I have been very conflicted about writing more about Pat Bostick getting inserted into the Navy game at the very end. I’d rather move on to the Rutgers game. The problem is, I haven’t stopped thinking about it, and the answer given has not resolved the issue in my mind.
As soon as it happened, I was confused by the decision. The annoyance quickly followed, but not at seeing Bostick in there, or at Wannstedt’s decision, per se. I was annoyed because, despite, a fantastic performance by the defense. Despite McCoy absolutely shredding Navy’s defense. Despite seeing Baldwin being used as a real deep threat. Despite an aggressive game plan. Despite all the good, that decision at the end of the game was going to turn into a major topic and distract from all the good stuff.
Coach Wannstedt’s answer after the game hardly cleared anything up.
Heading into the season, coaches were adamant that the plan would be to redshirt Bostick, thus preserving a fifth year of eligibility for him, and let Bill Stull hold the starter’s job for this season and next. Under that plan, Bostick would then have two years of eligibility to be the starter once Stull graduated but now that he’s played in a game, he will only have one. Theoretically, though, he could take a redshirt next season and still have two seasons, but that seems unlikely at this point.
Wannstedt was cryptic in his answer about Bostick’s redshirt.
“We’re trying to win games and [Bostick] is our back-up quarterback right now and if something happens to Billy [Stull] he has to go in and play,” Wannstedt said.
When asked a follow-up question about whether he was concerned about preserving Bostick’s redshirt, Wannstedt answered sternly, “No.”
So, a coach known (and liked in the media) for being open and transparent suddenly becomes tight-lipped, and gives a coachspeak answer and won’t explain. And answer that goes against all private statements and implied statements by Wannstedt and other coaches to all those who cover Pitt football. No, that won’t cause a lot of arched eybrows and questions.
Take Paul Zeise in his Q&A from yesterday.
Personnel decisions are often second-guessed and most of the time for the wrong reasons . But the decisions to not play Elijah Fields — for even one snap — and to burn Pat Bostick’s redshirt so he can hand off three times and take a knee (and then explain that he needed to “get some work”) are both puzzling — and that is being kind. Bostick was supposed to be the franchise quarterback — in playing him for three meaningless snaps you’ve basically told him and the world that he is no longer regarded as that because if he was, you’d want him to have as many years of eligibility to be the starter as possible. And the bottom line is this — if you don’t think that he is the guy for the future, that’s fair. And if you think Tino Sunseri is — and he might not be — why burn his redshirt — especially for a guy like Bostick who has done everything they’ve asked, who works hard and who doesn’t embarrass himself or the program? Why not tell him that you’re not sure he is the guy and give him the option to transfer somewhere (like a Division I-AA program) and have his three years of eligibility remaining intact. Those three snaps did nothing to “get him ready” in case Stull goes down so it just smells like a “not-very-well thought out” plan.
A beat writer is around the team and coaches all season. It’s rather obvious no one saw this decision coming.
You know what that does. It creates conspiracy theories, hypothesis, rumors and speculation. And not just here and on the message boards. Even a columnist from one of the papers sees it as the most compelling thing coming out of the game and joins in the decoding of the deeper meaning.
The second point has more long-term ramifications. Evidently — and Wannstedt will deny this from now until the end of time — the Pitt staff doesn’t believe Bostick is their guy for the future. If Wannstedt felt otherwise, he never would have played Bostick, the starter as a freshman last season by default after Stull’s hand injury in the opening game, until he absolutely had to play him. That would be pure lunacy. Wannstedt likes Bostick as a quarterback better than Cross and Smith, but …
Fair or not, these are the conclusions a lot have reached.
Now to be fair to Coach Wannstedt, I’ve never heard or read explicitly that Bostick would be redshirted. Some have written that before the season, Wannstedt appeared on Joe Bendel’s radio show and said words to that effect, but I can’t confirm it.
This is about as close as Wannstedt had come to the issue — and obviously he left a lot of wiggle room — prior to the start of the season.
The topic of Pat Bostick being redshirted this season has been brought up but we will not make that decision this week. We’ll do what we have to in order to win this first game. We’ll take things one week at a time concerning our backup quarterbacks. Obviously we’ll have a plan should something happen to Bill but that wouldn’t be revealed until that situation occurred.
And that plan wasn’t unveiled until game six? In his Rutgers preview press conference, he did address the Bostck situation. Sort of.
