So, Bill Stull is likely the starter. No one is shocked.
I think the conventional wisdom will hold with QB: that Greg Cross will be used to help mix things up as the #2 starter, with Kevan Smith the #3 starter and Pat Bostick taking a redshirt. You know they so wanted Bostick to take last year — especially after the training camp issues — but couldn’t. Give him a year just to keep building arm strength, work some more on his throwing style, keep learning the offensive system, and just make sure he is ready mentally.
Not sure what is about Cavanaugh’s offensive system. It a very traditional West Coast offense, but something about it really messes with QBs who haven’t had time to learn it for at least a year. That’s a big factor that helped Stull last fall win the job; and why he will be the starter this year. He knows it better than anyone on the team. He had two years behind Palko learning it, running it in practices, just getting it all. It doesn’t require Dan Marino level talent.
“We’re the type of offense where we’re not going to throw it 50 times. The guy doesn’t have to be Tom Brady. Our quarterback needs to be efficient, smart and make plays when there are plays to be made.
“We’re going to play defense, run the ball and play good special teams. That’s our trademark.”
The issue — and I’m standing in line to beat it into the ground along with most of the beat writers for training camp — the offensive line. It’s the most unsettled area on Pitt’s team. There are some positional battles at other groups, but not the widespread question marks all over the place that exist on the O-line.
“There’s a lot of loose things that need to be resolved,” Wannstedt said.
Even senior C.J. Davis, who has 30 consecutive starts at left guard, isn’t assured of his job after missing spring drills with a hamstring injury now that redshirt freshman Chris Jacobson, a high school All-American, has recovered from a knee injury.
“C.J.’s our starting left guard right now, but the great thing about hiring a new offensive line coach is Tony Wise doesn’t know C.J. Davis from Greg Gaskins,” Wannstedt said. “Everybody has to prove themselves. I like that. There’s something to that. It makes everybody better.
“Tony’s going to walk in and say, ‘These are our five best guys.’ And he’s not going to be concerned with who started last year, who’s a freshman and who’s a fifth-year senior.”
There’s more depth on the O-line than there was a year ago. Hopefully it won’t be tested like the last two years. Center still terrifies me. Even if Robb Houser is everything expected, there is still no true center backing him up right now. Honestly, if there is one position where I really hope Pitt gets the big recruit for this class, it is Center.
I agree Rob Houser maybe the answer at center. If he gets hurt what then. Out of the group of linemen we have, excluding the incomming freshmen, not one of them could replace Chris Vangus a mediocere center at best. We have a makeshift line that’s never played together. Not only haven’t they played together, none of them have any substantial game experience, except for Davis. There was depth at the beginning of last season or maybe that was the previous spring, but the o-line was very thin at the end. After three years of heavily recruiting linemen several questions remain. 1) Are they any good? 2) Have the injured ones fully recovered? 3) Can they remain healthy enough to play as a cohesive unit for the whole season? Anyone know how Matha is doing?
You even see this out at USC, where it seems every year that they have one or two of the more heralded QB recruits sit and learn for a year or two behind other QBs who have had the reps and the experience with Carroll’s offense.