Okay, blogger cultural exchange time. It’s been a while since we had one of these. Bowling Green may be in the MAC. They may have a stadium that seats 24,000 (115th out of 119 1-A). That doesn’t mean they don’t have passion and pride. Bowling Green these days is known as the place where Florida coach Urban Meyer got his first HC gig. Greg Brandon took over after Meyer and is still there entering year 6. BGSU is expected to be one of the top teams in the MAC and, um, they actually went to a bowl last year.

So, Orange, the proprietor of Falcon Blog and I exchanged questions and and answers ahead of this week’s season opener. You can see my answers to his questions, here.

1. The GMAC Bowl — 63-7 (loss to Tulsa)? What the hell happened? It wasn’t just 44 days off, what happened to the offense? I know the defense was iffy last year, but geez. I assume the team and coaches are using that as motivation for this year, but is there a fear of a hangover or carryover for that? In general, how’s the mindset of the team?

Ah, yeah, ahem, cough cough. Loosen collar. About that. Certainly, not our proudest day, that’s for sure. In fact, it was one of the worst defeats we’ve ever had, and it was in a bowl game. To answer your question more specifically….what the hell happened? Well, we just came out as flat as I have ever seen us. I think we turned the ball over four times in the first quarter, and then our starting QB got injured, and Tulsa kept its foot on the gas pedal the whole way and our guys are done, and you mix all that together, and you have a debacle.

I think that everyone associated with the program would like to make it to a bowl game and erase that memory. But, I don’t think it is weighing on their minds. The whole thing had a Playstation feel to it, and we know we weren’t that bad, and it was so one-sided its easy to recognize it as an aberration. I’m not personally worried about a hangover. I think our guys are ready to bounce back.

2. You have 9 starters returning on defense (at least, according to Phil Steele). At the same time, the defense has allowed more scoring each year under Greg Brandon. Is there pressure on 2nd year DC Mike Ward to get this fixed? Will the defense actually be improved this year and how? Which players on defense do you see poised to be playmakers?

Most of the pressure on this year’s team is to win a MAC Championship, which has not happened here in 14 seasons, and not at all in the Meyer/Brandon era, despite having some pretty good teams. I don’t think the pressure is any more than that. In fact, if there was recent pressure on anything, it would be to bring special teams around, but that’s another story. Coach says the defense is looking improved, with improved playmaking. Most Falcon fans would be happy to see some tackling. We have been very poor at stopping the run, which is a problem in college football. Supposedly, we are going to benefit from the seasoning these players got two seasons ago when they were rushed into action to fill a hole in our recruiting. We’ll see. I have my doubts.

On the plus side, almost no one plays D in the MAC, and if we can move the ball, then we can still win a championship.

Furthermore, our defensive line–already thin–has been weakened further by, well, legal problems you have noted below. We also lost a really good young LB to grades.

Our playmakers are our CBs, Antonio Smith and Kenny Lewis, our LBs John Haneline and Erique Dozier, DE Diryal Briggs (pash rusher) and S PJ Mahone (pass stealer).

3. On paper it looks like BG uses a two back system with Turner (6-2 227 pounds) being the power back and Geter (5-7 167) coming in as the change-of-pace or small speedy back. Is this accurate and how effective will they be with the offensive line being the most inexperienced unit on the team? How much of a concern is the offensive line, generally?

Actually, the last word is that Turner has been moved to WR, where he may or may not even be on the two-deep. His time at RB came last year only because Geter was injured, Bullock was unproductive, and we needed to establish the run. And, he helped to salvage our season. Now that Geter is back, he was moved to WR. (At the time the decision was made, Eric Ransom, a JUCO RB was also around, but he is injured again). I think we were all suprised that Turner was moved and asked to learn a new position at this point in his career. So, as of now, the rotation appears to be Geter as the main back, Bullock between the tackles, and Turner as “slash” type (know you get that one) back who is dangerous in numerous ways, even as a passer (he was recruited at QB).

The offensive line is a huge concern. We graduated some really good players, and we have young players coming in. They seem to have potential, but they are young. And, the line has been an unwavering constant during the entire Meyer/Brandon period. Our hope is that by spreading people out, throwing the ball quickly, and then running to the gaps that are created, we can neutralize this until the line gels.

4. Greg Brandon’s been at BG for the past 5 years and only 1 losing record after following Urban Meyer. To an outsider, the Falcons seemed to have been rebuilding the last few years. Is that an accurate statement? What are the expectations like for BG this year? And is there concern (or hope) that Brandon will move on from BG with a strong season?

The expectations are high. They are not as high as they were at the end of last season, due to things like Tulsa, losing a top LB, and the loss of D-line depth. Still, most observers pick BG to win their division. And Falcon fans are pretty much expecting the same thing. Because, to our perspective, we have been close to winning–not rebuilding–for the past few years. For example, Meyer left a really good team, and BG won the division and lost the MAC Championship on our field to a Big-Ben led Miami team. The next team was also very strong and underachieved a little, but won the GMAC Bowl. The team the following year, well, that team was a tragedy, lots of talent and underperforming a lot. The following year we were poor, and then last year we were better. I think we would only view that season two years ago as a rebuidling year. The rest have been years when our teams have been strong and good enough to win our division, at least.

If Brandon wins enough, it is inevitable he will move on. He just signed a contract extension last year, which he earned. However, those are one-sided deals, and I’m sure he has a buy-out in there that would be loose change to a bigger school. Falcon fans have the same feelings about Brandon that most teams have about their coach–highly ambivalent, and generally unfairly disdainful. My opinion is that he is a good coach and we could easily do worse. If he does end up making a career here at BG, then I think he is capable of winning the MAC.

