Another jam-packed weekend of crap to do. Just getting the links.

Scrimmage, scrimmage, scrimmage. Effective list of the key remaining positional battles on the two-deep.

Cat Basket roughly predicts the final two-deep.

Good Q&A question about the secondary.

Those headaches of Nate Byham still haven’t gone away. Now referred to as concussion-like symptoms.

Practices have been brutal, but they are football players and always swear by them afterwards. Lots of bumps and bruises. More concerned with the fact that Shayne Hale apparently had a concussion and a couple others get listed with “headache.”

With good reason, there’s a lot of importance placed on the scrimmages in terms of positional battles, getting on the depth chart and not getting redshirted. Tomorrow is the next scrimmage, and yesterday’s practice seemed to reflect some of that preparation for spots still up for grabs and players trying to move up.

The running back battle is probably down to three: Dion Lewis, Chris Burns and Ray Graham. Shariff Harris, who really didn’t seem to be in the mix is unofficially eliminated from the chances of getting even 3-deep with his two week suspension for “disciplinary reasons.” No explanation given beyond that.

Two weeks. Hmm. That means he finishes after training camp ends. He could suit up for the opening game with YSU, but obviously he is not going to see any action.

Without any knowledge of the offense incurred or insight into Harris’ mindset, this seems set-up for Harris to transfer out of Pitt. He’s a redshirt sophomore with 3 years of eligibility remaining. I hear Liberty is fond of ex-Pitt backs.

Harris definitely has been a non-factor dating back to spring practice, when he had the best chance to grab the starting tailback spot — or at least be the second back. Instead it was Dion Lewis who grabbed the starting spot, and just has not let go. Chris Burns is probably second at the moment, but if Ray Graham can hold onto the ball he should be breathing down his neck. Harris is probably behind another freshman, Jason Douglas, by the time it is all said and done.

I don’t type this to say he should transfer or want him to, but the fact pattern looks rather predictable.

Sticking with the tailback spot, Dion Lewis appears to be getting closer to nailing down the starting spot as Wannstedt once more singles him out for praise in his opening comments after practice.

“We had about four or five guys that weren’t practicing yesterday or this morning that were practicing this afternoon. It was good to get those guys back. I think we’re starting to become a little healthier. As far as practice today, I thought our receivers, especially Jonathan Baldwin, made some plays. I was very disappointed with their performance this morning and I pleased with the way they responded. Dion Lewis continues to make guys miss in the open field and make plays. I like the progress that he’s made. Defensively, it was one of those days where you run 60 plays, 55 of them were right on and the other five we gave up some big plays. It’s a reminder that it’s a 60-minute game. It was very competitive today. It was a good practice, I was happy with the effort. We’ve had some good practices in pads and we got a lot of work done.”

The offensive line is where the most questions seem to remain. Center Robb Houser had two different practices in the morning and afternoon.

That said, after criticizing Robb Houser for a poor practice this morning, it’s only fair to give him credit when he plays well.

The senior center had a strong second practice, drawing praise and a fist bump from offensive line coach Tony Wise twice, the biggest after his downfield sprung Aundre Wright on a reverse for a big gain.

Houser playing well and consistently is vital for Pitt. He is not only the lone true center on the team, keeping him out there increases Pitt’s overall depth on the O-line.

The other spot still in question on the O-line is Left Guard between Joe Thomas and Chris Jacobson. They have continued to split 1st team reps, and there seems little separation between them. Coach Wannstedt has said they will split the reps on Saturday’s scrimmage and the performance in that scrimmage will be the final test to make a decision.

Lucas Nix, the starting right tackle is still out with an infection on his leg. Erp.

Jared Holley is making noise to be on the field at cornerback.

“That’s the plan,” Holley said of his strong summer. “I hope that this camp has shown the coaches that they can trust me.”

The plan is working. Holley is pushing sophomore Antwuan Reed for the fourth cornerback spot behind senior starters Aaron Berry and Jovani Chappel and redshirt junior reserve Ricky Gary.

Regardless of his role, Holley will provide valuable depth in a secondary that will face some elite receivers, including Mardy Gilyard of Cincinnati, Mike Williams of Syracuse, Golden Tate and Michael Floyd of Notre Dame and Naaman Roosevelt of Buffalo.

Holley’s scrimmage interception came while playing safety. His versatility will enable him to see time in both the nickel and dime packages.

“Holley is playing extremely well,” coach Dave Wannstedt said. “He’s got a real feel for making plays. We are trying to get him on the field.”

Otherwise, for a lot of the other players it is just about the practices and getting better. Stull didn’t seem to have a bad day, overall. The O-line seems to be getting more cohesive, the defense is still nasty. The D, however, did let several big plays happen after appearing to have things contained — as Coach Wannstedt had noted in his opening comments.

On injuries, Safety Elijah Fields and Tight End Nate Byham returned, but TE Dorin Dickerson is still dealing with a hamstring problem.

Really looking forward to two-tight end sets this year.

Q: With the new addition of offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr., and with the running game taking a hit with the loss of LeSean McCoy, are the tight ends (Nate Byham and Dorin Dickerson) going to play a bigger role in the offense this year?

ZEISE: Yes. Cignetti has said as much on many occasions. And early in camp — before Byham and Dickerson were both injured — it reflected as much. He knows these guys are two of his best players and he said he wants to make sure they both get enough touches to have an effect on every game. Byham will also play a big role in the running offense because he has developed into an excellent blocker.

The key to using Byham and Dickerson will be trusting the QB to throw the ball over the middlle. Cavanaugh/Wannstedt preferred the sideline, screens and bubble screens since it meant less risk of an interception if the pass was errant.

Another of what is hoped to be many pieces on Greg Romeus and Jabaal Sheard as one of the best pairs of DEs in the country.

“It is definitely different,” said the 6-foot-6, 270-pound Romeus, who was named second-team All-Big East last season. “So we know that we are held to a higher standard. At the same time, we know that as hard as we go is hard as everybody else is going to go, so we have to set the tempo, but that is a good thing.

“The key is, they can’t really double-team either of us, and if they run to [Sheard’s] side I’ll make plays, and if they run to my side he’ll make the plays. It helps us both a lot because they’ll have to pick and choose how they want to block us.”

