Usually the first couple days of practice, most of the media attention is on the offense. There’s a logic to that. The practice is padless, so there isn’t any hitting or tackling. It’s a chance for skill players to really stand out. Add in when a new QB is taking the reins, the extra attention is there.
Not that the offense hasn’t gotten some notice. Freshman RB Chris James has looked good — and eager.
Yet, that hasn’t been the story in the first two days. It has been about the defense — specifically the secondary for the first two days. The lack of depth with the DBs. The new, energetic and talkative coach of the DBs also helps.
“We need more [depth],” secondary coach Troy Douglas said after Pitt’s first practice Monday. “We need more guys that can play.”
Illustrating Douglas’ point, the man who replaces Howard on the depth chart, redshirt sophomore Trenton Coles, will do so as much by default as anything else. Coles is the only cornerback other than presumed starter Lafayette Pitts on the roster with any experience.
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To create some depth behind Coles, the coaches moved safety Ryan Lewis to cornerback on the first day of practice. But that creates a bit of a depth issue at safety, where redshirt senior Ray Vinopal, sophomore Terrish Webb and redshirt sophomore Reggie Mitchell figure to get the bulk of the playing time.Mitchell also is seeing time as the nickelback in passing situations, and some specialty packages have Vinopal playing linebacker, creating a bit of a void in the secondary.
“Where’s the next one coming from?” Douglas said. “We need to have those [young] guys come as far as they can so we can play the spreads with four wideouts.”
The “young guys” Douglas is referring to might hold the key for the back end of the defense. Freshman cornerback Avonte Maddox made a splash on the first play Monday when he intercepted Trey Anderson’s pass and took it back for a touchdown, but Douglas cautioned that all four freshman defensive backs still have a long way to go.
“Young pup making a play,” Douglas said. “He’s very talented, and so are all the other young kids, but they’ve just got to learn.
“The faster they learn, the faster they adapt, the faster they’ll play. And I’m not scared to play them. I played a freshman last year, I played [NFL cornerback] Tracy Porter when he was a true freshman [at Indiana]. I’ll play a freshman if he’s the best one and coach [Paul] Chryst lets me.”
Even without seeing the practices, just reading his quotes, you can get a sense for what kind of enthusiasm Douglas brings to coaching the DBs. It reads like he is relishing the challenge of getting the kids ready and dealing with the problems.
That enthusiasm allows him to be positive while bluntly stating what players have to do. Like with Trenton Coles.
So far, Douglas likes what he sees from Coles, a redshirt sophomore.
“You draw up an NFL cornerback and that’s what they are supposed to look like,” Douglas said of the 6-foot-3, 175-pound Coles, who was a Pennsylvania sprint champion in high school. “He’s long and fast.
“Teaching him the game, that’s my job. The other stuff you can’t coach, 6-3 and 4.3 (seconds), or whatever he runs. The game is where he has to learn. That’s what’s going to get him on the field.”
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Douglas described Coles as “fearless.”“He probably made as many plays on the ball as anybody, but he got beat as much as anybody. Those are things we have to cut back on, but we have to get him to continue to make plays on the ball.”
That has been Douglas’ rallying cry since he was hired prior to spring drills: attack the football.
“The thing with (Coles) and Lafayette is chasing the ball and playing hard through the whistle,” he said. “We have to get these guys chasing the ball. If we chase the ball, then we have a chance on defense.”
There’s also the battle going on to start at safety between Reggie Mitchell and Terrish Webb.
One of the best competitions to watch this training camp will be between Terrish Webb and Reggie Mitchell for the starting safety spot opposite Ray Vinopal. Mitchell got the first-team snaps today, but Webb had them on Monday. Realistically, both guys will probably see the field a ton because whoever “loses” the position battle will likely be the Panthers’ nickelback. Pitt will see a ton of spread offenses in the ACC this year, meaning the nickel package will get a lot of work.