5. Which players should Pitt fans be paying special attention in the orange and brown? Why?

We’ve covered a number of players above. On offense, WR Corey Partridge is probably our best skill player, when healthy. I have not seen anyone cover him consistently. Also, WR Freddie Barnes had a quiet 82 catches last season. Our KR Roger Williams is the first decent KO returner we have had in years, and our kicker Srinisi Vrvilio has shored up was what a disasterous postion. Finally, just to repeat one, PJ Mahone, who was an all-state RB in Elyria, has a spooky knack for making interceptions.

6. Extra question, Orlando Ray Barrow. Huh?

Three armed males entered an apartment at the Enclave Two on June 2 and demanded the residents give them marijuana.

The three residents, who all were international students, replied they had no drugs.

The armed males continued to search the house, but nothing was reported stolen.

University student and football player Orlando Ray Barrow was arrested for aggravated burglary and abduction in relation to the robbery.

He was found with an airsoft gun in his possession.

Uh, yeah. Not a proud day for our program. No one wants to see that. If the allegations end up being true, we’ll all certainly be very disappointed. All I can say is that our program handled the situation the right way and that’s good. We had a tough off-season for this type of thing, and all Falcon fans certainly hope we are not compromising the pride of our program to get players.

Thanks again to Orange. He will be coming to the ‘Burgh with his son to see the game this weekend. A spirit of support and a painful morning drive that shows the kind of loyalty you have to respect. If you see a father and son walking around in orange and brown, be nice.

Sorry, back to school day for the kid. Re-adjusting the schedule, and all the fun stuff. Hence, the lack of any posting.

Last week Scott McKillop did a chat on ESPN.com.

Mike (Pittsburgh): Scott, could this defense end up the best in the country? Can it be good enough to win the Big East?

Scott McKillop: That is my goal and our coaches’ and the players’ goals. In order for us to go from being a good defense to a great defense we need to be up there in every single category. Last year we did well in yards per game, but we have to create more turnovers and three and outs. We have to put our offense in great positions on the field so they can score more easily; that is what makes a great defense.

…

Wes (Pittsburgh, PA): We’ve heard so many great things on the defensive end of the ball, but how is the offense looking so far in practice? Are they pushing you guys to improve as much as you’re pushing them?

Scott McKillop: Yes, the first few practices we had the upper hand up front, but as camp went on the offense made some very big strides. And when we face great RBs like McCoy and Stephens-Howling who are great athletes it forces you to bring your A game.

McKillop was also named to the Sports Illustrated All-American team.

The game notes should come out later today. The depth chart will be eagerly anticipated and scrutinize I’m sure. Specifically at weakside linebacker and right guard.

Lucas Nix is increasingly getting the attention as it is clear he will be playing, not redshirting, in his freshman year. In a way, it’s a little disappointing he can’t redshirt. Just because he actually seems to be willing because he does understand what he still needs to do.

“I’m ready from the standpoint of getting out there and getting after it,” Nix said. “I’d like to spend an extra year in the weightroom before I get out there. It would probably help me a lot. But if they’re relying on me, and they have expectations …”

…

When Thomas struggled against sophomore defensive end Jabaal Sheard in Monday’s practice, Wannstedt sent a message by inserting Nix into the lineup with the first-team offense. What was supposed to be a wake-up call for Thomas turned into an eye-opener for Nix, as well, when Sheard beat him with a swim move for a sack on the first snap.

“It was always a goal for me — to compete in here for a starting spot and, hopefully, get it one day,” Nix said. “To get reps with the first team was not what I expected. But it’s what I’m working for, and I’m getting closer to it.

“There’s a lot more speed on the defense. … You realize where you need to be and how much better you need to get.”

Wise believes Nix is showing signs of progress and likes what he sees from a competitive standpoint. It’s clear the Panthers are counting on Nix to contribute.

It will be a shock if Joe Thomas isn’t the starting guard right tackle for the opening game. He came into training camp with a leaner look, and by all accounts took the off-season conditioning seriously. So, that isn’t an issue. It’s now about his technique and desire.

Desire mainly at this point. He never seems to have gotten past the point where he was just bigger and better than others in high school. It’s not an uncommon thing, but then not tapping that potential is all mental.

The other big question everyone is waiting to see is the Will Linebacker. Will Shane Murray be healthy or a game-day decision? Is it going to be Austin Ransom moving into the starting spot. Will Tristan Roberts or Nate Nix finally nail it down?

The question, though (in this case, asked of P-G beat writer Paul Zeise), has been why Austin Ransom at all?

Q: How can Austin Ransom be thrown into being a starting LB when guys such as Nate Nix or Tristan Roberts are around and have been playing the position longer? Nix is a guy who is in his third year and I am wondering why he has not gotten an opportunity?

ZEISE: Nate Nix has had plenty of opportunity, he’s just yet to seize any of them. And Tristan Roberts had a fantastic spring but has actually probably regressed some. Coaches believe that Ransom, who is a fifth-year senior, is a quicker study and a better and smarter football player than any alternative they have right now so they are going to give him a shot. Those young guys at that spot have talent and are going to be good, but Wannstedt and company are just not sure they are ready to play yet. Ransom has been around for a long time and he is better in pass coverage than the other alternatives at that spot.

Again, it seems to be coming back to the mental aspect.

“We’re trying to force-feed him a little bit and see where he’s at mentally,” Wannstedt said. “With Shane being out today, it will be (Ransom) and Tristan working (at weak-side linebacker).”
…
I get the impression that the Pitt coaches were aware of what they had in Nix and Dell and gave the four redshirt freshmen – Max Gruder, Brandon Lindsey, Roberts and Greg Williams – as many reps as possible to prove themselves.