Romeus is rated as one of the top defensive ends in the country and is listed as one of the top defensive line prospects in next year’s NFL draft even though he has another year of college eligibility.

At the other end of the line, Sheard, who is 6 feet 4, 260 pounds, is every bit as fast and quick as Romeus and probably a little more refined as a player.

So many potential playmakers on defense. There’s a good reason to expect a lot from the defense this year.

Late start today. Too many offline responsibilities and matters to attend.

Not that it mattered as much as practice yesterday was uneventful.

Getting the daily QB stuff out of the way. Coach Wannstedt naming Stull the starter is a full AP story making the media wires. Nothing new there, though, Bob Smizik sees a short leash for Stull.

I’m not sure I agree with his point that it had to be done since Stull played best in the spring practice. And I’m not sure I believe Stull has a short leash. What I do find myself agreeing is his point that Stull would be ill-suited to come on in relief in a game. I think that if Stull loses the job or keeps it, Pat Bostick stays the #2 QB. I can see Sunseri being put as the #1 guy and Stull down to #3 and vice-versa. Bostick at this point, and Zeise alluded to it in a Q&A, is the best choice at back-up. He’s done it. He’s probably the most comfortable of the three to do it in a live game. That’s probably the only route available to Bostick at the moment to get the #1 spot. He would have to come in for a yanked Stull and grab the job.

Coach Wannstedt confirms what I already thought, that he has Dion Lewis as the leading candidate to be the starting tailback to date.

“As far as yesterday and Dion Lewis, it’s easy to watch a scrimmage from the sideline. You see one guy make a run, and you really evaluate how his technique was, and how he was during those 32 plays. Sometimes what you see in one or two plays might not really be the true evaluation. But Dion Lewis did some good things.”

It’s a simple equation. No fumbles (Graham is having that problem) plus running better than Chris Burns minus Douglas and Harris having injuries hamper them equals Dion Lewis.

Craig Bokor has been a Pitt player for longer than Bill Stull has, and it seems like Stull has been here forever. Now Bokor has his academics and priorities in line and will finish his final year.

Today, Bokor is a chiseled 260 pounds. That’s a long ways from 330, and he overhauled his approach to academics, as well. He spent a semester at Valley Forge Military Academy after high school and will earn his diploma (legal studies) in December with the possibility of becoming a lawyer.

“I made some bad academic choices early in my career here, when I thought college football was all about football,” Bokor said. “It’s not. It’s about becoming a better person.”

No. No. No. No. Not a lawyer. Don’t do it.

Jonathan Baldwin gets a puff piece devoted to his efforts to improve in the offseason.

“I knew that I didn’t do enough last season and I wanted to set the tone for this season right away,” Baldwin said about his offseason workouts. “I knew that to do more than I did last year, I’d have to do more on my own in the offseason. I wanted to work with the quarterbacks and get our timing better. I just wanted to get better.”

By all accounts, Baldwin got a lot better in the offseason.

He has been one of the most dominant players in Pitt’s training camp. and there have only been a few practices in which he hasn’t done something special.

Well, he did a lot of that last year in training camp. This year, though, it isn’t just the spectacular. It is the domination.

This bit on the linebackers dealing with an interception drill amused me.

The Pitt linebackers surely had some jammed fingers and sore hands after their interception drill. Former Panther quarterback Rod Rutherford, a first-year graduate defensive assistant, was firing left-handed lasers from about 10 yards during the drill. The linebackers dropped back and then reversed field to catch Rutherford’s offering. Adam Gunn and Shane Murray were among those who, somehow, managed to hold on to the passes. More frequently, Rutherford’s rockets whizzed through the hands or bounced off the chest of the grimacing linebacker. For sure, in the real games, it will be easy. They will not face any harder-thrown balls all year.

The linebacker depth chart is getting closer to being solidified, it appears.

Q: I read your take on the middle linebacker. What about the outside linebackers?

ZEISE: Right now Greg Williams has been one of the best players on the field. Well, besides the two defensive ends and Mick Williams who are in another stratosphere right now. But Williams is at strongside linebacker and he has played extremely well. He’s clearly taken the next step as coaches hoped. Max Gruder and Shane Murray have battled at weakside linebacker but it seems as if Gruder has been consistently ahead. Murray is still coming back from a knee injury and they’ve limited him some. Both look capable of getting the job done. The other guy who has really played well is Manny Williams and if he continues to progress, I think he’ll get into the mix at weakside linebacker and perhaps Murray could move to strongside behind Greg Williams.

At the risk of sounding Wannstedtian, the inexperience at the linebacker spots is still a bit worrisome, but the athleticism and potential of the group is exciting.

Quick thing, in reference to my prior posts about the end of the QB controversy — at least as far as the beat writers are concerned. They aren’t going to stop covering the performance of the QBs in camp, and who takes snaps with which groups.

I took their statements to mean, that barring any injuries or something really changing, they are not going to be writing about it through the prism of a QB competition — of whether Stull stays as the starter or whether Sunseri has or should be the starter. And where Bostick is in all this. That is far different from ignoring it.

Beat writing is tricky. Push too hard and be too aggressive and you get accused of having an agenda, being out to get the team/coach/player, or hating the same. Plus you find access and information dries up on you and there is little you can provide beyond official statements.

Go too soft and/or get too close, then you are accused of being nothing but a cheerleader or shill or apologist for the team/coach/player. You may get the access and information but not end up sharing it because you don’t want to hurt someone.

I’ve said it before, I think Pitt fans are lucky to have two newspapers that cover the team with very, very good reporters. Both Paul Zeise and Kevin Gorman do fine jobs. Some things may bother me or be flawed by them, but overall they are very good at their jobs.

Now on to other items.

Almost silly to be written, but a whole piece on AD Steve Pederson saying that the script and old colors aren’t coming back. Duh. Pederson is a good AD, and for both good and bad he is extremely stubborn.

He’s the one that got rid of the old colors and script before. One of the first things he did after returning was quietly pulling the dinocat and restoring his own preferred panther head blob. This is the guy that gave Callahan an extension at Nebraska after only one good season and was fired when he wouldn’t acknowledge his guy wasn’t working out.

