One of the things I never quite grasped was the mocking Coach Wannstedt came in for at the end of his first year back at Pitt. The debacle that was the Backyard Brawl that year had a sideline interview at the half asking what Pitt needed to do to get back in the game. “Get faster,” was Wannstedt’s response.

For some reason, many on the outside saw this as an indication of Wannstedt’s overall cluelessness about the game. I think most Pitt fans recognized that Wannstedt was not talking about the game in particular at that point. The game, that was already out of hand — and with H.B. Blades injured — not going to get better. What he was talking about was the program and team — but specifically the defense — needed a lot more speed.

Whether it was to contend with the proliferating spread offense. Or just the way college football was becoming. Oddly, within a year of that statement there began the whole meme about the speed in the SEC and the plodding, slow athletes in the Big 11. Conflicting styles and speed was winning nearly every argument.

Whether it was Wannstedt recognizing the trend or just because his defensive philosophy has always been about generating speed on defense it probably doesn’t matter. Pitt’s defense was anything but in the first couple years.

Last year Pitt began showing it, but the lack of depth and execution was glaring. Especially the mindset and execution. The Navy game was the worst demonstration of the problems with the execution and a defensive braintrust that just could not seem to understand where to adjust against Navy’s triple option.

The theory that Wannstedt effectively took control of the defense from DC Paul Rhoads after the Navy game is still just that. It’s an attractive one. Don’t get me wrong. As a long-time member of the anti-Rhoads base, I find it very appealing and believable. It’s unlikely, however, that we’ll ever know. And really, all that matters is that Rhoads is gone.

Keep in mind, however, that 10 days later, Pitt still gave up over 350 yards in offense. 3 Cinci turnovers in the 4th quarter were the reason Pitt was able to take the lead and hold on to the win. The point being, the defense remained inconsistent and prone to giving up big plays and yardage even if it was statistically strong.

I was thinking about the speed on defense for the past week after this article on “tweeners” and moving kids one spot back on defense.

And those “tweeners” — like safety Elijah Fields, who is 6 feet 2, 225 pounds and runs the 40-yard dash in less than 4.5 seconds, or defensive end Jabaal Sheard, who is 6 feet 4, 250 pounds and runs the 40 in about 4.7 seconds, are the type of players every defensive coach covets.

“Offenses have gotten smart, and they are putting more skill-position players out there and making you cover them all,” Bennett said. “It has completely changed the way we have to recruit.

“Now, we’ve got to find those what I call hybrid players to play linebacker — kids who are smart and who are fast and maybe played other positions in high school.”

Bennett said the spread offense is the “passing version of the wishbone” because the concepts are pretty much the same: The offense spreads the defense out and reacts to where the numbers favor the offense. If there are five defensive players in the box, the offense will likely run the ball. If the defense decides to put a sixth or seventh player into the box, the offense will react with a pass.

The concept of putting “hybrid” players on the defensive side of the ball is not new, especially not to Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt, who has been building defenses this way for nearly his entire career.

It’s all about creating exploitable mismatches whether on the offensive or defensive side of the ball.

As for Elijah Fields, specifically, he has an incredible opportunity before him. The NFL has been evolving in its own way. Fields is in a system, paired with his own ability that will get him to the pros. Especially as a safety in today’s game.

The safety position is evolving to match increasingly complex playbooks, personnel packages and presnap adjustments. Versatility—not size—is the key. Today’s top safeties (think Ed Reed and Bob Sanders) have to match up with freakishly athletic tight ends and barracuda-quick slot receivers while still providing run support and zapping receivers on crossing routes.

Coaches can mask some of the deficiencies of a pass-challenged safety with Cover 2 schemes, but that pulls an enforcer off the line of scrimmage. The Cover 3 is an alternative, but not every DB is comfortable in zone, where spacing and discipline require constant vigilance. Plus, spread sets, motion, no-huddle and playaction still can create (or mimic) scenarios that force a safety to match up one-on-one with a slot receiver or downfield burner. And with refs throwing illegal-contact flags more than ever, there’s no margin for error.

He seems to be catching on the big picture of his future. I hope he gets how close it actually is.

I think we need a hostage counter or something.

When even guys who don’t really care about college basketball are taking notice and complaining, it’s getting ridiculous.

Well, Kevin Gorman noted nearly a week ago that Stewart Mandel from SI.com was at a training camp practice, so you knew a story was coming from him. The focal point, of course, has to do with LeSean McCoy.

When the backups came in, No. 25 morphed into the team’s loudest, most exuberant cheerleader, waving a towel, letting out a whoop and demonstratively signaling every first down.

No. 25 is LeSean “Shady” McCoy, a preseason All-America tailback whose path to prominence closely mirrors that of the Pitt program for which he’s quickly become the indisputable face.

…

Fast forward a year and you can see the pieces starting to fall in place around McCoy and McKillop.

