A few key points from Graham’s post-practice interview quotes:

“We did a lot of situational stuff today. We did our overtime situations – third overtime down by eight. We did our first overtime down by seven. We did what we call our landmarks – the ball is in our end, on the 42-yard line going in to score and the offense was pretty productive, they were able to get points every time they had the ball.

In what might worry some given Sunseri’s propensity to hold the ball too long last season Graham talks about what he wants in the rhythm of the offense after the snap: Holding the football is not in our offense. Our offense is one-two-three ball out. We need to get them out of that, and that has caused some sacks especially in Tuesday’s practice.

We are all very concerned about our defensive backfield and especially our corners who got beaten more often than we liked last season.  Graham addresses them but honestly, I can’t get a feel on what he really thinks they have been doing in practice:

“I would say K’Waun Williams is the most solid. Buddy Jackson is right up with him there. Looking at last year’s film, Reed, he’s very steady and dependable. There is no substitute for experience. We’re going to play a certain dime package with five or six corners. I see the dime package with all three of the corners and Andrew Taglianetti out there on the field. I like the group that we have. We want more than three corners because we’re going to need more than three. Right now I feel really good about those guys there.

The only real news that came out of practice yesterday is that the players are finally getting frustrated enough to start swinging at each other.  Zeise reports Ezell and Gibbs got into it at one point.  That would have been interesting to watch – they are both big boys; Godzilla vs. Haystacks Calhoun.  And Ifill and Cam Saddler got into another.

To be expected I guess but that last pairing worries me a bit, you’d have thought Saddler would have been harder to catch.  Anyway, our HC isn’t too worried about it. I think tough people come out of tough times. It’s hard to be tough if you don’t practice and play that way. I think it’s a lot better to say whoa than go.” There is a new one. “…better to say ‘Whoa than Go’ ”.  Add that to Chairman Graham’s Little Red Book.  If nothing else this is entertaining.

Zeise also discusses out TE/H-Back/3-Back situation.  Nothing new there and after writing  about Hubie Graham and DeCicco you’d think he talk about someone else given that the title of the column is “Pitt appears to have depth at tight end”. No mention of Carozzoni, Dan Schneider or Chris Mike or anyone else who would actually give us the depth he alludes to.  Look for help in the 3-Back depth department when summer camp opens and the Graham recruits come onboard.

Pat Bostick also takes a look at the hybrid TE position in his latest article.  I love his work this spring.  He really takes the average fan behind the scenes and explains, in pretty much plain English, the who, what, where, why and how of each position…to wit:

However, those who have witnessed this new system in action this spring will have noticed these three-backs aligning in less customary spots.

Often times, the three-back will be aligned off of the ball, either in the backfield or on the hip of an offensive tackle.  In backing off of the line of scrimmage, his role will form a fusion between that of a traditional fullback and a true tight end. Thus, in the passing game, he is still a viable option, running short to intermediate routes against linebackers. As for the run game, he will see his responsibilities range from cutting off the backside of a zone run to lead-blocking on power and isolation plays. To adequately perform the duties of this position, a player must be versatile, combining tight end size, fullback power and sufficient speed.

DiPaola over at the Trib-Review did a piece on rsSR Buddy Jackson… you know the same Buddy Jackson we’ve been hearing about every spring for the last four years.  Fans have been rough on Jackson over the years, we tend to get frustrated when large expectations seem unfulfilled (see: Baldwin, Jonathan; Pitt Football, 2008-2010).  This is a nice bit of info about Jackson though.

He had just accepted a scholarship offer from Pitt after running a 4.31-second 40-yard dash, and his future was mapped out before him. Then his cell phone rang. Temptation — in the form of Florida associate head coach Doc Holliday – was inviting Jackson to visit the Gainesville campus.

Pitt was 5-6 the previous season with almost no national reputation; Florida was ranked 12th in the final Associated Press poll, and the Gators were on the brink of winning two of the next three national championships.

Jackson chose Pitt for the simplest of reasons: He said he would. “I said I am just going to stay with my commitment and show integrity with my commitment,” he said, noting he also rejected subsequent scholarship offers from Minnesota, Colorado State and Bowling Green.