An AP article about Pitt’s depth at linebacker. Especially with Adam Gunn’s backstory and Dan Mason surging. While Pitt is strong and stout on the defensive side, if Dan Mason doesn’t see action early that might be a bigger issue to Coach Wannstedt’s inflexibility than the QB.

So far, the 6-foot, 225-pound Mason hasn’t looked like a freshman, and he’s making Pitt deeper in what already is one of its strongest positions. Murray, for example, is a former starter, yet he is currently backing up Max Gruder at weak side linebacker, while sophomore Greg Williams starts at strong side linebacker.

“Physically, Mason is ready to play,” Wannstedt said. “But every day is a new learning experience as we continue to add plays. I will be interested to see him a couple of weeks from now, and after three games. I could see him getting some playing time.”

Wow. That sounds sincere.

Justin Hargrove has apparently found a home at Nose Guard.

The transition to nose guard has been smooth for Hargrove, who also is capable of playing defensive tackle. Gattuso called it a “very pleasant surprise” and credited Hargrove’s combination of flexibility, strength and leverage for his early success in training camp.

“I played nose guard. Trust me, if there’s an easier position in all of sports, I want to see it,” said Gattuso, a starter on Penn State’s 1982 national champion. “Playing nose guard is about as simple as it gets. There’s less thinking; just get off the ball and play. It’s been a good move. I told him the other day, ‘I think you’ve found a home. I think you can compete in here.'”

While he took advantage of his repetitions with the first-team defense in the absence of Gus Mustakas (rest day) and Caragein, Hargrove knows that the real payoff might not come until next season, when the Panthers have to replace starters Williams, Mustakas and reserve Craig Bokor on the depth chart.

One of Pitt’s earlier local commits, Aaron Donald at Penn Hills is looking for a big year, and gets a profile in the P-G.

The beat writers have spoken. Both Kevin Gorman and Paul Zeise have blogged that they are done with the whole QB issue. The matter is settled until after the season has begun and the whole thing is moot.

First, Gorman:

Are you going to bench a fifth-year senior quarterback with a 9-4 record in 13 career starts in favor of a redshirt freshman who has never taken a snap in a college game after eight days of training camp?

The answer is a resounding no.

So, before we begin the recap of Pitt’s first controlled scrimmage, let us end the outrage over Wannstedt’s insistence Tuesday that Bill Stull remains the starting quarterback. Stull has struggled. Tino Sunseri has shined. Pat Bostick has been steady, solid if unspectacular.

What is Wannstedt supposed to do? Pitt fans would like to hear Wannstedt announce that he is opening the quarterback job up for competition. They would like to hear him say, “Let the best man win.”

Don’t hold your breath.

What Wannstedt is doing is standing by his starting quarterback publicly, despite Stull’s unimpressive play in camp so far. It says here that Wannstedt should be applauded. Now is the time to build confidence in your quarterback. The season opener is less than two weeks away.

The message has been served. Offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr. has made it clear in the quarterback room that there is open competition. Stull knows this, as do Bostick and Sunseri. It’s as simple as this: perform and play, struggle and sit. But training camp is not the time to, as Cignetti likes to say, make such decisive decisions.

Come September, it’s a different story.

Perform and play. Struggle and sit. Win or lose.

And Zeise:

The only comments I will make is this — Pitt did indeed win eight games (Pat Bostick started the Notre Dame game) with Stull at quarterback and the only of their four losses you could pin on him was the Oregon State loss. Two of the other three losses (Bowling Green – way too conservative early – and Rutgers – a really bad defensive game plan) probably fall more on the coaches shoulders than anything else and it was Cincinnati’s year and they seemed to get every bounce in that game.

Now, Stull wasn’t great in those losses but he wasn’t the reason they lost, either. There is no question that the Panthers can win with him at quarterback, particularly if he improves some from where he was at in the second half of last year.

But like I said, when the head coach says “this guy is our starter”, that’s good enough for me to move forward. I would assume that Bostick will be the back-up because I have a hard time believing that they would throw a redshirt freshman to the wolves in the middle of a game or halfway through the season if the starter is gets hurt.

So with the quarterback position settled (at least in the mind of the only person whose voice matters…..), here 10 other observations/analysis from today’s scrimmage……

I guess they both have gotten a little tired of the e-mails and questions about it as well. From their perspective, it must be a little tiring. It’s the one aspect they get asked about. I’m guessing they are getting a fair amount of outraged and frustrated responses to their reports and answers they give. They don’t get to make the decisions, but their job is to report on the Pitt team. Instead they are repeatedly answering the same questions about the same spot. Something they have no control over, no influence and it certainly must put a strain on their dealings with players and coaches if they are continually focusing stories and posts on that one portion.

Plus, it must get a bit tiresome.

Stull will be the starter when the season starts. They are acknowleding, at least, that if he still can’t get to a point of mediocrity in the season then things likely will change. Even with Coach Wannstedt having the final say.

Not much to go on right now. The stats on offense (PDF) such as they are say that Tino Sunseri was the better passer. Going 6-7 for 60 yards and a TD. Bostick was adequate at 9-14 but with an interception. Sunseri, though, took two sacks for -15 yards while Stull was unscathed.

To the shock of no one, Coach Wannstedt sees no controversy.

On the quarterbacks:

“Bill Stull went with the first group. Then Pat Bostick was next. Then we gave Tino Sunseri a shot with the first team, and he responded. We brought Bill Stull back, and then Pat Bostick with the third group. We’re really at this point in camp trying to work all three of them. I thought that all three did fairly well. I don’t think that any of them jumped off the charts in a great way, or in a bad way. We had some checks at the line, they all handled that well. We signaled things in, they all handled that well. I think that those little things that go without notice sometimes, they all handled that well.”

On the starting quarterback position:

“Bill Stull is the starting quarterback. Obviously we’re in training camp and every day we go on the field to prove ourselves and we have to continue to improve. I don’t think it’s as much as we’ve got to prove something, as much as it is to improve. The decision making, and the throws, that’s what training camp is for.”

I take that back, someone was surprised.

