I always enjoy a good puff piece, but I found it odd that the AP essentially re-ran the Dorsett-McCoy story that dates back to April. It looks like some new quotes added from Dorsett, but it’s the same story.

Tony DeFazio of Pittsburgh Sports Report had a longish piece about Pitt and rising to meet expectations this year.

Does he feel any pressure to win in his fourth season at Pitt?

“There’s a sense of urgency, yeah, but I wouldn’t say pressure,” he says. “Pressure is something you feel when you don’t know what the heck you’re doing. We know what we’ve got to do in order to win. There’s a sense of urgency, though, to get it done.”

Cavanaugh is more direct.

“There better be,” he said. “We’ve been a .500 football team for three years and that’s not anywhere near acceptable. Every player, every coach, everybody in the equipment room, training room and weight room better feel a hunger to win, and an urgency to win.”

“We had five wins last year. We weren’t good enough,” said Wannstedt. “I think we’ve got enough talent to win, but we have to go out and get it done. We’ve got to prove it.”

That’s the issue. No one is doubting the talent on the team almost anywhere. The doubts are about the guy who gathered them.

I was surprised that someone would go back to the well on punter Dave Brytus’ involvement with MMA. Even with it getting mainstreamed in 2008. Even more surprised that Gene Collier at the P-G would be the guy to do it.

“UFC is like the NFL of MMA,” Brytus said acronymically. “The top guys in UFC are getting six-figure salaries, but, obviously, you could do better in the NFL.”

In the NFL, you can casually wander the sidelines most of the week, learning stupid punter tricks such as throwing the ball to the grass and making it bounce back into your throwing hand (no known application), then actually kicking a few times on Sundays and occasionally being called on to make a tackle, which Brytus would love.

In UCF, you train exhaustively and more or less constantly for the opportunity to enter a caged octagon against a single opponent carrying payloads of excess testosterone and who knows what else.

“Football’s better for a career, I guess,” Brytus said. “It’d certainly be better as far as my parents are concerned. My mom’s not a big fan of MMA, but you know, if I have to take a couple of punches to the head to make some money, so be it.”

The only problem with that plan is if you take too many blows to the head, you forget whether you got paid or not.

SI.com has their photo gallery countdown of the top-10 players in the Big East. Scott McKillop is #7 and LeSean McCoy #2.

I have to do a little more on this for FanHouse at some point soon, but I am amused by the new replay rule with the Big East.

There is a new “clause” in the officiating manuals about the types of plays that are reviewable through instant replay. It states that while only certain plays are reviewable, the replay official has the discretion to “correct egregious errors,” including plays involving fouls that are not specifically reviewable.

I’m taking that to mean, like when they really screw it up on the field and ESPN commentators are hammering them for it (like the fair catch signal the refs missed in the UConn-Louisville game).

Please don’t turn this into gratuitous Walt Harris bashing, but it looks like he is doing some work with Ohio State.

The rumor mill has former Pittsburgh and Stanford coach Walt Harris, a former Ohio State quarterbacks coach, hanging around Buckeyes practices, presumably as a precursor to him joining the coaching staff or serving as a consultant.

An OSU spokeswoman said Harris was in town in July for an alumni golf tournament, but she said she regularly attends practice and hasn’t seen Harris since.

It’s been rumored for some time that Harris was looking to get back into coaching.

Some may call it a double-standard, or some sort of unfair treatment. Really, it just makes sense even if Coach Wannstedt won’t admit directly that he is trying to protect the first teamers from too much wear and risk of injury.

Although Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt was steadfast in saying he won’t lighten up their camp to prevent injuries, the Panthers are taking preventive measures to protect some players. LaRod Stephens-Howling, for example, has ceded second-team reps to Shariff Harris and Chris Burns some days.

After banging their shoulders Wednesday, tight end Nate Byham and weak-side linebacker Shane Murray returned to practice this morning.

Receiver Cedric McGee, however, injured his left ankle in practice and had to be carted off. McGee made a nice one-handed catch during drills.

A half-dozen others spent time on the stationary bikes or pulling a weighted sled, including tailback Kevin Collier, safety Irv Brown, tackle Ryan Turnley, cornerback Buddy Jackson and tight end John Pelusi.

You know guys like Collier, Jackson and Pelusi definitely don’t want to be unable to practice. They are falling further on the depth chart when they can’t show how they match up talent-wise. More importantly for Pitt’s coaching staff, the injured players can’t show or get the reps in the system so that they won’t make mistakes.

The guys who are starters and/or know the system, however, are in a different place. Middle Linebacker Scott McKillop doesn’t see much action in camp. Which is good since he rarely misses much of it in the actual games.

“I only got to play like 12 plays,” McKillop said, shaking his head. “And, on one, I missed that tackle, it bothers me because I should have made it.”

McKillop, the Panthers’ All-American middle linebacker, isn’t perfect, but that little post-scrimmage exchange offers a good indication that perfection is what the fifth-year senior strives to achieve. That drive is a major reason he went from a little-known reserve to one of the nation’s best defenders in one season.

