We have all the way until December, why waste them too early.
I can’t be sure (and I’m not bothering to fact check at this moment), but I think back at the end of spring practices, Chryst said he hoped to “name” a starting quarterback by the middle of training camp. Despite the obviousness of the situation. Well it’s the middle of training camp, and Chryst did exactly that.
It would not have been a surprise in the spring. It would not have been a surprise at the beginning of August. It certainly isn’t a surprise now. Tom Savage will be the starting quarterback.
“Tom is going to be our starting quarterback,” Chryst said after practice Wednesday. “I like what he has done to this point. It’s a reflection on where Tom’s at…
“It was a culmination of everything, and I think that right now he gives us the best chance for our team to win.”
The phrase that has inspired Pitt fans about the quarterback position for the last 4 years or so, “He gives us the best chance… to win.”
But seriously, folks…
This was not a shock.
Tom Savage all but shrugged his shoulders when coach Paul Chryst walked into a meeting room before practice Wednesday and named him Pitt’s starting quarterback.
“I was excited, but I’d be a fool to take it anymore than that, especially with what happened to me in the past,” he said.
Five years ago, Savage was Rutgers’ starting quarterback as a freshman before getting hurt and losing the job the next season. That’s when he transferred to Arizona and, finally, to Pitt last year in a final attempt to resurrect a once-promising career.
“I can’t become complacent,” he said. “It’s a privilege, but I have to keep working, and I have a lot of room to improve.”
Devin Street was not revealing state secrets back at ACC Media Days when the only QB he mentioned was Savage. Savage has had the overwhelming majority of the first team snaps since early in the spring practices. Savage was physically and emotionally ahead of Voytik from the beginning. He has experience — albeit a couple years old.
It’s a scary thought. And not just as it relates to the grand opener Sept. 2 against the Seminoles at Heinz Field. We’re talking about a full season of an offense that lost not one but two potent rushing weapons — Ray Graham to graduation, Rushel Shell to being Rushel Shell — and will rely on a 23-year-old quarterback whose last real football game came Nov. 13, 2010.
Savage was with Rutgers then. It was a home loss to Syracuse.
“Yeah, it’s been a long time,” Savage was telling me after practice on the South Side. “Obviously, you want to be out there playing every year. It’s been frustrating. But the situation happened.”
This has been stated a couple times. By Justin. By Reed. By others. And myself. The QB position by itself will not make the offense better. It may not be any worse, but it still depends heavily on the O-line. An O-line that is light on experience. The talent is there, but there will be mistakes. Plenty of mistakes that comes from still learning.
As for Savage’s Rutgers time, if you want to see what a bad offensive line can do to a quarterback’s confidence and potential, just look back at Rutgers from 2009-2011.
Savage was thrown out as a starter as a true freshman, behind a shaky offensive line. He took 35 sacks that first year and lots and lots of hits. Some were his fault as you would expect with a freshman trying go through his progressions and holding the ball too long. But a lot came because the offensive line just wasn’t that good. Yet he was their future at QB and it looked like the position was solid for at least a couple years.
But a wrist injury, bruised ribs and and even worse offensive line in 2010 changed things (Rutgers had a lot of O-line injuries that year). Savage was skittish out there — with some reason — no longer composed and calm. Trying to get rid of the ball sooner or throwing on the run. He took a ton of sacks and hits against FIU and UNC — along with the bruised ribs — before getting knocked out in the first half with his wrist injury against Tulane in the fourth game.
Chas Dodd a smallish (6-0) more mobile QB who (and yet another true freshman) was put in his place and showed potential. Especially with his ability to scramble and throw on the run. But even he was taking a beating behind that O-line. Taking 45 sacks in 9 games. Yet Greg Schiano — in what seemed at the time a decision to protect Savage from being ravaged by defenses teeing off on the Rutgers QB — kept playing and starting Dodd. Savage got into only two games the rest of the year. Then Schiano inexplicably declared that Dodd would the starter for next year and that’s when Savage left.
