Of course, it could always be worse at QB. Here’s the ‘Cuse: Joe Fields to Perry Patterson to Andrew Robinson to Greg Paulus. I almost feel better about Pitt’s situation. Almost.

The scrimmage won’t change things at Tight End, but it will be curious to see who plays as the TEs have been nursing minor injuries and other things.

Pitt is suddenly short on tight ends, as redshirt freshman Mike Cruz was excused for a second consecutive day for what coach Dave Wannstedt called “personal reasons”, and seniors Nate Byham (headache) and Dorin Dickerson (hamstring) were held out of Sunday’s afternoon session.

Only redshirt freshman Justin Virbitsky and true freshmen Brock DeCicco and Jon Tisak, a walk-on, were available for practice.

It has remained that way, as Cruz has still been excused for the dreaded “personal reasons.” The importance of Cruz is not at the TE spot this year, but because he was expected to be the long-snapper on special teams. Considering that kicker and punter are up in the air spots, his presence or absence will impact.

Obviously the scrimmage may help start to form a depth chart for tailback. I honestly have no sense of it right now. All the backs — except perhaps for Shariff Harris — have appeared to have good days where they did things that drew attention and suggested they could take the job.

Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt admitted he was happy with the way Graham and the rest of the running backs ran yesterday but said it was too early to tell who will emerge from the pack.

“Ray Graham made a few people miss, but it is early yet,” Wannstedt said. “But [all of the running backs] held onto the ball. The guys who have been here showed their experience but I don’t think anyone out here did anything that we’re going to be handing out [LeSean McCoy‘s] jersey anytime soon or even [LaRod Stephens-Howling‘s] for that matter.”

Players have missed practices with minor injuries or such, but so far no season enders.

“It has just been bumps and bruises, nothing a situation where [we are concerned],” Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt said. “As long as there is nothing major. If there were any ACL injuries or shoulder [surgeries] then we’d talk about it, but this type of stuff is going to be there every day and it is all a part of camp.”

Yesterday the Panthers were without offensive tackle Lucas Nix (leg infection), safeties Elijah Fields (foot contusion) and Irvan Brown (calf), wide receiver Mike Shanahan (hand), tight ends Nate Byham (headache) and Dorin Dickerson (hamstring), and defensive tackles Myles Caragein (ankle) and Tyler Tkach (foot).

The danger of missing scrimmages, especially, for players like Shanahan and Caragein are in their battles on the depth chart. Byham, Nix and maybe Fields are still solid to be starters.

Fields, though, may not be the lock he seemed.

The defensive lineup is practically set. The only real position battle is at safety, where Taglianetti has surpassed Fields. The coaching staff probably would prefer to have Fields playing deep, only if for his size advantage but there is a trust factor with Taglianetti that gives him the edge.

This, of course, may simply be another tactic in keeping Fields hungry and not getting complacent.

Dan Mason may shock everyone at the way things are going. He is spectacular in camp and may actually push for the starting MLB spot.

Mason already has passed fifth-year senior Steve Dell for second-team reps, and Mason’s development could determine whether Gunn remains in the middle or returns to the outside, where he might be better suited.

“Dan Mason continues to show us that he’s going to be an outstanding player here at the University of Pittsburgh,” Wannstedt said. “Mason is where we were hoping he’d be. The one thing with him is, physically, he’s ready to play but as the offense adds plays and situations, every day is a new learning experience for him. I’ll be curious to see where he’s at two weeks from now or the third week of the season.”

“I could see him getting playing time, and I think he will.”

Of course, Mason is a freshman, this is Coach Wannstedt it is the MLB spot, and he has had a junior or senior man his entire time coaching Pitt. Could Wannstedt really go outside the comfort zone without an injury to force the move?

There is also the battle between Joe Thomas and Chris Jacobson for the left guard spot on the O-line. Thomas has apparently done well in camp. His issue has always been consistency when it comes to the game. Jacobson still appears to be grasping the mental stuff. Edge clearly favors Thomas at this point.

Show of hands, people. How important is this first scrimmage?

On tomorrow’s schedule:

“Tomorrow we’ll scrimmage. We’ll back off a little bit in the morning and then we’ll have a controlled scrimmage tomorrow afternoon with officials, for the first time.

“When the coaches get off the field, the players are on their own. No one is telling them the play in the huddle. We’ll have officials out here, so if a guy lines up offside it will count. So we’re going to put some pressure on them from a mental standpoint, a physical standpoint and see if the guys can separate themselves.”