“It wasn’t the clear separation with those guys that you thought there would be,” Wannstedt said, which explains why the upperclassmen might get the nod as the backups.

My take is that Lindsey had the best camp of the four redshirt freshmen, but it’s possible that the backup linebackers will be Dell in the middle, Ransom at weak-side and Nix at strong-side.

That was from Kevin Gorman the Trib beat writer. Taking the two together, it suggests that Nix might fit better to the Pitt coaches at the Sam rather than Will. Roberts took a step back in camp which may be a mental thing about making the leap to really being counted on to play. And on top of that possibly starting if Murray’s out.

Of I could just be guilty of trying to jam an overarching theme into a post to tie everything into a nice neat package. Overlaying my own views and interest in creating a post/article without a clear grasp of the facts. Hmm. Troubling thoughts.

Let’s start things off with the annual, “Western Pennsylvania high school talent is still awesome” story that is expected as high school football is getting underway (at least it has already in Ohio).

High school football returns Friday night, when bright stadium lights signal the start of a new season.

According to WPIAL veteran coaches such as Art Walker Sr., the lights also illuminate the pride associated with the teams.

“High school football here is unique,” said Walker, who won five WPIAL championships at Mt. Lebanon and one at Shady Side Academy during his head-coaching career. “And I’m not even sure it can be explained.”

Exactly where Pennsylvania ranks among top recruiting hotspots such as Florida, California, Texas, Louisiana, Ohio and Georgia, is open to debate.

“We’re probably sixth in the country,” said Earl Ceh, a former head coach at Bellevue, Fox Chapel and North Hills. “But we sure have a lot of great talent.”

With a lot of the top talent in Western PA either already committed elsewhere (Dorian Bell) or taking their time on a decision (Dan Mason), there are other players that are waiting or hoping to get an offer.

Monte Ashby at East Allegheny is a running back in the LaRod Stephens-Howling mode looking to get noticed. For attention, I guess, the article tries to make the comaprison to Noel Devine but he just doesn’t have that kind of speed.

Ashby said he’s been contacted by about 15 Division I football programs, including Pitt and Temple, but he hasn’t received any major scholarship offers yet.

“This will be a big season for me, and I’m really looking forward to it,” he said.

Edwards said it’s tempting to keep coming up with new ways to use Ashby in the Wildcats’ offense.

He’s around 5-8 and 165-170 pounds. Scout.com gives him 2-stars and Rivals.com has him unstarred. ESPN.com/Scouts, Inc. has a slightly mixed but generally positive review of his potential (Insider subs).

With that said, Ashby’s smooth movement skills and great elusiveness could create good mismatches in space if he lands in a spread offense. Good change-of-pace runner and a definite sleeper in this running back class. Needs to continue polishing up his receiving skills to offer scat-back potential.

Now, this offensive lineman has offers from UConn, Minnesota, UCF and Temple but is looking for a bigger program and closer to home.

Bishop Carroll offensive guard Steve Greene made a name for himself last season when he was named to The Associated Press Class A First Team all-state football team.

…

“Right now it’s pretty open. I still have a lot of time to decide,” Greene said. “I don’t want to rush my decision. I just want to make sure I make the right choice. I’m hoping that early in the season I can perform well and get a couple more scholarship offers. I’m hoping somebody closer like Pitt, Maryland or Virginia [makes an offer].”

When college coaches are looking at video of Greene, they see a strong, dominating and no frills lineman who will dominate most of the time.

“He’s just a pure brute blocker,” [Bishop Carroll coach Craig] Sponsky said. “He’s an old-school tough kid. He certainly needs some work technique-wise. He knows that. He wants to improve. He’s a solid kid who wants to improve.”

Both Scout.com and Rivals.com has him as a 3-star offensive guard. Nationally, Scout.com lists him as the 46th best OG and Rivals puts him at #40. Bob Lichtenfels at Scout.com ranks him as the 33d best recruit in Pennsylvania. Rivals.com puts him preseason in PA at #17. While PantherLair says #38. ESPN/Scouts, Inc. likes him well enough as an average to slightly above average offensive lineman.

Greene is a dependable offensive guard that plays hard. He is a little undersized but should grow and become stronger by the time he is a freshman in college. Consistent with footwork; rarely oversteps on the base block. Gets off the ball quickly and gets good body position on the defender but needs to play more physical. … Needs to kick step back with more urgency in order to get into power position in case of the bull rush and to pick up stunts. Greene can develop into a solid offensive guard if he plays more physical.

It has to be assumed that some of the college coaches are waiting to see something else if Pitt, Maryland and Virginia are only showing interest but not offering yet.

Meanwhile, a couple high school kids who have committed to Pitt are looking for big years to prove things.

With only five career receptions at Liberty High School and a scholarship to play collegiately at the University of Pittsburgh, Devin Street feels like he has some questions to answer this season.

“Definitely, I have something to prove,” Street, the supremely-talented Hurricanes senior, said.

“No one has really seen me play yet and they wonder how I got the scholarship offer. I’ve gotten some negative comments … it’s a little frustrating. But I plan on showing everybody what I can do.”

The 6-foot-4, 180-pounder is a workout warrior. He ran a 4.4 40-yard dash at Pittsburgh’s football camp earlier this summer and impressed the Panthers’ coaches enough to earn a scholarship offer, even with the modest statistics and the limited playing time at wideout. Street accepted almost immediately with a verbal commitment.

“No, I wasn’t surprised they offered,” he said. “I had a lot of other offers — Rutgers, Boston College, Connecticut and North Carolina State. The Pitt coaches didn’t care about stats or ratings or rankings; they know I can play.”

