LeSean McCoy signs autographs at $30 a pop in at a mall outside of H-burg on Friday.

Josh Korb of Steel-Town memorabilia said by phone Wednesday afternoon that tickets remain on sale for all four players, although “I do anticipate at the very least that LeSean will sell out probably the day of the event. I expect him to sell out if no one else did.”

This lineup was arranged before the draft, and before anyone knew that McCoy would be an Eagle. Korb said he had heard rumblings that the Eagles were interested, but that kind of chatter doesn’t always pan out. But he was certainly happy to see McCoy go to a local team. “The only way I would have been happier is if he [were picked by the] Pittsburgh Steelers, but I knew that wasn’t going to happen.”

He’s selling out all right. Never quite got the desire to buy autographed memorabilia — let alone stand in line for it. But I don’t begrudge anyone making a buck off it if there’s a market.

Besides, who knows when he’ll actually sign his contract with the Eagles. He is being repped by Drew Rosenhaus, after all. And another Rosenhause client has already reached out to him — sort of.

McCoy acknowledged, too, that the leap from college to the National Football League already has provided some intense experiences.

He has a locker next to Eagles running back Brian Westbrook, whom he followed as a fan for years. Former Eagle Terrell Owens called McCoy about buying Owens’ house in Philadelphia.

Owens is still trying to sell his place? He was deactivated back in 2005. What? Has he refused to come down on price? Is the market for high-end homes that bad?

Meanwhile, Scott McKillop kept a rookie camp diary for the 49ers website (via Pitt Director of Media Relations, E.J. Borghetti’s Twit).

It was also great to finally get to work with coach Singletary. He was definitely intense and he always knew what he was talking about. I noticed that he was over with the linebackers probably more than the other groups during individual drills. It’s nice to have his input and coaching because he was a Hall of Fame linebacker himself. I definitely appreciate his coaching style because you can tell he’s trying to get the best out of you.

Now that rookie minicamp is over, I thought I did ok, but I know I can do much better. It was our first time really being exposed to the playbook, so I’m sort of happy with my play but not 100 percent behind it. I know I can do better. Once I get my nose in the playbook, I’ll be back working again to get better.

On Sunday, the last day of camp, we took a written test to see how much of the playbook we had absorbed.

He’s the latest to do so. According to the intro, Vernon Davis, Joe Staley and Kentwan Balmer did the diaries. All three are still on the team.

Derek Kinder also got through his Chicago Bears rookie camp without being cut.

Non-contact camps are designed for skill-position players to shine, and the three wide receivers the Bears selected in the draft last weekend didn’t disappoint. Third-rounder Juaquin Iglesias, fifth-rounder Johnny Knox and seventh-rounder Derek Kinder all impressed coaches.

“I thought they had three good days,” said offensive coordinator Ron Turner. “I was very pleased with all three of them. I thought they caught the ball very well, No. 1.

“Obviously they all have some work to do on their route-running, to run [routes] the way we run and all that and play the game at the speed it has to be played at here. That’s the thing we tried to get them to understand all week, is that the game speed’s going to be a little different than it was in college. We want them to play fast. But I was pleased with all of them; how they learned and what they did.”

Out of 24 plays in 7-on-7 drills Sunday, Iglesias caught eight passes, Kinder snared two and Knox hauled in one. Defensive highlights were provided by cornerback D.J. Moore, who caused an incompletion by stripping the ball away from George Smith; cornerback Derek Pegues, who broke up a pass intended for Kinder; and safety Al Afalava, who nearly had an interception after making a good break on the ball.

The greatest challenge for the rookies was stepping on the practice field for the first time Friday less than 24 hours after receiving their playbooks.

“It was pretty tough,” Kinder said. “But once you get to studying and you get to learn it a little bit, everything starts to click. These past three days we learned a lot and we’re going to grow.”

GM Jerry Angelo was pleased with the performance of his 3 rookie WRs. As was their OC, Ron Turner.

Not much on LaRod Stephens-Howling’s camp in Arizona other than he’s still got some hamstring issues.

Then there is Adam Graessle who may catch on with the Packers (via the Turk).

