Nice honor for Nate Byham to even be named to the Mackey watchlist for best Tight End in the country. Hate to say it, but he has little chance of being even a finalist this season. I think he simply won’t see the ball enough. Between the receivers, running game and that Dorin DIckerson and John Pelusi will also see time at the spot his opportunities will not be in the volume that Kris Wilson had 5 years ago.

That brings things to this piece on Dorin Dickerson.

“This,” Dickerson said, “is the most comfortable I’ve ever been here.”

The move started when he told coach Dave Wannstedt before spring practices that he’d feel more comfortable playing offense. Pitt was missing injured tight ends Nate Byham and John Pelusi, so Wannstedt made the offer.

Dickerson agreed.

He excelled during spring practices and was an offensive star during the spring game, catching three passes for 35 yards. Now he’s starting to feel like a tight end, even though his No. 2 jersey gives him away.

“Everything is working out as well as it can right now,” Dickerson said. “Me and Coach Wannstedt are both happy with the decision. Hopefully good things will happen this year.”

Byham and Pelusi have both returned but Dickerson has established himself as a serious player at the position. How much he’ll play isn’t known. Dickerson still runs like a receiver, making him the fastest at his new position.

“There should be an excellent battle for playing time,” Wannstedt said. “I expect him to have an excellent year. He has enough talent to be a difference maker.”

Not that a TE shouldn’t see lots of work in a West Coast style, especially with Cavanaugh. You have to imagine that Pitt will use 2 TEs at time with Byham and Dickerson really able to do something to defenses.

I did like this piece on Pat Bostick.

Bostick still declines to talk about the “personal issue” that prompted him to drive back to Lancaster, accompanied by a member of Pitt football’s support staff. But he said that “it might have been the best thing that ever happened to me.”

“It’s completely changed who I am,” he said. “It made me take a step back and realize how good I have it, and get the help I needed to get and do what I had to do.”

Bostick said the transition to major college and the pressure of battling for the starting job — combined with everything else — were overwhelming.

“It was more than I expected,” he said. “Looking back, I would have changed how I handled it. I know it’s something people talk about, but, at the time, it’s what I did and I’m better for it today. I’m a better man today.”

…

Bostick’s entire outlook has changed since last year, when he was a frazzled, homesick teenager, to become the team’s most experienced quarterback.

“You can tell he’s a different personality than last year,” All-American linebacker Scott McKillop said. “He’s way more open and friendly. He’s talking to everybody and not keeping to himself.”

I kind of wish that he would disclose exactly what happened to stop speculation, but it is his business and choice. Obviously he has dealt with whatever it was and has a better handle on everything.

Finally, there is a transfer practicing with the team to get ready for next year. Josh Novotny transferred from Navy to Pitt when he realized that his choices of majors at Annapolis were more limited.

But Novotny’s career interests had the 6-3, 275-pound guard looking to transfer.

“I came to Pitt because they had what I was looking for,” Novotny said. “I wouldn’t change anything I did. I wouldn’t redo a thing.”

Even if it means Novotny, a health and physical activity major, can’t play a down for Pitt this fall and loses a year of athletic eligibility in the process.

Novotny, who turns 24 the day before Pitt’s Nov. 8 home game against Louisville, arrived at Pitt in January and, because of NCAA guidelines, must complete two consecutive semesters before becoming eligible.

Novotny actually participated in the spring game. Any offensive lineman who started for Navy sounds like a good pick-up for Pitt.

Other than there’s plenty of people aware of Pitt’s potential.

While Pitt may not have made it into the preseason Coaches’ or AP Writers Polls, the Panthers did make it into a couple other preseason lists.

Sports Illustrated put Pitt at #19 in their preseason rankings.

Overachievement is a relatively new concept for these Panthers. Indeed, before Pitt stunned No. 2 West Virginia 13-9 in Morgantown last December, thus keeping its bitter rival from playing for the national championship, coach Dave Wannstedt’s record in two-plus seasons at his alma mater stood at 15-19. But so impressive was the defense in the Backyard Brawl — the unit held West Virginia’s high-powered attack to 183 yards and nine first downs — that few in the Steel City cared that the Panthers couldn’t avoid a third straight nonwinning season.

Now optimism is running high because seven starters are back from that aggressive defense, including senior middle linebacker Scott McKillop, an overachiever of the highest order. After two seasons of special teams duty, the 6′ 2″, 240-pound McKillop got his shot in 2007 and led the nation in tackles (12.6 per game) en route to All-America honors. McKillop relies on an encyclopedic command of Pitt’s defensive scheme and a knack for finding the ball.

Only WVU (#14) from the Big East is included in the SI top-20.

ESPN.com has its preseason power rankings and puts Pitt at #24.

Dave Wannstedt looks like he finally has a team which can compete for the Big East title. With home games vs. Rutgers, Louisville and WVU, we agree.

WVU comes in at #8 and USF #18.

The one big problem with the partial transcripts from Coach Dave Wannstedt’s post-practice press conferences is that the context is not really there. We get the base topic, but not how the actual question was phrased and any follow-ups and how serious to take each response in comparison. The risk is in reading too much into it. Especially from one practice to another. We tend to key in on the parts that we want.

