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January 23, 2009

Minor Football Notes

Filed under: Alumni,Coaches,Draft,Football,NFL,Recruiting — Chas @ 2:34 am

So former Pitt player, former Pitt coach and father of a Pitt player getting lots of irrational hope pinned on him has re-upped with Nick Saban.

After several days of specula­tion, Saban finally confirmed the hiring of Carolina Panthers defensive line coach Sal Sunseri as well. Willis and Sunseri will replace inside linebackers coach Kevin Steele and outside linebackers coach Lance Thompson, but Saban did not specify which assistant will coach which position.

“I’m extremely happy to add a coach the caliber of Sal Sunse­ri to our staff,” Saban said. “From his playing days at Pitt, to coaching in college football and the NFL, Sal has been suc­cessful at every level of the game.”

This is Sunseri’s second stint with Saban. He coached line­backers at LSU in 2000 under Sa­ban. In making the announce­ment in 2000, Saban said Sunseri was an excellent re­cruiter.

“When you talk about college football tradition and national prestige, it doesn’t get any better than the University of Alaba­ma,” Sunseri said. “This is a championship program with a championship coach in Nick Sa­ban and I feel fortunate to be a part of that.”

Not sure if there was any actual speculation, but Sunseri, the elder swears that Tino isn’t going to transfer to join him.

Before that led to any speculation of whether Tino Sunseri would transfer to Alabama, I contacted the Sunseri family. Here was the response: “Tino is a Pitt Panther and will stay one.”

Glad that was cleared up.

Drew Rosenhaus will rep LeSean McCoy. Actually might be the right fit for McCoy. He needs a hard-nosed agent. McCoy has from all reports tended to be deferential to coaches and authority. Not good for negotiating a contract. Hey, at least it isn’t Scott Boras.

Another verbal earlier in the week. This time a defensive end from New Jersey, Bernardo Nunez. This one was expected for at least a week. He’s a solid 3-star recruit. Plus, he has upside (Insider subs).

He is a solid tackler who wraps up, but will drop his head some at times. He has the initial burst to get a good up-field charge in passing situations. He will use his hands to try and push a blocker by when he gets to quarterback depth. Does a good job of getting his hands up when he can not get to the quarterback. Displays the tools to be a disruptive pass rusher, but needs to keep working on developing an arsenal of pass rush moves. Nunez is a promising prospect. Displays good natural tools and flashes some good ability.

Broken record time, but I still wish Pitt would recruit a real center. So far efforts to convert young O-linemen have not yielded much more than frustration and spring and summer fumbled snaps.

October 23, 2008

Mike Ditka Is Still Bats@#t Crazy

Filed under: Alumni,Football,History — Chas @ 9:01 am

If you imagine Pitt football as a big family, then Mike Ditka is the crazy uncle who will just go off on rants that just leaves the kids nervous and the grown-ups quietly shaking their heads in the background. you love him, but after the get together, you take your kids aside and make sure they understand that everything Uncle Mike said is not something to believe. In fact it would be best if you don’t even mention some parts to others.

I know that in Pittsburgh the hot topic are the hits, fines and comments from Polamalu. Ditka’s solution, though, is nuts.

Ditka said the only way to change the violent nature of the game would be by changing the equipment.

“I said a long time ago if you want to change the game take the mask off the helmet,” he said. “It will change the game a lot. If you want to change the game and get it back to where people aren’t striking with the head and using the head as a weapon, take the mask off the helmet.

“A lot of pretty boys aren’t going to stick their face in there. If you’re going to take hitting out of football, you might as well just call it soccer. That’s what I believe. A lot of people will be disappointed I said that, but football is what it is. [Vince] Lombardi said it a long time ago. Football is not a contact game. Dancing is a contact game. Football is a collision sport.”

Why yes, back in the days of leather helmets, it was so much safer and no one got banged around the head. Little violence or risk of injury to the cranium then. Those were handsome men by the time they were done playing professional football. That just doesn’t compute.

That’s up there with the old-time hockey argument that helmets and eyeshields promote more hits to the head and high sticks. That if they didn’t have that kind of protective gear, the players would be less careless and more respectful of the opponent.

Otherwise, it was a good visit from Uncle Mike.

“I constantly talk about tradition at Pitt, and that’s what separates us from most of the other ones,” Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt said. “You can’t say the words ‘Pitt tradition’ without saying ‘Mike Ditka.’ For him to come back and spend some time with the players, I think it’s a neat thing.”

Wannstedt took advantage of the moment to introduce Ditka, an Aliquippa native, to a pair of Panthers from his hometown in redshirt freshman linebacker Brandon Lindsey and freshman receiver Jonathan Baldwin.

“The kids that came to Pitt made a wise choice, and they’re going to get a great education,” said Ditka, who was in Pittsburgh for today’s grand opening of a Ditka’s Restaurant in Robinson. “Football only continues on with a very few of us. I was fortunate that I could carry on to pro ball. But most of these guys the education is going to take you the rest of the way.”