Thank God he didn’t go to Bowling Green, they might have beaten us if he did.  Jackson may finally have a good and productive year for us in 2011.  He’s been doing well in his cornerback work according to the coaching staff and, as stated earlier on this blog, his return game has been productive.  I like Buddy Jackson; a lot actually.  When kids find adversity in the program and stick with it that means something to me.  We bitched continually about DW’s personnel choices but he did have a stated policy of “If you stay you play” and while that may not always be the best thing as far as fielding gameday talent, I think someone who sticks out five years in the program should have something to look over his shoulder when sitting on that rocking chair in his 80s to be proud of.

That isn’t to say that Jackson himself didn’t play a large role in where he found himself on the depth chart:

“I had some maturing to do both on the field and with off-the-field issues,” he said. “This is my last year, my last go-round. I am going to work hard, be very coachable and take advantage of the opportunities that come my way.”

Whether a starting role should be given is a whole other matter, but get the kids on the field if you can I say.  He’ll be one to watch this summer training camp and I hope it works out for him.

I love this quote from DiPaola… “After the 11th practice of the spring Thursday, Graham said he was most excited about center Chris Jacobson’s snapping efforts. Graham said Jacobson, a center for only six practices, wore a bowling glove to help secure the football. Well, the cynic in us would say he’s been lawn bowling the snaps back to Sunseri on a regular basis anyway.  But Lumpy seems to be coming around and if any singular skill can be worked on and fixed, it should be the shotgun snap.  Hell, he can practice that at midnight after drinking 12 beers in his apartment hallway if he can find someone just as drunk to call cadence and catch the ball.

To Jacobson’s credit though, it was reported that his snaps were 100% successful in yesterday’s practice so he’s getting the hang of it. Once that’s down pat I think we’ll see some real production out of that position.

The often overlooked Pitt News has also been covering their football team during Spring drills. Yesterday’s article was on how the O & D units have improved since camp opened.  The writer concentrates on the WRs a bit:

The receivers are going to be counted on in the offense to run more deep routes than usual to stretch out opposing defenses as opposed to previous and more conservative offenses under former head coach Dave Wannstedt.

“We’re going to take shots down the field,” Pitt wide receivers coach Mike Norvell said. “One of the things I’m really encouraged about over the last three or four practices, is the number of vertical shots that we’re completing. Now I’m seeing receivers going up to compete when the ball is in the air.”

Norvell has seen junior Mike Shanahan beginning to shine for the Panthers at receiver after finishing second on the team in both receptions with 43 and yards, 589. “He has separated himself as a guy who’s going to be a great leader on this football team,” Norvell said. “He is going to be a guy we can count on for big play capability.”

“Devin Street is continuing to buy in [to the offense] and become a better route runner,” Norvell said. “He’s working on the little things. He is a very explosive player.”

What I’d really like to hear Norvell talk about is how well Tinker, Salath Williams (great first name!) and Carswell are coming along. “Salath”, by the way, means the practice of formal prayer in Islam. As in thanking Allah that he gave one Islam as a religion.  Interesting.

Odds and Ends:

Greg Romeus hasn’t let his 2011 misfortune stop him from helping others.

In a related bit of news, you had to know this was going to happen sooner or later, an HS player’s family suing over head trauma.

Walt Harris has visited the PITT practices twice already this spring.  Boy, fans can read about a hundred things into that, can’t they?

Who is the author?

“Before I knowed it, I was sayin’ out loud, ‘The hell with it! There ain’t no sin and there ain’t no virtue. There’s just stuff people do. It’s all part of the same thing.’ . . . . I says, ‘What’s this call, this defense, this sperit?’ An’ I says, ‘It’s love. I love this PITT team so much I’m fit to bust, sometimes even the players I didn’t recruit.’ . . . . I figgered, ‘Why do we got to hang 70 on a Division II team, or on God or Jesus?  Maybe,’ I figgered, ‘maybe it’s all men an’ all of the thinner freshman Tri-Delts we love; maybe that’s the winning Sperit-the human sperit-the whole shebang. Maybe all PITT players, the coaching staff and PITT fans got one big soul ever’body’s a part of, even the lowest walk-on or the guy who refuses to pay the extortion money for a club seat.’ Now I sat there thinkin’ it, an’ all of a suddent-I knew it. I knew it so deep down that it was true, our defense ain’t gonna suck and I still know it.”

Next Practice: Scrimmage; Saturday, April 9^th .