continues to feature Pitt student-athletes and select team shots; it also features Pitt facilities and monuments such as the Cathedral of Learning and Petersen Events Center. Also with this feature, users can click on picture in the masthead and be linked back to the main page.

Also available near the top of the page is the Gametracker scoreboard that provides direct links to audio, video and gametracker for upcoming Pitt athletic events. Farther down the page is an Events, Results and Photos section, this section provides up to date information along with photo galleries to coinciding events when applicable.

It doesn’t look all that bad to me although I’ve found a few problems (although it might be just my computer).

Just got back from Fan Fest — words and pictures to follow tomorrow.

EDIT: If anyone took pictures at Fan Fest and wouldn’t mind them being used in a post (with credit given to you of course), please e-mail them to dennis.pittblather@gmail.com.

No change, just the full stories that appeared in the newspapers. [Idle thought with no real connection to the football team, other than thinking about the pride the Stull family has today. Does anyone bother buying copies of the whole newspaper to save clippings or the whole paper of a story or do they just print out the article from the website?]

Bill Stull is happy to have reached a goal and a dream.

“It feels good, finally,” Stull said. “I guess once I signed and came to Pitt, I’ve always dreamed of being the starting quarterback in my hometown. I played football here in high school (Seton LaSalle), and what better way to progress than to be the starting quarterback for the University of Pittsburgh.”

At the same time, he knows that this only means things are just getting started.

“Now all the hard work has paid off, and I’ve reached my goal of finally becoming the starter, but it doesn’t stop here. I just need to keep working and getting better individually and as a team, we need to get better. Always a little something in the back of your head, but you have to put that on the back burner and go out and play your butt off, so it feels good. I feel like all the hard work has paid off.”

His teammates seem confident enough in him.

If Stull hadn’t won over his teammates during spring drills, when he ran exclusively with the first-team offense, he did by returning to full-contact drills wearing the glove and battling discomfort on every pass.

“He handled himself like a real leader,” redshirt junior receiver Marcel Pestano said. “He didn’t show pain. He was still trying to do everything, even with his hand injury.

“Everybody thought he was going to sit out, but I know Bill. He’s one of the toughest guys I’ve met since I’ve been here. He always wants to do something extra.”

A little more than a week until opening night.

Let’s see, things to note.

Bill Stull was named the starter at QB by Coach Wannstedt, to no one’s surprise.

“It’s pretty obvious Billy Stull is the starter at quarterback. He’s performed the best. Right now, he’s the most confident of what we’re doing. He has the most confidence of this football team. He’s has the most confidence of the coaches right now.”

As for who will be on the O-line and what that depth chart will look like, well, we’ll see.

Wannstedt’s words that Craig Bokor could move into the second team by switching to the offensive line proved prophetic, but that’s not necessarily a good thing.

The knee injury to freshman left guard Chris Jacobson will require surgery, although Wannstedt didn’t rule out a return this season. Jacobson, a U.S. Army All-American from Keystone Oaks High School, was Pitt’s top offensive line recruit and was running with the second-team line.

Bokor has taken Jacobson’s spot, which further diminishes the depth on an offensive line that lost freshman tackle Dan Matha to shoulder surgery. The Panthers also have been without the services of redshirt sophomore guard John Brown, redshirt freshman guard Jared Martin and Purdue transfer Jason Kacinko, as well as fifth-year senior tackle Mike McGlynn, who could return sometime soon.

And just to keep everyone nervous, Jeff Otah and Jason Pinkston were held out of scrimmage today with (hopefully) minor dings.

New secondary coach Chris Ball likes what he is seeing from the starting cornerback positions.

“I call it swagger, some say that kind of confidence in yourself is cocky,” Ball said. “But it isn’t about being rude or disrespectful or not giving your opponents respect — the bottom line is to play that position, where you are out on an island and usually with the responsibility of covering a great athlete, you better be confident in your own ability and you better be mentally tough because you won’t survive if you aren’t.

“Both Aaron and Kennard have that swagger.”

Tight End Darrell Strong, on the other hand seems to have a bit more humility these days.

Wannstedt admits Strong was on thin ice, but he gave the Plantation, Fla., native another chance. Strong took advantage of his reprieve and is one of the reasons Pitt has as much quality depth at tight end as nearly any team in the nation, along with Byham and redshirt sophomore John Pelusi.

“If I thought Darrell was a bad guy, Darrell Strong would not be on this team,” Wannstedt said. “But Darrell is not a criminal. Darrell has done some immature things that he regrets, some foolish things. He’s not a bad person. He’s a good person. I like Darrell, and that’s why I’ve stuck with him. I think he realizes that, too.”