The return of a healthy Stull and Kinder, the presence of talented tight end Nate Byham and veteran receiver Oderick Turner, and, in particular, the arrival of highly touted receiver Jonathan Baldwin should provide for a more balanced offense. The 6-foot-5, 220-pound Baldwin, from longtime Pitt pipeline Aliquippa High, is an incredibly gifted athlete who, in a red-zone drill last week, twice leapt over defenders and artfully kept his body inbounds on touchdown catches in the corner of the end zone. Physically, he resembles former USC standout Dwayne Jarrett. While he’s still learning the intricacies of a college offense, he will undoubtedly become Pitt’s go-to receiver sooner than later.

Defensively, the Panthers’ most important recruit may be their new coordinator, former SMU head coach Phil Bennett, whom Wannstedt lured after Harris holdover Paul Rhoads left for Auburn. Prior to his six-year tenure at SMU, Bennett served as Bill Snyder‘s defensive coordinator at Kansas State from 1999-2001, when the Wildcats never finished lower than fourth nationally in total defense.

Seven starters return from last year’s surprisingly successful unit, and Bennett said he recently told Snyder in a phone conversation that “I think we have the same type of players here that we had [at K-State].” They include not only McKillop but also freshman All-America defensive end Greg Romeus, versatile safety Eric Thatcher, lockdown corner Aaron Berry and physical defensive tackle Mick Williams.

Health and the offensive line. The two question marks.

Bruce Feldman at ESPN.com listed his top-10 impact defensive players. At #6…

Scott McKillop, Pittsburgh, LB: He’s been called a huge overachiever, but that actually takes some credit away from just how instinctive and tough the Panther middle linebacker really is. He led the nation in tackles in 2007, averaging 12.6 tackles per game and sparked the Panthers to be the country’s fifth-ranked defense. The latter point is pretty amazing when you consider the injury-ravaged Panthers (5-7) were the only team among the nation’s top 14 defense to win fewer than nine games in 2007.

This seems like a good time to note that McKillop and McCoy were both put on the watchlist Walter Camp Player of the Year Award. The award goes to the best player in college football. Past Pitt winners include Tony Dorsett, Hugh Green and Larry Fitzgerald.

Here’s the list of the all 35 candidates. Florida, Clemson and Wisconsin also have 2 candidates on the list. Ohio State has 3. From the Big East, George Selvie of USF and Pat White from WVU are also on the list.

The ESPN.com Big East blog (now manned by ex-Louisville beat writer from the Courier Journal, Brian Bennett) has a fairly entertaining Q&A with kicker Conor Lee.

How did you become a kicker?

CL: I played soccer my whole life and just started kicking on my grade school team. I actually quit football, and my freshman year of high school, the kicker for our team tore his ACL. That was the second game of the season and they asked me to come out, and I was playing varsity the third game of the season. It was almost meant to be.

Then I went to Fork Union Military Academy to try to get recruited more. But the recruiting didn’t go like I had hoped and I kind of got sick of it, so I walked on here in January of 2004. I just wanted to go somewhere and try to get the job.

…

Do people ever ask you how one brother [Penn State’s Sean Lee] became a linebacker while the other is a kicker?

CL: Yeah, and I would switch sides and be a linebacker if I could, to be honest with you. (Laughs). I was a pretty good football player when I was younger but I was pretty the much same size back then as I am now. The growth stopped for me and kept going for him.

You had two big field goals, including a 48-yarder at the end of the first half, in Pitt’s 13-9 win at West Virginia to end last season. How big was that moment for you?

CL: After that win, a couple days later it kind of sank in how important it was. I used to go to Pitt games when I was a kid, and I remember the game against West Virginia that went to four overtimes and Pitt won, and when we upset Miami at home. But that was quite possibly the biggest win in university history. I mean, I realize there was a national championship here, but what went down that night, how we were 28-point underdogs in their place, they’d never lost a night game under coach Rich Rodriguez and they were going to go to the national championship game and we just ruined it. Being a part of that was amazing.

…

You’ve already graduated and are currently working on your MBA. Is that tough to balance with football?

CL: The materials are similar to my undergrad — I was a business and economics major — but the amount of work is doubled. But I have a lot of time. I’m only taking three classes and also, being a kicker, it’s not like I really need to study the opponent as much as a quarterback would.

So anyone really believe it will be anything but Bill Stull as the starter, Kevan Smith and Greg Cross as the back-ups and Pat Bostick getting a redshirt? Neither do I.

Although redshirt junior Bill Stull has taken almost every first-team snap, Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt said the Panthers won’t name a starting quarterback until after Wednesday’s scrimmage — the third of training camp.

“Once we finish up on Wednesday, we’ll evaluate the film and then finalize our depth charts at every position,” Wannstedt said.

Bostick getting a redshirt still seems like the likely course of action.

Q: How does Pat Bostick’s mechanics look this year? And how about his arm strength?