For example, I am scared to death regarding Center. Robb Houser has already nailed down the starting spot as a JUCO transfer. The issue becomes, who is second on the depth chart? The Media Guide lists redshirt sophomores Alex Karabin and Jared Martin. Redshirt freshman Wayne Jones — who dropped from 340 to 315 under Buddy Morris’ program — was moved to center from right guard. So this is what I took great interest in reading.

We moved Wayne Jones to center. We have not put the ball on the ground with these young guys.

A couple little sentences. Of course it doesn’t tell me who else is taking snaps, and while the issue of fumbling snaps is important considering what a debacle it was last training camp with John Bachman trying the center position and Pitt looking for someone, anyone to challenge Chris Vangas became something of a joke, it’s still one part.

That’s where it becomes very important to have the reports and blog posts from the beat reporters. Kevin Gorman helps on this one.

“I don’t know how many guys he’s blocked or how many assignments he’s executed correctly but we have not put the ball on the ground with those young guys,” Wannstedt said. “A year ago at this time, I think we were averaging like four fumbles on the ground a day because of young kids and inexperience. That has not happened, and that has been very encouraging.”

As usual, my obsession with what is happening with the offensive line has me keying on those stories first.

The starting line in camp is redshirt freshman Jordan Gibbs at left tackle, senior C.J. Davis at left guard, junior Robb Houser at center, junior John Malecki at right guard and junior Joe Thomas at right tackle.

Redshirt sophomore Jason Pinkston, who might be the most physically gifted lineman on the team, likely will work his way into the lineup at one of the tackle spots. But he is coming off an injury and isn’t in top shape yet.

Pinkston has worked some with the first-team offense in the early part of camp, but Wise said yesterday that if the Panthers were playing a game this weekend the starting tackles would be Thomas and Gibbs.

“It is still Joe because Jason missed the entire spring, and so we have to be intelligent and say it is Joe, and Jordan Gibbs had every snap in the spring,” Wise said. “Now it us up to Jason to have a good preseason, and we need to figure out is he a left or a right tackle. But it is on Jason, he needs to [say] ‘I’m healthy, I’m committed.’ There is no doubt about Jason’s ability, it’s does he want to be great now.”

Beyond the starters and Pinkston, there are some interesting developments for backup spots.

Redshirt freshman guard Chris Jacobson, who was one of the top linemen in the country as a senior in high school, and heralded freshman Lucas Nix are pushing their way up the depth chart at guard, even though senior Dom Williams has been a starter at times in his career. Also, Wayne Jones and Jared Martin are battling for the backup center spot in a competition that likely will go the distance.

While Nix came in as a tackle, he’s playing at guard because that’s where Pitt’s depth is less, according to the story. It also fits with Coach Wannstedt’s philosophy that offensive linemen should be able to play multiple positions on the line to give Pitt the best talent and flexibility on the depth chart.

Of course the first couple days of practice have been with a helmet and t-shirt. So, judging much on the lines beyond technique and footwork is somewhat dubious.

After two days of practicing in helmets only, Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt is looking forward to seeing his players don shoulder pads for the first time in today’s two sessions. Wannstedt said the Panthers can accomplish just about everything but tackling. “Now, the run game becomes real,” Wannstedt said. “Out here, we’re saying, ‘Don’t hit anybody. Don’t hurt anyone.’ We go full-speed now, with pads on. We’ll be able to truly start separating. I don’t think a whole lot will change with the receivers and defensive backs, but it will change drastically with the linemen.”

Back to Gorman’s blog post — and I write from the assumption that all of you go and read the each one in full since there is just too much on too many areas to do it justice; really it’s just chock full o’ nuggets and observations from the practice — was his ending note.

Just an observation after years of covering both Pitt practices and college football recruiting: The Panthers are so deep and strong at almost every position that even talented walk-ons like Cafaro and defensive lineman Chas Alexcih – who might have had a legitimate shot at playing time in past years – are going to have a hard time seeing the field other than special-teams situations.

Another thing I’ve noticed is that players who were highly recruited but didn’t play as true freshman for one reason or another are buried on the depth chart. If nose tackle Craig Bokor had been academically eligible out of Hopewell, he might have a chance to be a three-year starter (like Duncan) but instead is battling for third-string reps. A head injury forced Baldwin’s Justin Hargrove to take a greyshirt, and he’s now behind Romeus, Sheard and Tony Tucker at defensive end.

That should send a message to the starters that no job is safe.

Obviously that is just exciting to read about actually having more depth and talent than ever. Contrawise, it also suggests that there may be some transfers coming out of that same issue. Maybe not until after the season, but there are some players that will likely be frustrated by this.

Heck, I never even got to the early practice report, blog post from Gorman.

Have we mentioned how good Mick Williams looks?The words Tony Wise used to describe the Pitt defensive tackle on one play in Wednesday’s morning practice were within PG-13 ratings but still not fit for print. Williams literally manhandled one side of the offensive line during a team drill — and this was during the non-contact portion of camp.

He so thoroughly dominated the session that Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt rewarded Williams with a ride off the outdoor practice fields in his golf cart, dropping him off at the door.

Other things of note, Aaron Smith looked very good it seems at WR for T.J. Porter. Smith is another player that seems crunched by position changes and the numbers. He tends to be forgotten, but he might get to use this window.

