Okay Eagles and 49ers fans, the Pitt store in its wisdom, has previously marked down the price of Pitt jerseys with the #25 and #40. So you can grab that college jersey for LeSean McCoy and Scott McKillop (I refuse to link to the gold jerseys). Heck, for McCoy, you can grab on sale youth, infant and toddler jerseys.
There’s no #34 jerseys available for Cardinals fans who like the underdog.
LaRod Stephens-Howling was choked with emotion on Sunday as he spoke to Arizona reporters.
“It’s been a dream all my life,” Stephens-Howling, who is 5 feet 6, said of playing in the NFL. “I’ve been told so many times that I couldn’t do it because of my size. I can’t wait to come in and do whatever I can for the team.”
The Cardinals were intrigued by Stephens-Howling’s special-teams ability, both as a kick returner and in coverage.
Heck, count me among those who sees Chris Wells from Ohio State as injury-prone, so Stephens-Howling might get some opportunities.
They are thrilled in Johnstown about this.
Tony Penna, the athletic director at Johnstown High, was thrilled when he saw the news on television.
“I feel like a little kid,”?Penna said.?“He’s Johnstown’s boy. He belongs to the town. He’s just such a great kid.?I’ve always told people he’s the greatest human being I’ve ever met. He’s deserving of everything that he’s gotten.”
It wasn’t just Stephens-Howling’s athletic exploits that made him such a star at his alma mater.
“The school will be electrified (today). He’s its best diplomat,”?Penna said. “He was such a great example as an athlete at Johnstown. The academic people loved him. The athletic people loved him.?The administration loved him.
“He was the total package.?Besides his ability, he was a better man,”?Penna said.
It’s a common refrain when Stephens-Howling’s name comes up with those who know him.
And LSH returned the affection.
Stephens-Howling has talked at length about how proud he is that his signing with Pitt helped open the door for other local athletes to get noticed.
It worked, as a number of Johnstown-area players ended up with scholarships and almost a half-dozen local players ended up at Pitt.
“It’s just great to see that people are respecting the area,”?Stephens-Howling said. “It’s great for them to see that people here can play football.”
As always, Stephens-Howling was quick to point out that he’s thankful for the support he gets from the people in his hometown.
“I ?really appreciate everything that Johnstown has done,”?he said. “They never let me down. Even when?I was on the back burner at Pitt, they always supported me.”
Another fellow 7th rounder went to Chicago.
He likes Derek Kinder from Pitt. The coaching staff really liked him and he got a strong endorsement from Dave Wannstedt.
And yet, Chicago still drafted him. It might be in no small part because of realizing that Kinder was coming back from a brutal injury.
Kinder has his 2007 season come to an end before it began after his suffered a season-ending knee injury. He made a pre-draft visit to Halas Hall and ran in the 4.4s at his Pro Day.
The Bears people are actually talking up the pick at that point.
The wide receiver’s stock no doubt was affected by a right ACL tear, an injury that caused Kinder to miss the entire 2007 season. The Bears still did their homework, regardless, bringing Kinder in for a visit. Offensive coordinator Ron Turner picked the brain of ex-Bears coach Dave Wannstedt, now Pittsburgh’s head coach.
“Our coaches really liked him,” said general manager Jerry Angelo. “Ron talked to Dave Wannstedt quite a bit. Dave really said tremendous things about him. Knows our system, obviously. That played a part into it.”
The Bears view the 6-foot-1-inch, 210-pound Kinder as a big, physical receiver capable of competing for playing time. After a 57-catch, 847-yard season in ’06, Kinder was a semifinalist for the Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s top receiver.
“I was hoping if I was fortunate enough to get drafted that it would have been Chicago,” Kinder said.
Way to say the right thing. If Kinder hadn’t been drafted, he was probably going to sign as a free agent with Dallas.
Great news regarding LSH. I hope that he can stick on the roster after opening day. However, I don’t see him getting many carries even if Wells goes down. Arizona would probably give the carries to J.J. Arrington before LaRod.
I agree that Kinder will have a good NFL career. We never really got to see him live up to his potential at Pitt due to awful QB play and even worse OC schemes.
Also, Davis, Duncan and Collins all received degrees yesterday … 4 years, no redshirts.
Best of luck to all the Pitt draftees…. I’ve really enjoyed watching this crew over the past few years and hope they enjoy long and profitable careers.
I’m not surprised by Conredge Collins not being picked. It intrigued me when scouts listed him as a good FB pick two years ago when he never really did anything on the field to justify that ranking. Good guy to have on the team obviously and certainly contributed, but I wondered what people saw that I didn’t. I think we’ll have a major upgrade at that position in 2009.
I hope others are able to catch on in free agency. Im surprised the steelers wouldnt take a shot with Connor Lee, a reliable kicker that obviously knows Heinz Field. He would be a terrific backup for Reed.
One more update — Eric Thatcher is now DB coach at St Vincent.
Local paper says: “McKillop will back up either Patrick Willis or Takeo Spikes or both and make his living as a rookie on special teams.” and
“The first defensive player chosen was McKillop, the Big East defensive player of the year. McKillop has a wrestling background that he brings to his linebacker play.
‘It helped my toughness,’ McKillop said. ‘You can translate that to a football game. I don’t like missing tackles. I think wrestling helped out.’
McKillop figures to back up either Patrick Willis or Takeo Spikes or both while playing special teams. His first two years at Pitt were spent backing up H.B. Blades, now with the Washington Redskins, and playing on special teams.
‘I’m excited, speechless, happy, willing to do anything the Niners ask me,’ McKillop said. ‘I look forward to contributing on special teams. I truly do love special teams.’
As for playing for a head coach who is in the Hall of Fame as a linebacker, McKillop said, ‘I don’t think there’d be a better coach for me to play for.'”
The paper profiles him, saying:
“Regarded as a “gamer” who – despite lack of big workout numbers – is consistently around the ball. Named Big East Defensive Player of Year as senior with 137 tackles, 17 1/2 for loss.”
And unconfirmed from the message boards: “ESPN said our pick of [McKillop] was the best pick of day 2!!!”
Also, if you don’t think this means I’m getting a McKillop jersey to wear around here, you’re nuts. Maybe I’ll get the Pitt one, too. It finally gets me off the hook for not ponying up the dough for an Andy Lee jersey…