The declaration was surprising, considering that Stull has struggled during camp and appeared to be losing ground in recent days to Sunseri, who has begun to get first-team reps in every practice. Bostick, however, again worked only with the second team, which seems to indicate that he is headed for a role as backup or, perhaps, even a redshirt.

During yesterday’s scrimmage, Stull’s first pass was intercepted and returned for a touchdown by defensive back Jared Holley. Stull completed 9 of 14 passes for 57 yards, but all the completions were short, safe passes, and he led one touchdown drive.

Sunseri was 6 for 7 for 60 yards and threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to reserve tight end Jon Tisak. Sunseri appeared to throw a second touchdown pass, a fade to receiver Jonathan Baldwin, but Baldwin dropped it in the corner of the end zone.

Really? Surprised? After everything Wannstedt has said and his history? You can’t be surprised. Even if it isn’t believed, Wannstedt saying it should not be surprising.

What is interesting is that despite Wannstedt’s protestations, everyone else seems to see this as a QB competition.

If Stull is the unquestioned starter, it isn’t being discussed in position meetings with Frank Cignetti Jr., Pitt’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. The Panthers are treating each practice as if it’s an audition, and Stull’s first pass was intercepted by cornerback Jarred Holley.

“I feel if I don’t play well that I’m not going to play,” said Stull, who also led an eight-play scoring drive. “Obviously, it is a competition. I know how camp is around here. I definitely think it’s a competition. I’m always going to compete and do my best, and I know the guys behind me are going to do the same.”

Stull is being pushed by Sunseri, who’s splitting first-team reps with Stull and appears to have moved ahead of junior Pat Bostick (5-of-10 passing for 18 yards). Sunseri has impressed with his arm strength and mobility, but he admits he’s still learning the nuances of the offense and huddle command.

Nonetheless, he led two scoring drives, settling for a field goal on the first after Jonathan Baldwin dropped a corner fade in the end zone and rolling right to throw a 22-yard touchdown to walk-on tight end Jon Tisak on the second.

“With the way coach Cignetti has done it, it’s open competition,” said Sunseri, son of former Pitt All-America linebacker and assistant coach Sal Sunseri. “In that same aspect, we’re trying to help each other every day. … Whatever we can do to help the team is what we’re going to do, and whoever can do it the best is going to play.”

As for Ray Graham, while it appears he impressed Kevin Gorman with his performance, any Wannstedt watchers know that Graham probably hurt his chances by fumbling the ball on his first two touches (recovering one of them).

I’m guessing Dion Lewis is still the leader for the top of the depth chart at tailback at this point. Graham will be a factor in time, but he has been fumbling too much in practice and now the scrimmage for Coach Wannstedt to trust him right now.

On Ray Graham fumbling and recovering:

“Ray Graham has talent. With those early turnovers, you easily go down 14-0. It was a fumble last year in the Bowling Green game early that turned the game around. So, that’s all part of it. It’s just not a matter of how hard someone is throwing the ball, or how many moves a player has or athletic ability, but are they able to play the whole game and do the little things that are necessary. That’s what we’re working through with the younger guys. There’s no question that Ray Graham has talent, he’s going to be a heck of a player. There’s no question that Tino Sunseri’s got talent, he’s going to be a heck of a player, but it’s just a matter of when and how fast these guys come along.”

Back to QBing, and Gene Collier apparently attended the scrimmage. He sees Sunseri as the best option, and not just because of the unwashed masses.

Bostick went next and launched one of the very few deep balls attempted, overthrowing sophomore wideout Aaron Smith quite comfortably. Sunseri followed, but it wasn’t possible to determine if he was drawing any momentum from Panther-centric portions of the blogosphere and the related message boards, where it is widely advanced that in the current history of Pitt football, it is “Tino Time.”

Let the record show that I have not, nor do I intend to use that phrase. Otherwise, good to know another reader.

The redshirt freshman out of Central Catholic might not be any better than the others at checking down at the line or in any of his required recognitions, but again yesterday the best balls thrown came out of his right hand. Sunseri was anything but error-free, but his 16-yard slant to Oderick Turner was maybe the crispest completion of the scrimmage, and his fade pass to Jonathan Baldwin was just the prettiest thing, even if it was disallowed by a boundary call. When Sunseri rolled right later in practice and found freshman tight end John Tisak behind Todd Gilchrist, nothing Bostick or Stull could arrange between then and the end of hostilities could alter the impression that Sunseri looks like Wannstedt’s best pitcher.

There is no escaping the undercurrent that to most observers Sunseri looks best and Stull is just not looking like he has earned the starting gig.

On the defensive side, the stats here (PDF) show the safeties led in tackling. Looks like most of the defense got work and collected tackles. No shock since the defense has been and continues to be dominate.

On the kicking matters:

Both Pitt kickers converted field goals yesterday — Dan Hutchins a 30-yarder, and Kevin Harper a 36-yarder, as well as an extra point. Hutchins also punted twice for an average of 39 yards, and walk-on Matt Yoklic punted once for 51 yards.

I’m going to guess that as long as Harper shows accuracy he will be the kicker and Hutchins will land the punting duties. I just don’t see the coaches going with Hutchins to handle both. Kickoff duties is anyone’s guess.

Looking over the list of players who did not play, I’m mildly concerned that Nate Byham has missed several practices with a “headache” after taking a hit. Aren’t they called concussions these days?

Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt said redshirt junior defensive tackle Ty Tkach had surgery on his left foot this week and is expected to miss about three weeks. Fourteen other Panthers didn’t participate in the scrimmage: safeties Irv Brown (calf) and Elijah Fields (foot), tight ends Nate Byham (headache), Andrew Devlin (knee) and Dorin Dickerson (hamstring), linebacker Carl Fleming (headache), quarterback Kolby Gray (shoulder), tailback Shariff Harris (hamstring), cornerback Buddy Jackson (jaw), center Wayne Jones (knee), wide receivers Cedric McGee (hamstring) and Mike Shanahan (hand), right tackle Lucas Nix (infection) and safety Marco Pecora (ankle).

The running back battle also may have thinned out for a while as Jason Douglas was hurt in practice. Status unknown.

Mike Shanahan has to be very frustrated to have missed the scrimmage. He was looking great.

