I haven’t written about the press conference/PR thing with Tony Dorsett and LeSean McCoy to this point, simply because I hadn’t had time to watch the video.

A couple thoughts before I get to the news write-ups.

Watching the interspliced clips of Dorsett and McCoy really makes me miss the old Pitt colors. But then anytime I see old clips I probably think that.

I got a kick out seeing how they dressed McCoy for the event. I have to imagine he was thinking something like: They put me in a collared shirt, pulled the logo sweater over my head and put me in khakis — make me dress like I’m Bobby friggin’ Knight — for this. And Dorsett shows up in jeans and sweatshirt???

There are times when it seems like it’s too much, too soon. That it is all but setting things up for something to go horribly wrong and then to read one of those “what happened to..” articles 5 to 10 years later. But then to hear Dorsett talk about how nothing is assured and how much work is still needed. That was reassuring. As much as this was PR and singing the praises of McCoy — which Dorsett was happy to do — there was an element of reminding that there is plenty still ahead.

That element was caught in part in this story.

“He’s got to pass the test of time,” Dorsett said. “He’s go to prove himself all over again, starting again (this coming) season.

“But if he’s here for three more years, which we’re all hoping he is, he has a darn good chance of doing it. There are a lot more records that I hold here, but I hope he breaks them all. He’s going to bring back a lot of focus to this university.”

The prominent theme, though was the similarity of the two on the field.

Greatness is greatness, and we can see right now he’s a diamond in the rough,” Dorsett said. “I admire what this young man has been able to do. He can be one of the more exciting running backs in college football.”

…

“I say this is a special time because this is a special young man,” Dorsett said. “I’ve watched him play. Comparisons are just comparisons, and I hate to compare someone to myself … but this is the first guy that I’ve seen that reminds me of Tony Dorsett.”

McCoy rushed for 1,328 yards on 276 carries last season, averaging 4.8 yards per carry. Dorsett saw slightly more action as a freshman, when he rushed for 1,686 yards on 318 attempts while averaging 5.3 yards per carry.

“I don’t know where he gets it from,” Dorsett said. “I don’t know where I got it from, but I saw him jump through a hole one time in one of the games and he just threw a stutter and he took off like a blur and I said, ‘That’s Tony Dorsett.'”

McCoy was well composed throughout. As is typical, he handled the media with smiles. He spoke a lot of respect and seemed quite humbled by the comparisons. He was also very careful in his answers, definitely hesitant to say too much about how he sees the comparisons.

Asked how he would compare himself to Dorsett, McCoy’s face contorted in obviously deep thought.

He struggled twice to begin a sentence.

That was when Dorsett swooped in, saying, “Let me answer that for him, LeSean is LeSean. He is his own player. … We can see that his upside is so very large. He has a lot of things that he can accomplish. Comparing him to me, no, he is LeSean, let him be LeSean.”

And McCoy looked very relieved for the save.

Dorsett also mentioned the hope that McCoy would be at Pitt 3 more years. Something that seems highly unlikely if McCoy keeps doing what he’s been doing.