ZEISE: Better, much better, but still not where they need to be. He still has that hitch, though it isn’t as pronounced as it was last year, and he has a quicker release and throws the ball with more zip, too. That progress has been a good sign that if he takes a redshirt this season and spends it in the weight room, conditioning with Buddy Morris as well as working with Matt Cavanaugh on his mechanics and footwork, that he’ll come back next year really ready to play at the level he needs to in order to give the Panthers a chance to win big. And that is why he is going to redshirt, because coaches believe he can use some more seasoning.

Bostick has been the second-best QB in the camp, by all accounts. A little more consistency than Kevan Smith. His potential and the actual growth from last year to this year, make it less likely the coaching staff will “waste” a year of his eligibility as a back-up if they can avoid it.

So what about right tackle and Joe Thomas. He’s struggled, in camp and Coach Wannstedt came out and said that Lucas Nix will be seeing time as a freshman.

On Lucas Nix:

“I think he’s going to have to play, and not that I’m dissatisfied with the play of the right tackle, but we have to get more consistent there, Lucas has the ability to deliver and I think the competition between him and Joe Thomas is good.”

Sure enough, on Monday…

One day after Dave Wannstedt sent a message that the right tackle job was up for grabs by raving about freshman Lucas Nix, the Panthers inserted the 6-foot-6, 300-pounder from Thomas Jefferson into the starting lineup.

Nix split first-team repetitions with junior Joe Thomas in today’s second session, and the Pitt coach said it was both a reward for Nix and a warning sign to Thomas that his job isn’t safe.

“Joe Thomas was a little bit inconsistent and we’ve got to make sure that everybody understands that we have to prove ourselves every day we come onto this field,” Wannstedt said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re a senior or a freshman or who you are.”

And if that wasn’t enough of a message to Thomas, there was this.

On the offensive line’s progress:

“I thought offensively today might have been the best set of practices we have had. We blocked well, caught well, ran well and threw well today.”

Hint, hint, hint.

That said, Joe Thomas will start the season as the starting right tackle. You know Wannstedt doesn’t like to start freshmen at most positions. Probably more so on the offensive line. I can see Nix taking the job, though. Thomas may have slimmed down, but he is still struggling.

Jonathan Baldwin is a different story with starting.

Q: Do you see Jonathan Baldwin starting any games this year?

ZEISE: An interesting question. The early answer would be not unless there is an injury to someone ahead of him — but only because there are veteran players ahead of him that aren’t likely to lose their starting jobs. Also, for all the talk of his circus catches — and they are amazing, don’t get me wrong — the fact remains that he has a long, long way to go to become a consistent and refined receiver. He still needs to work on his route running, his blocking and all of the little things that separate the good ones from the great ones. There is no question he is the most physically gifted of all of Pitt’s receivers and he will certainly see the field and probably get a lot of playing time, particularly in the red zone. But unless there is an injury I don’t see him moving ahead of any of the current starters.

See, I can see him starting a game later in the season without injuries. I can see him being the #3 receiver very soon. There’s also a cheating way to win this. All it takes is for Pitt to come out in the opening drive with a 4 wide receiver set. You know Baldwin would be in that group as a deep threat. I can see Pitt at least lining up like that… and then handing the ball off to McCoy.

Here’s a blast from the past as there’s a piece on one of the few bright spots from the Ralph Willard era — Vonteego Cummings back home in Georgia.

The 32-year-old Cummings returned to his childhood playground last Saturday to kick off the Vonteego Cummings First Annual Community Day. The event was attended by more than 150 people – many of them youth and teens – who celebrated the occasion with games, including shooting hoops and eating hamburgers, hot dogs, and enjoying cold drinks.

“This was their day – a day of celebrating with them and giving back a little of what this community has given so much to me through the years,” said Cummings, a 1995 graduate of Thomson High School, where he was a star basketball player. After graduation, Cummings, the son of John David and Carri Mae Cummings, of Thomson, went on to become an outstanding basketball player at the University of Pittsburgh.

At Pitt, Cummings, who played point guard, averaged 17 points per game during his four-year career.

…

Today, Cummings plays for the Israeli Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball team in the European League. The team is the second-best in the European League.

It’s still a rough go, however for another Pitt alum. Clyde Vaughan appeared poised to finally land an assistant coaching job with New Mexico State — where Herb Pope still plays (Insider subs.). But, no.

New Mexico State has decided against hiring former Connecticut, South Florida, and Long Beach State assistant and one-time Pitt forward Clyde Vaughan as an assistant coach. Vaughan resigned from his position at UConn after he was arrested in 2004 on a solicitation charge. That arrest continues to haunt him. Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg has long been a proponent of giving Vaughan a second chance, but Greenberg said he hasn’t had a recent opening on his staff for Vaughan.

Of course, Greenberg was the one who recruited Vaughan to Pitt when he was an assistant.

I feel bad for Vaughan. I really do. On the scale of crimes, it’s pretty low. Guys with DUIs get more chances.

There are two things working against Vaughan, though, in this instance.