Q: You mentioned that Jonathan Baldwin and Aundre Wright are having great camps at wide receiver. How are the rest of the wide receivers doing? How do the third and fourth receiver spots look?

ZEISE: I think the receivers as a whole have played extremely well this camp. I really do. I think Mike Shanahan, before he got hurt, was making a push to really get into that top four group. He was having a great camp and he might have the best hands at camp as I don’t recall one ball he dropped. But right now the top three are Baldwin, Cedric McGee and Oderick Turner. Aundre Wright has probably the edge over the other players because he’s been the most consistent and he has some experience. There have been flashes from players like Greg Cross, Cameron Saddler and Ed Tinker but I don’t think any has made enough of a push to get into the top four yet.

TE Mike Cruz did return to practice after missing a few days for the nebulous “personal reasons.”

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?

As we pour over training camp practice reports, tweets, and any other nugget of info that might grant us further insight into Pitt football and the season that awaits, Pitt basketball has been something akin to an oasis of positive goodness.

Coach Dixon comes in for some more love and answers why he keeps turning down Pac-10 jobs despite being from California.

“I don’t want to downplay loyalty because loyalty is a great thing, and I don’t think there’s any better thing to be called than loyal. But I’m not staying at Pitt out of loyalty,” Dixon told me during a poolside reception this weekend at Dana and David Pump’s annual Collegiate Business Conference. “I’m staying at Pitt because we have everything, and because the administration is second to none. I’m staying because of the fans and the players we have. I’ve got everything I need.”

Translation: Pitt is a great basketball job.

Imagine that.

Or better yet, don’t imagine.

Just keep reading.

“We’ve sold out every game [at the 12,500-seat Peterson Events Center], and we have a waiting list of 5,000 [for season tickets even though] … we’ve raised ticket prices like 600 percent in the past five years,” Dixon said. “It’s a great sports town, and we’ve given them something to get behind.”

That’s the result of eight consecutive NCAA tournaments.

Ben Howland is responsible for the first two.

Jamie Dixon got the next six.

Which is why the 43-year-old married father of two has emerged as one of the nation’s most sought after coaches. He has never not won at least 20 games in a season, never not won at least 10 Big East games in a year, never not made the Field of 65. Career record: 163-45. Career Big East record: 70-30. But a funny thing happened while Dixon was compiling a body of work good enough to produce opportunities to move closer to home; the Pitt administration designated the resources necessary to allow its program to grow with its coach, and suddenly Dixon didn’t have as many reasons to leave as he did reasons to stay.

An excellent point. It isn’t just that Pitt has maintained a comptetive salary for Dixon — though that is important — it is that the athletic department and Pitt administration made the commitment to the basketball program. It can be debated whether the commitment came first and then the right coach, but I think it was a fortuitous timing of both coming at the same time.

Plenty of programs have made the commitment, but hired the wrong coach. Result: failure and nothing changes. Start over, again.

Others have had the right coach but lacked the commitment. Result: coach moves on to another job, program retreats back to obscurity/mediocrity.

Few are the programs that make the commitment and get the right coach. Arizona got that lucky with Lute Olson. Pitt to made the commitment with the right coach and were lucky enough to hire the right guy to follow and truly grow the program. Don’t kid yourself. There is an element of luck and timing involved in all of this.

Dixon could have been hired by Wright State the year before. Would the school have taken a chance on him with only one year of head coaching experience, and no longer the assistant at Pitt after Prosser turned Pitt down?

I also like the article for the candor from Dixon. He has professed his love for Pitt and Pittsburgh, but does not deny there is a natural pull to home and family. After all, so many “Pitt guys” and Pittsburgh natives speak of such, why wouldn’t there be pulls for others.

“There is a natural pull,” Dixon acknowledged. “Anybody who would say differently wouldn’t be telling the truth.”

For Dixon, that pull revolves around the fact that he’s from the Los Angeles area, and that his parents still live in the Los Angeles area. Meantime, his wife is from Hawaii, and her parents still live there. So it would’ve made sense on a lot of levels for Dixon to jump at the chance to coach at California, Arizona or USC. But when he weighed the pros of moving to the Pacific time zone against the cons of leaving Pitt, he simply concluded that it wasn’t a wise career choice to abandon a nationally relevant program to rebuild closer to home.

Thus, he’s still far from home.

Or is he?

“Does home have to be one place?” Dixon asked with a smile. “I don’t know where that was written.”

Hopefully his home will remain in Pittsburgh for a long time.

I like to think Pitt fans on the whole have been doing their best to be relatively open-minded about the QB situation for this season. Some might have their preferences, or “anyone but” feelings, but overall there is a “wait and see” attitude. If for no other reason than simple pragmitism.

— Practices were barely underway and pads only went on over the weekend. There has to be time to see what progress has been made, especially with a new OC.

— Coach Dave Wannstedt has declared that Bill Stull is the starting QB. Whether out of pure faith that Stull is the guy, to forestall a QB cotroversy or try to instill some confidence in Stull to just go out and play without looking over his shoulder.

— It wasn’t going to be freshman Kolby Gray, and that was even clearer now that he will have shoulder surgery and take a medical redshirt.

— It’s not like anyone is absolutely sure what to expect from any of the QBs.

— Wanting to see what new OC Frank Cignetti does with them, and if he has a final (any?) say on the QB situation.

That said, it  did not escape many that both the Trib (Gorman) and P-G (Zeise) beat writers felt the need to note on the blog side of things that Stull is not looking good, while Sunseri is surging and Bostick is at least progressing. Zeise started it with a “don’t panic –yet” post about the overall QB play.

Yes, I know it is early and a lot of time is left in camp but……..it has not been the finest hour for the quarterbacks the last two days since they started playing in shoulder pads and actually faced a little bit of heat from the defense.

I had written after the first two days that the quarterbacks threw the ball well and they did. But I also cautioned they were throwing in 7 v 7’s and without a pass rush. Well, yesterday the defense turned up the heat a little bit and it all came crumbling down.

Starter Bill Stull looked a lot like the player who ended last season and Tino Sunseri looked a lot like a second-year player. And Pat Bostick was the odd-man out yesterday as he barely participated in any of the team stuff as he and Sunseri will be alternating days to get the bulk of the work with the second team.

