First the good, talking about the top freshmen (Insider subs.).

3. LeSean McCoy, Pittsburgh
McCoy gets the nod as the highest-rated true freshman on this list. He also is the leading freshman rusher in the country right now, gaining 118.3 yards per game on the ground. The 19-year-old McCoy spent a post-grad year at Milford Academy, where he rescinded his initial commitment to Miami and turned down offers to Florida and Virginia Tech in favor of Pittsburgh. Quite a catch for coach Dave Wannstedt and his staff. The trick now is to surround McCoy with a better supporting cast.

It doesn’t take much time watching McCoy on film to realize he’s the real deal. He’s an instinctive runner with the burst to turn the corner and the power to push the pile. He also has shown great versatility with 23 catches on the season. Before his days in Pittsburgh are done, McCoy’s name should be mentioned among the school’s other great runners such as Tony Dorsett, Craig Heyward and Curtis Martin.

Then there is this piece from his hometown paper. Talking a bit about the adversity after the Louisville game.

It was a new experience for McCoy. Never in his football life ­— not in high school, not in any game he could think of ­— had he fumbled at such a crucial moment. He had faced adversity before — his McDevitt career ended with an ankle injury in the waning minutes of a game with archrival Harrisburg High — but this fumble was on a national stage.

“I was sick,’’ he said. “I couldn’t move. Couldn’t look at anybody in the face. Couldn’t leave the room.’’ Worse, the game had been televised. “That was the biggest thing — to do that in college, on national TV,’’ he said.

After the game, McCoy didn’t remove his uniform for some time. His despondency lasted for days. “Let’s learn from it. Let’s react the right way,’’ Wannstedt told him.

Others tried to cheer him up. “The best always have bumps in the road,’’ Bostick said. “It’s how you deal with it.’’

Six days later, McCoy showed up at Pitt’s practice facility, a new complex along the Monongahela River built on the site of a demolished steel mill, and his coaches told him, “Don’t worry about it.’’ His mood changed. “Nobody was really worried about it except me,’’ McCoy said. “I just let it go.’’

A common theme for both McCoy and Bostick seems to be how hard they are on themselves and their expectations.

That said, just like there seems to be a bit of open competition for the QB spot,  there seems to be a bit of a threat to McCoy starting and playing time depending on how he takes care of the ball.

Running backs coach David Walker said yesterday that talented freshman LeSean McCoy has to do a better job of securing the football when he runs or he’ll lose playing time. McCoy has fumbled five times in the past six games and the Panthers have lost three of them. Two of the lost fumbles have come at crucial times in close losses over the past three weeks.

…

Walker, who was a standout running back at Syracuse, also doesn’t buy the rationalization that McCoy has fumbled in situations when he was trying to make extra yards. He said the most important thing for any running back is to hold on to the football.

“Maybe it is a little bit of him trying to do too much, but he’ll learn that holding the ball is more important than the extra inch you are trying to get at that particular juncture of the play,” Walker said.

“If we’re trying to make a play and the ball is on the goal line and you are trying to extend the ball, that’s another issue, but if you have the first down and the ball is inside the 25 you just have to know when to say when.”

Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt attempted to soften Walker’s stance a little bit when he was asked about McCoy’s fumbles but agreed that it could become a problem.

I admit, it seems like a stretch considering how offensively challenged Pitt this season, but the message makes sense. Also promising is that the coaches seem to be of the opinion that a little public chastisement is something McCoy can handle and respond well to reading.