Kevin Harper has a very strong leg, but his accuracy is an issue. Which isn’t very surprising.

Hmm.

The Pitt Athletic Department did full denial of any GT-Pitt pairing being anywhere near happening.

I asked Steve Pederson — who in turn asked Chris LaSala — and both laughed as they said they have never spoken with Georgia Tech.

Steve Pederson then sent a text to one of the assistant basketball coaches to find out if maybe it was a deal to play in basketball – the response “no, though we did talk to them about playing a single neutral site game …”

In other words, this Pitt-Georgia Tech stuff is another example of how someone thought they heard something, put it on the Internet and it became the gospel …

Well, while this probably popped up on message boards as well, I did post about it.

The podcast with GT AD Dan Radakovich went up on Wednesday, but does not mention anything about future scheduling. It seems that the interview continued after a break, but the podcast did not. That doesn’t prove anything. So at the moment, there is apparently nothing contradictory in any available media to contradict the denial.

So, that’s where any GT game stands. Not happening.

Brief interruption to football posting with a few little notes about basketball.

ESPN.com got to the Big East in their offseason “shootaround.” The focus is on the Big East Tournament going to 16 teams and an extra day. I’m torn. On the one hand, how can I be against one more day of the best conference tournament in the country? Who turns down free ice cream (I mean, aside from diabetics and the lactose intolerant)?

On the other, I like the fact that it adds to the Big East regular season. No team wants to mail it in at the end. They want at least a chance to make the trip to MSG. It makes the final week or two exciting even for the bottom feeders. Plus, from a conference money-making/prestige standpoint, there is always the risk of a bad loss by a bubble team to a really bad team. Knocking them out of the NCAA Tournament — less BE teams in the NCAA means less money for the conference/schools for games played. Plus, less bragging rights about how brutal the Big East is with the conventional argument of, “See how many teams we put in the Tournament.”

Here’s the team capsule for Pitt:

It’s hard not to envision the Panthers as a top five team nationally. Overwhelmed by injuries all season, Pittsburgh rolled to an improbable Big East tournament title on the emerging stardom of Sam Young. Unassuming off the court, he was a beast on it and his decision to return to campus should have been greeted with hosannas and hallelujahs. Mix in a healthy Levance Fields, powerful DeJuan Blair and the Panthers’ trademark nasty defense, and you have to give them the slightest of edges to win the league.

Jay Bilas puts Pitt as #3 in the conference behind UConn and Louisville.

St. Benedict’s coach Dan Hurley built one of the top basketball programs in the country. College coaches are always banging on his door looking to get an in with his bluechip talent. So, is it any surprise that when Hurley has a coaches clinic, the big names come willingly to speak?

St. Benedict’s head coach Dan Hurley announced that the Garden State Coaches Clinic will take place between 9-4:30 on Sept. 26 at St. Benedict’s. The event is open to all college, high school and travel coaches and will feature Bill Self, head coach of defending national champion Kansas; Pitt coach Jamie Dixon; West Virginia coach Bob Huggins; Texas coach Rick Barnes; former NBA coach Hubie Brown; and UMass assistant Vance Wahlberg, the creator of the dribble-drive motion offense now used by Memphis head coach John Calipari.

I guarantee you that all of the coaches make their appearance gratis. Heck, some coaches would probably pay just to be able to help. Not only do they “help” Hurley’s clinic, they get out there before some 600 other assorted coaches.

Everyone is still waiting for Mike Cook’s status to be determined by the NCAA. Cook is acting cool about it.

Cook doesn’t sound nervous about the impending decision.

“Actually, I’m not even worried about playing next year,” he said. “I’m focused on getting my knee better. I want to get completely healthy first. I’m not even thinking about the redshirt.”

Cook has yet to be given clearance to play basketball again. Doctors are schedule to make that determination Aug. 25. He has been rehabbing the knee mostly through weightlifting and running.

Cook’s outlook may have to do with the apparent delays in his case. Pitt was expecting a final resolution more than a month ago, then again two weeks ago.

“I never got my hopes up,” Cook said. “I figure the longer the (NCAA) takes, the better. That means they really are thinking about it.”

It could be worse. Cook could be QB Ben Mauk at Cinci. Watching training camp, eating a lot and in complete limbo. Thanks NCAA.

Lists? You want subjective lists to spark debate? Cards Hoops Blog spent the last 3 weeks producing a list of the preseason top-75 Big East players. Sam Young was #2 and DeJuan Blair #9 in the top-10. Levance Fields came in at #19. Gilbert Brown was #59. He included Brad Wanamaker as one who just missed the cut. Noting that his performance didn’t live up to his talent level.

Here are the rest of the rankings: 15-11; 30-21; 35-31; 40-36; 45-41; 50-46; 55-51; 65-61; 70-66; 75-71.

Last year at this time, Bill Stull was just the back-up who had dutifully waited behind Tyler Palko. He was just the guy trying to ward off a couple of freshmen in strong-armed, athletic Kevan Smith and heralded QB recruit Pat Bostick.

Frankly, he wasn’t particularly interesting as far as a story went. It was assumed he would win the job because he at least was immersed in the system. Even if he wasn’t making a statement in practice, Smith and Bostick weren’t seizing the job. They, however, were more interesting as much more unknown quantities. Stull was a boring story. He was getting the job because he was first in line. Now, that makes a good hook for a puff piece.