And locally, Will Clarke is excited for this year and having a scholarship taken care of.

The senior has been more aggressive than in past seasons. In fact, the coach said he actually was fearful that Clarke might hurt himself while flying around the ball during Oklahoma drills at the start of camp.

But there is another major difference with Clarke, and it’s actually a good thing. He will spend his college years playing football at a Division I university.

Clarke verbally committed to Pitt, and he is expected to become the first Allderdice football player to play for a BCS school since former Pitt and NFL great Curtis Martin (1991-94).

Also a tight end, Clarke is rated by Rivals.com as a two-star recruit, but his coach thinks he’s only getting better.

“He’s coming off of the ball quicker this camp,” Schmidt said. “He’s shedding blocks better than he has in the past. I think he’s having an excellent camp. We’re really impressed.”

With less than a week to go, everybody at every levelis ready for football.

For those of you not planning to actually be at the game, it airs on ESPNU at noon this Saturday.

Awful Announcing has the crews working on this Saturday. It looks like Dave “wow” Armstrong and Larry Coker.

Additional useless information is that Armstrong has a book to push and for only $4500 he will speak at your corporate function.

Larry Coker has a wikipedia page and  his video from 2002 where the then Miami Hurricane coach “shares examples of how sportsmanship is taught in his program” is marked down to $9.99 — as is an autographed picture of Coker.

Former Pitt QB Rod Rutherford, who has been bouncing around minor arena football league programs is now looking into coaching. He did a part-time assistant thing with Pitt last year. This year it’s at D-III St. Vincent’s College in Latrobe, PA — coaching the secondary.

“I’m brushing up on the coverages,” Rutherford said with a laugh. “Football is football, no matter what the level and no matter what position you play. I feel that I have a good sense of what (defensive backs) are thinking, having played quarterback and seeing their reactions so often. I just need to understand it through their eyes.”

Rutherford’s career path carried him through short stints with the Carolina Panthers and Steelers, plus NFL Europe and the American Indoor Football Association.

Now, after a year as a part-time assistant on Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt’s staff, Rutherford is taking serious the idea of coaching football.

“I tried a number of things. I tried office jobs. That’s not for me,” he said. “I’m a football guy.”

I hope he does well. I also hope he banked a lot of the minimum salary he earned in the NFL. It’s going to be some time before he reaches that level of salary. On the plus side, he is doing something he likes and wants to do.

Clint Session, now of the Indianapolis Colts, has attracted a lot of attention in exhibition NFL season. He was moved to strong-side linebacker and is the starter there until October.

Session is a 6-0, 235-pound bundle of energy who has a knack for making things happen. The key, coaches say, is to harness the aggression, stay within the defensive scheme, generate positive plays and limit the mistakes.

Dungy was impressed that Session was able to shake off the early mistake and make better use of his aggressive nature.

“He comes back and he’ll run through and make a tackle in the backfield, chase some things down and (produce) blow-up hits,” Dungy said. “We’ve got to channel that in the right way.

“He had plays that you would notice in a game. There were highlight-film plays for one team or the other, so we are just working to make sure there are more highlight plays for us.”

It was pointed out earlier this week, but, yeah, that’s real familiar.

Q: When is homerism good?

A: When it’s your guy who is being the homer.

Give the WWLS some credit for finally grasping that they should let the video clips be embeddable. Now if only they would cut a deal with RedLasso.

A couple previews. Lindy’s has their preview of Pitt online. They placed Pitt #23 and the preview was written by Paul Zeise.

This should be the season in which Wannstedt’s recruiting prowess finally pays off. It is hard to imagine this team won’t get to at least eight wins and a bowl game. And given how strong the defense should be, if the offense comes together quickly, the Panthers could challenge for the Big East title.

As for which ones on the schedule will be the wins and which the losses, well, he’ll never say.

Q: I think that this years Pitt schedule is filled with some tough and tricky games and below I list some very possible losses. I mean, as many as five — how do you feel about games against Navy, Notre Dame, West Virginia, UConn and South Florida?

ZEISE: Pitt could lose any of those five games, as well as games against Iowa, Louisville, Rutgers and Cincinnati. The only three games Pitt should definitely win are Bowling Green, Buffalo and Syracuse. The other nine games will come down to how well Pitt plays, executes, and minimizes mistakes. But on the flip side, I don’t see a game on the schedule that Pitt can’t win, either. Sure WVU and South Florida will be tough but neither of those teams are so much better than Pitt that the Panthers can’t beat them. This is one of those years where you really don’t know how good this team is until it starts playing games.

I think that the Pitt team motto this season of “prove it,” which was suggested by Coach Wannstedt, is as much a daily reminder for him. More than the players, there’s a lot on him to prove as the head coach.

Well, Mark May has faith.

“I think it is very clear this program is on the rise and Dave has it headed in the right direction,” May said. “I am very happy the administration stuck by him and has shown some patience because more often than not, that isn’t the case. Coaches who come in usually have a mess to clean up and by the time they are done straightening it out, they’ve had a few losing seasons and they are fired.

“But if you look at this situation, Dave has recruited extremely well, he’s built a great base of talent, that talent is starting to mature and, more importantly, he is bringing in the right kinds of players. Kids that work hard, are good students and don’t embarrass the university. This thing is being built for the long haul.”

The AP top-25 has Pitt at #25, so long-time Pittsburgh AP writer Alan Robinson has the AP preview. The story starts with the end of last season (of course) and again the issue of proving it wasn’t a fluke. The theme, though is on the players McKillop and McCoy.

The underpinnings of an excellent offense, defense and special teams are there. So are the Big Macs, McCoy and defensive star Scott McKillop.

