If you want a good reason why I don’t like following the Twitter accounts of teenage boys (I mean, aside from the clear discomfort and creepiness of doing so when phrased that way), it is that they are more prone to emotional reactions that then create ripples of overreactions.
Let me put it this way. We keep seeing repeated examples of grown-ups being unable to handle the pitfalls of modern media. So who should realistically expect 17-19 year-olds to react to news with the cold logic of Spock and handle Twitter with the wisdom of Solomon?
With Pat Skerry leaving his post as assistant coach at Pitt for the head coaching job at Towson, Khem Birch was bothered. Birch is very close to Skerry. He was prepared to go to Providence because Skerry was there. He opted for Pitt when Skerry changed jobs. He changed classifications to the class of 2011 and signed his NLI to Pitt.
Well, the more things change the more they stay the same. The OL pretty much has yet to find solid footing through 10 spring practices and, stop me if you’ve heard this before, are still search for the best five players to field by September. It’s the same old song, just a different tenor singing it. Able to make a silk purse out of a bull’s scrotum (nod to Jackie Sherrill) Todd Graham heaped praise on the DL for getting up to seed in “Operation Impact” and playing disruptive football.
The only OL position that has me a bit skeptical is at the Right Guard position where we will be seeing someone completely new to us out there. Between Cory King and whoever is second string that will be an untested player. rsFR Matt Rotherham was out there yesterday. Left Guard has both Greg Gaskins and Demhasaj competing but both of them have post-HS starting time, even though Demhasaj’s was in JUCO. At any rate we may see some players float up to 1st string and move between LG and RG thought the remaining spring practices and into summer camp. The nucleus of Nix, Jacobson and Gibbs is set though. I’m confident Lumpy will stay at Center and get the shotgun snaps down pat, although he’s still having problems with them.
I think we’ll see the same deal play out as we have most years. The OL will worry us throughout the training camps, play so-so in the first two games then jell and be fine during the season. I hope. Let’s just get the five guys we want out there working together as soon as possible. We don’t want to see a replay of 2010 where after a few games a personnel switch was made that probably should have been done in August. Graham has the luxury in 2011 that DW didn’t have in 2010 in that Graham’s first two games are against relatively lesser opponents where the tenuous play of the OL won’t kill us. We knew after the Utah game last year that something was wrong upfront.
