Maybe it’s the plunging temperatures, freezing rain and overall grayness of the day. Maybe I’m just in a downer mood. Not sure, but for some reason the Big East honors did not do much to cheer me.
It should surprise no one that Pitt kicked ass in this. Four players made the 2nd Team All-Big East and ten made the 1st Team.
2nd Team All-Big East players from Pitt were: TE Nate Byham, K Dan Hutchins, DT Gus Mustakas and S Dom DeCicco.
1st Team All-Big East players from Pitt were: WR Jonathan Baldwin, OG John Malecki, OT Jason Pinkston, TE Dorin Dickerson, QB Bill Stull, RB Dion Lewis, DE Greg Romeus, LB Adam Gunn, DT Mick Williams and CB Aaron Berry.
Dion Lewis and Greg Romeus were unanimous picks at their spots.
In addition, Dion Lewis was unanimously chosen as Big East rookie of the year and named the offensive player of the year. The first Pitt player chosen for the offensive PoY since Larry Fitzgerald.
Greg Romeus and Mick Williams were named co-defensive players of the year in the Big East. The third time in the last four years that Pitt players have taken that honor.
The ten 1st team spots is as many as WVU and Cinci had combined. Yet Pitt finishes behind both of them.
So while I am happy for the deserved recognition for the Pitt players. Especially for what Dion Lewis has done this year, it makes the finish to the season just a little more bitter at the moment.
It just needs to translate into a more representative amount of success on Saturdays.
Speaking of which, CBS has Stull listed as the 9th best QB entering the draft and projects him to be a 6th round pick: link to cbssports.com
Not so sure about that one….
I know he’s a hybrid/h-back type, but doesn’t he make more sense as a tight end in the NFL?
Hell, if he were maybe 10 lbs lighter he’d basically just be a WR.
Wasn’t Pitt picked to win the Big East preseason?
Pitt has talent, it is very evident, too bad bone head coaching cost them 3 games!!!!
My biggest fear is they won’t win. Tough circumstances: day after Christmas, Charlotte in December (may as well be in Allentown), essentially a home game for the Tar Heels, and -most fearful of all- a good coach on the other sideline. If you have one more of those JB Tees my guess is 31-13 Heels. And I hope like hell I am wrong.
Wally, I said several times that I look for UNC to beat us easily. How do you get a depressed, uninterested, uninspired team that just suffered one of their worst losses in recent history ready to play a third tier bowl game? Their bodies might be in Charlotte but their minds are still sitting at Heinz Field replaying the Cinci game.
By the way, I hope am proven wrong but dont see it.
It will be the worst internet message board meltdown of all time around here.
Wanny has a longer view of things, but he does it right. He’s establishing a program here that can be strong for years, can consistently compete and he cares about the students and the university.
He had a slow start here and I think that’s frustrated a lot of people, but he’s built something that can last.
Darnell Dodson playig for Kentucky on tv right now against UConn
HTscriptP
1) Happy for the Big East selections. I think the kids earned it. I think coaching let them down in the end in terms of season results, but there were a lot of good performances that were rightfully rewarded on the player’s side.
2) The Bowl game will be a crap shoot. Hopefully they will find a way to motivate. It won’t be easy given all the reasons posted above. I don’t think the board will melt down – it seems like many are emotionally drained win or lose.
3) The good thing about Wanny is that he may be here for a long time. That bad thing is that… well… he may be here for a long time. He has liabilities, but he has built a clean program and he wants to be at Pitt. That’s more than a lot of coaches in the Big East can say. I’d be more worried about Cignetti leaving at some point in the near term.
One thing that has to be said … in the past two decades, there has been too many years when a close loss at WVU and a 1 point loss to the 5th ranked team would have been considered to be a big success.
Many congrats to the team and players for these awards. Regardless of how the season ends it was a very entertaining, good building step season. sure things could have been better but they could have been alot worse (think “back to the future”).
Dont get me wrong, I like Wanny. I think he is a great guy, a good guy for the University, and hes certainly committed to Pitt. But he is not the best coach.
I would fully trust sending my son to Pitt to be coached by DW and his staff.
If 19 of 19 seniors indeed graduate, that is a tremendous achievement.
DW is a Pitt man. Most of previous Pitt-men coaches who come to mind were class acts even if their records may have been questionable (e.g. John Michelosen, Foge Fazio and now, DW). Some of the non-Pitt-men coaches were men of character. Some were not.
Although I get totally frustrated by losses, especially when one or two plays keep them from being W’s, having former players be productive after graduation is more important to me. (I have to keep reminding myself of that because I am still quite aggravated about the NC State, WVU and Cinci losses.)
This calendar year, we were a total of 3 points away from a Final 4 and BCS Bowl … disappointing?: very much so …… dire?: not even close.
then tell me about the great 9 win regular season we had. wanny is paid to win games, not put kids in the NFL. all that talent isn’t enough to overcome wanny’s game day ineptitude. gilyard is still running.
On second thought, I think that we ought stay with our guy and be grateful that we got him.
(1) it is most often more about execution than it is about strategy, and (2) sometimes you just have to tip your hat when great players make great plays.
I certainly don’t remember Dixon getting much criticsm for the ole’ defense against Scotty Reynolds!!
Add to your list: playing the game after 3-week break. We haven’t done so well after breaks – just look at the difference in performance against WVU then one week later against Cincy when we were revving on all cylinders.
Not once in the history of the Big East Conference has the pre-season pick won the Conference championship so it was the kiss of death for Pitt to be picked in 2009.
Pitt may have been the preseason pick to win the Big East but we didn’t have the most 1st place votes among the voters. We received more 2nd place votes than anyone else, that is why we were picked to win the conference because we were mostly picked second. Interestingly that’s where we finished! No shame in that, this team will get better in the future!
Don’t draw on the fact that we did’t win, focus on the fact that we almost won in what should be deemed a rebuilding season!