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March 17, 2011

Spring Practice – QB Position

Filed under: Football,Players — Reed @ 4:34 am

As some filler before todays practice, let’s look at what PITT has going on in the most important position on the field.  Obviously we’ll see numerous position battles at other spots, maybe even most of them on offense and defense before the dust settles – but QB is always the position which holds the fan’s interest the most.  Here at PITT we hold one past player up as The Benchmark for the position; Dan Marino.  Understandable as he did great things for us and led us to what was the most recent run of success we have had since cars have been built with automatic transmissions. Ever since then we PITT fans have wanted a kid under center who can thread the needle with power on his throws and make quick-trigger decisions that always turn out well… at least that is our memories of Marino, right?

Well, the truth is that Dan Marino’s college reputation was built largely on the backs of one of the most talented teams, top to bottom and year in and year out over his four years at PITT,  that college football has seen.  This is almost always how legends are made.  Not to take away from Dan the Man – he was a great QB, but he also had a ton of help.

Too bad we don’t have that now.  What we have now is the great unknown as a team due to pretty drastic changes from one head coach to another.  If we could point to, let’s say, 17 of 22 positions and say we have solid returning kids there then it would be easier for us to accept that our returning QB would also hold onto the starter’s job.  That may not be the case in 2011.

As mentioned before, our HC has made it pretty clear that he believes not only in finding a QB who can run his system but also ensuring that there is open and heated competition to determine who that is.  This is as it should be and accomplishes two things: gets us the best QB we have on roster handling the ball 84 time a game and it makes every QB better players in the long run as they are engaged and can learn what is required of them if they have to step into the role.  When every other player on the roster is told that if they work hard they have a shot at playing time, save for the open starting position at QB, it sends a contrasting message from the top.

That was then, this is now.

The first mention in this race has to be our incumbent starter Tino Sunseri.  If you look at Sunseri’s statistics of 2010 you’d raise an eyebrow and think “Not too shabby for a first year starter”. But that doesn’t tell the whole story and PITT fans are pretty damned astute when it comes to nuances of QB play.  There was a feeling at the end of 2010 that we didn’t necessarily get what our old coach not only promised from Sunseri but based his personnel decision on even before spring camp.

Aside from an almost wishful thinking second half in the opening game at Utah where Sunseri actually completed passes and looked like he wasn’t going to be a total failure (always a concern in someone’s first ever start), we never got the feeling that Sunseri could take over and control the outcome of the game by best utilizing his offensive talent.  Maybe that was part of the Grand Plan from Wannstedt as he did like Game Managers, but we expected more I think and never really got it.  This is an exercise in theory play – but take away Sunseri’s two mid-season games, in which he did play well, against Syracuse and Rutgers – two rather poor BE teams where he threw seven TDs – and his remaining efforts in our other ten games was pedestrian in producing 188 yards passing per game with 8 TDs and  8 INTs.  Very 2008 Bill Stull-like in fact.

Now, he didn’t stink out the joint, did some things well for a first year starter and he went through some stretches were we saw some very solid play from him as referenced above giving us fans hope that he found his stride. But it was spotty QB play over the course of the season.

He certainly may be able to mount a Stull-like progression from Year 1 to Year 2. However, nothing we saw out of Tino Sunseri in 2010 should make him a lock, or even a solid front runner, for the starting position. This especially holds true in that one of the main positive attributes he brings into 2011, his starting experience, is somewhat negated by the complete changeover in the offensive system.  Still, he is the returning starting QB and as such he’ll get first chance to hold onto the job.

Our other three contenders are interesting with diverse playing styles in Mark Myers, Anthony Gonzales and Kolby Gray.

On one hand we have Mark Myers, a big, 4 star, strong armed and accurate passer who was an All-Ohio Player in 2009 and ranked 11th nationally by the scouting services.  His reputation is that of a drop back Pro-style player but that may be a bit of a mistake to try to lock him into that box.  He actually played a bit of both types of offenses in high school and also ran the 110 hurdles.  That means the kid can move on his feet and well.  But if Graham is going to have the deep ball be as large a part of his arsenal as he has stated – Myers may be hard to sit down… and the reports out of the camps both last year and this year are that Myers throw a beautiful one.

Anthony Gonzales may, at first glance, be best suited for this new offense.  He was a very successful QB of the PA state champs, is a dual-threat QB and can run like the wind.  How he can actually pass at this level is a question mark though.  But since he’s not a prototypical drop-back QB his mobility may cover for any other adequacies he has throwing.  I do think that if you listen to how Graham describes what he wants for his QB and how he envisions racking up rushing yardage at that position – he has to be chomping at the bit to see what Gonzales can do under game conditions.