Again, much like I said a few days ago — don’t over react to a few good days — I’ll say the same thing now, perhaps as camp progresses they will all settle in, get used to the speed of things and figure it out.

And most treated it as such. Pitt’s defense is strong. Everyone who has seen the practices has talked about how dominating and overwhelming the D-line has looked that the QB situation may not be getting a fair shake.

But then both came out and stated things after Sunday practices that really caught Pitt fans’ attention. First Gorman’s view:

Through the first six days of camp, however, Stull has lost his vise-like grip on the starting job. And he has no one to blame but himself. Sure, you have to take into consideration that he’s running the first-team offense against the first-team defense, which has him running for his life at times. And that Tino Sunseri is playing well when given the opportunity.

But that’s not the reason Stull has struggled.

Simply put, Stull isn’t making the throws. He’s missing open receivers. He’s off-target, whether it’s too short, too long or over the wrong shoulder. That’s not the worst of it. On Sunday, the fourth consecutive day Stull has struggled, he threw three interceptions and two touchdowns despite working on gold zone (15 yards in) and red zone (15 yards out) drills.

Unlike Wannstedt, Frank Cignetti Jr., Pitt’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, hasn’t declared one quarterback the unquestioned starter. He’s charting every play, and also knows that Pat Bostick threw four touchdowns and two interceptions, Sunseri one score and no picks.

Then Zeise:

The bottom line is Tino Sunseri has made it fairly clear that while he’s young and inexperienced, he isn’t just going to roll over and accept his role as a back-up as he’s played pretty well. Meanwhile, Bostick hasn’t played poorly or well in recent days because, his opportunities have been limited and Stull, at least the last two days, has struggled.

I know the spin – the defense is so much ahead of the offense it isn’t fair to evaluate. I’ll buy it to a degree and Stull is and should be the starter for now and going into the season. But there is no question this competition is a lot closer now than it was five days ago so it should be fun to watch develop.

And before I even reached other thoughts on this, Zeise has a blog post from this morning’s practice that speaks volumes.

Unless the goal of the quarterback is to make sure his receivers have no chance to catch the ball, I can’t quite figure out why a change hasn’t been made yet.

I know, I know, I know the company line is ‘we can’t use a redshirt freshman at that position he has no experience and well, you have to remember last year was our starters first year as a starter…….” My first reaction to the “it was his first year as a starter” line is this — please remind me how many starts Tony Pike had before last season and how that turned out for Cincinnati. And Darryl Clark, how many times did he start prior to last season and how did that turn out for Penn State? Heck for that matter, USC’s Mark Sanchez had three career starts before last season and well, he did OK I think.

College football teams all across the country use young players at key positions all the time and win with them. It is a fact of life in college football, rosters turn over every year and some years significantly. The idea that you always must have an experienced player at every position to win is ridiculous. Yes, ideally you’d like to but if the best player isn’t a senior, well, you need to look elsewhere.

And frankly, if you have an entire training camp plus the added bonus of three mulligans (to use another golf reference) to start the season (i.e teams you should be able to physically overmatch and thus win while protecting the quarterback and helping him gain confidence and get his feet wet and get used to the flow of the game) – that’s seven weeks of work you could have to get a guy ready before the varsity games start. But the key is getting him as many reps as possible and well, you’ve now wasted an entire week.

Wow. Not good. Or good. Depending on whether you believe Coach Wannstedt will change his views on who is running the 1st team.

It is clear that neither beat writer has seen anything from Stull that makes them believe he can hold on to the job. Zeise appears to be in the corner of Sunseri. Believing he is the best option at QB and will be/should be the starter based on performance in camp. Tha’s some raw frustration coming from an observer.

Cat Basket was already down with letting Sunseri run the first team a little. Eye of a Panther wonders if Wannstedt can break free of his thinking — something Zeise clearly echoes today.

I remember Wannstedt has always stressed he wants the best player on the field, but we all know what kind of premium he puts on experience (i.e., upperclassmen). Sunseri is not even a true freshman, but a redshirt. If he is performing the best of all three QBs, then he at least needs a chance to run the first team.

If the concern is about Stull’s confidence, then it is already too late. He has struggled and if he can’t respond to the challenge of being even temporarily demoted then he isn’t the player/leader the coaches think/need him to be.

I root for Stull. Hell, I root for Bostick as well. I really never gave Sunseri a thought this season, because of Wannstedt’s predilections. So, I really can’t say I was rooting for Sunseri this season, since I figured he had a very small chance of impacting.

Ultimately, though, I root for Pitt and want to see the QB out there that best helps the football team win. If it’s Sunseri let’s find out. If it is the defense just killing the O-line and not giving any QB a chance the coaches need to be sure.

Went the entire weekend without firing up the computer. Not by plan, but because with college football season getting closer there is a lot to do. All the things I can get done now, will create less strife in the household when I spend 12 hour saturdays in front of the TV or traveling to the ‘Burgh for Pitt games.

SI.com predicts a 3-way tie for first in the Big East, with Pitt being third of the three (presumably meaning a belief that Pitt will lose to both Rutgers and WVU).

Family ties to look at when Pitt and Rutgers meet.

[Khaseem] Greene is already thinking about Oct. 16, when Pitt comes to Piscataway, and taking down his brother.

“That’s pretty much a big topic around where we live at,” Greene said. “My dad, my uncles, my whole family talks about that: When that time comes, when we could actually meet up one on one, what’s going to happen.

“As a man and a competitor, I gotta do what I gotta do just like he’s gotta do what he’s gotta do. And that’s how we leave it at the end of the day.”

[Ray] Graham’s speed and low center of gravity (he’s 5-foot-9 to Greene’s 6-1) rattle the nerves of Greene – who admits he couldn’t beat Graham in a running back duel these days.

The likelihood of the too meeting on the field this year are slim. Not only is it unclear if Graham will be seeing action in the game, but Greene is 3d on the Rutgers depth chart at strong safety. In time, though, it can be expected.

One more thing from the Cardinals exhibition visit to play the Steelers. The Johnstown paper ran a story on their local boy, LaRod Stephens-Howling.