It’s not the severity of the crime, but the type that drags him down. It’s not easy to picture Vaughan going to a recruit’s family and telling them how he will be looking out for the kid, helping him to grow. All the while he’s got to answer questions about his solicitation charges — and the fact that it means he betrayed his wife. Something, I don’t think Vaughan has ever grasped.

The other thing, and this is probably worse for his chances, is that it wasn’t his first offense. He has a history of this.

According to the report, Vaughan was arrested and charged in July 1992 in Long Beach, Calif., just prior to joining the staff at Cal State Long Beach. He also was arrested, charged and convicted in Tampa of approaching an undercover police officer and offering her $20 for sex while he was an assistant at the University of South Florida in 1999. The Long Beach charges, details of which were not available, eventually were dismissed, according to the paper.

You can’t be worrying what your assistant coaches will be doing in their spare time, on top of worrying about the players.

DeAndre Kane out of Schenley is headed to prep school in New Hampshire. I wonder whether he’ll ever make it into a college uniform. I also can’t help but wonder if he’s got a learning disability. No one questions that he has talent, but no one can commit a scholarship until they can see that he will be able to survive the academic side. It’s too big of a risk, especially with the Academic Progress Rate and potential penalties.

This reads like it is just a matter of when for Tom Droney to commit to Pitt. Droney is only junior, and will be part of the 2010 recruiting class.

Droney, from Sewickley Academy, just twelve miles northwest of Pittsburgh, has not even begun his junior season yet, but he already knows he has had enough of the recruiting process.

“I plan on committing in September,” says the highly mature Droney. “I want to make sure that there is a spot open for me at the school I want to go to. I talked to (Pitt assistant coach) Tom Herrion and he said they were recruiting a lot of guards in my class and that it was best not to wait. I love Pitt. I’m not saying I’m going to go there, but if that’s my choice then I have to do it now. My high school coach and AAU coach agree with me.”

…

While you won’t see Droney yet on many top 50 lists that will change when more people see him. He has played in obscurity somewhat this summer, playing offsite in Las Vegas and playing in the 16 and under league in West Virginia. But one out of state college coach who saw Droney play in West Virginia had no doubts about Droney’s talent, saying, ”He’s definitely top 50 and could be higher when he becomes a more consistent three point shooter”.

The other school he is considering is Wake Forest.

Another guard for the 2010 class that Pitt has been after for some time is Isaiah Epps.

Currently, Maryland and Pitt are in the lead to land the talented Garden State star. Saturday night at the Summer Shootout at Allentown (NJ) High School, Epps actually wore Pitt basketball shorts.

“My cousin goes to that school, Travon Woodall,” said Epps when asked if wearing Panthers’ gear indicated anything in particular. Does Jamie Dixon’s squad have an advantage over Maryland and others because Woodall is already in the fold?

“Oh no, I just like the school,” Epps told Alex Schwartz. Isaiah is high on Pitt “because they [are in the] Big East and I want to start. They told me I can start as a freshman.”

Epps, who is being recruited by former Pitt star and NJ Playaz alum Brandin Knight for the Panthers, would likely be fine coming in and starting right away, as he is older than his grade would indicate.

Epps is already 18. Right now, the combo guard is 6’2″, but apparently there are expectations of another growth spurt to put him closer to 6’4″ in a year or two.

Pitt wants to add another big man for the 2009 class, and apparently this one has been getting a lot of attention.

Talk about a kid whose stock has risen in the last month or two. Jordan Williams, a 6-foot-8 power forward/center from Torrington High (Conn.), has offers from Villanova, Marquette, Maryland, Georgetown, Providence, Pittsburgh and Penn State. Wake Forest is also in the mix.

It must have. WIlliams is only a 1-star PF on Scout.com. Rivals.com has 3-stars by him. ESPN.com/Scouts, Inc. (Insider subs.) hasn’t updated their point score for him but does seem to note that he has a lot of potential.

Williams has good size and strength, which he uses to wreak havoc in the post on both ends of the court. He uses his size to carve out deep position in the post for rebounding and scoring close to the basket. Williams, despite his size, runs the floor reasonably well and will finish in transition, keeping up with the smaller, quicker guards. He rebounds in traffic very well, and extra contact does not seem to bother him most of the time.

They say he needs to work on his conditioning and footwork. His size is listed anywhere from 6-8 to 6-10 and his weight is around 240-250.

Every year that I do this, the only thing that I am certain is that I don’t know enough. It’s now a big part of my life to know more, read more, study college football and all it seems to do is muddle things when it comes time to do rankings.

I started doing the rankings and right away I was screwed. Starting with #1. I dropped Georgia after their injuries, but then found USC moving to the top but they are lost at QB right now. Then Florida rose to the top, and they have more ACL tears than Georgia so that didn’t make sense. Next thing I knew, Ohio State was number one — HELL NO! WVU? Not happening. Oklahoma? No way.

And that was just to pick #1.