“Terrish is really, really bright, not that Reggie isn’t, Reggie is too,” defensive coordinator Matt House said. “Terrish loves to compete, Reggie loves to compete. Reggie’s got great quickness. It’s a good battle going on back there. That’s one thing I do feel: Those three guys, Reggie, Terrish and Ray (Vinopal), they’re sponges. They are fun to coach because you go in the meeting room and they’ve got questions and they’re wanting to be coached.”
The issue, of course, is health. The depth is so lacking. It isn’t about a drop-off in talent from starter to back-up. It’s the drop-off because there is practically no one behind them. One of the issues the coaches cited with the O-line injuries last year — and even at the start of the season. That lack of depth on the line meant balancing how to practice the players. There weren’t enough bodies to split the scout, practice and starting squads. You can’t wear the players down in practice, but you need the bodies out there. That is going to be the issue with the secondary all season. (But at least depth won’t be an issue for the O-line this year. Only experience.)
Related. This piece on Reggie Mitchell being ready to go after sitting the year following his transfer from Wisconsin.
In other things, James Conner continues to work both sides of the ball.
The routine for James Conner working at defensive end seems to be that he goes there for the first few individual sessions at the beginning of practice, then shifts to join the running backs for the remainder. We’ll see if that changes once they get in pads, but today he spent the first part of practice going through pass-rushing technique with defensive ends coach John Palermo.
And of course, both position coaches are adjusting to having to share.
Pitt running back coach John Settle has been around football for most of the past three decades, but something happening on the practice fields this summer is new to him: He never has seen a player work on both sides of the ball at this level like James Conner. “This is a first,” said Settle, who said he doesn’t mind sharing Conner with defensive ends coach John Palermo. “I don’t think I can get around that. To (Conner’s) credit, he is doing a heckuva job keeping up with both installs. Right now, he is loving the game because he is able to do something that a lot of guys can’t do. As a coach, you’d be crazy not to take advantage of it.”
Freshman WR Adonis Jennings suffered what appeared to be minor injury and was held out of practice. Tyler Boyd stayed on him during practices to make sure he was still engaged in what the team was doing. Making sure he was learning.
“No one got pushed harder than Tyler last year,” Chryst said, “so he’s not real sympathetic to anybody. He was just making sure (Jennings) stayed on track. And Adonis wanted (Boyd’s attention).”
Boyd continues to impress with his approach to the game and the team.
Is it better to just buy tickets through the athletic department, or should I wait til the week of the game use Stubhub? I can’t imagine those tickets will be in high demand after already getting beat down by UCLA, Louisville, and BYU
Go to Virginia’s official athletic website and they should have a link to buying tickets, showing the layout of the stadium, and which sections are for visitors. Good luck!
take a redshirt.
link to athlonsports.com
I think Douglas wanting more interceptions is telling and it is a great way to get off the field. Without pressure on the QB, there will be fewer balls up for grabs.
Unfortunately I don’t see many low scoring games on the horizon.
To state that James Conner is already an elite running back in the college football landscape would be a fallacy. Yet, for anyone who saw him run during the 2013 football season, how could he not be considered one? On Friday, ESPN voted Georgia running back Todd Gurly the top player in the SEC. Not just the top running back, but the top player.. In the entire SEC..
After having watched his highlight tape (link to youtu.be) and comparing it to Conner’s (link to youtube.com) fundamentally, there is very little difference between the two backs. Gurly is listed as 6-1, 232 lbs. Conner 6-2, 250. The only noticeable difference is that Gurly tends to show more finesse in his game, while Conner tends to show more maneuverability. Statistically speaking, they match up quite well:
Conner Gurly
ATT YDS AVG LNG TD ATT YDS AVG LNG TD
146 799 5.5 45 8 165 989 6.0 75 10
After watching both of them, on an individual level, there is very little parody. Sure you could argue that at times, the level of defensive competition Gurly faced was better than what Conner had to run against. But then you would have to also take into account how much better Georgia’s offensive line was than Pitt’s was last year..