On Pat Bostick as the primary reserve at quarterback:
“Well, the way our season’s been to this point, we haven’t really had an opportunity for any other quarterback to play. The discussion was, and is, that we’re trying to do everything we can to give our team the best chance to win this year. I think if Pat’s going to be the backup quarterback and if Bill got hurt on the first snap, then we’d expect Pat to go in. He’s got to have some playing time. We haven’t had him take any snaps in a live game since last year so that was the thinking behind putting him late against Navy. It wasn’t the redshirt thing or anything else. The decision to name him the back-up was based solely on what gives our team the best chance to win. He won’t necessarily see action every game. We’ll see how every game unfolds. He felt good about getting in there. In practice, he takes the back-up reps and he’s prepared to play so nothing’s really going to change with his status.”
I know, Pitt’s riding high and questioning success seems excessively negative, but Coach Wannstedt’s decision-making and the explanations — especially regarding back-ups is maddening.
This seems a lot like the way he responded to using Greg Cross. First, declaring there is/was a plan to use him, then explain how things just haven’t worked out to in the game to do the things they wanted.
Putting Bostick in there for one series where his only duty is take the snap under center without fumbling, firmly place that ball in Sharriff Harris’ stomach without fumbling the exchange and then get out of the way. Repeat two more times and run off the field to let the team punt.
I’m sorry, I know I didn’t play the game. I just don’t see how that helps him or the team. Yes, he hasn’t seen live game action since last season. That series hardly does much to change it. The explanation and reason just don’t match the actions.
I’m glad that Bostick is apparently happy with the explanation Wannstedt gave him. That’s nice. It still doesn’t change anything regarding the situation. It isn’t fair to Bostick, since it now subjects him to a whole new set of swirling rumors — almost all negative. It was all something that could have been avoided, and it all falls at the feet of Wannstedt.
Finally, go check out Part 1 and Part 2 over at Cat Basket as DPJ tries to make sense of this. Some excellent stuff.
The Oline is much better this year, the receivers and tight ends are much better this year, and we’re not getting blown out early in games like we did last year forcing an inexperienced qb to put the team on his shoulders (check out the UVA/Uconn games).
Pat is better than a career back up. I hope that he actually stands a chance to win the starting job next year and that it isn’t a fake contest like it was this year. I have been to the practices this year and Pat is much improved from where he was a year ago. I think Pat did as well as he could under the circumstances last year, but not even Bill Stull or Tyler Palko could have done well with that team.
PITT is doing good, no doubt about it. With that sais, can you honestly tell me that Stull has been so good that he cannot be bumped for a more talented quarterback?
What if the plan is for Bostick to replace Stull next year, and be the starter the next two years.
I am not saying it is going to happen, just a thought.
First off, Kevan Smith isn’t exactly seasoned in any regard and still seems to be the greenest of all quarterback’s. He looked completely out of place in there so comparing anyone to him is not really fair. Last year Pat had as much chance to succeed as Stull this year. Worse O-Line? Two of that worse o-line were drafted, one as a first round pick. The o-line was not the issue. I agree that it isn’t fair as a freshman to be put into that situation and he did admirably but it seems as though he just doesn’t have the tools to get it done. Last year’s team was every bit as talented but lacked a true QB and leader. Not bashing Pat here b/c again he did admirably as a true freshman, but that is what Pitt didn’t have.
Yes, Stull could be replaced by a more talented quarterback if there was one, but the fact of the matter is that there isn’t. Stull will continue to develop and Pitt will continue to win.
It terms of offensive line, Otah was our only good lineman. McGlynn is not a very good tackle and is best suited for guard. Thomas played poorly, as did Vangas, and CJ Davis played a little above average. Otah, Davis, Vangas, Thomas, McGlynn in my opinion is not as solid as Pinkston, Davis, Houser, Malecki, and Thomas. While there might not be an NFLer on this current roster, the group as whole is better.
Also having Kinder, Dorin, and Baldwin is a big improvement over Turner (esp as a #1 receiver), Pestano and Strong.
Don’t forget too, last year we all talked about 2008 being “the” year. I think Stull has managed the games well. I think Bostick could probably do just as well as Stull. I just don’t understand the anti-bostick sentiment that we have seen this year and last.
Also, it is refreshing to have a logical debate instead of trashing guys because we prefer someone else. I always enjoy a well thought out, mature debate. Hopefully this thread remains that way.
Tip-top work on the blog, by the way.
Truly nothing against Bostick. He may very well be a hard worker and possess some incredible and difficult-to-measure intangibles, but watching him last year, I always came away thinking: Why was this kid so highly recruited?