A big mistake, because come 2011 Dodd displayed the same skittishness and fear of a physical beating that Savage had the year before. This, despite the Rutgers O-line being better than the previous couple. By the middle of the fourth game, Schiano yanked Dodd and started playing Gary Nova. He yo-yo’d the QBs the rest of the season. This time Schiano did not name a starter for next year at the end of the season — which is part of why Dodd hung around.
As for Savage, those will be the big questions in this coming season. At least to me. Not the rust of not having played a real game in almost 3 years. The mental part. Have the memories of those Rutgers O-line faded enough? Is he motivated and desperate enough when the games actually happen to overcome the last memories of playing. To stand in there? Plant the feet when he throws? To not become skittish?
Seems like FSU not only lost a dozen stars to the NFL this year but lots of other concerns are coming to the surface during their traning camp as well.
Chryst absolutely gets an “A” for how he’s handled this.
With so many gloom-and-doom anti-Chrystites going off as to how this was another bad sign for a coach in over his head… here’s what Chryst was doing.
“I was able to talk to Todd, actually, every day,” said Chryst. “We had continued discussions, and he’s back on the team.”
The way Chryst has handled player personnel issues to this point… I’d say Paul is pretty much batting a thousand… the Tra’von Chapman matter yet to be scored.
And this is the NFL where its rules pretty much mandate that you need a good pro-style passer!
The fact is, yes, the QB is the most important position .. but I have even seen the likes of Peyton Manning and Tom Brady look like crap when they were under constant pressure.
The Alabama QBs over the past 6 yrs were not all-american caliber, but it is great to hev that Oline ifront of them and those Rbs to hand the ball of to, and the WRs to throw to
If we let their stable of RBs to get through the line of scrimmage with a head of steam it could get really, really ugly for Pitt quick! Speed in the open field is a trade mark of this FSU RB squad.
That is one reason I was sooooo happy to see TT back on the team, He is probably the quickest LB we have right now and he definitely possesses the goods to hold his own against FSU.
Where the real test will come is from Caprara and Gonzalez (who I think will be starters against FSU). They remain untested. Both show promise. Gonz is an athlete to start with and Caprara is one of these little dogs with a ton of fight in them, like the saying goes. His forte is he has “spider senses” to know where he is on the field and a nose for getting to the ball carrier pronto. We’ll find out in less than three weeks, but that’s the key in my analysis.
The Oline will be fine. At least there is some experience on 2nd team if injuries during the season.
I’m concerned Bennett is out but I expect RB by committee anyway.
I expect to see lots of double TE formations and dink/dunk down the field as all 3 of Pitt TE’s are mismatch against any LB or SS in ACC.
Caprara is not an OLB. Too short and too slow and not athletic enough for OLB. He should be ok at MLB which is what he played his entire HS career.
It is surprising they listed Caprara #1 ahead of Todd Thomas the first day of practice yet a week later the #3 surpasses Caparra.
smh regarding the Todd Thomas fiasco.
However, this will change real soon as they are 17 days away. I will guarantee that you will see much more stability in this area begiining Monday, if not sooner
I won’t argue that MLB appears to be his best spot. He will rarely be chasing RBs outside and shedding blockers inside is 70% technique 30% strength. He can get stronger. I don’t know if he can get much faster.
Gonzalez and Thomas are fast.
Second string guys very important in this game.
… the whole size thing is a joke, particularly at the college level… gee, I think we had a linebacker Jerry O (won’t try to spell his name) who not only did great a Pitt he played for the steelers… looked more like a safety than an LB…
… Pittsburgh loves the hardnosed players too…
Hey, thanks @Dr. Tom for the link the FSU page… people should read it!… sounds like the same mess we deal with so, gee… maybe Pitt is not so uniquely problematic as some folks always want to make it be…
…and this no less from the vaunted, fearsome… big, bad… ACC hyperspeedy FSU program…
Dilfer won 1 superbowl. The guys on my list won many. That’s the key difference. I know that Alabama has won 3 championships in a row with average quarterbacks, but the talent level at Alabama is far above most other schools.