And speaking of SEC competition: I’m still not sold on them being the best conference in the country. The conference with the highest rated players on their rosters? Sure. But a teams rank should be based on their production rather than their perception or potential. I look to Missouri, a former middle of the pack Big 12 team who, in only 2 years, finished atop the SEC East, with a 7-1 conference record (12-2 overall,) having lost only to South Carolina in the regular season, and Auburn (who likes to steal their opponents play calling) in the SEC Championship game. Missouri’s performance alone was enough to show me how close the BIG 12 and the SEC conferences are.
Couple that with Oklahoma’s beat down of Alabama in the AllState Sugar Bowl, Bama being an SEC team who likes to schedule their opening game with a big conference opponent in what they call a neutral location (read as: Their opponent travels 800+ miles south to what amounts to a home game for the tide) and I just can’t find validity in any statement that the SEC is the hands down best conference in the nation.
Which brings me back to Conner. If Todd Gurly, who is supposedly playing in the best conference in the country, is the best player in all of the SEC, then Conner has got to be the 2nd or 3rd best running back in the country. Realistically looking at Conner and Gurly’s athletic ability, and what they accomplish when they touch the football, they really are identical.
Maybe I’ve quenched my thirst one too many times with the kool-aid. Maybe I’m only seeing what I want to see. But come this fall, I suspect James Conner’s name will be mentioned in tandem with Todd Gurly on more than one occasion, in a way that tells the nation just how great both of these running backs are.
IMO, RB which requires only one to be on the field per play is much deeper than DE which requires two:
RB — Bennett, James, Ibrahim, Ollison
DE — Soto, Durham, Cook, Blair, Maclean, Trahan
In recent years … Shady, Dion, Rushell and Conner all greatly contributed in their natural freshman year … as did Graham when he saw action the same year Dion was a frosh
Only road games I’ve been to were at the concrete dump in Morganhole, a half empty Papa Johns Stadium, and Rutgers… And there’s nothing special about Louisville in November, or a rainy October Friday night in Piscataway.
Again… So nice to be out of the Big East.
C’ville is great. Sort of like State College, but with smarter people and real historical assets. Remember that C’ville was there before there was a UVA. What would be in State College if there was no PSU?
H2P
Already planning on spending a couple days in Shenandoah prior, whether permitting.
Well, he’s a “preferred” walk on with a story, not unlike Rori Blair’s, his injury although not life threatening as Blair’s stroke was, just as devistating however, concerning his football future.
Neavin blew out his Achilles tendon his Senior season in HS to bring his very active college recruiting to a standstill quickly.
Trent played both ways at Martins Ferry HS and was a steamroller blocker at fullback his Junior season while remaining a solid third down converter when called upon to run the ball.
This guy should not be overlooked and considered simply as a scout team blocking dummy. He has sub 5 40 yard dash speed, even after his injury, and has put on an additional 20 lbs since getting here to weigh in at 260. Plus, the kid is smart! A typical Chryst “under the radar” diamond in the rough type recruit who in this case was invited to walk on to a Div. 1 school to make a name for himself by putting in the hard work necessary to do so.
Read his story below.
Have never had one problem. You need to gauge the event.
If tickets are not at a premium, as I would imagine Pitt-UVA will not be, the longer you wait to get closer to the game, the cheaper the tickets are.
Something like Pitt-PSU or Pitt-ND, they get more expensive as game time looms.
In your case, I don’t think there will be much fluctuation, you should be able to get some good seats at a good price.
Like someone said, pull up the opposing teams website, check where the visitors sit.
Some of the views, if you go on the icon, will even show you the view of the field or stage from the different seats.
Also keep in mind, give a couple days for the tix to get sent to you. They have a form for sellers to fill out, have their info, I don’t think they run into too many problems with tix not being sent.
One time, I even had the guy leave the tix at willcall for a Stones concert.
Like I said, never had a problem.
Bring home a winner!!
H2P!!!