In three seasons as the Panthers’ punter, Graessle averaged 42.6 yards gross on 169 punts, ranking in the top 31 nationally all three seasons. He also was Pitt’s kickoff specialist.

It was enough to earn Graessle an invite to the 2007 scouting combine. But he was inconsistent at the combine, went undrafted and then failed to stick in tryouts with Buffalo and Detroit. He spent much of the past two years working out on his own in and around Columbus, Ohio, and working a temp job at the headquarters of the clothing label Abercrombie & Fitch.

About six months ago, Graessle hired agent Mark Mersel, who connected him with noted “kick doctor” Paul Assad. Graessle, 24, credits his work with Assad for cleaning up his technique and making him more consistent.

Shawn Slocum, who replaced the retired Mike Stock as Packers special-teams coordinator after last season, started talking with Graessle after watching his performance at a kicking combine last month in Arizona. There, according to Mersel, Graessle averaged 58 yards and 4.9 seconds of hang time, including some 70-yarders.

Coupled with a steady effort at the Packers’ rookie camp, Graessle earned himself a longer look in Green Bay, though there’s no guarantee he’ll be one of the two punters they take to training camp. He joined the Packers’ offseason strength and conditioning program on Monday.

“It’s real exciting,” Graessle said. “For two years, I’ve been working hard. I’m enjoying (getting signed), but really, in the moment, I’m just trying to do the best I can.”

Good for him. Considering how reliable and good he had been at Pitt, it was a surprise that he never made it right out of school.

From Coach Wannstedt’s Twitter page.

Just, um, wow.

When Coach Dixon took over as head coach at Pitt, there was one thing that he was completely unprepared to handle — the public aspect. Going out on the rubber chicken circuit. Getting out there and meeting alum. He spoke in cliches, coachspeak and monotones. Generally, just looking very uncomfortable. He and then football coach Walt Harris formed a somnambulistic speaking duo that could not be matched.

Time and simply being more comfortable with the public aspect has changed much. Now Coach Dixon is hitting every little spot on the circuit. Going to Clearfield County as the featured speaker.

Then helping to keep the Johnstown Panther Club’s banquet going.

A year ago, the initial banquet resulted in a surprisingly high turnout, but economic fears seemed to be taking a toll on this year’s affair. There was talk within the club about cancelling the banquet.

That all changed when Pitt confirmed that Dixon would appear at the banquet. Advertising dollars started rolling in, along with the RSVPs required to attend the banquet. Now, the numbers are about on par with last year.

“He’s not only a hell of a basketball coach, but he’s also apparently recession-proof,” said Shawn Piatek, the former Tribune-Democrat staff member who is the club’s president.

Dixon isn’t the only member of the Pitt athletics staff making the trip east to Johnstown, but he is the top drawing card.

And Coach Dixon is being optimistic about the next season.

“Every year we lose great players and every year we have new guys step up,” he said at Thursday’s 26th annual Mon Valley Panther Club Chapter Banquet at The Willow Room.

“Don’t forget our two redshirt freshmen Dwight Miller and Travon Woodall,” he said. “We have a very good group of players coming in. “We’re excited and looking forward to next year.”

Dixon shared the spotlight with Pitt Athletic Director Steve Pederson and Bob Junko, the school’s director of football relations and program enhancement.

“I hope you really enjoyed this year because a lot of people were here when we didn’t have this kind of success,” said Pederson.

He was referring to the football and two basketball teams.

“We were one of only four colleges in the country to go to a bowl game and both Sweet 16s,” he said. “Oklahoma, Connecticut and Michigan State were the others.

“I believe we have many more great years to come,” he went on. “Our students are graduating at a higher rate and I’m excited about the way they handle themselves on and off the field. We want to win with good people and not at all costs.”

Dixon heads down to Tampa next week as one of the “name” coaches attending the Dick Vitale Gala. Tickets still available at only $1000 per seat.

Heck, he’s still big in New Zealand — which is heralding his return of sorts.

It will be a homecoming of sorts for former Hawke’s Bay NBL import Jamie Dixon when he returns to New Zealand as coach of the USA team for the FIBA world under-19 basketball championships in Auckland.

