Content loves media day.
I count no fewer than a dozen tabs open in my browser windows from stories out of Pitt’s Media Day. Time to start winnowing things down.
Let’s start with some actual content regarding practices. And everyone’s favorite obsession, the offensive line.
Once again, Pitt’s coaching staff will have split practices to get all the players as much work as possible early on. This plan was instituted after the first year. It is double duty for the coaches, with a morning session for half and an afternoon session for the rest. As a depth chart starts to be more cohesive and scrimmages loom, things revert to more standardized practices with everyone.
Kevin Gorman provides the list of how the squads are broken up.
Group 1 offense – Quarterbacks Bill Stull, Greg Cross, Tino Sunseri; tailbacks LeSean McCoy, Kevin Collier and Chris Burns; fullback Conredge Collins; split ends Cedric McGee and Oderick Turner; flankers Derek Kinder, T.J. Porter and Austin Ransom; tight ends Nate Byham and John Pelusi; left tackles Jordan Gibbs and Chase Clowser; left guards C.J. Davis and Lucas Nix; centers Robb Houser and Jared Martin; right guards John Malecki and Jacobson; and right tackles Joe Thomas and Frank Kochin.
Group 1 defense – Left ends Doug Fulmer and Jabaal Sheard; nose tackles Gus Mustakas and Mick Williams; defensive tackles Rashaad Duncan and Tommie Duhart and right end Greg Romeus; strong-side linebackers Adam Gunn, Greg Williams and Brian Kaiser; middle linebackers Scott McKillop and Steve Dell; weak-side linebackers Shane Murray and Nate Nix; boundary cornerbacks Jovani Chappel and Ronald Hobby; field cornerbacks Aaron Berry and Holley; strong safeties Dom DeCicco and Mike Toerper; and free safeties Eric Thatcher and Andrew Taglianetti.
Group 2 offense – Quarterbacks Pat Bostick, Kevan Smith and Andrew Janocko; tailbacks LaRod Stephens-Howling and Shariff Harris; fullbacks Henry Hynoski and Chris Bova; split ends Aundre Wright, Baldwin and Caleb Wilson; flankers Aaron Smith, Mike Shanahan and Cameron Saddler; tight ends Dorin Dickerson, Mike Cruz and Justin Virbitsky; left tackles Greg Gaskins and Ryan Turnley; left guards Dom Williams and Josh Novotny; centers Alex Karabin and Wayne Jones; right guards John Bachman and John Fieger; and right tackles Jason Pinkston and Dan Matha.
Group 2 defense – Left ends Tony Tucker and Justin Hargrove; nose tackles Myles Caragein and Keith Coleman; defensive tackles Craig Bokor and Chas Alexcih; right ends Tyler Tkach and Scott Corson; strong-side linebackers Brandon Lindsey, Joe Trebitz and Jon Taglianetti; middle linebackers Max Gruder and Shayne Hale; weak-side linebackers Tristan Roberts and Manny Williams; boundary corners Buddy Jackson and Danny Cafaro; field corner Ricky Gary; strong safeties Elijah Fields, Antwuan Reed and Justin Edwards and free safeties Irvan Brown, Scott Shrake and Marco Pecora.
This, of course, is all subject to change on a daily basis.
But those groupings generate some interesting thoughts. For one, a message is being sent to Jason Pinkston that nothing is going to be handed to him.
Another is that Pitt coaches placed players in direct competition for a position in the same groupings, with a few exceptions: Pinkston and Thomas at right tackle, Chappel and Jackson at boundary corner and DeCicco and Fields at strong safety. That Pinkston is competing for the starting job at right tackle (instead of the left side) and working in the afternoon session is either a sign of the coaching staff’s dissatisfaction with his work ethic or that it really likes Gibbs.
Maybe both.
Pinkston was rumored to be involved in an incident over the summer. There was never anything more reported. Not sure if that played into the way Pinkston is being placed in the competition. As an additional message.
The direct competition for several positions is not a surprise. That was a key thing to watch heading into training camp.
The biggest positional battles as just about everyone who follows Pitt football knows will be on the O-line. I mean, outside of Robb Houser at Center, I’m just not sure who will start and where. I’m not the only one as Paul Zeise observes in his intro to this year’s set of daily Q&A’s.
Simple, because the first rule of football is you are only as good as your offensive line and there are so many questions about this offensive line that it makes no sense right now to try and get into the predictions business. The line could be anywhere from great to very mediocre — and not surprisingly when people ask me for my predictions about the team I say the same thing — I could make a case for 5-7 just as easily as 10-2.
That’s why the position battles that matter most — and that you’ll read about most — are all on the offensive line — and mostly at tackle. I think that by the time the season starts, the two starting tackles will be Jason Pinkston and Joe Thomas but Pinkston is clearly going to have earn it as he has started second team on the depth chart behind Jordan Gibbs and Thomas.
Also, Lucas Nix and Chris Jacobson will both try to work their way onto the two-deep at guard, which should be fun to watch given how highly both were regarded as prospects.
An underrated storyline on the O-line depth chart, but one I’ll be banging the drum over, is who will end up being second on the depth chart at center. That just looms as a terrifying issue.