This can’t be stressed enough it seems. This is the year for Wannstedt to prove things.

Wannstedt, in his fourth year, has posted an underwhelming 13-19 record against I-A competition (16-19 overall) and has yet to take Pitt to a bowl game (The Panthers had been to five bowl games in a row before his arrival). He has recruited well and has been a great ambassador for the program. He now has most of his talent in place and that means finding a way to consistently win games.

That as much as anything else is what we keep coming back to with Pitt. It’s now on Coach Wannstedt to do something. The administration is behind him. The fans are still with him. The talent is there. Expectations are not outsized, but there is lots of optimism.

8-4 is the level of “meets expectations” in this season. He can’t underachieve this year. Not by a game. That would be unacceptable at this point.

Too many times in the first 3 seasons there were games right there for Pitt that the team just couldn’t get it done. Ohio and even Nebraska in ’05. Rutgers and UConn in ’06. Michigan State, Louisville and Navy last year (I won’t count Rutgers since that was as much bad officiating as anything else). 7 games going the wrong way in those three years. Only one offset, and however big that WVU win is and was, it was still just 1 game.

It’s time to start meeting those expectations.

Akron senior Kent St. redshirt junior Eugene Jarvis, as the leading returning rusher in college football, will get some love. He is this year’s Garrett Wolfe (remember the diminutive NIU back?). There will be the inevitable stories that mentions his recruiting.

Angry at Pitt for giving his scholarship to a bigger running back. Angry at West Virginia for going in another direction. Angry at every coach that took one look at him and decided the 5-foot-5, 170-pound sparkplug was too small to play major college football.

So, every time Jarvis steps onto the field he runs with a purpose to show what everyone but Kent State missed out on.

“I’ve been criticized about my size my whole life pretty much,” said Jarvis, a junior with the Golden Flashes. “Coming from high school to college that was always a big issue in recruiting. I had a lot of coaches that backed off me because of my size. At the same time, I just use that as motivation. Every game I go out with a chip on my shoulder trying to prove people wrong.”

That’s good. He plays angry. It works for him. It’s a common motivator. In college, it’s the teams that passed on you. In the pros, it’s all those who were drafted ahead.

Just to recap, though, as I recall why Pitt pulled his scholarship offer (and it was just an offer, Jarvis hadn’t given a verbal). Part of it was Jarvis’ own hubris. He had an early offer from Pitt, but was convinced he was going to get a lot more offers to pick and choose. Those offers never materialized, and Jarvis quickly found out that he didn’t have the leverage or reputation he thought he had to make teams wait on his decision.

Pitt got two verbals early from RBs LaRod Stephens (he hadn’t added the -Howling at that point) and Irv Brown (now a safety). While the offer was pulled after Brown committed, it was Stephens’ verbal that was the main reason. Both Jarvis and Stephens were similar in size and build (though, Stephens is about 2 inches taller). Stephens heard and actually listened to the Pitt coaches and his own about not taking too long to make a decision.

Jarvis also had academic concerns that added into teams backing away from him (which Stephens didn’t have), in addition to being a little too convinced of his own greatness.

Now is the time to remember that Jarvis is 5-foot-6, 165 pounds. That his academic standing — he claims to be qualified for freshman eligibility — is in question. And that he made some comments last spring that irked Pitt’s staff.

When a Pitt fan-based Internet recruiting site asked Jarvis about the Panthers, he said something to the effect of knowing that at least he can play Division I football.

At the time, it sounded like he was making the Panthers an afterthought, a fallback plan if bigger and better schools didn’t come through.

I don’t have the link to that article, but yes. Yes it did. I remember at the time, not wanting Pitt to waste any more time on the kid.

The other amusing thing about the latter article is how fawning Kevin Gorman was over Jarvis at the time, “Jarvis has unique football instincts, a combination of acceleration, elusiveness, quickness and vision that are uncommon. He’s a miniature version of Tony Dorsett, and Pitt has been waiting for his second coming since 1976.”

To be fair, Jarvis had a fantastic senior season at Central Catholic. Still, the number of offers went down rather than up. Pitt, WVU and even Bowling Green all pulled offers. Only Temple, Akron and Kent State remained.

Final thought. That chip and confidence that Jarvis has serves him well. How, though, would he have handled being supplemented by a back like LeSean McCoy? LaRod Stephens-Howling has been all about the team and making it work well. I don’t think he would have been able to put on the same happy face.

The preseason blogpoll is complete. Individual balloting by bloggers here. My ballot was here. Pitt gets little love from the college football blogosphere.

I did the visiting lecturer thing about Pitt for Every Day Should Be Saturday a couple days ago.

If you use Google Calendar I put Pitt’s football schedule out there. It includes any TV coverage. If the time is still TBA, I defaulted to 12pm. In the Google Public Calendar search, paste the following Google ID: 9cldc578j0hk5nt7jajmsskp9s@group.calendar.google.com to find it.

Heh.

Cue “Cease and Desist” letter from ESPN in 3… 2…

Finally, the Octonion returns. Just in time.

Well, I hope FanFest was fun for those that attended. I really hope the attendance was solid. Unfortunately, there was no way I was getting down this year. The glare I got from the wife for even suggesting it, well…

Let’s just catch up on pieces about individual players.

Chris Burns showed up at training camp and is making a push to actually get time at tailback as a freshman, despite McCoy, Stephens-Howling and Harris. He’s apparently been impressive.

Q: With Shariff Harris doing well and Chris Burns being as goods as advertised will there really be a place in future line ups for Kevin Collier?