Coach Wannstedt in his remarks, whether he intended it or not has only added to the importance of the scrimmage. For two key spots on offense. Running back and of course, quarterback.

On Tino Sunseri and the other quarterbacks:

“I would say that he’s (Sunseri) been having a good camp. So has Pat Bostick and so has Billy Stull. We’re evaluating them every day and talking about it obviously four times a day as coaches, but things are status quo. We’re just the first week into it and we haven’t even had a live scrimmage yet. Tomorrow will separate a lot when we turn everybody loose. But Tino has had some progress. He’s getting better and he’s learning a lot and I’m very encouraged with where he is at right now.

“He (Tino) did a nice job during the two-minute drill. Pat Bostick did, too. Pat went down and made a great throw in the corner of the end zone with Craig Bokor hitting him right in the mouth.”

Now if you want to start parsing words and looking for the subtext and hidden meanings (and why is it, I do this with coaches but refuse to play that game with anything my wife says?), Coach Wannstedt is trying to tamp down the speculation that Stull is losing his grip as the starter and that things are anything but the “status quo.”

This despite all reports and observations saying otherwise.

Of course, that has left Bostick as the seeming odd-man out of the mix. Not playing poorly like Stull, but not turning heads as a surprise like Sunseri.

Q: What are your reasons (aside from the geography of their origins) that in your quarterback-related comments you seem to go from Stull directly to Sunseri with no mention of Bostick, who has the size, experience, conditioning and arm to take on the starting QB position?

ZEISE: My reason is simple — Tino Sunseri has taken a lot more snaps than Pat Bostick from what I’ve been able to tell. And I don’t advocate any quarterback over any other — all I do is call them like I see them and from what I’ve seen the best pure passer on this team is Tino Sunseri. Now, does that mean he is the best quarterback, only time can tell, but the things I have commented on are this — which guy throws the best passes and seems to be right now the most consistent of the three. I do think Pat has been pretty good, too, but he’s been used sparingly with the first team the past few days so it is hard to make a real evaluation of what he’s done compared to the other two. Sunseri and Stull have taken the bulk of the reps with the first team and so far, from what I’ve seen, Sunseri has been the better of the two.

Bostick as the odd-man out story was expanded by Zeise and also was the subject of a second story from the AP.

The AP story notes that even as Bostick has struggled in no small part because he keeps getting tossed into the starter spot because of injuries to the regular starter, the team has won some big games.

No matter, the 6-foot-3, 225-pound Bostick kept hearing the Panthers won in spite of his three interceptions, not because he constantly helped get them in scoring position.

If it’s not Bostick’s interceptions, it’s his supposed poor footwork. Or the hitch in his delivery. Or his release point. Or his arm strength. Or his toughness. Or his career statistics to date: 177 of 293, 1,770 yards, 9 touchdowns, 17 interceptions.

“I think Pat has worked on his foot quickness. I think he’s worked on his arm strength. They would be the two key things. There’s not a player on our team who’s more committed, understands the offense, what to do with the football more than Pat Bostick does,” Wannstedt said. “It’s those physical skills that he’s been working extremely hard at.”

However, Pitt keeps flashing every signal that Bostick won’t be its guy.

As you would expect in a piece like this, Bostick has a positive attitude.

He said he’ll work harder than ever because he believes it is part of the deal that comes when an athlete accepts a full scholarship.

“I’d like my role to be the starting quarterback,” said Bostick, who has become one of the team leaders over the past two years. “But I still have a job to do every day even if I am not. I think some guys, if they are not the starter, they let their foot off the gas but that is not the case with me.

“Your opportunity can come at a moment’s notice and it is one play. One moment’s notice an injury happens and you are out there playing and you have to be ready. What really motivates me is that this university made an investment in me to do a job and I’ve got to do it.”

His new offensive coordinator can envision Bostick as a coach someday with his approach.

It’s hard not to conclude that Bostick has just been thrown from one mess to another that it totally screwed up any chance at developing. As a freshman, it was clear that mentally and physically he needed a redshirt. A chance to adjust. A chance to get conditioned. Injuries and a lack of any other viable QBs forced him in there. Stull and Sunseri, heck, even Smith had redshirt years or at least a year to just learn.

Last year was supposed to be the redshirt year, then it wasn’t and of course another injury and a staff afraid of Greg Cross forced him back out there. Yet he has maintained a positive attitude, saying and doing all the right things.

He has responded to the new OC. His delivery and footwork have looked better. You have to root for him. Or is that just me?