Dixon, who had a stellar playing stint with Hawke’s Bay in the late-80s as an outstanding point guard, has gone on to an accomplished coaching career in the American college game. He has spent the last decade at the University of Pittsburgh where, as head coach for the last six seasons, he has shaped a powerhouse programme. They have won 20-plus games for the last eight years.

Sniff. He’s all grown-up now.

Sorry about being off the last few days. From August through most of April I am seemingly directly connected to the computer at all times. That means lots of things get neglected until now.

Not that I’m missing a lot.

In Harrisburg, the mayor has declared May, “LeSean McCoy Month.”

May is now LeSean McCoy’s favorite month. Harrisburg Mayor Stephen R. Reed read a proclamation this afternoon that pronounced May “LeSean McCoy Month” in Harrisburg, after the former Bishop McDevitt High School football star was drafted by the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles.

McCoy received the honor in a brief ceremony at City Hall. He stood with his father, Ron McCoy, and said his entry into the NFL has been like living a childhood dream.

Just imagine what would have happened if he had been drafted in the first round. I guess that’s one way to encourage McCoy to keep repping “717” in the eyeblack.

Staying in the 717, Coach Dave Wannstedt will be in Lancaster next Wednesday, May 12, as the featured speaker at the Manheim Touchdown Club banquet. It is the rubber chicken circuit time of the year for Coach Wannstedt and the rest of the Pitt coaching staff.

Just wondering. Would it be a good idea for Coach Wannstedt to join the coach Twittering? I’m not sure we want Twitter updates at halftime to say, “We need to get FASTER!!!”

I should know better. It’s the offseason. Not much to discuss. So, a useless story will generate more attention than it should.

“I’ve tried to talk to the Big Ten people about, ‘Let’s get a 12th team — Syracuse, Rutgers, Pitt — we could have a little bit of a playoff.'”

Paterno spoke to several college football reporters before a booster meeting at the Plaza Hotel. The comments came in response to a question on whether a team from the Northeast could win a national championship. The 1986 Nittany Lions are the last No. 1 team from the region.

“The only [Northeastern] team that’s got a shot would be us, and yet we’ve got a tough job because the Big Ten is not as visible in the key times as the Southeastern Conference and the Big 12.”

Asked what sort of response he had received, Paterno raised his eyebrows in a facial shrug.

“You know, it’s a conference that’s dominated by a couple of people,” Paterno said. “If I start talking, they’re polite, but they snicker.

“They don’t know I know they’re snickering, but they’re polite. …I wish I were younger and going to be around [another] 20 years.”

With the conference commissioners holding so much power, Paterno said, the whole landscape could change if two or three people change.

“We’re not talking about invading Normandy,” Paterno said. “We’re talking about some alignments that could happen very quickly.”

Whether it is talk about expanding for purposes of the Big 10 Network, it’s just that — talk. It’s not happening. Not now. Not in the next several years. It may happen at some point, but not in the near future.

The only exception would be if ND came to them. That would be it.

From a geographic/market standpoint, there is probably little interest in adding Pitt. Rutgers or Syracuse is much more attractive in that respect. Frankly, if you want to play that game, the Big 11 is best to wait and watch anyways.

Rutgers may be the stronger football program at this point, but can it be sustained? They are a mess in basketball — still. They have major budget issues that even predated the recession. If Syracuse can at least get back to mediocrity in football, the overall health of their athletic department makes them actually a more attractive program in the long term.

That said, it is nothing new. Paterno has said on occasion before that he would “support” Pitt getting invited to the Big 11 if they ever expanded. It was an empty promise then.

The desire by Paterno for a Eastern member in the Big 11 is simply about the geographic isolation of Penn State. It is, as usual, self-serving for Paterno and Penn State. It is not about the Big 11 or any desire to reach out to the other 3 programs mentioned. It is not about helping the Big 11 and their big gap between the end of the season and bowl season.

As we all know, McCoy went with pick #53 to the Philadelphia Eagles. Sure enough, there are the standard cliches:

The Eagles were stunned McCoy, a first-round value in their eyes, was available with the 53rd pick.