This training camp, things are different. Bill Stull is coming off of a brutal injury that ended his season. Ligaments on his thumb were torn and ripped.

He needed surgery to repair a complete tear of the ulnar collateral ligament and a partial tear of the radial collateral ligament.

He can still describe in detail the two plays that doomed his season.

“The first play was a quarterback draw and I got stood up at the line of scrimmage and then they were trying to rip the ball out. That’s when I initially injured my thumb,” Stull said. “The next play we did a fake dive with a pitch to LaRod Stephens. I think that’s where it actually snapped or completely tore off the bone.”

Even though it was only Eastern Michigan, Stull showed that he had control and understanding of the offense. Especially in comparison to Bostick and Smith. Both of whom struggled no matter what the competition they faced.

That makes Stull much more interesting and a better story for the media. He is now a player coming back from injury that could prove to be a big key/difference for Pitt. Coach Wannstedt and OC Cavanaugh have stopped just short of saying he’s definitely the starter with statements like, “It will be Billy’s job to lose.” And.

“I think the redshirt last year will help him out,” Wannstedt said. “He’s bigger. I know his arm’s stronger. He’s more mature. Hopefully he’s smarter, but I was very pleased with how he performed and progressed at spring ball. Coming out of that, he was our most complete quarterback.”

Stull doesn’t disagree about the redshirt giving him a chance to get stronger.

“If you asked me about this right after the surgery, I’d still be pretty down in the dumps,” he said, “but you’ve got to look at the positive side of it. I feel the Man upstairs has a plan. I was able to redshirt and I think that year help me get bigger, strong and faster. That can only benefit me.”

And now Stull is the perfect fit for the offense, not just a stop-gap transition.

Here’s what Cavanaugh likes about Stull:

“He’s got a quarterback feel about him. The players rally around him. He’s really fearless throwing the ball and that’s a good thing.”

All it took was finding out that the guy standing first in line was also the best choice.

When Pitt shakes out the spot at right tackle, the other will likely see time at other spots along the line — likely at left tackle. Jason Pinkston and Joe Thomas are both trying to claim the spot, and both seem to have to get over mental blocks more than physical.

It isn’t Pinkston’s rust that worries the Pitt coaches, but his excess baggage. The 6-4 Pinkston played at 289 pounds last season but is now 310 after missing time following the death of his mother, Martha, of breast cancer on May 15. She was 48.

“It’s so hard to deal with. Every day, you’re going through something,” Pinkston said. “I didn’t want to do anything. I didn’t want to come around, see anyone, talk to anyone. Everyone would call and say, ‘You’ll be all right.’ I’d say, ‘You don’t understand.’ She was there for everything. She hated watching me play but she went (to games to show support) for me. I always catch myself thinking about her. She’s on my mind all the time.”

After being named to The Sporting News’ Big East All-Freshman team in 2006, Thomas lost his starting job first to McGlynn and then John Bachman before regaining it for the season finale. After returning to tackle – where he starred at Lakewood (Ohio) St. Edward High – Thomas knew a change was necessary after struggling this past spring against Pitt’s speedy defensive ends.

“It was big-time just a realization that this team is really young and I’m one of the older guys now. I’ve got to grow up and show a little leadership and get out of the childish age,” said Thomas, who claims to be quicker since slimming down from 315. “Now, I’m using that as big-time motivation in moving out to right tackle. Freshman year, I proved myself. I gained doubters last year. I let people down. I wasn’t playing up to where I should have been and let myself get sloppy.”

See, Pitt does have an offensive lineman that comes in at over 300 pounds.

Thomas’ struggles against the faster DEs is part of why he isn’t playing left tackle anymore. Instead, the job appears to belong to redshirt freshman Jordan Gibbs. Thomas has slimmed down and is saying the right things, but he does have to back it up.

Which lends credence to what Coach Wannstedt said about new OL Coach Tony Wise not feeling bound to older players and no depth chart. Gibbs was solid in the spring practices and regularly went up against DE Greg Romeus.

“I would say that the most important thing was that Jordan had himself 20 days of continuous practice (in spring drills) and didn’t miss one snap, one single drill. He was there the whole time, and he did very, very well against guys that were good players,” Pitt offensive line coach Tony Wise said. “I said, ‘There’s no reason to disrupt this.’ With Jason coming back, even though he’s played, he’s coming back from injury and having no spring practice, I think it’s important that we let Jordan stay there and let Joe and Jason fight it out. If Jason does a great job, boom, we put him over.”

Gibbs in claiming the left tackle starting spot already jumped senior Chase Clower.

I think Pinkston can still grab the left tackle starting spot. It will take, however, showing the coaches that he has his motivation back and either shedding the weight or showing he it isn’t as much of an issue.

The quotes from Pinkston, though, don’t suggest that he is there. Understandably, it sounds like the loss of his mother is not something he can compartmentalize at this point.

It’s late, I’m tired and here’s what we have: the post practice presser, a Q&A from Zeise and Gorman’s blog impressions.

The press conference transcript was on the light side today. Guys coming off of major injuries last year were in the morning practices. The main reason for the freshmen to work in the afternoon was so they could get more information on what not to do. Er, “have a chance to see the film and hear the corrections from the morning practice,” to keep the practice moving faster.

