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.”

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Justin let me know that word is out that Todd Thomas is at practice. Cannot link to sources since I am not at my computer.

Obviously there will be more later. But for now the waiting and worrying that this drama would drag or that if it went any longer Thomas would never return. Well, that is finished

Hello, again. Family was in town for the last week, so I couldn’t get to the site for writing.

First off, a big thanks to Justin for going to practice last week, and heading back out this week. That was some excellent stuff. More than during the season, it’s the camps and spring practices where it sucks to be 150+ miles from Pittsburgh when you write about Pitt. Still waiting for them to add childcare services at the South Side facility (or the kids get a little older).

Rather than jump back to the practice details from reports, I figured I’d post a little on some changes to the coaching duties that happened on this past Friday afternoon.

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I wanted to throw a quick post together of what seems to be the depth chart at the moment. Obviously things are fluid and the coaches are claiming that there is no depth chart, but if the season started today, here’s how I think it would look. I’m going to underline freshmen (true and redshirt) and bold seniors so you have an idea as to what we added this year and what we’ll lose next year. (more…)

The lawsuit against EA Sports over using player likeness just got a huge boost this week. The lawyer representing Arizona State’s Head Coach Todd Graham has announced that Graham will be joining the lawsuit along many former (more…)

I had the opportunity to attend practice today thanks to Chas. He emailed Senior Associate AD EJ Borghetti to see if I could and EJ was more than willing. I have a ton of notes on practice, coaches, and I’ll add some quotes from Gabe Roberts, Adam Bisnowaty, and Coach Chryst himself as well throughout. Before I get into that, I want to extend another public thank you to EJ, who is quite possibly the nicest person I’ve ever met. For a man with all of his responsibilities to not only take the time to acknowledge me, much less introduce me to people and take me on a tour of the facility, is amazing. I’m a blogger and he made me feel like a VIP.

There was a ton of noteworthy stuff at practice…well at least to me.

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Apparently Todd Thomas will meet directly with Coach Chryst to discuss terms of his surrender return.

Thomas, who was planning to meet with Chryst on Thursday, is scheduled to graduate from Pitt in December with a degree in administration of justice.

Coach Chryst said after Thursday’s practice that he had no news despite reports of Thomas returning.

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Closer to full pads. Closer to full contact. The shoulder pads went on and the effects of three straight days of practice are starting to hit the players.

Freshman offensive tackle Dorian Johnson said after practice that he actually felt better following the shoulder pads-only practice than he did after the non-pad practices.

“I don’t feel as bad as I did yesterday,” he said Thursday afternoon.

Of course, Johnson sputtered out that sentence in between gulps of air, and the freshman from Belle Vernon was more than a little winded as he walked off the field. Johnson has been “double-shifting,” working on the second team and third team at right tackle since Pitt doesn’t quite have enough tackles to fill three full shifts.

That doesn’t mean Johnson is bemoaning the workload, though.

“It’s a little rough, but it’s worth it. I get extra reps. I’m not complaining about that.”

No doubt because Johnson has his sights set on grabbing the starting right tackle job.

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I joked yesterday in the comments section of the thread about Thomas quitting that Thomas must hate me because the news came out right after I posted my column on the offensive line. Well, lo and behold right as I put the finishing touches on the column below, it’s announced he’s coming back.

The column still has some use so I edited it just to go over the players who have left since the spring and why. Sure, the Thomas situation spurred it, but it’s still good to look at all of it. I obviously know that it’s purely coincidence, but it’s fun to joke about. We Pitt fans need to laugh a little at times.

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We interrupt the collective angst for this:

RT @mwhiteburgh: Beaver Falls hoops coach Doug Biega said things have been worked out and Todd Thomas will be back w #Pitt football team.

— Sam Werner (@SWernerPG) August 8, 2013

Added bonus, we appear to have gone 24+ hours without anyone quitting or being suspended in Pitt football. Unicorns and rainbows for everyone!

UPDATE: It’s never simple. It’s never easy.

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Well, the ACC already had the Gator, Sun, Belk and Pinstripe Bowls to make it feel like former Big East teams had never really left. Now the ACC finished its tie-ins with five other bowls and it just keeps feeling like home.

The partnerships are in addition to what the Conference previously announced, and have the ACC providing a team in each of the six years to the Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman; the AdvoCare V100 Bowl and a new bowl game in Detroit, Mich., hosted by the Detroit Lions Football Club of the National Football League.

Additionally, the ACC also reached partnership agreements with ESPN Regional Television’s Beef ‘O’Brady’s Bowl in St. Petersburg, Fla…

BEEF! I can live with St. Pete. Just the absurdity of the name makes it worth it. It’s okay. Just as long as —

…and the Birmingham (Ala.) Bowl games in those seasons when the games are scheduled to be played after Christmas.

NNNNNNNOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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I do have to keep reminding myself that turnover following a new coach — and radical change in demeanor — is nothing new. Maryland endured mass defections in Randy Edsall’s first year-and-a-half. As did Syracuse when they went from Gerg Robinson to Doug Marrone. Just to name a couple examples off the top of my head. In neither case was it where the on-the-field style was radically changed. It was the shift in the way the head coach handled the players.

It isn’t as simple as just getting rid of the guys that don’t want to be there. Or “changing the culture.” It usually just comes down to the simple truth, not all players like and respond to the same style of coaching. Just as not all coaches are comfortable with the personalities of all players. And when you radically flip styles there is going to be significant attrition.

It doesn’t (necessarily) mean the players are soft, quitters, whiners or can’t take it. Nor does it (necessarily) mean that the coaches can’t communicate, handle or manage different players. It’s just easier for the narrative and our own biases to frame it that way.

That said, enough already. I’m tired of this.
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I’m going to wait to excoriate. But I won’t deny being highly confused.

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In the world of Pitt Athletics, there are two dueling factions: those who look for the silver lining and those who think the sky is falling. This is their column.

*insert Law&Order dun dun here*

This week’s topic is the offensive line. In football, if you control the line of scrimmage, you will win consistently. It’s not rocket science. Take a look at Alabama. Sure they’ve had immensely talented RBs and WRs, but those guys have it easy because the OL is dominant. RBs aren’t touched until they’re 4 yards down the field; WRs have 3+ seconds to run their routes. For Pitt, with an OL that appears to essentially have 5 new starters, the success of this unit could determine the fate of the 2013 season.

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If you don’t want any basketball notes at this point, then stop and skip to the football posts. News must be noted.

With the demise of the old Big East, the new Big East cutting a deal with Fox and the American not having much in the way of marquee basketball names after UConn and Cinci; well the ACC is now taking over the spot on Big Mondays on ESPN.

ESPN has released the Big Monday schedule. The bad news is that Pitt only puts in one appearance. The good news, not only is it a home game but it is the big one: Duke-Pitt on January 27. UNC and Virginia (??) have 3 appearances. Duke, Syracuse, Maryland and ND get two. Pitt and FSU each with one shot.

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