Except, that they really weren’t according to Andy Reid.

Opening remarks:

“With the second pick, we took LeSean McCoy; a running back. We had an opportunity to bring him up here with the 30 players that we can bring up before the draft and visit with him. He’s a relatively local kid being from Harrisburg. He went to the same high school as Ricky Watters. We thought he had great quickness, very elusive in the open field, great vision inside the tackles. He catches the ball extremely well and we look forward to bringing him in here to learn this offense. He’s had a taste of it at the college level. He’ll give us a little depth at running back.”

On whether he could fit in as the No. 2 running back:

“We’ll see how it works out. We’ll see how he is and how he picks everything up.”

On whether he expected RB LeSean McCoy to be available this late:

“We were thinking somewhere mid-second round or high-second round. We were just a bit below that obviously. When we got to that point, I didn’t think teams were in need of running backs once we got down there.”

McCoy went within a few spots of where most mock drafts had him going.

Lots of different personal perspectives on McCoy. For Milford Academy, it was another player they had spend a year there and end up being drafted. Shonn Greene, Terrance Knighton, and Vaughn Martin also drafted went to Milford.

Mike McGlynn was drafted by the Eagles last year, he was asked about McCoy.

“(Knowshon) Moreno is up there and some of those other guys, but hey, (McCoy) is up there with pretty much the best of them at making big plays. I think it was a great pick for the Eagles.”

McGlynn is, admittedly, biased. He helped create space for McCoy when the two were teammates at Pittsburgh in 2007. Without an effective passing game, McGlynn said the Panthers put the ball in McCoy’s hands and let the kid’s natural talent take it from there.

“In the open field, he can make you look stupid,” McGlynn added. “He’d pull one move on a guy, and the guy is falling.”

The story also quotes a Delaware TE that played against him in high school.

McCoy used to clash against former University of Delaware tight end Robbie Agnone on the high school gridiron. Agnone’s Redland High School played annually against McCoy’s Bishop McDevitt, the same school that produced former Eagles running back Ricky Watters.

Yes, that would be the same Robbie Agnone that was originally a Panther in that cursed 2004 recruiting class. Agnone  just signed as a rookie free agent with the Washington Redskins.

McCoy’s old HS coach at Bishop-McDevitt is happy to see McCoy going to the Eagles.

“He has everything you need,” he said. “He has great vision. His acceleration out of his cuts is unbelievable. He has great hands and he’s a very good route runner. I’m shocked they didn’t split him out at Pitt because I know they practiced it. It might have been because of quarterback issues, I don’t know. But he can do it, like Westbrook.”

One of the things that McCoy absolutely, positively will have to be able to do is run between the tackles. It is a fair question, whether he can. Westbrook can do it – and when he can’t do it, he has this uncanny leaping ability near the goal line. If he were to get hurt, they would need McCoy to be able to do it, too – unless the thought would be fullback Leonard Weaver inside the 5-yard line.

Anyway, inside running?

“He’s an inside runner,” Weachter said. “I watched him last year and I asked him, ‘Shady, what’s this with bouncing out?’ He said that [Pitt coach Dave] Wannstedt got in his head about some longer runs, so he bounced more of them outside. But he’s an inside runner. You’ll see . . .

“The thing he needs to get better at is pass-protecting. But he is physical. He’s not afraid of contact. And I’ve talked to him about it. If he doesn’t pick it up, he’s not going to see the field and he knows it.”

To be fair, running inside behind Pitt’s O-line has not been a productive decision for most running backs.

The pass blocking is something Reid mentioned McCoy needs to improve. Brian Westbrook echoed those thoughts.

Going into the draft, McCoy critics questioned his blocking abilities.

Westbrook emphasized that the rookie will need to concentrate on that aspect if he wants to get on the field.

“The truth is, especially when I came into the league, and still true now, if you continue to get No. 5 hit,  you ain’t gonna play too much at all anyway. That’s just the bottom line,” he said.