Bostick has used 2 years of eligibility, meaning that he has 3 years to play 2 seasons.
Everyone seems to forget that Bostick can redshirt next season and then play 2 more years.
Perhaps Wannstedt’s move was to solidify Bostick as the #2 this year and move the QB competition to spring ball and fall camp next year. At that time, if Bostick beats out Stull, Bostick would start. If Bostick were to lose to Stull, Sunseri could be the #2 and Bostick could redshirt.
You have 5 years to play 4. While burning Bostick’s redshirt means that he won’t be the starter for 3 years, that always came with the question of a battle between Stull and Bostick for the starting job next year. That starting job could still happen but if the team plays well the rest of the year with (in spite of Stull), it is easier for the staff to go with the ‘proven’ starter and not blow a year of eligibility then for Bostick.
I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that at 17 years old you can never judge how a kid will develop. Also, a lot of it has to do with hype that can come from several sources. In watching Bostick, he seems to have poor arm strength, a slow delivery, and slow feet. Bill Stull doesn’t necessarily excell in these areas, but tends to be better in all of them, especially release. He also seems be be a smart QB with good pocket poise. I think he can do an excellent job in the future because of his quick release/mental savvy. I think your assessment of Bostick are probably the main reasons his redshirt was thrown out.
Other than that, I agree that last year Bostick did show a weak arm, slow delivery, and poor mobility. I would say though that right now Stull probably has a weaker arm than Bostick, but Stull does have a better delivery and better mobility.
Stull just looks horrible. Doesn’t show poise in the pocket, can’t throw the deep ball (poor Baldwin) and hasn’t shown the willingness or ability to tuck and go when the team needs a few yds for a first down. I’m not even going to discuss Bostick……it’s obvious the tools just aren’t there, so who cares what Wannstedt does with his redshirt?
Sunseri has the best arm in the group by far, but his lack of height will be a major problem in Div 1 ball. Saw him play plenty in HS, and he can really wing it, but he’ll struggle to see all the options with a bunch of major college pass-rushers around him. He might be 5’10’ with clogs on.
They desperately need to get another QB recruit in there.
If so, wouldn’t that necessitate Bostick getting time in preparation for starting next week?
I hope I am wrong.
As for Bostick, he is not the future so who cares if he doesn’t get redshirted? Too many Pitt fans are obsessed with redshirting.
I’m usually not rash on this blog, but do you realize why we’re even angry about Bostick’s going into the game? You did not make one point in your post that would suggest you have any idea of the situation, or why we would want Bostick to have a year of development. Read the comments carefully before you blast everybody for complaining about the Navy situation. What Pryor redshirt? I can’t even understand how Ohio State (or McCoy or Baldwin) has any relation to what went down on Saturda.
How does the fact that neither McCoy, Baldwin or Pryor are not going get five years to complete 4 irrelevant? Nobody is complaining about burning their redshirts. Bostick is the backup qb. it was a blowout and he went in to hand the ball off. who cares. he hasn’t been injured and he was given a chance to win the job last year and in the spring. he didn’t and now he is the backup.
why is it unfair if he doesn’t get a year to work out and “develop”? that is nonsense. mccoy and baldwin aren’t getting extra years to “develop”. nobody is complaining about that. bostick has two more seasons of eligibility to prove himself. he will be the first player off the bench if stull gets hurt. he has a chance to win the job in the spring. how is any of this unfair.
the fact that any fan is angry about this is just plain stupid. there is absolutely nothing to be angry about. the backup qb was in at the end of a blowout. he isn’t a change of pace and we haven’t blown anyone else out. that is why he “finally” got in at the end of the 6th game. bostick may end up being a great player at pitt, but to sit around and wait for him isn’t fair to the coaches, team or fans. what if he never develops? then we just waited for nothing.
Look, this isn’t basketball where scholarships are an issue. So what does it hurt to keep Bostick around, if he’s not going to play this year. If Stull gets hurt, I highly doubt Bostick is going to look back and say…shit those 3 handoffs really helped me get prepared for today’s game. Come on, use your head Omar.
Hey, people get rusty at handing off when they haven’t done in live game action since December!!
Ok, honestly I really don’t know what the hell was going on there, I just don’t feel like worrying about it anymore.