Which leads us to the wildcard in Kolby Gray.  Apparently a lot of PITT fans look at Gray as a bit of an afterthought in the QB race and he may well be.  But to discount him completely, especially at this early stage, is a mistake.  He has the exact HS background that Graham wants his QBs to have, was recruited by Graham and Coach Dodd two years ago and probably understands this particular system better than our other QBs.  We saw flashes of Gray’s play at Safety last year; he is quick and fast and has a nose for the ball.  It appears that he’s got good football instincts.  Gray is coming off shoulder surgery in 2009 and is rusty throwing the ball, but it is early days yet.  If the coaching staff puts a lot of weight in ‘intangibles’ then Gray may have a decent shot.

If Coach Graham holds true to form in his continually stating that “The System is the Thing”,  then this QB competition may be more open than it looks given one player’s incumbency.  Graham doesn’t project as the type of coach who will select his starters by default and each one of our QBs has certain positive, and negative, attributes for him to consider.  An overriding factor that will be hidden to us fans is how well these four players fully grasp the intricate details of the new offense.  The HC may sacrifice physical talent for that solid understanding of how to run his system.

This will be a very interesting development to watch throughout the spring and we may well see someone play himself into the starting position that we hadn’t considered at this point last year.  It may not the QB who has the best singular attributes, but the best QB who fits into the offense given the talent and style of play of the other 10 starters.  This isn’t going to be a team where the QB is the ‘end all be all’.  Marino became a legend using his firm grasp of the QB position to allow the best of the other offensive player’s talents to shine, 2011 may see a starting PITT QB who can do the same.





Thanks for the thoughtful post, Reed, and thanks, Chas, for getting someone to help you with Spring football. Many of us are equally passionate about Pitt football and basketball, so the extra coverage is awesome.

Reed: I agree that the QB competition is wide open, especially with Graham’s stated emphasis on going deep. We all know how Tino struggled there last year, it will be interesting to see if Coach Dodge can help him with his mechanics, or if we have a new guy under center in the Fall. Regardless, I think Pitt will be fun to watch on offense this season.

Like many, my big concern is defense. It won’t matter how many points Pitt scores if they other team scores more. As you pointed out in your first post, linebacker seems to be the big question mark, especially if they plan to use a 3-4. The best 3-4 defense ever plays in the same stadium, so imagine the comparisons that will be made by the Yinzers. Any info you or others can share there would be appreciated.

Thanks again for the info. Looking forward to reading more.

Comment by TampaT 03.17.11 @ 6:18 am

Reed, you the Man! Great insight into the QB situation, keep up the good work. I’m a Myers supporter. In mentioning Marino, it brings back memories of the tall stance and quick buggy whip release by the lefty with the resulting frozen rope completion 20 yards up the field. Well,,,, if you watch MMs HS highlights on You Tube it kind of looks like a young Marino out there again in my opinion. If Graham is really serious about the “we’re going to throw the ball deep” commitment, then Meyers has to be a front runner in the competition at QB at this point. This kid can throw the football down the field! I think the real wild card in the coach’s decision on who ends up as the starter at QB however will be the guy who can fully grasp the playbook and command the system that the coaches want to run on the field at the pace required to make it all happen. That takes an intangible mental ability to comprehend as well as to execute under stress that will be hard to measure until a true game situation is encountered. That is why I’m really happy that we have a couple light weights as our first two opponents this coming season. I just hope that Graham makes the correct pick at the QB position to start with so that those games serve as a learning experience for the starter rather than a failed “test by fire” audition for the first guy who gets yanked for the next QB in line. Time will tell but until we get into the season for real, I think it will be a crap shoot at best to ordain one guy as the permanent QB starter in this new offensive system.

Comment by Dr. Tom 03.17.11 @ 7:52 am

So what is the initial fanbase reaction going to be IF Graham names Tino the starter anyway? Do we trust his judgement?

Comment by apm74 03.17.11 @ 8:05 am

Did anyone else see that Delvon Simmons (McKeesport) asked and was granted release from North Carolina? Does anyone have insight on where he might sign?

Comment by winedogs 03.17.11 @ 8:12 am

apm74 – I’d have no problem with it and I suspect most PITT fans wouldn’t either. But it would have to be because Graham had clearly evaluated his choices and settled on Sunseri.

I don’t think Sunseri is a bad player at all. I just wonder if he’s equipped to handle this new system. But then again, we can wonder the same about the three other guys also.

