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January 10, 2009

Shady Delay

Filed under: Draft,Football,NFL — Chas @ 12:44 pm

It looks like it will be at least until Monday before there is an official word.

McCoy’s parents, Ron and Daphne, and brother, LeRon, accompanied him to the meeting at Pitt’s Duratz Athletic Complex on the South Side. Afterward, LeRon McCoy said his brother was overwhelmed by the gravity of the decision and will wait until next week to make up his mind.

“We had a great meeting, and coach Wannstedt put the options on the table,” said LeRon McCoy, who has spent three seasons in the NFL as a wide receiver. “LeSean is going to take some time to think about what he wants to do. It’s a very hard decision.”

“Coach Wannstedt is very supportive of LeSean in everything he does,” LeRon McCoy said. “It’s more about what he thinks is the best option for him. LeSean wants to make sure his decision is the right one.

“He’s going to use the time available to do that.”

It’s good that McCoy is taking his time. He does have that choice, but it really seems that he is still leaving.

McCoy still is expected to declare for the NFL draft. But the meeting gave Wannstedt the opportunity to sit with him, and the two were able to hear each other’s thoughts.

And while Wannstedt is hoping for McCoy to have a change of heart and return, it is clear those within the program already have begun moving forward as if McCoy, who has two years of eligibility remaining, is not going to be back. The most telling sign is that McCoy has not been on campus all week despite the fact classes began Monday.

Wannstedt spent the week recruiting in New York and New Jersey and said yesterday was the first time he and McCoy and his family had a good chance to have an open discussion about the subject. This weekend is a big weekend for recruiting, and the team is playing host to 14 recruits on their official visits.

“We had a lengthy meeting and tried to talk through the pros and cons of staying and leaving, and I tried to present him with some facts and truth, more than anything else,” Wannstedt said. “He is going to go home and sleep on it over the weekend, and I think he’ll have a definite decision the first of next week.”

[Emphasis added.]

Missing the first week of class to think about it  isn’t a killer, but it doesn’t help.

It’s no surprise that Coach Wannstedt was completely neutral on the issue other than to be supportive of whatever he does. There’s no other way to handle it. All you can do is present the facts and back the player.

“My role as the head coach is that I make a commitment to these kids that I want to see everyone of them graduate and I want to see everyone of them get in the NFL if they have the ability. That is the commitment I made to him, and I stand by it.”

Wannstedt said he hopes that McCoy comes back, but he is not going to let McCoy’s decision change the way the Panthers prepare for next season.

“To continue on here, our focus is to win a Big East championship,” Wannstedt said. “I made that very clear. I told him ‘I love you and as much as I want you back, we’re moving forward, and [if you decide to stay], you better be ready to go to work.’ It is about the team.”

Not that anyone was or is questioning McCoy’s work ethic. It’s not just about how many underclassmen are coming out, and how deep the draft is at running back. It’s about what McCoy wants to do. Is he ready to make football the full-time job? Does he want to go play in the NFL now? Or does he want to stay at Pitt for a little longer, playing college football and still have a little time for a life?

It is free candy week with ESPN’s Full Court package. Lots of extra games to watch without paying. Most importantly for those who don’t live in the Pittsburgh area for WTAE or the cable channels: SNY and MASN. Well, the game is on the Full Court package for everyone else to watch.

So no excuses not to be able to watch on Sunday at noon.

Speaking of video to watch, here’s Coach Jamie Dixon’s interview with Jim Rome.

I still marvel at how far Dixon has come at being comfortable in his own skin in these interviews. He started out so stiff and uncomfortable. I mean, he’s never going to be confused with a John Calipari or Bruce Pearl in personality and energy to an interview, but now he isn’t stumbling over words and doesn’t look like he’d rather be getting a discount vasectomy rather than do the interview.

While on the subject of Dixon, congrats, I guess on a mid-year coach of the year award. Really? There is a mid-year coach of the year award?

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