I’m a bit groggy this morning. So, it will stay simple until I can plug the I.V. with coffee into my arm.

Past: Rob Petitti waits to find out where he goes in the draft, and needs to keep the weight off.

“I’m going to keep my eyes off of it,” said Petitti, a native of Rumson, N.J., who grew up a few houses down from The Boss himself, Bruce Springsteen. “I’ll let my dad watch it for me. He’ll tell me when it’s time.”

Petitti did not work out at the NFL Combine due to turf toe, but made an impression during a collegiate career that saw him hold down a starting spot since his freshman season and earn All-Big East honors twice, including first-team the past two seasons.

Draft expert Mel Kiper Jr. rates Petitti as the No. 13 tackle in the draft, describing him as a player with “plenty of pop at the point of attack, but he’ll need to work on sustaining the block and finishing the play.”

NFL Draftscout.com rates Petitti as the 36th offensive tackle. The biggest concern about the former Pitt star stems from his fluctuation in weight. He ballooned to 365 pounds for the Senior Bowl before dropping 30 pounds to get to his current weight of 335-340.

Presently: Pitt defensive end Azzie Beagnyam may be academically ineligible for the upcoming season.

“Azzie’s status with the team for now and the immediate future is uncertain because he has a number of academic obligations to fulfill,” said Pitt sports information director E.J. Borghetti. Beagnyam, who was a starter heading into last season but missed most of the year with a broken ankle, was not permitted to participate in the Blue-Gold spring game because of his academic issues.

Future: In Joe Bendel’s Big East Insider on ESPN.com, the lead story is on QB Tyler Palko and

Offensive Coordinator Matt Cavanaugh developing their relationship.
That’s why Cavanaugh and Pittsburgh junior Tyler Palko were attached at the hip this spring, working endless hours to return the Panthers to glory.

Palko desperately wants a national championship — he pledged to win two upon signing with Pittsburgh — and Cavanaugh, the former offensive coordinator with the Baltimore Ravens who holds the same position with Dave Wannstedt’s Panthers, wants to get him there.

Palko, of course, doesn’t have the luxury of handing the ball to Tony Dorsett 25 times a game like Cavanaugh did, but he does possess the championship qualities that defined his offensive coordinator three decades earlier.

“At the end of the day, we both want to be winners — and that’s crucial,” said Cavanaugh, who ditched former coach Walt Harris’ West Coast offense for a power-running style. “I didn’t care about the personal accolades or anything else as long as we were winning. And Tyler has the same qualities. A difference between us is that I didn’t have the self-confidence Tyler has. He carries himself like a winner.”
…
Although Palko is thrilled to be working with Cavanaugh, it’s no secret he was angered and disappointed to see former coach Harris pack his bags for Stanford in the offseason. (Harris officially resigned after administrators made it clear he wasn’t wanted anymore).

Harris and Palko forged a relationship when the latter was in eighth grade, and, even though they didn’t always see eye to eye, there was a close bond. Palko voiced his displeasure when Harris’ future came into question last season, but refuses to dwell on it. He’s moved on.

“The change has been easy for me, because I’ve been around coaching for such a long time,” said Palko, the son of a highly successful Pittsburgh prep coach. “People come and go in this business. It’s not like I’ll ever forget about coach Harris, but I know this is a business. Coach and I will always have a relationship and no one can take that away from us. He’s been helpful in my career and he really got me to understand a lot of things I already thought I knew. He laid the foundation.

“But it’s a new time now and a new era. I’m excited about working with coach Cavanaugh and continuing my work to be the best.”

And what about that national championship?

“I know both of us are going to work as hard as we can to get there,” Palko said. “I don’t believe in all those other things like fate and that the stars are aligned right because he and I are working together, with coach being the last quarterback to win a championship here. You roll up your sleeves and you work hard and that’s how you become successful.”