This is Strong’s last season. He definitely has a chance to go to the NFL, but he has to be on the field to get noticed. That means staying on Coach Wannstedt and OC Cavanaugh’s good side and show that he will do all the blocking and all the work required in the offense.

There’s just been no news on Eloy Vargas, other than the fact that his profile keeps rising and the offers keep coming. So there’s nothing but speculation. Speculation that makes Pitt fans nervous.

Though buzz among AAU coaches is that Plantation American Heritage 6-10 power forward Eloy Vargas — the nation’s 23rd-ranked prospect by rivals.com — might end up at Louisville, his travel team coach said he’s strongly considering UM, along with UF, FSU, Louisville and Pittsburgh.

Keep in mind that  this is the dead period of recruiting so it’s not like Antigua or Dixon can be in touch with him. The other nerve inducing thing. He is close with his AAU teammate Kenny Boynton, Jr. Boynton just transferred to Vargas’ school.

Boynton is a top-ten 2009 recruiting prospect. While he has an offer from Pitt  — and just about everyone else including Louisville — he doesn’t appear to have much interest in Pitt.

“Pittsburgh Live” and now “Post-Gazette NOW.” Oy.

At least the Trib, finally figured out that no one cared or particularly like the whole “Live” thing. They’ve stuck with the URL, but “LIVE” longer appears anywhere on the site or in the web banner.

The whole “NOW” thing is just as stupid and should be dropped. It’s one of those moronic things where the marketing department sat around looking at the redesign thinking about how they can stress the newness and updates. One of them looks up from his box lunch at the conference table and says, “NOW!”

The new design isn’t bad. It’s clean, easy enough to read and the navigation seems simple enough. A little generic, but I’ll take generic and easy to use over visually stimulating and confusing. It is loading quite slow, however, and maybe that’s just an early glitch.

With the depth issue at safety (along with the O-line, QB and TE — but those are different topics) Dom DeCicco is already #2 on the depth chart — simply by virtue of showing up. He did get a jump on learning the system and has shown how much he has grasped it.

Pitt coaches alerted DeCicco of the potential to play early, and he responded by attending spring practices and team meetings to learn the defensive scheme.

“They made it known when I came here that I was going to have to learn the defense pretty quick,” DeCicco said. “We were thin at the safety position, so I knew coming in that I was going to have to be 100 percent concentrated all the time. They gave me a head’s up that if I knew what I was doing, I was going to see some time.”

…Even secondary coach Chris Ball was surprised how easily DeCicco gained a grasp of his job and how quickly it has translated into making plays in practice. DeCicco had four tackles, including one for a loss, in Pitt’s first scrimmage, and five tackles and an interception in the second.

“That’s rare,” Ball said, “because there’s so many checks and alignments that he’s got to remember to do. It’s not normal for a young kid to come in and be that aware and learn the defense the way he has.

“I knew he was a pretty good athlete from watching him on tape. As physical as he’s been, that’s always a question mark with those guys. Shoot, he’s not afraid at all.”

DeCicco verballed very early to Pitt and never waivered. As such, he didn’t get a lot of attention in the time leading up to or after signing day. If he keeps up the way he has started, he’ll be getting plenty of attention.

The depth chart won’t be given any official form until after the scrimmage on Wednesday. One area that will be of great curiosity will be how the depth chart looks for the wide receivers.

Despite the fact that Hill won’t officially name a starter at Kinder’s position opposite redshirt sophomore Oderick Turner, it has been pretty clear that redshirt junior Marcel Pestano is the front-runner. Pestano was the team’s third-leading receiver last season behind Kinder and Turner and has been one of the most consistent performers in spring practice and training camp.

He has run with the first team almost exclusively since Kinder went down, so assuming he finishes strong, he’ll likely be the guy on opening day.

The Panthers’ other two veteran receivers, sophomore T.J. Porter and redshirt sophomore Cedric McGee, also figure to play a prominent role in the offense, and Hill said those four players will take the bulk of the snaps at receiver.

Freshmen Aundre Wright and Maurice Williams will get opportunities.

It feels like there are all these opportunities for the offense with the talent at tailback, WR and TE. So much, though, will be riding on what happens with the O-line. It just keeps coming back to the line.

— A “marathon” negotiating session last week led to former Panther Darrelle Revis getting a deal done with the New York Jets. Aside from 1st overall pick JaMarcus Russell and Revis, every other 1st round pick had been signed. Revis has a bright future ahead of him, and SI’s Peter King lists him as a CB on his “All-Future Team.”