Comment by Reed 03.17.11 @ 8:49 am

My question is what happened to the thousands of fans screaming “its Tino time” when Stull was under center a few years ago. It is funny how fickled a fan base becomes once the trials and tribulations of real game situations transpire. There HAS to be some solid supporters for Tino still hanging around, although I sure don’t hear from them.

Comment by Dr. Tom 03.17.11 @ 9:07 am

Four apparently talented, competent QB’s. My guess is that after TG makes his decision, we will be down to one QB with the other three bolting ala Luke Getsy and Joe Flacco after Palko was named the starter, especially if Tino is the selectee. TG may have only one shot at choosing his starter. I hope it is a good pick.

Comment by BigGuy 03.17.11 @ 9:19 am

BTW, Luke Getsy is the QB coach at IUP under HC, Curt Cignetti, Frank’s brother. I wish both Luke and Curt much success.

Comment by BigGuy 03.17.11 @ 9:29 am

I will be happy with anyone who is a threat to run the ball. The strength of the new offense will be to catch the defense out of position or making a mistake in coverage.

The offense is building a system to hurry the defense into a mistake. The QB has to be ready to execute the right reads. I suspect the coaches will be doing a lot of the play calls in a no huddle environment.

Having the ability to run and pick up a first down or gain a big run when the defense is exhausted is huge. If the offense doesnt have a good read on what to run right away they can simply pick up a nice gain with a scramble.

I have seen it many times in the Big 12 style play that is so popular know. They dont want to run the QB, but can when your set at the line of scrimmage and not sure what to go with right away, just looking for the right coverage to throw a deep one. If you do that 4 or 5 times a game and hit it your looking at 35 pts a game.

Im not sure whom fits that mold out of the available QB’s but that is the type we need.

Comment by Pitt Man 03.17.11 @ 9:39 am

Nice job Reed.

Comment by CMart 03.17.11 @ 10:11 am

@BigGuy, I think all of these QBs realize that their opportunity to shine is right now, with maybe the exception of Gray who probably feels lucky to just get the chance to see the QB position again. But even if the worst decision is made by Coach Graham, by that I mean anointing a guy early on as the starter for good and not giving anybody else significant reps just like what Wanny did last year with the Sunseri/Bostick issue, I think the other QBs will understand that somebody else is just one play away from being the starter. That will be especially true in this system because the QB is putting himself out there to get banged up that much more. An injury can happen at qany time I think therefore that everybody ends up sticking around no matter who gets the nod at QB.

Comment by Dr. Tom 03.17.11 @ 10:26 am

Dr. Tom, what you are suggesting seems logical, but can you then explain the actions taken by Getsy and Flacco? In my era, (the ’60s) more than one QB usually got to play via substitutions during the game. Today, the teams seem to use the pro mindset: give playing time to only one QB unless he gets banged up. It seems that both Getsy and Flacco made the right personal decisions. I suspect that we will see a transfer of more than one “also-ran”.

Comment by BigGuy 03.17.11 @ 10:45 am

Nice Post. It’s refreshing to think that Pitt maybe looking at a QB strictly based their on the ability to win games. I’m trusting this staff to put the best QB out there based on their performance during practice.

Comment by Tony in Harrisburg 03.17.11 @ 11:06 am

Pitt must make a change at QB or we’re destined for the same results as last year. I would go with Myers as the starter & make it a priority to recruit Pennsylvani Gatorade player of the year.- Brendan Nosovitch. This kid passed for over 3,000 yds and ran for over 1,000 yds including 600 yards total offense in 1 game ! He would be Pitt’s best at this position since Danny Marino.

Comment by ROCKY 20 03.17.11 @ 11:23 am

Good stuff Reed, did not know you had it in you LOL!

As I said on “Inside the Huddle” Graham will start a true freshman at any position if they possess what he is looking for in said position and grasp his system. The thing about Graham is he says what he means and wants. There is no smoke and mirrors with him.

In respect to the QB’s he has stated he wants accuracy, high completion %, read/react prowess, ability to throw the deep ball, ability to run, and thorough understanding of THE SYSTEM and implementation thereof.

I agree with what you wrote about the 4 QB. They each will have to prove themselves anew. They have to prove they can implement the “High Octane Offense.”

What a refreshing thought an open competition. What a difference a few months can make!!!

Comment by Kenny 03.17.11 @ 11:29 am

It will be the QB who has the ability to play SMART. Tino did not play smart; even in the slow paced pro-style offense he ran with the previous coaching staff, the kid had trouble understanding the play calls coming in and difficulty making the right reads. Film doesn’t lie, and neither does DVR.

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