ZEISE: It is going to be tough for Kevin. Heck, the more I see of Burns the more I think it is going to be tough for Shariff Harris as well! Seriously, Chris Burns is so much better than I — and most everyone else, including the coaches — could have imagined that he has been one of the real exciting surprises at camp. So Collier, who has also been slowed by injuries and has fallen behind, has to get back into the mix quickly this year in order to at least stay relevant and then have an incredible spring. I would think that with LaRod Stephens-Howling graduating and LeSean McCoy likely headed for the NFL after this year, the tailback spot will be one of the most exciting position battles of the spring, so it isn’t like Collier won’t have a chance – he just has to stay healthy and continue to improve.

Burns has the coaches and players talking about him.

Burns, a former PIAA long-jump champion, has adjusted to the speed at the new level. Along the way, he has earned Wannstedt’s trust.

“I did not think he would be as far along,” Wannstedt said. “I knew he was a fast guy, a tough guy, but he’s got a good grasp of the offense. He’s going to be a heck of a player for us. He’s having a great camp.

“Hopefully, we don’t have to play him much or at all, but I wouldn’t have any reservations of handing him the football.”

I’m still betting he redshirts, but it looks like Pitt has built up a lot of depth at tailback. The key down the road will be taking advantage of it.

And lest we forget, Pitt has some excellent fullbacks to further provide depth in the backfield. Conredge Collins is biding his time.

The 6-foot, 230-pound bruiser is considered one of the best fullbacks in the nation and, according to ESPN’s Mel Kiper, could be the first player at his position picked in the 2009 NFL Draft.

“I definitely have intentions on being a running back at the next level,” Collins said. “I’m playing my part. Hopefully, at the next level, I can finally start be able to live my dreams a little bit more. But for the time being I will suck it up and keep a good, positive attitude and do my job.”

Collins has played in 29 games with the Panthers and rushed for more than 15 yards only twice. He averages about two carries for eight yards – per game. In his past 19 games, he has one rushing touchdown.

“The coaches try to get me the ball,” he said. “But I’ve come to the understanding. I’m a fullback. Accept the facts. Under my name, it doesn’t say ‘running back.’ It says, ‘Conredge Collins, fullback.’ You’ve got to just do your job.”

I do wonder if, in a few years, he’ll be like Nick Goings. Someone who never got much of a chance and really was thought of as just a blocking back in college. Then in the NFL, turns out to have a lot more versatility and everyone wonders how that was missed back at Pitt.

Even back-ups should get love, and redshirt freshman OL Dan Matha gets a piece in his local paper as they check on his progress.

“He is extremely aggressive, he’s a tough guy and he likes to hit people,” Pitt offensive line coach Tony Wise said. “So the only thing that’s really holding him back is the experience factor.

“He’ll make three or four really good blocks and he may be poor on one or two. He’s giving effort, but there is something for being consistent.”

After redshirting last year and having surgery on both shoulders, Matha is healthy and learning as much as possible to seize the moment when it presents itself to him.

“My opportunity will come; (Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt) says it all the time,” Matha said. “You’ll get your opportunity, you just don’t know when.”
…
Fortunately for him, strength and conditioning coach Buddy Morris pushed Matha back into shape in rehab.

It wasn’t always fun, though.

“Buddy is not a big fan of freshmen,” Matha said. “Everybody knows that. So I was injured and was a freshman so it was a little rough, but behind everything he does, there is a reason for it. He mentally and physically trains us.”

Nate Byham also did a Q&A with the same paper.

Q: OK. Looking at this team this year, one of the first things we talked about when I met you and you (were) in your first year there was you wanted to help Pitt get this turned around. I’m looking at preseason polls and you guys are ranked. For you personally, what has it meant for you to see the program start making its way back up to where you guys want it to be?

A: Personally, it gives me great joy knowing that I’m one of the members of the team who starting to turn this around and get this team back on track where it should be. It makes me happy knowing I can help bring this to the university and the city of Pittsburgh and all the people surrounding it.

Q: OK. As far looking at you individually, obviously you’re always improving. What do you feel like you’ve improved the most over the summer?

A: Definitely my route running and my run blocking. I feel like last year I was a pretty good run blocker. I got a lot of practice at it (laughs). I definitely got strong. Last year, I was more covering up guys. Now I’m knocking them back. Pushing them back. I’ve put on some weight and worked on my releases and everything on my route running my route running has become a whole lot better this year, too.

According to Byham, he’s put on about 13 pounds (all muscle, of course) since last year. He also mentions how quickly his time has been flying by at Pitt and he’s right. It’s hard to believe he is already a junior. Some players it seems like they have been at the school forever. Not with Byham. It really feels like a year has been skipped.

Staying with local papers covering local players, the Buffalo News checks in on Albion, NY native, Derek Kinder (hat tip to Chris R).

Back at full strength, Kinder is ready to reclaim not only his go-to role on an upstart Pitt team, but his place as one of the nation’s top receivers.

“I just want to go back out there and put together a season like my junior year and hopefully everything falls into place,” Kinder said. “It’s been a long time coming, but I feel tremendous.”

And so does a Panthers team that’s created a rare buzz in the Steel City, adding a former All-Big East wideout to an experienced group that memorably shattered West Virginia’s title hopes in last year’s Backyard Brawl.

Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt said he anticipates Kinder being a “major, major player in our offense.”

Kinder has been rounding into form by most accounts. A slow start, with a tweak to the knee during the first week, will do that. Still, he’s coming on, and he’s one of the players the coaches, teammates and fans can believe will be ready on gameday.

The other veteran WR who has been overshadowed in training camp stories by Jonathan Baldwin is Oderick Turner. Turner, though, has been having a very good camp.