Really not much info from the presser, other than everyone is competing. That and a chance for Coach Wannstedt to complain about no pads allowed yet.

A lot of good stuff in the Paul Zeise Q&A (as Reed K. has his immediate impact) to read. Questions regarding the slimmed down offensive linemen — which was became a widely distributed AP Story — receiver sets, Coach Wannstedt handling the special teams,the impact of Fullback Henry Hynoski moving to 2nd on the depth chart and hopefully the final season of questions regarding Wannstedt’s readjustment to college coaching.

Q: Do you think the Pitt coaches have finally settled in as college coaches and the college game?

ZEISE: Yes — and I think that adjustment period to the college game took a little longer than normal and mostly because Dave Wannstedt had been in the NFL for so long. Perhaps the three biggest signs that the coaching staff — and in particular the head coach and offensive coordinator — have finally adjusted to the college game are (1) the Wildcat offense, an admission that a pure pro-style West Coast offense is a dinosaur in college football, which is why few teams still use it (2) the hiring of Phil Bennett, a college defensive coordinator with experience defending college offenses, as opposed to one of Wannstedt’s NFL cronies and (3) the recruitment of Greg Cross – a multiple-threat quarterback with the skill set to run a variety of spread and option offenses. I think this change from a pure NFL mentality to a college mentality was easy to see at some point during last season and to me it is the biggest reason I expect this team to improve dramatically this year.

Jonathan Baldwin looked good in the afternoon practice according Kevin Gorman.

What I was most impressed with about Baldwin wasn’t his leaping grabs – those who have seen him play football or basketball have come to expect them – but his ability to catch passes with defenders draped on him and balls thrown at his feet.

At best, Baldwin could make the position battle at split end interesting. At worst, he has a chance to develop into a nice complement to veterans Oderick Turner and Cedric McGee.

I’m going to assume he just means for this year in terms of development.

Freshman Cameron Saddler actually struggled with punt returns on day 1. Shariff Harris probably helped himself on the RB depth chart by showing excellent hands in catching the ball as well.

I have to keep this short as I have to run out the door.

Well, that was odd. I get out a post around lunchtime mentioning that if the team has a certain theme this year, it should be one that indicates the desire of the team to go out and win. Not anything that would suggest entitlement. Shortly afterwards, Kevin Gorman blog posts about morning practice, and…

Pitt has chosen “Prove It” as a motto for the season…

I’m good with that. That’s what the team has to do. Prove it deserves darkhorse status to win the Big East. Prove it deserves the hype as a team on the rise. Prove it deserves being ranked 19th in Sports Illustrated’s preseason rankings.

Back to all the goodies in the Gorman post, which I’m sure most of you will go and read in full. Kinder already threw another scare into everyone by slipping and twisting/tweaking his knee a bit in drills.

At about 10 a.m., Kinder slipped on a route over the middle and came up hobbled, limping back and taking a knee.

“I just slipped and twisted my knee slightly,” Kinder said. “I’ll be fine. I was a little nervous at first, but when I got up I was all right. I finished practice, so I was all right.”

Kinder actually caught a pass in stride and ran without any apparent problems, but he realizes that the mental aspect of the injury will be the hardest part to overcome.

Kinder isn’t more talented than a lot of the receivers Pitt has. He does, however, have one of the best work ethics on the team and is a leader. His presence just makes the receiving corps that much stronger.

Kevin Harper, the freshman kicker from Mentor, OH (just down the road from me), is almost certainly going to be redshirted behind Conor Lee. Still he was showing a strong leg.

Being that it was a helmets-only practice, one of the most impressive showings was by freshman kicker Kevin Harper. He blasted a pair of 32-yard field goals so high through the uprights and onto the hovering catwalk, a first from what we’ve seen.

Mick Williams is looking svelte and toned.

Which as a slogan is definitely not as played out as “This is our country.”

The players are excited for this season.

“If not this year, when?” tight end Nate Byham said when asked about the mood of the team. “There’s no more excuses, there is too much talent here, too much talent with experience — we’re hungry, this is our year to blow up. We’re expecting big things, even bigger things than people on the outside expect from us. We know we have a lot of work ahead of us, we also know that we’re hungrier than we’ve ever been, we’re more talented than we’ve ever been and we’re ready to get started on this thing.

“All of us came to Pitt because we knew that we’d be in this situation, that Pitt was ready to explode and we wanted to be a part of it. This is our year.” Offensive guard John Malecki added, “We don’t want to hear about youth, no more ‘we have too many young guys,’ no more of that stuff. This is it, we need to go out and get it done. We’re working so hard, we’re pushing each other, we want to be good and you look around here and look at all this talent, my goodness, I consider it an honor to line up with this much talent every week. It is our time to shine.”

Brief aside. According to the Pitt Media Guide, John Malecki is 6-3 and 280 pounds. Try and picture him saying “my goodness.” Now try not to giggle.

The theme “this is our time” was something that was repeated time and time again yesterday by players and even some coaches. The team is experienced, talented and healthy and, more importantly, it has enough depth to withstand injuries early in the season. As Malecki, Byham and many of their teammates said, there is no reason the Panthers shouldn’t be good this season. Even coach Dave Wannstedt, who is usually cautious when talking about expectations, said he’s as excited as he has ever been heading into a season, but he knows none of the hype will mean a thing when the team begins camp today.