“There is a right way to do things and a wrong way,” McKillop said. “I have just always believed that, no matter what I have done — you do things the right way, you do them the way they’re supposed to be done and you work hard until they are perfect. And in sports there is no such thing as perfect, you can always be better, you can always improve and you can always learn something, every single day.

“That’s why I was so frustrated the other day after that scrimmage. I understand why I am playing limited plays. Coaches talked to me about it, and they are right — we don’t need me to get injured in camp. But, at the same time, it goes against my nature to sit out, and I don’t like it. I feel like every play, every rep in drills, is an opportunity to get better and I’m missing out on those chances to improve myself.”

Love the work ethic. Stay on the sidelines. Stay healthy.

Of course another good reason for McKillop to get less work, is so the guys behind him can learn.

In fact, none of the six players battling for the three backup spots — redshirt freshmen Greg Williams, Max Gruder, Tristan Roberts and Brandon Lindsey, redshirt sophomore Nate Nix and redshirt junior Steve Dell — has started a game. That group has logged a total of 26 games — and 17 of those appearances have been by Dell, mostly in special-teams roles.

And that doesn’t even include the two true freshmen — Gateway graduate Shayne Hale and Clairton graduate Manny Williams — who are more than likely headed for redshirts but could work their way onto the two-deep spot at some point this season.

Pitt linebacker’s coach Joe Tumpkin has his work cut out in trying to sort out the depth chart as well as trying to get enough of the reserves ready to play so that the starters — seniors Adam Gunn and Scott McKillop and redshirt junior Shane Murray — are able to get some rest in games.

Nate Byham may be being pushed at TE by Dickerson more than we realize if he was back out there on Thursday.

After recovering from a left knee injury he suffered last season, the Franklin native dislocated his right shoulder during practice Wednesday.

“It will be all right,” Byham said during a phone interview.

A John Mackey Award preseason candidate for the nation’s best tight end, Byham said he was injured while pass-blocking in practice.

“I was taking on a bull rush and when I punched out, it kind of popped out to the side a little bit,” Byham said. “It went right back in. It’s all right now.”

You know. Rub some dirt on it. Walk it off. It’ll be fine.

Other than blocking schemes, I’m not sure how much time Pelusi will see this year. Dickerson seems to be thriving at the TE spot.

Q: I’ve not read much on Dorin Dickerson lately. Does he look to have a solid future at TE? Any regrets on his part for coming to Pitt. I think they’ve misused him to a certain degree.

ZEISE: Dorin is doing very well. I think he’s found a home at tight end. He is obviously very good at catching passes and running after the catch. It has taken him a little longer than a lot of people thought it should take, but a lot of that wasn’t fair. He got hurt his first year and last year was learning a totally new position. He seems to be very happy at Pitt and he also seems to be happy in his new role. It won’t shock me if he leads the tight ends in receptions.

In Gorman’s blog/practice notes from yesterday’s afternoon session, this was the bit I really liked reading.

Speaking of Kinder, he’s starting to look like himself again.

Kinder has shown some speed in camp this week, and it looks like it just might be a matter of him trusting his knee.

“I don’t know if he got more work, but he got more balls thrown to him today,” Wannstedt said. “So far, so good. He’s coming on. Saturday will be another stepping stone for him, and we’ll keep progressing until opening day.”

It also seems that the coaches are tinkering with the O-line regarding the depth chart. It may be just to give reps in different combos or it could be that some players have made more progress.

Left guard C.J. Davis missed the afternoon session, and was replaced on the first-team offense by fifth-year senior Dom Williams. Redshirt freshman John Fieger moved to the second-team offense at left guard.

It’s possible that Williams is ahead of redshirt freshman Chris Jacobson for the job as the “swing” guard, or first guard off the bench. Or it could be a troubling sign for redshirt junior John Bachman, who started three games at right guard last season but has been running with the third-team, behind starter John Malecki and Jacobson.

Then again, maybe Pitt is feeling like it has enough depth to elevate the backups at each position in case of an injury. If that’s the case, Williams would step in for Davis and Jacobson for Malecki, but Bachman would be buried on the depth chart.

Unfortunately for Bachman, I think he is getting passed on the depth chart.

Finally, with a couple ACL tears this week, there’s the usual concern and questions regarding why. The sad thing is, this is no longer an uncommon thing in college football training camp. It seems rare that any training camp goes by without at least one player having an ACL tear. Whether it is the non-stop conditioning of players in the modern era and the improved equipment — such as cleats that hold to the turf better rather then giving a bit on a hard plant and pivot. They just happen.

Coach Wannstedt wants you to know that the team’s overall physical condition is excellent.

On the condition of his team halfway through camp:

“To run as much as we did after two practices today at this point, I think that’s an indication they’re in great shape. I think everyone knows the great job that Buddy Morris and James Smith do, it makes a difference. I think a lot of teams come to camp to get in shape for the season; we come to camp to get ready for the season — not to get in shape — but to get ready. We’re one step beyond that.”

Honestly, no 1-A BCS program comes to camp to get in shape anymore. Not a one. Well… maybe Duke.