But it all comes back to, why not just put in Cross or Smith to hand the ball off? If you’re gonna redshirt him, redshirt him in a year he’s already sat out the first 5 and 3/4 games. It doesn’t matter if Bostick and Sunseri redshirt the same year, it’s one year of eligibility either way.
My take on Saturday’s decision is this; The Head Coach made a decision based on what is transpiring this season, and what he thinks in in the team’s best interest right now. Wannstedt does not have the luxury to gamble on personnel issues when he’s in the midst of the first good season PITT has had in a long time – and by that I mean if the cards fall the right way this PITT squad may be the best we’ve seen in decades.
The quote from DW above is telling… he will do everything to avoid a situation like the one we had last year after Stull went down in the first game. We’ve seen Bill Stull have a very serious thumb injury, a pretty bad hip pointer, limping because of an ankle at the end of last week’s game, and now a soft cast on his wrist… that tells DW that his backup QB better be ready to go immediately if needed.
Also, injuries aside, it’s not like Stull is playing so well that making a QB switch isn’t conceivable in mid-game should it be needed.
Fans are getting way too caught up in the fact that it was three handoffs. That means absolutely nothing – it was all about getting up off the bench and going into the game no matter what plays were called. I truly believe the DW feels there is a marked difference between a kid saying he’s ready to go in, and actually being ready in all aspects, mentally as well as physically, to perform. Up to now getting playing time was a theoretical exercise for Bostick as a redshirt season had to be foremost in his mind, after all it was shaping up to look like that – now it’s a reality. DW is ensuring that there is no doubt whatsoever as to who is getting the next snaps.
This also sends a clear message to the rest of the offense and the team who the primary backup is. Up to last Saturday PITT was operating on this silly (in my mind) belief that there was a two tiered relief system – one for short term relief, and one for a longer stint. That’s gone, and everyone on the PITT squad knows Pat is the coach’s choice to lead the team regardless of the situation.
About Bostick’s future at PITT. I do not believe that DW has ever sat any recruit down and promised him guaranteed playing time, a sure redshirt year or that the kid’s career progression at PITT was etched in stone. I just don’t believe he’d do that. What has transpired with Pat is that, even if he never gets a redshirt, he has gotten almost a full year as starter, has been the only real competition for the starting spot as a sophomore, has a real chance to unseat the starter in his junior year and has the inside track at starting in his senior year. Assuming that there were no guarantees to him – that’s better than most recruit’s careers play out in college. Throw out the shot at the NFL (not that he should have that as a goal I suppose) but getting recruited is all about getting playing time in college – and he’s gotten it. Of course there is a redshirt possibility next season also.
The upshot to all this is that DW is using Pat Bostick as one piece of a season long puzzle, and is doing with Pat the same things he does with other players on the squad – using them as he sees fit to have a successful season this year. DW owes it to the team, it’s fans and to the University to try to get the best results possible this season without regard for three years down the road or the impact it might have on an individual player.
But I think there’s one way of looking at this situation that hasn’t been mentioned all that much: maybe Wannstedt really believes that this team is BCS caliber in the Big East this year, and he just wants to put them in the best position to win. With Sunseri already redshirting, they really don’t have a consistent backup behind Stull other than Bostick. I still disagree with the decision to play him ONLY to have him hand the ball off…at least give him some throws to shake off the rust, we were up by about 30 points!
All I’m saying is, maybe we should be looking at this move as a sign that Wannstedt is readying this team for the stretch run and given that we are in the drivers seat in the BE, he wants to make sure that we are in the best position to win THIS YEAR. Everyone has been stomping on Wannstedt for the past year saying “enough about the future, it’s time to see some results”. Well, maybe that’s exactly what you are seeing right now…a shift from preparing for the future to seizing the opportunity in front of us today.
Bostick is the #2 QB.
Stull is what he is….that being an average armed QB who has more ints than tds.
Because of the aforementioned statements why should Bostick not be ready to play? Why should he be redshirted when the starter is basically a first year starter who has more ints than tds?
It cannot be stated enough…..how would have a true freshman Stull have done on last year’s team? Reading some of the comments posted you would think that he would have done so much more than Pat. He** Stull has basically been on that sideline for THREE YEARS and he comes in with a relatively decent line, backs, and receivers and still has more ints than tds.
“Pitt offensive coordinator Matt Cavanaugh pointed to “probably consistency more than anything” in sophomore Pat Bostick beating out redshirt sophomore Kevan Smith for the backup quarterback job.”
Apparently the competition in camp between Stull and Bostick wasn’t as close as it was between Bostick and Smith.