The expectations internally are good. If the players aren’t hungry for success after the last few years, then there’s a real problem. They are right, no more excuses — which would also be a good theme for this season — the players and the coaches have to make things happen this year.

Right, Coach Cavanaugh?

Cavanaugh’s resume hardly suggests a fast-break kind of guy, but that might have been a function of the systems in which he worked. In Baltimore, a don’t-screw-it-up offense won a Super Bowl in 2000 (but only after almost screwing it up by going five consecutive games without a touchdown).

If the line plays reasonably well this season, Cavanaugh should have the opportunity to prove he can, in fact, deliver a prolific offense.

I asked him about the too-conservative rap. He said the talent on hand has always dictated his style of offense.

“Two years ago, when (quarterback) Tyler (Palko) was a senior, I don’t think anyone considered our play-calling conservative,” Cavanaugh said. “We scored the second-most points in Pitt history.”

True, but Pitt only ranked fourth in the Big East in scoring that year in conference games. It racked up its biggest numbers against cupcake non-conference competition.

I hope Cavanaugh is really that way. The issue, though, is even if he is will Coach Wannstedt let him.

…Wannstedt forcefully defended the play-calling, saying, “I said this in my opening press conference: You throw the ball to score points; you run the ball to win.”

Maybe that thinking needs to change to something like this: You score points by any means necessary until somebody tells you to stop.

If that means 35 carries for LeSean “Shady” McCoy, great. If it means staying with a successful passing game — even with a lead — until victory is secured, so be it.

This is the change in football. In both the pros and college. You can’t stop throwing the ball. Even if you have an incredible talent running the ball and an impressive O-line blocking up-front. It’s about making sure that the other team can’t come back. Not just running time off the clock to make it harder.

Pete Carroll got it in college. He was a defensive coach, but he recognized the offense has to go, go, go. He turned his offenses loose. By contrast, Chan Gailey the now ex-GT coach was an offensive coach but never seemed to get it. He never let the offense loose. It was always too tightly controlled, predictable and too often stoppable.

Okay, enough with the downer stuff. Back to the unbridled optimism.

“It’s weird. If I head out to the mall or something, people are coming up to me and asking me about Pitt,” said West Allegheny graduate Dorin Dickerson, who moved from linebacker to tight end during spring practice. “Everywhere we go, it’s been like that. People want to know about Pitt, Pitt, Pitt. That’s all we hear about and it’s a good thing. Now, we have to deliver.”

It’s a position most of Pitt’s players haven’t been in since high school.

“Look at what’s happened here since we beat West Virginia,” Stull said. “You saw the recruiting aspect of it with all the guys who came over here after the win and the guys who decommitted from other places to come here after that. It really sparked something special. But that’s over now and we can control what happens from here.”

The thing to look for come the season will be if the team brings the same effort and intensity in every game. Are they responding each time. Are they ready from the start of the game to the end? That’s going to be part of the challenge for the coaches. Show that they can reach the kids and have the players ready consistently.

The training camp will be about proving who should be starting at spots. Then comes the time to prove it.

”When I have a conversation with someone who’s excited for this upcoming season, my first reaction is, ‘We gotta prove it.”’

Indeed. The Panthers enter this season – Wannstedt’s fourth as Pitt head coach – with very high expectations. Pitt can be found in most college football preseason Top 25 poll. Shady McCoy and Derek Kinder are on the watch list for the Maxwell award (annually presented to the nation’s most-outstanding player) and Scott McKillop is on the preseason list for the Chuck Bednarik Award, which is given each year to the country’s top defensive player.

Those three players give Pitt some of its best big-game talent since Larry Fitzgerald was hauling in TD passes at Heinz Field in 2003. Add in a third-straight nationally ranked recruiting class and this is certainly the most-talented squad of Wannstedt’s tenure with the Panthers.

The more I think about it, the problem I have with “this is our time,” as a theme is that it can be suggestive of some sense of entitlement. That the team is owed a big season after everything the past few years.

I’d like more of a theme to be about “taking it” or “proving things,” or “no more excuses.”

Content loves media day.

I count no fewer than a dozen tabs open in my browser windows from stories out of Pitt’s Media Day. Time to start winnowing things down.

Let’s start with some actual content regarding practices. And everyone’s favorite obsession, the offensive line.

Once again, Pitt’s coaching staff will have split practices to get all the players as much work as possible early on. This plan was instituted after the first year. It is double duty for the coaches, with a morning session for half and an afternoon session for the rest. As a depth chart starts to be more cohesive and scrimmages loom, things revert to more standardized practices with everyone.

Kevin Gorman provides the list of how the squads are broken up.

Group 1 offense – Quarterbacks Bill Stull, Greg Cross, Tino Sunseri; tailbacks LeSean McCoy, Kevin Collier and Chris Burns; fullback Conredge Collins; split ends Cedric McGee and Oderick Turner; flankers Derek Kinder, T.J. Porter and Austin Ransom; tight ends Nate Byham and John Pelusi; left tackles Jordan Gibbs and Chase Clowser; left guards C.J. Davis and Lucas Nix; centers Robb Houser and Jared Martin; right guards John Malecki and Jacobson; and right tackles Joe Thomas and Frank Kochin.