If you examine Westbrook’s comments (or listen to the interview), they shouldn’t be viewed negatively. By all accounts, he’s one of the most-respected and well-liked guys in the locker room.

There should be little doubt that he’ll be a great mentor for McCoy.

McCoy acknowledged that the pass blocking will be something he needs to work at.

On McCoy’s ability to pass block and protect QB Donovan McNabb:

LM: “They definitely stressed [blocking ability] when I came in for my visit. Meeting with [head] coach [Andy] Reid we went over some things and meeting with [running backs] coach [Ted] Williams, that’s probably the biggest thing in my game that I need to improve on is my blocking. I know you can’t go out on the field without protection, so that’s something in my game that I can improve on. I’m a hard worker, I’m a hard worker and I’m going to get it done. I know that’s what I have to do to be able to get on the field. At Pitt I wasn’t really required to do it as much, being there for only two years I haven’t had a chance to do it as much, but here I will get the right coaching to get it done.”

On whether he was required to do mostly cut blocking in college:

LM: “The thing with my team is we had a lot of different ways of getting the ball out. Our passing game wasn’t where it needed to be, we had different schemes, so I did a lot of cut blocking.”

[Emphasis added.]

That’s just a touch of an understatement.

McCoy was happy to stay close to home and seeks advice from a former Eagles running back.

“It’s right down the street,” said McCoy, exaggerating just a bit about the distance between his hometown of Harrisburg and his new home away from home.

Actually, it’s about 100 miles down the street, most of it Pennsylvania Turnpike, but it’s a trip McCoy can’t wait to make after the Eagles used their second pick, 53rd overall, to select the record-setting running back out of Pittsburgh.

The 5-11, 204- pound McCoy was in for an extensive workout with the Eagles prior to the draft, and both sides liked what they took from the experience.

McCoy is an elusive runner who also catches the ball well out of the backfield, which makes head coach Andy Reid and his assistants happy. It’s also a location where McCoy can learn behind a Pro Bowl back in Brian Westbrook, and where another Bishop McDevitt alumnus had a memorable stop. McCoy talks frequently with Ricky Watters, and said the Pro Bowl back of the 1990s talks fondly of his time here.

“I know Ricky really well,” said McCoy. “I call him for advice. He’s kind of been everywhere and done everything that I want to do, both in college and in the pros. Also, Ricky had a nice career in Philadelphia, so I talk to Ricky a lot.”

Of course the close to home thing has a negative part. The  interview with McCoy’s old high school coach had the coach strike the ominous note of how McCoy sometimes has trouble saying “no” to people. Being so close to home — family and old friends — can be a big negative if he doesn’t do a better job of saying no.

Interesting to note that the Eagles first two picks — Maclin and McCoy — have had major surgeries. And that it has affected their outlook on going to the NFL.

For Maclin, it was a knee injury, a torn ACL, an injury described as “grotesque.” For McCoy, it was an ankle injury, a broken ankle, an injury so bad that it made his stoic father cry. Maclin’s happened in July of 2006, before his freshman year at Missouri. McCoy’s happened 10 months earlier in a high school game in Harrisburg.

Both are still 20 years old. They are the NFL’s version of trust-fund babies now, except that there seems to be little sense of entitlement.

They cannot afford entitlement. They know.

In all the years of listening to these guys, have you ever heard a 20-year-old say at his first real NFL press conference, “At my position, as a running back, you only get a certain amount of hits in this game and I always wanted to enjoy my time in the NFL?”

Guys who are 28 say that. Guys who are 32 say that. Kids do not say that on the day after they are drafted, but McCoy said it yesterday. That one sentence explained everything.

…

It is a terrible lesson, one that every football player learns at some point. Rarely, though, does it make such a profound impression on players so young. Yet here the Eagles are, with Maclin (the first-round wide receiver out of Missouri) and McCoy (the second-round running back out of Pittsburgh) both coming out of college after two competitive seasons, both yet to turn 21, both so clearly focused on today because of frightening injuries in the past.

McCoy’s parents said that the tipping point in their son’s decision to leave school early was that broken ankle. Maclin was not as clear, but you could hear the influence of that awful practice field knee injury in his words.