The higher level (age) of the sport, the less inequities there are in talent. In peewee fortball, one guy can be physically developed enough to beat a whole other team by himself. By college, there are lots of good players on each team and the amount of success a single player has on the game is limited. On a pro team, talent is very even. For a single player to make a large affect on the game that player needs to be exceptional and in contact with the ball (or ball carrier) very often. Was it Emmett SMith who won all of the Cowboy’s superbowls or Troy Aikman? I don’t know. I only watched the ‘boys when they played the Steelers or were in a superbowl. But I do know from my informal observations is that quarterback is a very important key to long-term victory. I hope that Pitt is on their way there.
smh also
demoted – almost immediately – after first practice – a non contact practice ?
and they put Haering’s guy in his spot
I was the first Steelers’ Super Bowl in New Orleans. I think Terry Hanratty could have won that game vs the Vikings that day. Franco ran for about 150 yds, the Steelers D held the Vikings to about 20 yards total rushing, and LC Greenwood himself batted 4 passes by Fran Tarkenton (another great QB who never won a SB.)
I do admit that a good QB can make an offense look better … but only to small degree. I don’t care who you are, if you don’t have blocking or good receivers, you are not going to be productive. And surely, you are not goig to win any title without a good team surrounding you.
2 years ago, Smith threw 3 ints and was sacked 4 times in a loss vs Syracuse, yet rang up 70 pts vs Clemson later on that season. In fact, Geno lost 3 in a row vs Syracuse because they were able to pressure him.
When has Pitt ever had a quarterback except for possibly Marino who made the freshman all-american team.
The staement saying we might be better at QB than last year is too ridiculous to even respond to.
There was never a QB controversy. Did you really buy the coach speak that Volyck was being considered to start this year or perhaps any year at Pitt.
After FSU, we have New Mexico St. on 9/14, Duke on 9/21, Virginia on 9/28,Old Dominion on 10/19 and Navy on 10/26. All of these are very winnable games to begin with. Now if Savage can actually perform well beyond expectations, we could have the luxury of sizable halftime leads in at least half of these contests. In such circumstances, then Voytik can be given the green light to come in and show his wares in the second half to gain invaluable game experience that he can take with him into 2014.
Needless to say, such early season QB experience for the back up might be a real blessing if Savage goes down with any kind of injury later in the season. If that does happen, I sure wouldn’t want Voytik to see his 1st game experience, under duress due to injury, against such foes as Ga. Tech, Notre Dame or Miami.
I would feel much more comfortable in such a case if Chad had already acquired meaningful game time in two or three previous games to get his feet wet before his “test by fire” occurs against the likes of teams such as Miami, etc.
“…sounds like the same mess we deal with so, gee… maybe Pitt is not so uniquely problematic as some folks always want to make it be…”
I don’t follow any other schools to know this, but I expect a majority of schools have problems just like Pitt, but we Pitt fans are too busy looking at ourselves to know.
Anybody follow any other college as closely as Pitt and can weigh in?
Yea I almost choked when I read that phrase in the PG article yesterday.
EJ should have told PC never never use that phrase
On a more serious not, Tom Savage has the same initials as…..you know who . 🙁
you speak of? Is there any precedent for such a thing in Pitt football? I’ve seen many sizable halftime deficits but I was convinced that the sizable halftime lead was a myth. Next you’ll be telling us that the abominable snowman and the jackalope are real!
Who are in the Mountain West conf.
Not the New Mexico State Aggies formerly of the WAC but now left without a conf.
Might be better if it were NMSU though, they’ve only had 4 winning seasons in 40 years.
And you thought we had troubles.
I think we had a sizable halftime lead against the powerhouse from D2,…..Gardner Del Webb.
Yet you know who was still trotted out there in the 2nd half to inflate his stats. I think Anderson finally got play a little in the 4rth quarter, he’s only action last season.
Savage’s 2nd year was pretty poor and that is, I believe, the thrust of Chas’ concerns above. Not only has Savage missed two full years but he didn’t have that great of a record in the 1st place.
I’m thinking that he’s not only going to be the starter but he’ll have a long hook before he’s taken out for cause. We’ll know more by the end of camp and I really hope Chryst gives Savage about 90% of the 1st team snaps from now on because he needs it.
I looked it up – in the last few decades the start LBs in the NFL averaged between 5’11” and 6’2″ or 6′.5″ right where Capara is. At 225 and growing he’s fine for the college level.