So this is the monstrosity I ended up voting. I have absolutely no faith in it.

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Georgia	25
2	Southern Cal	24
3	Ohio State	23
4	West Virginia	22
5	Oklahoma	21
6	Florida	20
7	LSU	19
8	Missouri	18
9	Clemson	17
10	Arizona State	16
11	South Florida	15
12	Wake Forest	14
13	Texas Tech	13
14	Wisconsin	12
15	Auburn	11
16	Texas	10
17	Brigham Young	9
18	Virginia Tech	8
19	Pittsburgh	7
20	Penn State	6
21	Utah	5
22	North Carolina	4
23	Rutgers	3
24	Michigan State	2
25	Fresno State	1

Very, very strange. South Florida just kept rising when I was dinging teams. I actually really like UNC out of the ACC this year. Very similar to Pitt in terms of recruiting talent and close losses.

They’re just starting to clog my tabs. Time to clear them out. The profiles, the puff pieces and press releases.

Dorin Dickerson continues to get attention at tight end.

Dickerson and Wannstedt sat down in the offseason and decided that the best place to get him on the field, and utilize his enormous potential, was tight end.

Dickerson said the fact Wannstedt never lost faith in him helped make the transition to another position much easier. And he said that playing the tight end position the way he is being asked — he’ll also line up sometimes as an H-back or even a fullback — means he’ll have plenty of opportunities to make plays.

“Coach stuck with me, he didn’t forget about me, that means a lot to me,” Dickerson said. “Some people say they’ll believe in you and they don’t mean it, but coach proved when he says something he means it and so I knew he was being genuine when he said he wanted to help me get on the field.

“The more I have learned about this position, the more fun it has become. People ask me what I am, I proudly say now ‘I am a tight end.'”

There’s bit about wondering why some tagged him as not a physical player. His injury just before starting at Pitt slowed him down and cost him the 2006 season. In 2007 he was learning a new position on the other side of the ball, and despite training camp predictions of him cracking the rotation never got too high on the linebacker depth chart.

With his talent and the accomplishments coming out of high school, questions will arise when the expectations did not appear to be met. As legitimate as the reasons for the first two years are, they can be perceived as excuse-making. Whether Dickerson was actually tough enough for D-1A or injury prone. Whether he was just a player without a position. Not quite fast enough to be a receiver and not durable enough as a running back. An athlete stuck somewhere.

A player who has all the physical tools and there was never any question about his position, just his head, is Elijah Fields. He’s finally on the verge of putting it all together.

He sat out last season while serving a suspension for disciplinary reasons.

“It was real frustrating, but the decisions I made were my fault,” Fields said. “I’m not going to blame it on anybody else. I want to put that behind me and move forward and play this year and help my team out.

“I’ve matured a lot, sitting out and looking back on things and the decisions I could have made.”

Fields credited secondary coach Jeff Hafley for helping guide him through the tough times. Hafley, in turn, said Fields has shown better maturity by owning up to his mistakes and correcting them.

“He learned how important football was to him by sitting out last year,” Hafley said. “He now understands how his teammates and his coaches are counting on him. He wants to contribute — not just for himself but for the team, as well.”

The article also noted the struggles he had early at learning to play defense versus doing what he wanted because he was a superior athlete in high school. You just hope that the light has truly gone on for Fields and that it isn’t just something to say that sounds good.

The safety, who many are eager to see moved down the two-deep behind Fields and DeCicco, Eric Thatcher has his own story.

Thatcher is unheralded, but his role cannot be underestimated. As the free safety and most-experienced defensive back, Thatcher is responsible for aligning the defense on every play.

“You talk about him being under the radar,” Hafley said. “He’s under the radar until there’s a deep crossing route and he makes a big hit. People who play us know who Eric Thatcher is. I know [the media] likes to talk about some of our other guys, but he’s a leader back there.

“At that position, there is so much that goes into it from a mental standpoint. He’s the quarterback of the defense. He makes the calls, get us lined up. We need a guy like that back there, and we’re very fortunate to have him.”

Being the quarterback of the defense is especially important in a year when experience at the other secondary positions is almost non-existent. The only other returning starter is junior Aaron Berry at cornerback. The two players battling for playing time beside Thatcher at strong safety are Dom DeCicco and Elijah Fields, neither of whom has made a college start.

“It’s a position where you don’t always get the accolades because you’re not going to have 120 tackles or 15 sacks,” Hafley said. “You’re going to be the guy who lines us up and gets us in the right position. Because of that, we make the right play. Someone else might get the tackle or get the pick. But it wouldn’t happen without him.”

We’ve seen in Wannstedt’s first three years that he places a high value on players who know the schemes.

Derek Kinder has been recovering from his torn ACL, and while he has been a slowed getting on the field he has taken care of the other things.

Kinder is a recent graduate with a degree in economics, one of eight members of the 2008 Panthers to have already earned an undergraduate diploma. He’ll be attending fall semester classes with his eye on another degree, perhaps in communications. Regardless, he enters his final season of collegiate football with a better appreciation for his talent and the opportunity it’s given him.