The Cleveland Browns thought enough of him to have him ranked as a top-five player in the draft this year — and the Jets thanked their lucky stars Revis was still there at No. 14. He’s got excellent cover skills and is a willing tackler.

— CBS SportsLine predicts Pitt will finish sixth in the Big East over UConn and Syracuse.

6. Pittsburgh: Which way you headed, Wanny? Without a proven quarterback and six new starters on defense, Dave Wannstedt is on the hot seat. Watch roadies at Virginia and Michigan State. They will be an indicator of his future.

Pitt and Cincinnati in the 5/6 spots seem to be a toss up. And the comment about Wannstedt being on the hot seat is a bit premature; but it got some talk in the discussion thread.

— Sports Illustrated devoted this week’s issue to previewing college football. They also have Pitt coming in at #6 in the BE with a 5-7 overall record and 2-5 in conference. Not a ton of love there — but they do give a nod to Oderick Turner who is going to be a little more widely known since he’s our top receiver right now.

— Both PSI and Kevin Gorman report that freshman offensive guard Chris Jacobson badly hurt his right knee and will need surgery. The procedure will like take place next week and though he will possibly miss the whole season, Wannstedt did not entirely rule him out for the rest of the year. Obviously, redshirting him is looking like the smart option.

— Beano Cook was a guest on Mark Madden’s show on ESPN Radio 1250. Cook, who Madden calls the “Pope of college football,” says Pitt’s home schedule is the worst it’s been since World War II. That’s not a joke — Beano knows. He also says that LeSean McCoy will see a ton of playing time this year and will make an immediate impact. I found it funny when Cook, at a young 75 years old, referred to McCoy as “Shady.” He also says McCoy will be Pitt’s running back for 3 years before jumping to the NFL.

A question that has been asked here last week, gets asked in Zeise’s Q&A.

Q: Is McCoy running all over Pitt’s defense a sign that we are going to get the same old horrible Pitt defense against a talented back?

ZEISE: Good question, and that’s one that we really won’t know the answer to until they play Michigan State the third week of the season. But the run defense has stuffed the offense pretty much the entire camp and I really think this team is better up front, so I don’t expect every play to be an adventure and every decent back look like Walter Payton every week, either. The thing about what McCoy did is a little different than what the typical back has done to Pitt — McCoy got a lot of his stuff on his own talent. It wasn’t like the D-line was dominated or overpowered, as has been the case in the past. Again, only time will tell but I am starting to think this defense is going to be better than it has been for a few years.

Well, at least Michigan State will also be breaking in a new QB (plus, while Pitt is 0-5-1 against MSU, they are 2-0 against Dantonio).

At least there’s depth on the defensive line. Now, show that they can tackle somebody.

A bit of love for Jeff Otah and Greg Romeus.

I was lucky enough never to have my car booted while at Pitt. Know plenty who weren’t so lucky. So, I actually sympathize with the USF player who got booted — and subsequently removed the boot.

The Sporting News lists Pitt for fifth in the Big East and in the “Scouts’ Views” adds this.

I think it takes ex-NFL coaches like Pittsburgh’s Dave Wannstedt and Syracuse’s Greg Robinson two to three years to adjust to the college game. They just aren’t used to seeing a lot of the stuff that goes on in college football — especially on third down. This isn’t the NFL. We don’t automatically pass on third-and-5.

Great. Another prognostication that says “wait until ’08.”

Well, here’s hoping Chris Jacobson has successful surgery on his dislocated right knee-cap.

Jacobson, a 6-foot-3, 285-pounder from Keystone Oaks, was the second-team left guard for the Panthers before getting injured during a pass-rush drill Saturday. Jacobson was wearing a protective knee brace when the injury occurred, Wannstedt said.

Wannstedt says Jacobson’s injury will require surgery, scheduled for next week, but Wannstedt didn’t rule Jacobson out for the season.

Sorry, I’m a little on the cautious side. Just red-shirt him now and don’t do anything stupid. Let him get a full rehab and time to heal from this.

Jacobson wouldn’t have been a starter this season unless Jeff Otah had gone down, but he was going to provide some (any) much needed depth for the O-line.
Mike McGlynn started actual practice on Sunday and took snaps at center with the second-team. He also took some snaps at left guard and right tackle, so who can be sure where he will be playing. If he plays at center, then the team will have a  very, very thin depth chart. It also means that Vangas just couldn’t do the job.

Well, here’s to hoping for some cliche gunk about how the team closed ranks and really came together rather than hanging their heads.