Dan 83 – you can shake your head all you want but Thomas wasn’t worth just giving a starting job to if he wasn’t putting the 100% effort needed in. PITT fans are talking as if Thomas was a great LB or something and he wasn’t at all. He was a good one but that doesn’t mean there aren’t good ones without attitude problems standing right next to him who could start.
Every single time you have to find something to point to and dance around complaining. It really makes me wonder if you’ve every had to make those type of leadership decisions yourself. For the vast majority of PITT fans that was the correct move by the HC given the crap Thomas was throwing out there – regardless of what the HC’s name is.
Savage last played in 2010, his last good season was 2009. Which was also our last really good season (Cincy game non-withstanding). And Idk about you but that seems like eons ago.
Also spot on about TT. I’ve seen different internet/newspaper articles listing him as a star.
I had to laugh, a guy with 1 tackle for loss, 1 sack and 1 interception for a LB is not a star.
Now while he might have been the best we had for that spot last year, those stats don’t guarantee his starting spot.
Now he might have ALL the potential in the world, but we all know about potential. Most of these kids never realize that potential for whatever reason. Having never played LB in HS, he might be another one playing out of position. I know there was a question back when he came to Pitt whether he’d play offense or defense. He’s an athlete for sure, but again some of them never excel at one position other than HS.
Because of injury he has barely played a full year. He is still learning. He has two years left, and is exactly the type of athlete that is necessary to have a shot at improving this program – contingent of course on hard work and getting on board the HCPC train.
If he does – and maybe this episode is exactly what he needed – he’ll have a significant impact.
It has been my concern about this blog that too often too much time is spent attacking each others opinions. Indeed it appears at time to be the major purpose for participation. Bloggers getting self satisfying feelings from being argumentative.
I often find myself engaged in the same behavior because we are all emotionally caught up, whether it is mature or not, in the success or failure of our schools athletic programs.
However I do not believe I ever attacked another bloggers opinion using their name and tried to make them look foolish.
Finally we should all be thankful to the persons who put their own time and effort into bringing the blog to all of us. That said this does not give them licensce to abuse other bloogers and to believe their opinions are beyond reproach.
Regardless of their access they as ours are only opinions.
I will be retiring soon and returning to live in my home city. The city were my uncle, a Pitt grad.,now 95 took me to my first Pitt game at 10.
Thirteen years later I earned my B.A. and two years later my M.A. from Pitt. I left the city 35 years ago because of work.
Let’s continue the dialogue with the knowledge none of us are experts and that like all humans neither are our coaches.
We must state our opinions regardless of how outlandish because many of us are far removed from Pitt fans and our dogs have been kicked enough. However never fail to remember we are suppose to be on the same side and according be friends and would you insult your friend.
I agree with Iron duke on TT’s potential, it’s high, but as they say “good is the enemy of great” and TT was “good” enough to cop an attitude that Chryst called him on. Now TT is back, hopefully with an attitude adjustment in place, plus a 100% healthy knee finally. Get your $hit together and reach your potential, I say.
I love this time in the Pitt football season. Stoked up with anticipation, full of hope and still undefeated. We’ll see if the Kool-aid drinkers are still so optimistic after Monday night Sept 2nd.
I always at least try to take the high road and stick to criticism of the issues and not the posters but with a couple people (not you) I find myself slipping sometimes.
Just to clarify; the first three paragraphs were in response to your stating the “All-Freshman” thing. The fourth in response to Caprara’s height and the last two for Dan83 about Thomas and the commenter’s constant negativity.
Now, my comments to Dan83 might fall into that category.
I disagree. I think quarterback is the most important position on the field, offense and defense. A mediocre quarterback can cost a team victories, looking at you Bobby Bruster, Neil O’Donnell, and a great quarterback can lift a team, like Terry Bradshaw, Joe Montana, Troy Aikman. The quarterback handles the ball pretty much every offensive play. Any mistake on his part costs the team. Any good moves on his part lifts the team. I hope that Pitt has a great quarterback, again, like Dan Marino, who lifted Pitt and the Dolphins. I’m not saying Tom Savage is that guy, but I remain eternally hopeful.
H2P