“Before, I probably did take my health a little bit for granted,” he admits. “I’m a lot more determined now to do all the little things that the coaches are always emphasizing. The need to warm up properly, because that helps prevent injuries. I definitely take that to heart, and get my full stretching in.”

On the field, he seems to be getting more confidence in his knee and moving better.

Most years, seeing articles on a walk-on and a near greyshirt looking like they will be earning playing time for the season would suggest that the talent is thin or there were a lot of injuries. Obviously, an injury played a role in one of them, but both actually have some talent. They just had choices and really wanted to come to Pitt.

But Peter Charles Alecxih III is not your average walk-on, and the redshirt freshman from Lancaster known as “Chas” is in the thick of the competition.

“Keep an eye on him,” Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt said Tuesday after Pitt’s first scrimmage of training camp. “He’s probably had as good a camp as any of the backup defensive linemen. … We’ve got probably four guys competing but if I was honest … and said who’s probably made the most plays, it’s probably been Chas.”

Alecxih is among the contenders for a backup spot behind starters Greg Romeus and Jabaal Sheard, a list that includes redshirt sophomore Ty Tkach and redshirt freshmen Justin Hargrove and Tony Tucker. At 6-foot-5, 275 pounds, Alecxih is 65 pounds above his playing weight at Penn Manor High School, where he was a teammate of offensive tackle Jordan Gibbs and turned down a scholarship offer from Connecticut to play for the Panthers.

“Coming in as a walk-on, the other guys were awesome but you felt like you had something to prove,” said Alecxih, whose father owns a company that builds luxury homes in Lancaster County and occasionally flies here in a twin-engine turbo Cessna airplane. “Most people look at walk-ons as if they’re not on (the same) caliber, so that was definitely motivation to come in and prove myself and say, ‘Hey, I can play on this level.’ I want to get a scholarship. It’s a respect thing, but until they’re able to, I don’t need one.

“Give it to someone who needs it.”

Finding the open scholarship a little early was how Andrew Taglieanetti was in Pitt training camp this year, rather than enrolling in January. He is poised to be a special teams player right away.

“He’s about as quick as any player we have on the team, and he uses it in the right ways,” Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt said. “Right now, I’ve got him starting on possibly two special teams on opening day.

“From a special teams standpoint, he’s been the most exciting guy of the freshmen. He just wants to play.”

His twin brother Jon is also on Pitt’s team as a preferred walk-on at linebacker.

Finally, Johnstown loves the local connections.

Senior LaRod Stephens-Howling, redshirt sophomore Scott Corson and redshirt freshman Wayne Jones can provide some comfort and stability for Bishop McCort graduate Mike Cruz, Greater Johnstown alumnus Antwuan Reed and Richland grad Marco Pecora as each goes through his first season with the Panthers, who are ranked 25th in The Associated Press preseason poll released Saturday.

“It’s definitely fun to have someone you know here,” said Jones, who is in his first season as a mentor. “I was excited to hear that they were all coming down to Pitt. We’re all working hard toward the same goal.”

That would be getting the Panthers back on track – none of the local players has experienced a winning season at Pitt – and developing individually.

“When you come in, you have a lot of questions about camp and school,” said Jones, who is going through a transition of his own, switching to center this season.

Corson is in a similar situation, as he is playing defense for the first time at the collegiate level, but he still has time to help the newest members of the program learn the ropes.

“That’s exciting,” he said of having three more local players on the roster. “More guys keep coming. (I try to help out) with all of them. When I got myself ineligible, that’s a hard hole to get out of. I got my grades together and I’m trying to show them the importance of that.”

Every news outlet loves to cite the local connections.

There are days when balancing family and obsession actually tilts away from obsession. Lots of stuff I had to do over the weekend. Plus, I was putting the finishing touches on the FanHouse Big East preview postings with fellow Hauser John Radcliff. Putting the objective hat on is not a lot of fun, but it is helpful in forcing some perspective even with Pitt.

So there’s a lot to catch-up. The first bit of good news is that there weren’t any injuries in the practices and scrimmages over the weekend. After last year and the number of injuries across the country, that’s something that can’t be taken for granted.

Nice news that Pitt got ranked #25 in the AP poll. The only team in the poll to have a losing record last year. USF and WVU were also ranked. For an 8 team conference, that’s decent to have 3 teams ranked. Rutgers, Cinci and UConn also received votes.

Next bit of good news, a new verbal.

Pitt received its 11th football commitment from the Class of 2009 when Elizabeth (N.J.) running back Raymond Graham picked the Panthers after visiting for their scrimmage today in the South Side.

Graham chose the Panthers over scholarship offers from Connecticut, Maryland, Michigan State and North Carolina State. Penn State also was showing interest. Raymond Graham picked the Panthers after visiting for their scrimmage today in the South Side.

