It is 45 days to the first game of the 2011 season. A little more than two week’s ’til a good friend’s bachelor party training camp opens. Less than two weeks to Big East Media Day — and hey, you can watch the event on your computer.

In the meantime, news regarding Pitt football is a little sparse.

Kevin Harper talks the art of kicking a football with his (and technically mine) local paper.

“Right about now,” he said, when asked at what point he finally became 100 percent confident as a kicker.

After a redshirt season and two more behind Dan Hutchins, Harper is now the Panthers’ kicker.

“It’s been a long process,” he said. “You’re always looking for consistency and the right mechanics. That’s the key.”

Don’t forget the mindset, a trait Harper said is also critical.

“When you see guys miss an extra point, a lot of that is the snap and the hold, but a lot of that is probably nerves,” Harper said. “That’s what separates the great one from the good ones.”

The story includes videos of him kicking a 65-yarder on the field (and hitting the crossbar on a 70-yard attempt). He is wearing Pitt gear in the pictures and video — sort of. It’s the Nike Pro Combat stuff, so…

The Big East would like to let you know that their football offerings are relevant to television.

If you include ESPNU, nearly 70 percent of conference games were on national TV on an ESPN platform.

ESPN and ESPN2 both reach 100 million households across the nation. ESPNU’s reach has expanded to 72 million households

Beyond the national broadcasts, the BIG EAST’s geography makes its regional television package a valuable commodity. Anchored by SNY in New York and Connecticut (and on DirecTV and a growing number of cable carriers), the BIG EAST Network Game of the Week is available to more than 44 million homes across the nation – or nearly 40 percent of national television households.  Fans in more than 30 states can watch the syndicated BIG EAST game on Saturdays and SNY’s commitment to more than 1,000 hours of conference programming means that BIG EAST games are more available on TV than they’ve ever been

Further, with the addition of TCU and the Dallas/Fort Worth market to the BIG EAST footprint in 2012, the conference will have access to more than 30 percent of the nation’s television households. That’s prime real estate.

The article then talks up the fact that it has an opportunity coming with the upcoming new media contract. Somewhat encouragingly, is that the Big East at least acknowledges that the digital media rights are a separate and valuable commodity this time. Unlike last time when they just tossed them in with the rest of the TV rights to ESPN without much thought.

Whether the Big East is able to do more than talk remains to be seen.

Want a preview for Pitt and a bit of a look back on why last year was such a disappointment, here’s a solid one.

In the three decades since Pitt emerged as a national power in the 1970s, the Panthers have rather constantly been almost good. That continued during the recently-concluded Dave Wannstedt era; from 2008-10, Wannstedt constantly put a quality product on the field, but despite a Top 15 finish in 2009, his tenure will be remembered as the same missed opportunities that have punctuated Pittsburgh’s recent history.

Someone pass the bleach.

Pitt is pursuing a corner from Texas named Jalen Mills.

“I have offers from Pitt, Virginia, Baylor, Houston, Tulsa, UTEP, Louisiana Tech, Memphis and a couple of others,” he said. “Coach Norwood at Baylor and Coach Henson at Virginia are coming after me the hardest. And Coach Norvell at Pitt.”

Mills says he’ll head to Florida State next week and that defensive coordinator Mark Stoops is recruiting him and may offer him soon if he performs well at the Seminoles camp next Tuesday. An offer from the school will certainly change things but at the moment he remains wide open and really only has two schools he knows will make his short list.

“I know I want to visit Virginia and Pitt, those two colleges for sure,” said Mills. “Probably later in the season is when I’ll end up making my decision.”

Given his offer list, it appears the 6-foot, 180-pounder is headed outside the state to play college ball but that isn’t a problem for Mills, who says distance is not a factor in his recruitment.

“Not at all,” he said. “I just want to go to where the team plays the top level competition every game and goes out there and wins.”

And now a word from ESPN Recruiting’s Craig Haubert on Pitt’s lack of commits and concerns over the talent that has committed.

Some patience needs to be shown. He came in late and took over a less-than-ideal situation from a PR standpoint. While he has members of his staff who have coached and recruited the region — several other members of his staff like him have spent a good chunk of their recent coaching careers in the Southwest. (Dave Wannstedt was not only an alum, but grew up in that area)

He needs to be given the time to develop relationships and spread his message. He also needs to show recruits in this region what he can provide Pitt on the field. He did a good job at Tulsa, but he did not come from a program that was regularly featured in “prime-time” type matchups — so prospects in Pitt’s region might not immediately be familiar with him and what he has accomplished.

There is still plenty of time left as well, and it is a good year in Pennsylvania with many of those prospects still uncommitted. So he still has time to build this class with more “top-tier” talent. Also, Pitt might not have beaten top powers for the prospects it has now, but they are not bad prospects — all but one are three-stars and the one other guy is a high two-star. They also seem to be in good shape for undersized, but very talented quarterback Chad Voytik out of Tennessee. Other programs in the conference might have more commits, but none have landed an ESPNU150 prospect to date. More importantly, it is not how you start, but how you finish.

I’m not agreeing with this, just because it’s similar to my thoughts from the end of June, but it doesn’t hurt.