From ESPN.com
The Season: The best defensive years
DE Hugh Green, Pittsburgh, 1980
Green was such a force that opposing offenses would come to the line and yell, “Where’s Green?” It didn’t matter where he lined up — end or any of the linebacker spots — he found a way to get to the ball and make plays. The Panthers gave up only 205 yards and 10 points per game that season en route to an 11-1 record, and Green spearheaded that unit with 123 tackles, including 17 sacks, and forced seven fumbles. He became the first defensive player in history to win the Walter Camp Award as the top player in college football and was runner-up to George Rogers in the Heisman Trophy balloting.
Pittsburgh
It’s hard to argue that Tony Dorsett’s performance in 1976 wasn’t the best in Pitt history, but has any school produced more electrifying single seasons by individual players? Dorsett led the Panthers to the 1976 national championship, running for 2,150 yards (the first NCAA player to surpass the 2,000-yard mark in a season) with 22 touchdowns, and won the Heisman Trophy.
If not for Dorsett, Pitt defensive end Hugh Green would have been an obvious choice. He had one of the greatest seasons ever by a defensive player in 1980, finishing with 123 tackles, 17 sacks, 4 fumble recoveries and 6 pass breakups. Wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald finished runner-up for the Heisman in 2003, catching 92 passes for 1,672 yards with 22 touchdowns, and defensive tackle Aaron Donald had 28½ tackles for loss, 11 sacks and 4 forced fumbles in 2013. Any of those seasons would have been worthy as the greatest in Pitt history.
ESPN’s pick: Dorsett
It could very well happen. My assertion is that we start him out very sparingly at DE while using him as the known quality starter he is at RB. I get that we’ve had some FR RBs break out their 1st year. But we’ve also had some highly rated and highly recruited RBs never pan out for us at all.
How can we forget Kevin Collier, who was a 4* and… “Was the top running back in the state of New York… averaged 215.8 rushing yards per game as a senior… rushed for 1,942 yards and 20 touchdowns his final year, averaging 7.7 yards per carry.” If you remember he burnt up his first training camp also and we all expected big things his FR year.
Or, Chris Burns, a 4* RB who was… “Prolific rusher widely considered the top running back in Pennsylvania…was a two-time member of The Associated Press Pennsylvania Class AA All-State Team…named first team all-state at running back as a senior after rushing for 2,234 yards on 257 carries (8.7 avg.) and scoring 38 total touchdowns..” Another phenom in HS who never translated to college.
Or, Rushel Shell, our hometown hero who… “One of the country’s most sought-after running backs…rated the nation’s No. 3 running back and No. 26 overall prospect on the ESPNU 150 list…rated the country’s No. 4 running back by Scout and No. 6 by Rivals…rated the nation’s No. 10 overall prospect by Tom Lemming…USA TODAY first team All-USA…Sports Illustrated and ESPNHS All-American…finished his career as the most prolific rusher in Pennsylvania history…
Each of those kids had the same or better HS pedigrees than does Chris James yet they did basically nothing in their time at PITT let alone their true FR years.
Point is? It is a big jump to assume that both these kids, Conner at DE and James at RB and going to have great years in 2013. As stated above – could happen but I’d play Conner at RB until he wasn’t producing there then I’d move him to DE… but only then. A couple snaps fine but some PITT fans have it all charted out a different way.
I also know that Conner’s stock as “The” running back is based on his performance in the Bowl game and he still needs to prove he and the line (Emel) can do it against bigger and better competition.
You have to admit that having him play both ways is drastic, which tells me they really need a pass rusher and he has some talent (he was recruited as a D-End) and in fact was moved to running back, based on need, which was made much more dire when Shell pulled his stunt.
The bottom line is unfortunately we don’t have enough high quality players yet.
By the way, there have been plenty of guys, Lewis, Graham, McCoy and others who did pan out.
Adding Shell to your list is premature, let’s see how he does this year.
We’re going to get hit with the Spread, coming right out of the shute. As Delaware runs the Spread offense.