Graham is 5-9, 187 pounds. He’s Pitt’s 3d verbal from New Jersey. Oddly, all three are primarily running backs in high school. Can’t help but think at least one will look at a position change down the road.

Graham, though, is the highest starred recruit among the RB verbals. He’s a 3-star according to Scout.com and Rivals.com has him as a 4-star and the 5th best recruit out of NJ and #8 in all-purpose backs.

Given Pitt’s depth at running back, it has to be expected that most backs coming into the program are looking at redshirts. Something that comes through with Graham in this ESPN.com/Scouts, Inc. evaluation (Insider subs.).

Graham is a gifted runner who possesses workhorse-type qualities in a small package. He is small in height not body composition. Thick, compactly-built and strong throughout his upper- and lower-body. … Durability with his current style is a bit of a concern as well. We would like to see him continue building up his sturdy frame with lean bulk and strength. Overall Graham is a natural well-rounded runner with skills to hurt a defense both in-line and on the perimeter. Potential sleeper in this running back class.

Best news, this story on Bob Junko and surviving his heart attack.

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.

Well, Josh Marks had his second visit to Pitt’s practice this morning.

Josh Marks, the former Southern Columbia star who left the Penn State team last week, watched practice from the sidelines for the second time in a week. He has been released from his scholarship at Penn State and appears set to transfer to Pitt, although nothing is official.

I’ve heard through the grapevine that Marks was making nice progress but apparently couldn’t get out of Joe Paterno’s doghouse despite being on the second-team at right guard (behind Central Catholic graduate Stefen Wisniewski) as a redshirt freshman.

By this afternoon there was something official.

Former Penn State offensive lineman Josh Marks has enrolled at Pitt and will join the Panthers next week when classes begin as a walk-on.

He will be able to play for Pitt next season since he is enrolled at Pitt for the fall, but begin practicing next week.

The controversy at Penn State was over his conditioning. There is little dispute he was overweight. With a year of only practicing and Buddy Morris working with him, we’ll find out whether it was the something more that was bothering him at Penn State.

I’m cautiously optimistic about this. At the very least, this is a low-risk gamble. Marks was a top OL recruit, that Pitt really wanted. His work ethic had never been questioned before. Again, the reports — even before his departure — were that he had struggled with conditioning from the spring onward.

If it was a short term slump on his part he will get over it and Pitt greatly benefits. If it really is his attitude, then the team will probably figure it out before the end of this year.

Damn.

Cameron Saddler didn’t just twist his knee in practice the other day. It’s an ACL tear in the left knee. It was a non-contact injury.

Saddler, was expected to be assuming punt and/or kick return duties in his freshman season. Instead it will be a redshirt and lots of rehab.

The charismatic and talkative Saddler was (cripes, I’m writing like he’s dead or something) one of the big December commits following Pitt’s win over WVU. Not only that, he may have been the most vital since he became a one-man recruiting force for Pitt.

Here’s hoping for a full and rapid recovery.

I think the attention Jonathan Baldwin has gotten along with Dorin DIckerson playing at tight end has led to something of a fascination in the media with Pitt’s receiving corps. For an offense that at best will have a slight tilt to the running game as far as play-calling, the WRs and TEs seem to be getting a lot of pixels.

[Wide Receivers Coach Bryan] Bossard isn’t worried yet because there are still three weeks before the season and he believes Kinder and Porter will be healthy by then. And he also has some talented freshmen — Aundre Wright and Jonathan Baldwin in particular — who are making a strong case for playing time as they take advantage of their increased reps.

“I feel very good with the older four guys,” Bossard said. “They’ve been in battles and played in games. Right now I am trying to get Derek back into it, he is getting smoother and we’re just trying to be smart with him. But beyond that — Aundre has stepped his game up. He’s playing faster now and he’s been impressive. And Jonathan Baldwin is a talent. He is big, fast and strong, he’s got great upside, but he has a lot to learn and that’s my job, to teach him.”

..

With those two in the group and a healthy Porter and Kinder, the Panthers would have a six-man rotation with a good mix of speed (Wright), physical toughness (Kinder, McGee), size (Baldwin, Turner) and athleticism.

Plus the tight ends are looking for the ball.

“Dorin is becoming a good blocker,” Angelichio said. “He’s in there, battling. He can definitely do it. He works as hard as anybody.”

Angelichio said the Panthers probably won’t run a lot of two-tight ends sets this season – there are too many other talented skill players in the offense.

But the group gives quarterback Bill Stull a reliable target over the middle. Last season, Pitt tight ends combined to catch 49 passes for 584 yards and four touchdowns.

“I think we are going to be a major role in this offense,” Byham said. “We are having the tight ends do a lot of things. A lot of moving around. They are really putting us into the offense. We’re really getting some love this year.”

And Byham got a little love this week in a Pitt press puffing release.