Turner also has become a much bigger factor as a downfield blocker while becoming, perhaps, the most consistent receiver on the team.

Such developments are what Pitt receivers coach Bryan Bossard terms the “maturation of a top-flight receiver.” Bossard believes Turner is ready to be the Panthers’ top receiver, a designation that he has had in the past but hasn’t always lived up to.

“Oderick has had a very good camp,” Bossard said. “He dropped two balls that were very critical in a team setting, but came back the next practice and made the plays he was supposed to make.

“That’s what we need from him — that consistency, and he’s shown it and he’s added the ability to run after the catch, and that’s just a recognition of where the defense is and playing with great speed. He’s also become a much more physical blocker.

“We’ve known all along he has the big-play ability, but, to be a great one, you have to be locked in and focused on every snap and make every catch. He has also worked hard on playing stronger and playing against press coverage. The bottom line is he’s got to play well for us to be successful.”

Bossard said Turner’s ability to make big plays is critical to the offense’s success because teams likely will try to stop LeSean McCoy and the Panthers’ running attack — leaving receivers with many one-on-one opportunities.

In the article, Turner spoke with some pride about improving his route-running and blocking and doing everything. To some degree, I read it as him wanting to be more like Derek Kinder.

Not really my preference, but it seems to have gotten the attention of the NCAA in Ben Mauk’s case.

The NCAA agreed on Wednesday to re-hear Mauk’s appeal for a sixth year to complete his four years of eligibility.

If the appeal reaches the Student-Athlete Reinstatement Committee, which ruled against Mauk on Aug. 8, Mauk has been assured that he will be given a chance to speak, something that he was not allowed to do the last time.

But Kevin Murphy, Mauk’s attorney, said he hopes the matter never reaches the committee.

“The (NCAA) staff is going to hear it first,” Murphy said. “If the staff agrees with us, he’s back on the field.”

File a lawsuit that would force the NCAA to make its explanation in a court of record and suddenly they want to re-hear the matter. Funny how that works.

Everyone knew it was coming, so to the surprise of no one, Bill Stull was “officially” named the starting QB. The real question is about the back-ups and who gets a redshirt.

On the second and third QBs:

“We don’t have an order, that’s going to be the challenge. We can’t work five quarterbacks but we have got to plan for that. We’ll work through it; the scrimmage today will help us in how we stack the quarterbacks around Billy. We’ll definitely redshirt one, possibly two.”

Kevan Smith has already used his redshirt, so it’s not him. Greg Cross is technically a possibility, but that would waste the whole wildcat package with LeSean McCoy so that would be highly, highly unlikely. That leaves freshman Tino Sunseri and Pat Bostick. Obviously Sunseri is going to be redshirted.

Bostick is still up in the air. I figure the plan is to hope Stull stays healthy, and unofficially have Bostick as the redshirt guy unless Stull were to get hurt and forced to miss at least one game. If Stull gets banged up and has to come out for a series or even a quarter, the coaches would take a chance with Smith and Cross to get the job done.

Again, it’s the conventional wisdom and completely logical. I see nothing that would suggest Coach Wannstedt and OC Cavanaugh are going against it.

There was one injury by the end of training camp that effects the starters.

[Starting Weak-side LB Shane] Murray came out on crutches at Wednesday’s scrimmage — which concluded Pitt’s training camp — and Panthers coach Dave Wannstedt said the redshirt junior is “day-to-day” with a strained right knee.

“We’re going to keep him off it through the weekend and see where he’s at the first of the week,” Wannstedt said of Murray. “Hopefully, the first of the week he’s feeling better and we can get him back with the team. It’s all a matter of whether he gets back to feeling that he can practice.”

If Murray isn’t ready for the season opener against Bowling Green on Aug. 30 at Heinz Field, the Panthers might have to choose between Ransom and Roberts as a replacement. Both, like Murray, are converted safeties.

Long-term, Tristan Roberts is likely going to be a starter at the WILL, but he is only a redshirt freshman and still learning. Ransom is a fifth-year senior with experience all over the field (mainly special teams), and a very smart, tough player. A former walk-on who has moved up the depth chart by doing everything right.

“He’s a very good tackler. He’s aggressive. That was proven by the things he did on special teams,” linebackers coach Joe Tumpkin said. “We’re just looking at the best situation to help our team become better, and we felt that moving him over to the linebacker spot gives us some added depth and makes us a lot better because of the depth. Him being older, him being mature and him having been in game situations is going to help him naturally see things quicker than the other guys.”

Ransom got the attention of defensive coordinator Phil Bennett while playing safety this past spring to provide depth, and his aggressive style and solid tackling technique prompted his move back to defense.

“At the end of spring, I looked at my production chart and he was like one in four: every fourth play he made a play,” Bennett said. “He runs a 4.5, he’s 215 pounds and if you watch him, he’s like a little buzz-saw out there. Wherever the ball is, he’s there. I think it made Tristan better. We’re starting to develop something we didn’t know we had.”

It’s always cool to see former walk-ons become key members of a team. Not just get rewarded with a scholarship, but earning spots on the two-deep because he’s maxing out his effort and potential.

Then there’s the offensive line. I think it’s getting past the point of just sending messages to Joe Thomas. There have just been too many mentions by Coach Wannstedt throughout the camp.

One is that Wannstedt hesitated to name junior Joe Thomas the starter at right tackle, leaving the door open for freshman Lucas Nix. Thomas likely will get the nod, but it’s far from over.

“We’ve got some real healthy competition going on in that offensive line,” Wannstedt said. “Pretty soon here, in the next couple days, by the first of the week, we’re going to have to name a starting group. But Lucas is going to play. Whether he’s a starter or not will be determined. But he’s going to play.”