Group 1 defense – Left ends Doug Fulmer and Jabaal Sheard; nose tackles Gus Mustakas and Mick Williams; defensive tackles Rashaad Duncan and Tommie Duhart and right end Greg Romeus; strong-side linebackers Adam Gunn, Greg Williams and Brian Kaiser; middle linebackers Scott McKillop and Steve Dell; weak-side linebackers Shane Murray and Nate Nix; boundary cornerbacks Jovani Chappel and Ronald Hobby; field cornerbacks Aaron Berry and Holley; strong safeties Dom DeCicco and Mike Toerper; and free safeties Eric Thatcher and Andrew Taglianetti.

Group 2 offense – Quarterbacks Pat Bostick, Kevan Smith and Andrew Janocko; tailbacks LaRod Stephens-Howling and Shariff Harris; fullbacks Henry Hynoski and Chris Bova; split ends Aundre Wright, Baldwin and Caleb Wilson; flankers Aaron Smith, Mike Shanahan and Cameron Saddler; tight ends Dorin Dickerson, Mike Cruz and Justin Virbitsky; left tackles Greg Gaskins and Ryan Turnley; left guards Dom Williams and Josh Novotny; centers Alex Karabin and Wayne Jones; right guards John Bachman and John Fieger; and right tackles Jason Pinkston and Dan Matha.

Group 2 defense – Left ends Tony Tucker and Justin Hargrove; nose tackles Myles Caragein and Keith Coleman; defensive tackles Craig Bokor and Chas Alexcih; right ends Tyler Tkach and Scott Corson; strong-side linebackers Brandon Lindsey, Joe Trebitz and Jon Taglianetti; middle linebackers Max Gruder and Shayne Hale; weak-side linebackers Tristan Roberts and Manny Williams; boundary corners Buddy Jackson and Danny Cafaro; field corner Ricky Gary; strong safeties Elijah Fields, Antwuan Reed and Justin Edwards and free safeties Irvan Brown, Scott Shrake and Marco Pecora.

This, of course, is all subject to change on a daily basis.

But those groupings generate some interesting thoughts. For one, a message is being sent to Jason Pinkston that nothing is going to be handed to him.

Another is that Pitt coaches placed players in direct competition for a position in the same groupings, with a few exceptions: Pinkston and Thomas at right tackle, Chappel and Jackson at boundary corner and DeCicco and Fields at strong safety. That Pinkston is competing for the starting job at right tackle (instead of the left side) and working in the afternoon session is either a sign of the coaching staff’s dissatisfaction with his work ethic or that it really likes Gibbs.

Maybe both.

Pinkston was rumored to be involved in an incident over the summer. There was never anything more reported. Not sure if that played into the way Pinkston is being placed in the competition. As an additional message.

The direct competition for several positions is not a surprise. That was a key thing to watch heading into training camp.
The biggest positional battles as just about everyone who follows Pitt football knows will be on the O-line. I mean, outside of Robb Houser at Center, I’m just not sure who will start and where. I’m not the only one as Paul Zeise observes in his intro to this year’s set of daily Q&A’s.

Simple, because the first rule of football is you are only as good as your offensive line and there are so many questions about this offensive line that it makes no sense right now to try and get into the predictions business. The line could be anywhere from great to very mediocre — and not surprisingly when people ask me for my predictions about the team I say the same thing — I could make a case for 5-7 just as easily as 10-2.

That’s why the position battles that matter most — and that you’ll read about most — are all on the offensive line — and mostly at tackle. I think that by the time the season starts, the two starting tackles will be Jason Pinkston and Joe Thomas but Pinkston is clearly going to have earn it as he has started second team on the depth chart behind Jordan Gibbs and Thomas.

Also, Lucas Nix and Chris Jacobson will both try to work their way onto the two-deep at guard, which should be fun to watch given how highly both were regarded as prospects.

An underrated storyline on the O-line depth chart, but one I’ll be banging the drum over, is who will end up being second on the depth chart at center. That just looms as a terrifying issue.

Big hat-tip to Roman down in Atlanta.

On one of the sports talk, they had GT AD Dan Radakovich in for an interview. On the subject of scheduling, he said they were in the final stages of establishing a home-and-home with Pitt.

That means another go-round with Paul Johnson, the former Navy head coach. Makes it a greater shame that Chan Gailey was fired. I would have loved to have seen what Orson at EDSBS would have wrought with that news.

The podcast should be up tomorrow.

There’s what is posted in a media day transcript, then there is the information that gets left out or is supplemented by the athletic department in the form of handouts. Case in point, Maurice Williams is gone from Pitt for good.

Enrolled at Edinboro: Former Strong Vincent High star Maurice Williams is enrolled at Edinboro, coach Scott Browning confirmed Monday.

“He enrolled last week,” said Browning, who declined further comment.

At Pittsburgh’s media day Monday, coach Dave Wannstedt confirmed that Williams is in the process of transferring.

A quarterback in high school, Williams played wide receiver at Pitt as a true freshman in 2007 before becoming academically ineligible for the upcoming 2008 season.

Williams was initially expected to redshirt this season and resume play for the Panthers in 2009. Then Pitt gave Williams permission to talk with Edinboro earlier this summer.

