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March 17, 2011

Spring Practice – Rumor Central

Filed under: Uncategorized — Reed @ 5:32 pm

There are drumbeats along the Monongahela, albeit hearsay I’ll remind readers, saying that four transfers “depending on what happens during the spring practices” might happen. The gist of this is that two TEs and two QBs might be thinking there are greener pastures elsewhere given that Coach Graham is instituting a new system on offense. Hell, with just the tempo at which they are practicing I’m surprised players aren’t walking away in droves – it would kill 99% of us PITT fans.

So, let the speculation begin!! One fact that floats to memory is that Todd Graham mentioned a while back that Chris Mike had been moved from FB to TE. Perhaps the HC sees the TE position more like an H-Back as opposed to the traditional TEs we are used to. Another thing to keep an eye on as the practices are reported. But those are the two offensive positions that will be impacted the most by the new system.

We probably all expected transfers to happen given the turmoil of the December – January personnel moves and the different approach to football that Todd Graham has brought into the program. We also had to be aware that it is a fact that the pro-style system the players were recruited to play in no longer exists for the most part. Wannstedt was able to sell to recruits and their families the number of players he put into NFL camps each year, which may not be the case so much any longer.

I think it is safe to say that all of us PITT fans hope this isn’t true and it may not be, but if it is… so be it. Life rears its ugly head sometimes and these players certainly have a right to choose whatever college football career path they want. Personally, I hate it when a kid transfers away from the University of Pittsburgh because, aside from football, I think they are missing out on what could be a wonderful educational opportunity in a vibrant city… but that’s just me. However, these players do have high aspirations of continuing on in professional football after college and it is natural for a young man to chase that dream.

That said, sometimes what a kid feels in the beginning of a change isn’t necessarily what he’ll feel after he gets accustomed to it. This may well be chatter from some players who just don’t know what the immediate future holds so they are anxious about it.

On another note – the 2011 PITT Football Spring Prospectus has hit the street. It is a large download and already events are making some info outdated, but it holds a ton of interesting stuff about the program.





I thought we were already down to two scholarship TE’s?

Comment by HbgFrank 03.17.11 @ 7:56 pm

Hbg – Let’s hope Mike Cruz was one of those TEs then. Apparently he had been thinking about quitting the team for some time.

Comment by Reed 03.17.11 @ 9:18 pm

The TE as a HB Idea is an interesting one. It would allow for some quick screens with some potential power when aiming to get those short 3 or 4 yard conversions.

QB needs to be quick thrower, well… I assume thats true either way

Comment by Benzene 03.17.11 @ 10:00 pm

let them go if they want to go… this is the guy we hired so lets all get on board. if it doesn’t work out we’ll run him out of town with pitchforks and torches like the last guy

Comment by mike 03.17.11 @ 10:55 pm

I agree with Mike. Anyone that doesnt want to be here – Thanks for your service and dont let the door hit you on the way out.

Its obvious Graham isnt going to run the summaer day camp that Wanny was running and you better be all in if you are going to be successful in this program. Those that dont buy in or that arent willing to work should probably look elsewhere. Its about time we get a coach in here that is looking to put the best and hardest working players on the field and stop rewarding potential. If this means having a slightly down year then so be it.

Comment by Coach Ditka 03.18.11 @ 6:55 am

You have to be willing to answer the call when opportunity knocks. Right now Coach Graham and company will be giving everybody on this team a fresh look and the chance to get on the field if they take advantage of it. Those that want it should stick around, those who are whiners and are not willing and/or able to adapt and flourish should probably get on with there lives somewhere else where they may find happiness and fulfillment. Having malcontents hanging around any organization just breeds negative energy and saps away unity and the will to excel from the entire organization. My spin, winners will stick around and buy into what coach Graham is selling. What NO one should do however is quit this program because they see it as a logical career move to enhance their chances of playing in the NFL. That is just pie in the sky thinking that the team that you are a member of is a primary factor in determining the value of your future NFL stock. Anybody that looks at the data understands that only a small % of college players ever go on to realize a productive career at the next level. Those guys who have that talent will rise to the top of almost any college program in the nation, maybe with the exception of a very few powerhouse programs that restock their cupboard every recruiting season with 4 and 5 star recruits like it’s no big deal. Therefore, it is YOUR performance that will determine that NFL value (wherever you play)and as Dion Lewis will tell you in retrospect, RECENT performance trumps your overall body of work when the NFL scouts are determining that potential to play at the next level. If Graham is successful here at Pitt, there will be plenty of our players that will continue to go on to play in the NFL and that will be primarily due to the fact that good players win games and prove themselves as NFL caliber players, period. What I feel Todd Graham has the ability to do with his players is to provide the incentive for all of his players to become part of the process. When a young kid gets that feeling from his HC that he’s included in the process, even if he currently finds himself down the food chain a few notches he will continue to work towards his full potential because he wants to contribute to that team by his own actions. If Graham can do that, he’ll have minimal attrition from this current roster. We’ll see.

Comment by Dr. Tom 03.18.11 @ 8:03 am

Dr. Tom, you are right. The new regime in some ways reminds me of how the Johnny Majors era began. It was a new attitude and Majors promised that those who stay and buy in will be Champions.

link to pittmag.pitt.edu

In 1973, a group of young men began their first football practice in the wake of a one-win season the year before. Those who survived the new head coach’s intense drills formed one of the best college football teams—ever. This year marks the 30th anniversary of a stellar season in Pitt football history.

A Season to Remember

The players aren’t even off the buses, but they’re already sweating. The head coach stands at the front of a school bus and looks down the aisle, past the nervous, shiny faces of fresh recruits, through the rear window to the line of buses beyond. There are six buses in all, and within them sits the future of the University of Pittsburgh football program.

It’s the summer of 1973, and newly recruited coach Johnny Majors has brought the returning members of last year’s team (with its dismal record of 1 win-10 losses) to Pitt’s Johnstown, Pa., campus. He also has brought along nearly a hundred new recruits. Majors intends to forge a team that will wipe out nine years of losing records. His plan is simple: He will work this team harder than any team he has ever coached. He has enough recruits to make the competition at each position three, four, even five players deep, and he will subject the players to punishing drills in sweltering heat. The ones who don’t quit will be the toughest, best-conditioned, and most dedicated. With temperatures close to triple digits, the fields of Pitt-Johnstown form the perfect crucible.

The days burn through. Majors works his plan, prowling among wide receivers who dart through crossing patterns and hovering near offensive linemen as they lower their shoulders into blocking pads. He’s everywhere. Shrill whistles and barked orders from assistant coaches tunnel through the heavy summer air. Majors chews on chunks of ice, a habit that cools him during practice—and helps him keep his cool on the sidelines on game day. The players he intently observes will eventually form the nucleus of a team that ESPN.com will, in 2001, rank among the best ever. But now, most are just struggling to put one foot in front of the other.

“I called my dad and said, ‘I think I’m over my head here,’” recalls nose tackle Al Romano (CAS ’77), a new recruit in ’73. “My brother was in the Marines. After I finished with Pitt, I thought the Marines had nothing on us.”

AND FINALLY AN INTERESTING QUOTE FROM THE STACHE:

“After that camp, everybody was on board,” says current Pitt head football coach Dave Wannstedt (EDUC ’76G, ’74), who sweated out the days alongside the recruits as a senior captain and offensive lineman. “Those who were left were committed to the cause.” That cause was to bring pride back to Pitt football.

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Comment by plaque attack 03.25.11 @ 10:58 pm

[…] here in the last week of March we have already heard some noise about possible transfers ‘depending on what happens during the spring practices’. But one gets a feeling that whoever is […]


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