Bemusing little piece on Pitt having three sets of brothers on the roster. Given the Taglianetti’s father, there is a bit more in the anecdote department regarding them.

Adam Gunn is eager to go.

Fullback Henry Hynoski gets it.

In fact, gauging Hynoski’s success will likely be done by looking at the team’s overall rushing numbers.

“I don’t get the ball as much,” Hynoski said. “I’m more of a lead blocker than a runner. They will throw me the ball, so I’ll be catching some passes when they dump the ball to me. It’s actually a lot like high school, but I’ll do more blocking.”

It’s a role that he not only likes, but it helped sell him on the Panthers program.

“The coaches that recruited me were honest that it wouldn’t be like high school,” Hynoski said. “I would be doing three things: blocking, running and catching passes. I don’t care about statistics. I’m going to do my role.

“I’d obviously like to make more runs. I will get my share of touchdowns, but I’m playing for a prestigious team. It’s an honor to play for a program like Pitt.”

Cameron Saddler says his knee is at 95%, happy to be playing and trying to win the punt and/or kickoff return duties.

New offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti gets a two-part piece. The first about his return to Western PA, the second and the bigger part most Pitt fans care about is his views on offense and coaching. Not to mention recruiting.

“Think players, not plays,” Cignetti said. “That’s especially true in college football. Identify who your playmakers are and then put them into whatever plays you are going to run against a given defense.

“I wish I had something more philosophical for you but honestly, it all comes down to the guys out there making plays and as a coach, you have to ask yourself, ‘How can I make sure my best players are touching the ball as many times as possible every game?'”

…

“Coach Cignetti has done a great job with our feet and helping me get my rear end into throwing the ball,” Bostick said. “He is a great quarterback coach and a great offensive thinker. It is definitely different [than most coaches] but it keeps you on your toes. Attention to detail is such a big part of his approach. There are so many little things that most people wouldn’t be able to even see it but he is stressing them and pushing us on them every day and on every play.”

Cignetti put it simply: “In this classroom, with the quarterbacks, we have high expectations, we expect them to compete every day and we expect to be successful.”

Beyond his offensive philosophy, Cignetti’s approach to coaching is what really sold Pitt head coach Dave Wannstedt. Wannstedt was looking for a coach who ran a pro-style offense but what he also got in Cignetti was an extremely competitive recruiter and a guy whose energy level and borderline-hyperactivity rivaled Wannstedt’s.

Which has showed up in grabbing kids out of Ohio so far for the 2010 recruiting class.

Linebackers now seem a lot more fluid than it did at the start of training camp.

In the unlikely event Gunn can’t perform, the Panthers will have to try to get senior Steve Dell, who never has started a game, or true freshman Dan Mason (Penn Hills), who has started fast, groomed to be a starter in a hurry.

Murray is the other wild card.

He is listed behind redshirt sophomore Max Gruder at weakside linebacker as he tries to show he has fully recovered from his injury.

Like Gunn, he can play all three positions but first must prove he can withstand full contact.

Redshirt freshman Manny Williams is in the mix at weakside linebacker as is redshirt sophomore Tristan Roberts, who has struggled thus far.

Dan Mason, a true freshman, has really stood out in camp so far.

“I hope I can make a contribution,” Mason said. “They are giving me a lot of reps.”

With camp only five days old, Mason already is pushing Steve Dell for second-team middle linebacker (behind senior Adam Gunn) on a defense that is the reason Pitt is picked to win the Big East title.

Mason, ranked as the nation’s No. 8 middle linebacker out of Penn Hills, is responsible for adjusting the defensive front.

“I have to work harder at the mental part,” he said. “Strength and conditioning, I’m ready. I’m feeling good.”

Not to mention convincing the coaches. All accounts have said he has been a standout in camp. The coaches just have to believe he can make the reads on defense.

Elijah Fields given a one-day suspension as a wake-up call. Again.

Sophomore Andrew Taglianetti replaced redshirt junior Elijah Fields at free safety with the first-team defense because of what Wannstedt termed an “internal issue” involving Fields on Wednesday. “Elijah will be back working with the first group,” Wannstedt said. “He hasn’t started yet. He hasn’t done anything. We’re being very demanding on these players. It’s not just what happens on the field.”

Zeise is less than charitable about this. Seeing it as Fields still not getting it in his 4th year. Since I don’t know what it was this time — and one practice seems relatively minor — it may simply be that Fields is one of those kids who needs a regular shake-up. He may be a redshirt junior and extremely talented, but I don’t think anyone seriously considers him a team leader. He is a talented cog with pro possibilities.

Also happening as usual, is the D-line overwhelming the O-line.

Speaking of the more things change, the more they stay the same – watching Pitt’s defensive line dominate a practice has become fun in some ways, particularly when it is still going on with the second and third units in there.

Gus Mustakas is back and apparently at full strength to lend more depth and further force inside the defensive line.

And continuing the familiarity theme, the quarterback play slipped noticeably. Obviously not helped by the O-line getting blasted back.

Despite receiving praise from Wannstedt — who said he “thought that all the quarterbacks threw the ball well” — it was actually a tough day for the signal callers, Stull in particular. They were under constant pressure and, as a result, their throws weren’t as crisp as previous practices. Stull threw five consecutive incomplete passes, as the team drill ended with Stull and Sunseri combining to complete only one of their final 10 passes.

Not a cause to sound the alarm, but not a good day, either.

Cat Basket is hoping for freshman Dan Mason to beat back Wannstedt-ian perceptions and become the starting middle linebacker. Looking for one word to describe that goal: Quixotic.

On the matter of the running back competition, Coach Wannstedt emphasized that it will more likely because of one thing that will eliminate contenders.

“We’re going to have to work on the running game, we’re going to have to find a couple tailbacks and the only way to do that is to run the plays in practice. Unfortunately, it’s going to come down to the guy that gives up that one fumble or makes a mental mistake. He’s going to eliminate himself. Coach David Walker has a very difficult job.”

I do think, unlike a couple other positions, that running back is truly open regardless of whether the kid is a freshman or not. Mainly because three of the contenders are true freshmen while a fourth is a redshirt freshman.

