You know, a day ago when I said this: “One thing to watch after the spring practices — and the semester ends. Some more attrition. In Chryst’s first year there were some transfers slowly trickling out. But, it should not be a huge surprise to see a few more after the spring…”

I didn’t think that it would start immediately.

Defensive tackle Terrell Jackson of Columbus, Ohio, who was redshirted last year during his freshman season, intends to transfer and has been granted his release by the university.

Ugh.

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Note:  Due to breaking developments my “PITT’s Five Things for Spring” list we are sharing with FSU’s Chant Rant blog may have to be modified as, obviously, RB may soon be a reason for concern.

Number five on my list of concerns, five being the least worrisome  and one being the most,  is our depth at Wide Receiver.  PITT went into spring drills with one true wide out returning as a starter.  That would be Devin Street and he’s been a productive player for us for over the last three years.  Last season he had his best year yet with 73 receptions for 975 yards (13.4 ypc) and five TDs.  That is a lot of production returning.  Street has also been our best deep threat which, ironically, due to a QB who couldn’t throw a deep ball to save his life, led him to be wasted in that role up until this season.

However, transfer Tom Savage (yes, he hasn’t played for two year which is another thing to be concerned about) will most probably be our QB this season and his deep passes are the strength of his game; big arm and very accurate.  His yards per completion average is a very good 14.3 so we PITT fans expect big things from that combo in 2013.

After Street however there are a lot of question marks.  Rounding out the remaining prospects we have only one WR who saw any meaningful PT in Ed Tinker, a local Pittsburgh City League player,  who played in all the 2012 games but mostly on special teams.  Tinker only had five receptions for 68 yards and a single TD but showed some flash with those receptions coming at the end of the season.  He’s talented but largely unproven.

In addition we are very high on Manasseh Gardner, another City Leaguer (it is unusually for PITT to have two on roster) who transferred back home to play for Paul Chryst.  Chryst had recruited him to Wisconsin when Chryst was the OC there.  This guy is the talk of spring practices so far and showing both good speed and great hands.  He has that feel that he could explode given the chance to play regularly.  He’s just a playmaker.  Chances are he’ll jump Tinker and be the second WR on the field.  However, PITT is going to see a lot of three and even four WR sets so all three will get ample playing time.

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Okay. So it looks like there is just a little bit of turmoil at the moment.

Rushel Shell, who would be Pitt’s marquee running back in its inaugural season in the ACC, is considering transferring to another school and is meeting Wednesday with coach Paul Chryst, a source close to the team told the Tribune-Review.

Another source said Shell, a rising sophomore who was one of Pitt’s most prized recruits in many years, has not asked for his transfer papers. Shell and his mother Toni Zuccaro did not return telephone calls to the Tribune-Review. A university spokesman declined comment.

Yeah. It looks like that is going to happen. Not sure what happened to all the desire to be close to his daughters and all that stuff. Maybe it still is a factor. Maybe he changed his mind about that.

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Wwhhhhyyyyy???????!!!!!!!! Wwwhhhhhyyyyy??????????!!!!!!!!!! Why can’t we have nice things?

Okay, got the whining angst out of the system.

So, the spring practice reports noted that Rushel Shell was not at practice. He had hurt his leg last week, but…

Running back Rushel Shell, who injured his upper leg Friday in practice, was excused Tuesday, although coach Paul Chryst refused to confirm that his absence was injury-related. “Couple things here,” Chryst said. “We’ll kind of work through it and then we’ll see (about Shell returning Thursday). “Not positive on it.”

Okay. I’ve gotten used to vague statements from Coach Chryst. Could be classes. Could be personal. Could be related to the injury.

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Note: Chas asked me to chip in and do a two-Blog series with the FSU Blog ChantRant in anticipation of our ACC opener with Florida State University.  Rich (of ChantRant) and I decided to address what we thought were five major concerns going into the Spring Practices then follow that up with an general article after the practices are over.  I like this format as it aquaints our respective fans with the other team.

FSU’s #5 – Who works where in the secondary?

It has been announced that senior Lamarcus Joyner is moving to cornerback this spring. Conventional thought is that this is to open the door for Karlos Williams (junior) to finally make his mark at safety. This is an interesting move in my mind, though, as cornerback seems to be a more loaded position than safety.

Nick Waisome (junior) and Ronald Darby (soph.) saw extensive action at corner last year performing well, while Tyler Hunter (junior) also saw a good bit of time at nickel back. Hunter in particular is a guy that got work at safety and cornerback and has the ability to play both positions. In addition to Waisome, Darby, and Hunter, highly recruited corner Colin Blake (RS fresh.) will be back from an injured freshman year to compete. Blake was a highly rated CB with great size. Keelin Smith (RS soph.) had Jimbo Fisher singing his praises last fall before the season started.

Throw in Lamarcus Joyner, a fixture in the FSU secondary for several season, and there is an embarrassment of talent at the corner position.

At the safety position Terrence Brooks (senior) returns as the starter at one spot. The position vacated by the potential move of Joyner will be the one to really watch this spring. As I stated at the beginning, it would appear Karlos Williams is the front runner here, but guys like Hunter and PJ Williams (soph.), who impressed in limited action last season, could also see a shot at earning this spot.

Williams was a Top 10 safety out of high school and impressed the coaches enough last season to see the field quite a bit over upperclassman. While I would bet on a tandem of Brooks and Williams, the Noles do have some other potential options that could emerge.

The good news is that for the 4 (or 5 in nickel) positions in the defensive backfield, Florida State returns 6 guys who saw lots of action last season.

by Lilburn Nole for ChantRant.com