If we’re really thin in the Defensive backfield, I would suggest moving Ibrahim back there, as I don’t see him getting much PT at RB, if as a lot of blatherites believe, Chris James is going to be a factor this year. A lot mind depend on the health of Bennett.
the best defense is a strong ball control run oriented offense. Which keeps the defense off the field and punishes, wears down the opposing defense.
Connor is a punishing runner, when he is totally healthy and gets some blocking. He is not a Ray Graham, Shady type who only needed a crack to get thru or had the shake and bake moves when there was little blocking.
So his playing time at RB, might be very dependent on what kind of blocking the O-line can or can’t do. And of course how fast James learns the offense and his pass blocking on blitzes. It was encouraging to hear Coach Settle talk of James’ willingness to ‘mix it up’ in the pass blocking category.
The combination of Connor and James, should be fun to watch as we know, PC liked to use several feature backs in Wisconsin’s power run offense.
And hopefully Sir Isaac gets back to 100%.
Last year the great AD minimized our lack of ability at the ends. This year they will be exposed. Soto has the size and speed but he is the only guy and has to play all four downs. Durham can hold his ground, but won’t get pressure on the QB. Grigsby has speed but when a 325 lb tackle gets his hands on him, game over, Maclean is an unknown commodity. This is the major criticism, I have on recruiting. We have been picking up two or more quality O-linemen each of the last three classes, but no D-Ends or linebackers.
Reed, have any of your sources told you what happened regarding Bryan Murphy? It just seems like a missed opportunity for him and the team.
Grigsby got his 3 sacks last year this way. Whether they’re coming from the DE or LB spot is almost irrelevant. I really think Todd Thomas could excel in this area with his speed and athleticism.
If a couple DE’s don’t standout in camp, I really think going to 3-4 type alignment might work out far better.
In fact, looks more like a BODY BUILDER than a Runningback.
Still not convinced he’s destined for Stardom or even Starting-Dom as many here apparently are.
Looks can be deceiving. Looking at James without pads, you would think he would have run for a TD every time he touched the ball in High School.
At 6.9 yards per carry, that was obviously not the case.
Do see him getting the TOUGH yards when called upon.
Collier was behind Shady; Burns was behind Shady and then Dion and Graham before transferring. Not saying they were stars but my guess is that James will turn out to be more like Shady or Dion than Collier or Burns.
Connor was recruited as a DE, and I assure you that if he was just average at that position, the coaches wouldn’t have dared to compromise his RB stature.
LMAO!!
The ultimate definition of a million dollar body with a 2 cent brain
I still remember when they shocked the college basketball world and defeated #1 Virginia with 3 time player of the year, 7’4″ Ralph Sampson.
As we all know he would if he went to one of the ‘brand name’ football schools.
“He’s absolutely a very polished rookie in pass rush,” said Chris Long, a monster pass rusher himself. “One of the most polished rookies I’ve ever seen as far as his technique. Somebody along the line coached him up pretty well. We were sitting in the room the other day watching film, and I said to him, ‘Who taught you to watch film and play with technique?’ Not all kids coming in have that.”
I never thought Baldwin lived up to his abilities, he has the body but not the athleticism to be really good. Don’t remember him making the tough catches.
Passes that were basically thrown, ‘up for grabs’.
Which is why he was a #1 pick.
Agree with you about needing good DE’s in the 4-3.
I just believe if you’re going against spread offenses the 3-4 is more flexible than the 4-3.
Especially if you don’t have those quality type DE’s you’re talking about.
With that being said, if they play Grigsby as a rush DE, it would almost like playing a 3-4.
My guess is Chryst will install more rollout pass/run options for Voytik, so could see more passes to TEs…and I think we have some good ones.
Pitt may run that play that they used to when they fake a handoff to the RB folowing the FB off-tackle, then the QB hits the FB in the flat. The Giants still run that play when Hyno is on the field
Soto got into the backfield once and broke up a play.
That was a great bit of info though.