“They all realize there’s not a player in our room that has won a job,” Walker said. “Everybody is being given a fair opportunity to compete. It’s a competitive environment. This is a production business and the guys that are the most productive in camp are the guys who are going to play, regardless of everything else.

“When we say it’s an open competition, it is open competition across the board. The guy who may be taking the fifth rep today might be taking the first rep Sept. 5 (in the season opener against Youngstown State). Who knows how it’s going to play out?”

What will really help any running back? An offensive line they can trust. There’s a focus on sophomores Lucas Nix and Chris Jacobson. Nix already has the right tackle spot locked up, and Jacobson is trying to beat out Joe Thomas for left guard.

Wise said Jacobson has a lot of ability, but he needs to do better with the mental part of the game and the intricacies and fundamentals of line work.

“Chris, it hasn’t come as natural to him,” Wise said. “But he has very good toughness, [and] he is still sorting some things out more. He is still thinking too much, but it is coming.”

Jacobson knows that beating out Thomas (6-5, 290 pounds), a player with 27 career starts, is not going to be easy, but Jacobson also knows that the Panthers are counting on him to contribute this season.

“Coaches want me to prove I deserve to start. It is a competition, that’s what I thrive on,” Jacobson said. “I didn’t know what I was doing last year, but [guard] John Malecki and even [former quarterback] Tyler Palko did a good job in the offseason explaining things to me and working with me.”

And there’s the segue to all the former Panthers on the Arizona Cardinals squad that stopped by to talk to the Pitt players before the exhibition NFL game last night.

Five former Pitt players who are now members of the Arizona Cardinals visited the Panthers at the UPMC Sports Performance Complex on Thursday before their preseason game against the Steelers at Heinz Field. All-Pro receiver Larry Fitzgerald, linebacker Gerald Hayes, quarterback Tyler Palko, running back LaRod Stephens-Howling and secondary coach Teryl Austin took turns speaking to Pitt players. “Ever since I’ve been back here, I’ve been trying to bring alive our great tradition. That’s one thing we have here that a lot of schools don’t have around the country,” Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt said. “Those are the guys that made this program. It was awful nice of them to come by and spend a little time, and they all said something to our team. Hopefully, it sticks with a few guys and makes a difference with a couple guys.”

You would hope.

The practices are split once again, with the older players and first-teamers practicing in the morning. The afternoon is with mainly freshmen and second-team.

The first two days of practice have come and gone. As per NCAA rules, helmets are allowed, but no padded clothing. Watch out for those girdles.

(more…)

Gene Collier wonders how Pitt got picked to be first in the Big East. Didn’t we cover this last week? It’s because every contender has huge, gaping flaws.

This has the feel of a forced column to tie-in to the start of practices. That or it was held from last week, when it might have been a touch more timely.

It does, however, allow a little recap of some other things. I avoided making an actual pick in my brief Big East preview for FanHouse. Instead, just looking at the pros/cons/scheduling of the top five teams.

Paul Zeise did something similar (except the schedule factor), as he looked at why teams would or wouldn’t win the conference. He also admits that he did not pick Pitt in the media poll, because of Pitt’s flaws.

Kevin Gorman did pick Pitt to win the conference, as he thinks Pitt can fill in most of the losses of players well and not have much of a drop-off. I don’t know. He rattles off so many questions and battles for spots that it just seems that he is presuming too many things work themselves out in a good way.

It’s the questions that make it tough for me to confidentally pick Pitt to win the Big East. Whether it is QB, the offensive line (especially center), kicking and punting, running back, and coaching.

Honestly, if I wasn’t taking into account the teams and their history I would go with either USF or Rutgers to win the Big East.

USF has the talent, but they have some cold-weather games (at Rutgers and at UConn) to contend and of course have faded in the second half perpetually.

As for Rutgers, have you seen their schedule? It’s not just the paper thin non-con. They get all of the other contending teams at home this year — Cinci, Pitt, USF and WVU. It is set up for them to win this year if they can find a QB and receivers.

Not good. Not good. Not good. Too many browser tabs, and practices are barely underway. I already know this day will be a lost one, as the wife will be bringing me a growler of Doubting Thomas Double IPA as a birthday present, so there will be nothing accomplished after that arrives.

Well, time to clear out more Pitt media day related articles.

Player stuff:

Jonathan Baldwin wants to have a big year and be a big part of the offense.

Greg Romeus expects a big year for himself.

Elijah Fields is motivated to start meeting the potential.

“I think everything’s fallen into place this year,” he said. “It probably took me a little bit more time than everybody else coming out of high school, but I think this will be a big breakout year for me.”

Nate Byham still wants to win the Big East and more.

Joe Starkey demands a big year from Elijah Fields and Dorin Dickerson.

New Nike unis. Come in 3 flavors for the jersey and pants. What? No alternate helmets? Oddest statement on the new unis:

“Except for the color, I think it’s as close to what we wore in the old guard,” Wannstedt said.

Yeah, except for the colors and the logo. Other than that, they are the same.

Ticket sales are up about 7% over last year. Holding the line on prices and a good season helped. Changing the OC probably didn’t hurt, either.

WR Todd Thomas was the only 2009 recruit not to qualify. He’s headed to Milford Academy for a year.

Still plenty of people wondering about Stull. Latest revisionism seems to be to play up how beat-up and injured he really was last year.

From Media Day, Coach Wannstedt’s press conference in transcript form. Wannstedt endeared himself to everyone by jumping out in front on the first question.

“Ok give me the quarterback questions, come on. (laughs)

“But let me say this because the quarterback position is one that everyone loves to talk about. I think we’re very fortunate here at Pitt. I think you have to look at everything in terms of who you’re competing against. I think when you look at our quarterback position we have two quarterbacks with experience; we have Billy (Bill Stull) who started 13 games and Pat (Pat Bostick) who started nine games, we have a young quarterback with a lot of talent who’s going to be a heck of a player for us, Tino Sunseri. So we do have some experience, we have some youth, we have ability and these kids have worked very hard.

He also reiterated that Stull is the starter. Something, no one could miss.

The AP story from media day, focuses on the players gone and who will replace them.