If academically eligible, Williams can play this season. If not, he’ll have to sit out until next season. Edinboro opens practice Thursday.

Well, that’s that. Good luck to Williams. If he really has NFL dreams like his talent suggested, he’s made it that much harder on himself to get there.

Kevin Gorman blogged lots of goodies. Players who are gone besides Williams also include Shane Brooks (academics), Dan Loheyde (medical hardship), Sherod Murdock (suspended indefinitely then left team) and Dustin Walters (quit).

I love when the classic cliches are broken out immediately. Coach Dave Wannstedt’s opening press conference from this afternoon broke out some greats in the opening statement.

“As we get started the enthusiasm and the energy amongst our players and our fans is very evident. I think that’s good and that’s exciting. From a coaching standpoint, it’s excellent to see your players have legitimate enthusiasm. At this time of year, every player and every coach on every level feels their team has a chance to finish near the top. However, when you step back, there is a select group that can truly accomplish that. That said, when we start practice tomorrow, the only way you make it an exciting season, and a very rewarding season is to take it one step at a time. As we install our offense, defense and special teams, we have to make sure that we have solid back-to-back-to-back practices, building as we get ready for the season. When I have a conversation with someone who’s excited for this upcoming season, my first reaction is ‘we gotta prove it.’”

Obviously the “one step at a time” is one one of the all time classics in the sports cliches. A slight variation to “one game at a time.” Still, by my count I see 3 classics. The “everyone feels they have a chance to win” and a very underrated practice/spring training cliche relating to building towards the opener.

For the most part, there isn’t a lot to the press conference and that’s a good thing. No surprises regarding players being suspended or having academic problems. No NCAA Clearinghouse issues at this point.

All of our freshmen are here, they’ve all been attending summer school, and they’ll all be practicing tomorrow. As I stand right here, I’m not counting on any one of the guys to be a necessary performer for us to go out there and win games. Do I think that some of these freshmen will contribute? Yes I do, but I can’t say exactly who that’s going to be. Obviously, you have a need for greater depth at certain positions, so that will definitely play a factor.”

Interesting on responding to the issue of the player he thinks will break out this year on defense.

“The one corner spot has the guy with more talent maybe than anyone, and that’s Buddy Jackson. He’s a redshirt freshman who needs to just mature. If we can get him to a point where we can just trust him, then he could be a guy we’re talking about as a starter. He ran the fastest time on the team in the spring, and with his height and weight, he’s the picture perfect image of how you want a corner to look. If we can just bring him along a little bit, he definitely has the potential to make an impact.”

Maybe he feels Greg Romeus has already broken out in his freshman year, but a lot of people nationally are expecting him to be the next big star for Pitt (he’s mentioned in most of the magazine previews and some other bloggers have contacted me specifically about him).

There’s more about the offensive line being better conditioned, Dorin Dickerson being a perfect fit at TE, Gus Mustakas ready to go and more.

So, Bill Stull is likely the starter. No one is shocked.

I think the conventional wisdom will hold with QB: that Greg Cross will be used to help mix things up as the #2 starter, with Kevan Smith the #3 starter and Pat Bostick taking a redshirt. You know they so wanted Bostick to take last year — especially after the training camp issues — but couldn’t. Give him a year just to keep building arm strength, work some more on his throwing style, keep learning the offensive system, and just make sure he is ready mentally.

Not sure what is about Cavanaugh’s offensive system. It a very traditional West Coast offense, but something about it really messes with QBs who haven’t had time to learn it for at least a year. That’s a big factor that helped Stull last fall win the job; and why he will be the starter this year. He knows it better than anyone on the team. He had two years behind Palko learning it, running it in practices, just getting it all. It doesn’t require Dan Marino level talent.

“We’re the type of offense where we’re not going to throw it 50 times. The guy doesn’t have to be Tom Brady. Our quarterback needs to be efficient, smart and make plays when there are plays to be made.

“We’re going to play defense, run the ball and play good special teams. That’s our trademark.”

The issue — and I’m standing in line to beat it into the ground along with most of the beat writers for training camp — the offensive line. It’s the most unsettled area on Pitt’s team. There are some positional battles at other groups, but not the widespread question marks all over the place that exist on the O-line.

“There’s a lot of loose things that need to be resolved,” Wannstedt said.

Even senior C.J. Davis, who has 30 consecutive starts at left guard, isn’t assured of his job after missing spring drills with a hamstring injury now that redshirt freshman Chris Jacobson, a high school All-American, has recovered from a knee injury.

“C.J.’s our starting left guard right now, but the great thing about hiring a new offensive line coach is Tony Wise doesn’t know C.J. Davis from Greg Gaskins,” Wannstedt said. “Everybody has to prove themselves. I like that. There’s something to that. It makes everybody better.

“Tony’s going to walk in and say, ‘These are our five best guys.’ And he’s not going to be concerned with who started last year, who’s a freshman and who’s a fifth-year senior.”

There’s more depth on the O-line than there was a year ago. Hopefully it won’t be tested like the last two years. Center still terrifies me. Even if Robb Houser is everything expected, there is still no true center backing him up right now. Honestly, if there is one position where I really hope Pitt gets the big recruit for this class, it is Center.