With two solid weeks until the staff and team break out of camp and start their game week preparation for YSU it’s safe to say that we are seeing some certain things shaping up.
Of course a starting lineup hasn’t been announced yet but from the various local media reports and the Pitt Media Dept’s Pitt LiveWire website we are getting some idea of a few position battles that are getting a bit hotter as the camp progresses.
Jerry DiPaola of the Trib Review has a nice Pitt Locker Room blog article on this subject a couple of days ago and we referenced it a bit in the last article. Here are some significant battles we should keep our eyes on. Remember – this is how things look now on defense but with a new staff and a defensive minded HC things could change pretty drastically:
Defensive End: Right now it would be Shakir Soto and Ejuan Price as the starters; transfer Allen Edwards and Rori Blair in the two deep, along with newly minted DE James Folston rotating in. Narduzzi was waxing eloquently the other day about former LB Folston and the speed he’s now bringing to the DE position. Folston is a rsFR who has a 4.6 40 time which is pretty good for a LB/DE but I think his jump off the snap quickness is his strength and what the defensive staff likes at that end position.
As much as I’d like to think Price will stay healthy and be a big contributor I just can’t. So for me the progress of Blair is paramount. He gained some weight after last season and is listed going into camp as 6’4″ & 240 lbs but I wonder. he still appears thin but who knows what kind of heart and desire he has. Sometimes the intangibles mean a lot more than height, weight or 40 time. Let’s hope he gets back from suspensions and works his way back into a DE starter.