You think Coach Wannstedt felt beleagured offensive tackle Joe Thomas needed some encouragement? His play has been considered weak, and there’s a lot of suspicion he’ll be losing any starting job within the first few weeks of the season to a freshman. On top of that, he helped get the starting QB a bunch of bruised ribs. So, it’s time to throw a little positive reinforcement his way.

On the offense line progress:

“The biggest issue is still bringing the offensive line together. I will recognize (Jason) Pinkston and (Joe) Thomas — both played well in the scrimmage. Offensive line is an area where we have to be good to have success on offense.”

Injuries don’t seem to be piling up the same way as last year. And certainly it isn’t as bad as what Florida is facing at the moment. Still, there are a number of injuries that have an effect on who is practicing.

What the Panthers appear to need most is to avoid injuries. Tight end John Pelusi has missed two days of practice with a sore shoulder, and weak-side linebacker Shane Murray and tight ends Nate Byham and John Pelusi both left practice yesterday wearing ice wraps around their shoulders.

While the injuries have yet to test Wannstedt’s patience, they are challenging the Panthers’ depth. Dorin Dickerson, who played outside linebacker last season, was suddenly taking first-team reps at tight end with only a pair of freshmen, Mike Cruz and Justin Virbitsky, behind him.

That doesn’t even count Saddler, who was competing for a job on kick and punt returns before twisting his knee in a special teams drill prior to the scrimmage.

Saddler is having an MRI and was on crutches yesterday. Not good signs.

Ultimately the depth chart gets affected.

Kevin Collier also left practice during individual drills with an unknown injury, and is in jeopardy of being bypassed on the depth chart by not only redshirt freshman Shariff Harris but [Chris] Burns.

The same could be said for redshirt freshman cornerback Buddy Jackson, who has been out with groin/hamstring troubles. Expected to compete with Jovani Chappel for the starting boundary corner job, Jackson instead has lost out to Ricky Gary as the third corner and could be losing ground to freshmen Ronald Hobby, Jarred Holley and Antwuan Reed, who are splitting second- and third-team reps.

Andrew Taglienetti is seeing more action behind Eric Thatcher at free safety as Irv Brown has been out with an injury. Collier has been struggling to crack the depth chart the last couple years and the injuries sure have not helped.

Coach Wannstedt is stuck in that area of trying to figure out which players are legitimately not able to or just should not be pushing through the pain and those who he thinks may need to be prodded.

On the mental aspect of the game being just as tough as the physical part:

“Everyone is hurt and beat up right now. If you let your mind control your body you have a tendency to be soft and think that you can’t go on and when you have that mind frame you can’t get better. As coaches this is when you build that mental toughness and you push them to develop that chemistry of a football team.”

That or break their spirits, leaving them disheartened shells of their former selves with the disturbing self-awareness that they are weak-hearted. Shambling through the rest of their miserable lives just trying to find moments of happiness or perhaps just oblivion from the aching pain in their soul.

Will Clarke out of Allderdice has apparently given a verbal to Pitt.

According to Allderdice coach Don Schmidt, Clarke, 6 feet 6, 245-pounds, will choose Pitt after also considering scholarship offers from West Virginia and several Mid-American Conference schools.

Also a tight end at Allderidice, Clarke is seen as a tremendously raw recruit with the potential improve exponentially. He helped lead the Dragons to the City League title game last season.

Clarke comes from great athletic bloodlines — he is the son of Bill Clarke, who started on the fabled 1976 Fifth Avenue High School basketball team before going on to play at Duquesne.

Colin Dunlap at the P-G — who broke the story — seems to love this guy. Going so far as to say he’s got Greg Romeus potential. The star-ratings are not so kind. Scout.com puts him at 1-star. Rivals.com gives him 2 and says he’s the 40th best prospect in the commonwealth.

Obviously he is a complete project who likely won’t be seen on the field for a bit. A redshirt will definitely be in his future.

Then there is Darrin Walls, the cornerback who went to ND. There are lots of rumors swirling about Walls who would be a junior. The one that most care about is that he plans to transfer to Pitt. It’s hard to say anything definite at this point, so here’s the background to date.

Walls, it was announced by Notre Dame, would not be enrolled this fall. Instead coming back to Pittsburgh for personal reasons. ND Coach Weis stated that he expected/hoped that Walls would be able to return in the spring semester. Other coaches for ND have echoed that they expect him back. The persistent rumor is that he has some academic problems that led to his not playing this year. What doesn’t quite make sense in that is why he went home to Pittsburgh for the year.

Now, if Walls does indeed want to/plans to transfer to Pitt or any 1-A program he has to sit out 2 semesters (one year). So it would behoove him to enroll before the fall semester would get underway. That would allow him to play next year.

The other thing to consider is getting released from his scholarship at ND. I don’t know ND’s decisionmaking on this sort of thing, but it would not at all surprise me if they don’t release him this year. Especially to Pitt considering the two schools will be meeting over the next six years. That would require Walls to enroll and pay his own way (think Joe Flacco or Luke Getsy).