For real media companies and reporters, this past week and this one would be where all the coverage is ramped up and there would be lots of articles. Chasing page views and taking advantage of the growing excitement for the new season. Not at Pitt Blather. Noooo. Instead we take the less is more approach. Letting our pieces breathe, and —

Okay, that’s an obvious load of crap. Sorry folks. Between covering for people trying to squeeze in their final vacations at work. The ramp up to school restarting for my kids. Not to mention a horrid week in between school starting and all summer camps ending — creating a chaotic situation where the wife and I juggle our schedules to ridiculous levels. Then there is just making sure everything is in position so I can take off on Saturday. I’ve barely been on the computer the last couple of weeks.

I really, really look forward to Saturday. Seeing my friends before the game, then abandoning them for the comforts of the press box. This coming season will feature both Reed and myself watching games with the media. Onto some links and thoughts.

Coach Paul Chryst in his press conference for the Delaware game, listed five freshmen he is sure will see the field in the opener: CB Avonte Maddox, DE Rori Blair, LB Quintin Wirginis, S Pat Amara and RB Chris James.

Maddox and Blair are no-brainers simply from a depth chart situation. The same could be said for Amara with Reggie Mitchell doing more at CB than S at this point.

Chris James was one of the highest ranked recruits from the past class and had a very good camp. His fellow classmate Qadree Ollison wasn’t listed by Chryst. Ollison did well, but with Isaac Bennett’s return, the backfield is a little crowded. So Chryst probably is hedging for now on guaranteeing anything for Ollison.

WR Adonis Jennings didn’t make that cut, but he was among the next four freshmen who will have a chance to see the field at some point.

He also identified four others as players “we are going to make sure are ready, but a little bit of a wait-and-see.” They include running back Qadree Ollison, offensive tackle Alex Bookser, wide receiver Adonis Jennings and quarterback [Adam] Bertke.

Jennings was one of Pitt’s most highly touted recruits, but he remains behind older backups Ronald Jones and Kevin Weatherspoon.

“I liked a lot of what he’s done,” Chryst said. “But (it’s) a matter of making sure he truly understands all that he has to do.”

Jennings nursed some minor injuries in camp, which plays into it. I also have to think that Chryst is providing Jennings with a little extra motivation to stay focused. Getting on the field is still earned, regardless of the obvious ability.

Reading him mention freshman QB Adam Bertke is a little bit of a surprise. I know Chad Voytik hasn’t had the camp most would have preferred, but I doubt Chryst is seriously thinking of playing Bertke over Voytik. More likely, it is simply the reality that the QB spot is also one of the very thin positions for Pitt.

Trey Anderson is a great kid, and by all accounts is like a young coach for the offense and QBs. But no one really wants to see him running out onto the field in a game situation. That would not be a promising sign.

The ongoing fascination with when and how much to play James Conner at DE continues.

Chryst keeps a watchful, wary eye on his star running back, who also may be his best pass rusher. Conner, who spends time every day with running backs coach John Settle and defensive ends coach John Palermo, will play defense only on third downs.

Which raises the question:

“When you look at Conner, and you watch him rush the passer and see him run the ball, what is his natural position?” ESPN college football analyst John Congemi said.
…
[Conner] said he spends much of his free time with Palermo and assistant strength coach Kenechi Udeze, who was an All-American defensive end at USC and a first-round draft choice of the Minnesota Vikings.

“I think I’m a better running back, I’ll say that,” Conner said. “But working with coach JP and coach KU every day, I get better.

“I’m blessed to have the ability to play both. It will help me get exposure, help Pitt get exposure.”

The reality: Pitt needs Conner at both positions.

He is the best running back at a position with plenty of depth — senior Isaac Bennett, sophomore Rachid Ibrahim and freshmen Chris James and Qadree Ollison. Also, two 2015 running backs verbally committed to Pitt — four-star Darrin Hall of Youngstown, Ohio, and three-star Sekai Lindsay of Melbourne, Fla.

There is much less depth at defensive end, one of the team’s thinnest positions.

This is probably one of the more overblown and time-wasting topics of camp. I’m sort of sorry for my part in it, but I can’t deny the fascination with it. A combination of economic theory: scarce and surplus resources, individual desires versus the team needs, coaches personal interests. There’s a lot of competing interests in play with James Conner and his position on the football field.

I’ve said this in the past, but it bears repeating. As the NFL has de-emphasized the workhorse running back. The using more of a committee approach. As defensive end has become more of a highly visible glamor position on defense — and with commiserate pay. As players looking to the NFL as a viable future look at career longevity — especially if it is RB vs. DE. It is something completely different from even 6 years ago when this wouldn’t even be a real discussion.

I will not be surprised in the least, if by next season Conner is playing DE nearly full time. This year, at least, and certainly for the first half of the season, Conner will spend most of the time at running back.

The O-line has been set for nearly a week. No surprise that it is the same starting  O-line everyone assumed it to be heading into camp. A little competition to make things interesting. A bit about the players feeling more comfortable in their position this year.

Finally, former players coming back to help as volunteer and graduate assistant coaches.

[Ryan] Turnley was a volunteer assistant coach at the time, and has since transitioned to become a graduate assistant on the Panthers coaching staff. This year, he has been joined by two more recently graduated Panthers, former receiver Mike Shanahan (2008-12) and former linebacker Scott McKillop (2004-08), who are on the staff as volunteer assistants.

“Any time you get good guys that want to get into this profession, you’re excited,” coach Paul Chryst said.

All three took similar paths to their coaching positions at Pitt. Turnley and Shanahan had stints in NFL training camps — Turnley with the Buffalo Bills, Shanahan with the New York Jets — but were cut before the regular season. Turnley returned to coaching last summer after a phone call with offensive line coach Jim Hueber shortly after the Bills let him go.

“He said he’d talk to coach Chryst,” Turnley said. “And a few days later coach Chryst said, ‘Come on down, help us out, volunteer on the O-line.’”

Shanahan tried to break into the Canadian Football League in the spring, but was cut by the Montreal Alouettes at the end of June. That’s when he got back in touch with Chryst, who welcomed him back as a volunteer assistant.

“I knew I liked coaching, but I wanted to do it at the college level just to see how much I would like it,” Shanahan said.

McKillop was the only one of the three to see regular-season NFL action after he was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the fifth round in 2009. He played in all 16 games that year, but a severe knee injury in training camp in 2010 effectively ended his career.

He, too, tried some other routes back to the NFL, including the CFL, before reaching out to Pitt director of football operations Chris LaSala in May.

Despite most positions being filled, the staff found a spot for McKillop as a volunteer defensive assistant.

Yes, you will find a spot for a former All-American and one of Pitt’s best linebackers of the last 25 years.