At the moment, there are 17 players who have given verbals for the 2014 class. The most recent is obviously Qadree Ollison, a 3* RB from the Buffalo area. However, this class is far from done. We could possibly see a 25 or 26 man class when it’s all said and done. It could be 26 because Rori Blair is likely to enroll in January, which would make him part of the 2013 class technically. With 8 or 9 spots still available, who could belong to the final group? (more…)
September 11, 2013
Think there will be a point of emphasis on the running game this Saturday? That’s the theme in today’s stories.
One of the most troubling statistics from Pitt’s 41-13 season-opening loss to Florida State was that the leading rusher was not junior running Isaac Bennett, nor was it freshman running back James Conner. It was freshman wide receiver Tyler Boyd, who gained 54 yards on his three end-around carries.
The rushing attack never got rolling as Bennett and Conner, the lead ballcarriers for Pitt this season, only had nine carries apiece for 35 and 34 yards, respectively.
Chryst admitted after the game that the running backs did not get as many carries as he would have liked because his team had to play catch-up against the Seminoles. Getting them in more of a rhythm this week will be a focus as Pitt prepares for New Mexico.
“We weren’t very good on first down [against Florida State],” Chryst said. “We need to stay ahead of the chains. That will help. We were bad on third downs. If you convert more than 25 percent of third downs, then you get more kicks at the can. We need to sustain drives.”
The running game showed promise in the first quarter. In addition to the Boyd sweep of 18 yards, Bennett broke a 10 yard run and Conner had two runs for 9 yards. The problem was, after those first two drives, Bennett and Conner only had 36 yards on the ground for the rest of the game.