Nix is a blue-chipper and no question, he was probably going to crack the 2-deep this year regardless of Coach Wannstedt’s most fervent wishes to redshirt. It is frustrating, though, that he already is in contention to start. Thomas has simply not shown much improvement since his freshman year. It makes me wonder whether he really showed flashes then, or it was it another reflection of how much worse the line was a couple years ago.

Count on Mike DeCourcy of the Sporting News to know about all of this.

The Panthers played 27 regular-season games–nine non-conference, 18 in the Big East season. They competed in the Big East tournament, which counted as one game because any team could be eliminated the first day. They played four early games in the Hispanic College Fund Basketball Challenge, which counted as two under NCAA rules for multi-team events. The Panthers’ NCAA Tournament appearances does not factor in; postseason doesn’t count because there’s no expectation a team will make it. So as permitted by the organization’s rules, Pitt’s schedule officially consisted of 30 games last season.

If you count Cook as having played 11 games, he is not eligible for the waiver. Indeed, he took the court 11 times. There’s no disputing that. He played a full complement of minutes in every one of those games.

However, it seems curious for the rules to be different for a team and a player in terms of how the games are calculated. If those four games in the Hispanic College Fund tournament counted only as two on Cook’s record–as they did for Pitt to meet NCAA scheduling rules–he officially would have played nine games last season. He’d be at exactly 30 percent and eligible for the waiver.

That case was made to the reinstatement committee nearly two months ago. Its members apparently thought hard about this, because they did not issue an answer for quite a while. But they still said no.

“They say, ‘There may be merit to your case, but we can’t do anything about it,’ ” Dixon said.

The university was told it could attempt to change the rule through the NCAA’s legislative process.

Of course, by the time a new rule could be adopted, Mike Cook’s grandkids would be D-I prospects.

If the committee had wanted to be just, it could have essentially rewritten the rule by issuing a precedent-setting decision. Instead, the committee chose expedience.

Got that?

Two different calculations, one screw over.

Cook had never taken a redshirt — medical or otherwise. He sat out one year under NCAA rules for transfers — he was not eligible to play. While getting a 6th year is rare, it would only have been a 5th year of actual eligibility. That’s one of the key differentials between the Ben Mauk case at Cinci and Mike Cook’s.

Crap. Crap. Crap. Crap.

University of Pittsburgh head men’s basketball coach Jamie Dixon announced Wednesday that senior forward Mike Cook has been denied an additional year of competition from the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

In order to be considered for a sixth year extension, Cook would have needed to obtain a medical hardship waiver for his participation during the 2007-08 year. NCAA rules state that to be eligible for a medical hardship, a student-athlete must participate in no more than 30 percent of the team’s regular season games in order to guarantee an extra year of athletic eligibility. Even though Pitt played 37 total games including six postseason games, NCAA rules only allow postseason contests to be counted as one game when determining total number of games played. Since Cook played in 34 percent of Pitt’s games, Pitt filed an appeal with the NCAA to grant him an additional season of competition, as well as a sixth year after the hardship waiver was denied by the conference. The appeal was denied by the NCAA Division I Student-Athlete Reinstatement Committee, comprised of faculty members and conference and athletic administrators.

One game. If it had been the 10th game when he got hurt — he’s getting another year. If it had been in game 12, not at all in dispute and there isn’t even an appeal. But right in the middle. Realistically Pitt played 37 games. For counting purposes a conference tournament and the NCAA Tournament get lumped as one single game. The numbers were uncomfortable.

In the end they fell back on, “a rule, is a rule, is a rule.” Why? Damned if I know. I do know whatever the letter of the rule, the spirit just got dumped on like John Edwards in a cancer survivors chatroom.

“Situations like this are hard to take when you know how dedicated Mike’s life has been to playing basketball,” Pitt Basketball Coach Jamie Dixon said. “Over the last three years, Mike has contributed significantly to our success both on and off the floor and has been an important member of our basketball family. When I asked Mike why he wanted to come to Pitt, he simply said he ‘wanted to win’. And he has won, going 40-8 as a starter. He has grown into a leader and has become an outstanding example for the younger players in our program. Mike has earned his degree and will have the opportunity to continue his career professionally when he returns to the floor.”

He did indeed. He left East Carolina where he was the man, but the rest of the team sucked. He had to do everything. He could have padded his stats and likely looked a lot better to NBA scouts. He came to Pitt and became part of a team. A family. He gave up a lot more chances to score. Embraced defense and — I hate this, it’s like a frickin’ eulogy.

I’m just really pissed about this.

Look, by all accounts Cook’s rehab is going a bit slower than expected. This was a brutal injury for a wing player. In all probability it will take him another 6 months — at least — before he can approximate where he was before the injury. He would have been a great presence and leader for the team, but his contributions would not have been as big. This wasn’t about how much better Pitt could have been with him. I think that was overstated.

It’s about the NCAA, once more, talking about how it is about the student-athlete. That it’s about the kids, and then falling back to hidebound rules when convenient and screw the kids.

One thing in the Pitt press release, though, did make me feel good.

Cook graduated from Pitt this spring with a communications degree and has spent the summer rehabbing his injury and preparing to action. The university will provide Cook an opportunity to remain in Pittsburgh as he takes additional classes and continues his rehabilitation.

That’s how you treat the student athletes.

Cook will at least have the time to really rehab. To really get better. All the while getting more education and prepared for the future. Even if in the short term, it’s just about basketball.

In an interview last month, Cook sounded ready to move on.

“As long as I can play basketball, that’s the most important thing to me,” he said. “If it’s not here, then I have to work for it to be somewhere else.”