I have nothing against Jeremiah Bryson. I know next to nothing about him. The fact that he is yet another undersized running back and in no way an offensive lineman, defaults to disappointment on my part. Unfair to the kid, but that is probably going to be a common reaction.

Scout.com has him as a 3-star recruit. Rivals.com says 2-star. ESPN.com ranks him as a “76” or roughly 3-star (Insider subs.). Scout.com says 5-10 in height, but Rivals.com and ESPN have him at 5-8, so I’m going with the 5-8 measurement.

Hits the cutback sharply and does a good job picking and darting through traffic displaying very good body control and lateral footwork. Spins off would-be tacklers and beaks a lot of first contact with pure determination, a low running base, constant leg drive and very good balance. Has a deceptively strong upper- and lower body as well and can absorb a hit. Slippery and hard to get a direct shot on. Shows good foot speed through the second level and can freeze defenders in the openfield with sharp cutting. However, he lacks great separation and long speed, particularly when projecting for the college level. Appears quicker than fast and is not a back with an explosive second gear.

The tailback is the first recruit Pitt has gotten from Tennessee in I don’t know how long. Tennessee and Vandy, though, had not offered him. His best offers came from UNC, Maryland, Illinois and Ohio U.

The state of Tennessee is not exactly a recruiting hotbed, so I don’t see a secondary benefit.

Strikes me as a replacement for the likely departing Jason Douglas. I know I should have faith in Coach Wannstedt and the coaching staff when it comes to RBs, but another tailback seems completely superfluous at this time.

Serioously. Get some OLs. Please.

Yesterday Pitt and Comcast announced a Pitt Panther TV channel.

Pitt and The Comcast Network are proud to announce the launch of Pitt Panthers Television, a breakthrough programming service that will annually present more than 500 additional hours of Pitt athletics coverage to area fans exclusively on The Comcast Network, including live broadcasts of men’s basketball games this season and football coach Dave Wannstedt’s weekly press conferences as well as re-airs of all home football games.

Pitt Panthers Television, which debuts Sept. 21, will also broadcast live football and men’s basketball pre- and postgame shows, women’s basketball games and women’s volleyball games as well as other Olympic sports and original programming. It will also bring rebroadcasts of football and basketball games to Comcast’s Xfinity On Demand platform, allowing Comcast digital customers to enjoy all the Panthers’ great moments whenever they want.

As you would expect it is limited to Western Pennsylvania and some parts of Central PA. It is on channels 188 or 210. As long as you live in the region and are a Comcast subscriber this is a great thing.

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I wanted to stick to football for the rest of the week, but I had a basketball post that I thought was posted on Monday. Instead it never posted and never ended up in drafts or anywhere else it could be. It has me ticked off, and I can’t just skip it until after the Miami game (I have issues) so I’m re-doing it now.

This article on Pitt from Mike DeCourcy seems to be getting around, because of Pitt’s confidence.

Pittsburgh coach Jamie Dixon surely raised a Big East eyebrow or two when he declared to Sporting News magazine, “We could be as good as any team we’ve ever had.”

Only two seasons ago, the Panthers earned their first-ever No. 1 NCAA Tournament seed and reached the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight behind future NBA players and Sporting News All-Americans Sam Young and DeJuan Blair. This Pitt team, though coming off a 25-9 season and returning five of that team’s top six scorers, features no obvious NBA prospects.

So can this team really expect to exceed the ‘09 Panthers? Pitt hasn’t made a Final Four since the 1940s.

“The sky is the limit for this team,” Panthers G Brad Wanamaker told Sporting News. “As long as we stay together and do the right things ¬we can maybe go to the Final Four or win a national championship.

“They always say pros can get you the farthest in the NCAAs. Well, in our own mindset, we think we’re pros, too. We think we have a chance to play in the NBA.”

For the last couple of years, Coach Dixon has been very upfront about declaring that there are no limits to what the team can accomplish. He has also, increasingly challenged the players to buy into that approach. The comments from Wanamaker and Gilbert Brown in the story reflect that.

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