I only listed those three in reference to the many PITT fan’s expectations that James comes in, blows up and grabs a starting spot in his true FR year.
wbb – you are correct that those I listed had other returning RBs in front of them… just like James does with Conner.
I don’t base my preference for Conner at RB only on that bowl game. He was a tough and productive runner when he was healthy and had to run behind an average at best OL. I really believe that if he’s the established #1 RB going into the season and is written into the gameplans as the guy who advances the ball on the ground – we’ll see very good production out of him.
The reason he did so well in the Bowl game is that all those variables I listed above were met. He was 100% healthy after a full month of rest and the coaching staff gave him carries right off the bat.
I’d love it if James stepped in and played so well the staff had to give him the ball, but that would be the about only time I’d contemplate moving Conner to DE. One thing we all are discounting is Isaac Bennett’s role in the backfield. There no reason he can’t jump up and grab that RB1 spot either. He played well last year and given starting slot he could be 1000+ yard easily this year.
Chryst like multiple RBs to play dur a game. What we might see is a committee of Bennett, Ibrahim and possibly James at RB, then Conner moving to defense. But again, I’d have to see some really excellent production out of a Conner-less backfield before I moved him.
Last year, Pitt rated low in QB sacks and hurries, and that was with the most decorated DL in the NCAA. Now, not only is the DE depleted with a lack of experience, the very same goes for the DB … and there is nothing that helps the DB more than an effective pass rush.
Also, a point I made before … the noise of Conner playing DE was not something initiated by the fans or the media … it came from the horses mouths themselves. PC never denied and it and in fact had him practice there in the spring as well as currently. Further, Conner has said on many occasions that he looks forward to playing on the defense .. and there was even an article a couple of months ago where he admitted that he thought his long term future was on defense.
Lastly, you take away the bowl game and the game vs Duke (which was not defensively last year), that cuts Conner’s 800 yard output last year in half … which means he gained approx 400 yards in the other 10 games he played.
He is currently the best RB we have right now (no doubt) but, barring certain injuries, I truly believe we will see him more on defense in the future
Sham-ee-nade or something, like lemonade.
No idea who they were then even more so than today.
Hey, remember the UVA v. UNC battles??
That damn Dean Smith and that 4 corner offense??
Finals of 28-26, 36-34 etc. etc. ha ha!!
Would hold the ball for 5 minutes at a time, if the defense didn’t go out and play them, they just kept passing the ball to each other.
Heck, I think they may of held the ball for almost the entire first half against some team, like a half time score of 10-8????
UNC, couldn’t play the 4 corners so much when down.
I can’t be specific, but I remember a time, and I believe it was against UVA, the UVA had the lead by like 4 or so, well into the 2nd half, and UNC pulled the pull out and went into the 4 corners.
The UVA coach, instead of waving his guys up to play defense, emphatically waved back to just stay away from them.
The whole crowd erupted tremendously loud, the UVA coach with the wave was like saying..
“screw you, keep the effin’ ball, we’re up”!!!
Another important player, Jeff Jones.
Should Bennett, Ibrahim and James step up and fill the Conner-void rushing the ball then fine. On the flip side should Durham, Soto, MacLean and Blair produce at DE then there is no need to move Conner.
But here is the one scenario no one is talking about – whether or not Conner is a legit D1 starting RB. As you stated half of his yards came in two games against relatively mediocre defenses. As much as I hate to type this it could be that he’s just not the guy to get 25 carries a game for 12 games and still be effective.
In that case then move him anyway onto the DE two-deep because there wouldn’t be a place for him elsewhere.
I’ve sold on SH before, no problems or issues. They do hit you with a fee though. I think it was pretty nominal though, small percentage of the sale price, or something.
I’ve always had pretty good fortune on Craigslist too. Although there’s more effort involve with haggling and responding to emails… If it’s worth your time and effort, you’d probably make a few extra dollars going that route.
More and more I like these young kids Chryst is bringing in… really looking forward to the season.