Here’s the thing to keep in mind about Summer Leagues. They are great for building team chemistry because everyone stays in the Burgh for the summer and does stuff together. They provide fan excitement and anticipation for upcoming season because the fans get to see the players in an organized setting. They help the team, but not because they are playing in a summer league. It is because they get to practice with coaches and the team over the summer. Especially starting this year, as the NCAA allows some team practices in addition to the individualized workouts with the coaches.
They are not, however, predictors of team or even individual success in the actual season. A great game in the summer league does not mean the kid is ready to break out. Just as a bad night does not mean he’s regressed. These are not pick-up games but there is a lot more one-on-one and two-on-two play in the course of the game.
Having issued that caveat on the unbridled optimism that can rival spring football practices at times, Rivals.com has the rundown on the games from last night. James Robinson made his debut.
It’s no secret that Pitt will need a punter and kicker for next year. They added a tall one with blood lines and for the Chryst regime, the ever important Wisconsin connection.
[Ryan] Winslow, 6-5, 205 pounds, averaged 40 yards per punt last season. His father George punted in the NFL for the Cleveland Browns and New Orleans Saints.
“My dad encouraged me to shoot for a scholarship,” Ryan said Monday night. “But he also reminded me that they’re not that common [for specialists] and to be ready to compete as a walk-on, if it came to that.
“Deep down, I did feel I was good enough to get a scholarship, though I was starting to second-guess myself.”
Reason: Winslow recently attended kicking/punting camps at Boston College, Ohio State, Penn State and Northwestern without getting a nibble. He made his Pitt stop Saturday, and it featured an individual tryout because he’d been unable to make an overall session because of scheduling conflict.
“The pressure was definitely there,” he said. “You just have to stay calm while being mentally tough, and make sure you hit the ball well. I got called into a meeting after I finished punting and maybe five minutes into it coach [Paul] Chryst was making an offer. Best feeling in the world.”