September 15, 2008

Go Chat With Dan

Filed under: Alumni,Football,Good,Internet,Media — Chas @ 11:21 pm

So, I got an e-mail from a marketing firm that specializes in “digital media communications” this afternoon.  They are looking to drive traffic to Circuit City and their fall football marketing. Usually I ignore these type of e-mails since there is usually a questionable tie-in, but this one might be of interest.

Specifically a live chat with Dan Marino set for tomorrow at the Circuit City site. So if you want to go ask him about his Pitt days. Maybe what he thinks of the job Wannstedt is doing. How things went down at the end of his career with the Dolphins with Wannstedt and Johnson trying to push him out. Heck if enough Pitt fans flood the board with questions on what he thinks of what is happening at his alma mater, it definitely would shift things away from the NFL talk that is expected.

Or you can go to this thread and post a question early.

August 24, 2008

Former Pitt QB Rod Rutherford, who has been bouncing around minor arena football league programs is now looking into coaching. He did a part-time assistant thing with Pitt last year. This year it’s at D-III St. Vincent’s College in Latrobe, PA — coaching the secondary.

“I’m brushing up on the coverages,” Rutherford said with a laugh. “Football is football, no matter what the level and no matter what position you play. I feel that I have a good sense of what (defensive backs) are thinking, having played quarterback and seeing their reactions so often. I just need to understand it through their eyes.”

Rutherford’s career path carried him through short stints with the Carolina Panthers and Steelers, plus NFL Europe and the American Indoor Football Association.

Now, after a year as a part-time assistant on Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt’s staff, Rutherford is taking serious the idea of coaching football.

“I tried a number of things. I tried office jobs. That’s not for me,” he said. “I’m a football guy.”

I hope he does well. I also hope he banked a lot of the minimum salary he earned in the NFL. It’s going to be some time before he reaches that level of salary. On the plus side, he is doing something he likes and wants to do.

Clint Session, now of the Indianapolis Colts, has attracted a lot of attention in exhibition NFL season. He was moved to strong-side linebacker and is the starter there until October.

Session is a 6-0, 235-pound bundle of energy who has a knack for making things happen. The key, coaches say, is to harness the aggression, stay within the defensive scheme, generate positive plays and limit the mistakes.

Dungy was impressed that Session was able to shake off the early mistake and make better use of his aggressive nature.

“He comes back and he’ll run through and make a tackle in the backfield, chase some things down and (produce) blow-up hits,” Dungy said. “We’ve got to channel that in the right way.

“He had plays that you would notice in a game. There were highlight-film plays for one team or the other, so we are just working to make sure there are more highlight plays for us.”

It was pointed out earlier this week, but, yeah, that’s real familiar.

August 23, 2008

Q: When is homerism good?

A: When it’s your guy who is being the homer.

Give the WWLS some credit for finally grasping that they should let the video clips be embeddable. Now if only they would cut a deal with RedLasso.

August 18, 2008

Here’s a blast from the past as there’s a piece on one of the few bright spots from the Ralph Willard era — Vonteego Cummings back home in Georgia.

The 32-year-old Cummings returned to his childhood playground last Saturday to kick off the Vonteego Cummings First Annual Community Day. The event was attended by more than 150 people – many of them youth and teens – who celebrated the occasion with games, including shooting hoops and eating hamburgers, hot dogs, and enjoying cold drinks.

“This was their day – a day of celebrating with them and giving back a little of what this community has given so much to me through the years,” said Cummings, a 1995 graduate of Thomson High School, where he was a star basketball player. After graduation, Cummings, the son of John David and Carri Mae Cummings, of Thomson, went on to become an outstanding basketball player at the University of Pittsburgh.

At Pitt, Cummings, who played point guard, averaged 17 points per game during his four-year career.

Today, Cummings plays for the Israeli Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball team in the European League. The team is the second-best in the European League.

It’s still a rough go, however for another Pitt alum. Clyde Vaughan appeared poised to finally land an assistant coaching job with New Mexico State — where Herb Pope still plays (Insider subs.). But, no.

New Mexico State has decided against hiring former Connecticut, South Florida, and Long Beach State assistant and one-time Pitt forward Clyde Vaughan as an assistant coach. Vaughan resigned from his position at UConn after he was arrested in 2004 on a solicitation charge. That arrest continues to haunt him. Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg has long been a proponent of giving Vaughan a second chance, but Greenberg said he hasn’t had a recent opening on his staff for Vaughan.

Of course, Greenberg was the one who recruited Vaughan to Pitt when he was an assistant.

I feel bad for Vaughan. I really do. On the scale of crimes, it’s pretty low. Guys with DUIs get more chances.

There are two things working against Vaughan, though, in this instance.

It’s not the severity of the crime, but the type that drags him down. It’s not easy to picture Vaughan going to a recruit’s family and telling them how he will be looking out for the kid, helping him to grow. All the while he’s got to answer questions about his solicitation charges — and the fact that it means he betrayed his wife. Something, I don’t think Vaughan has ever grasped.

The other thing, and this is probably worse for his chances, is that it wasn’t his first offense. He has a history of this.

According to the report, Vaughan was arrested and charged in July 1992 in Long Beach, Calif., just prior to joining the staff at Cal State Long Beach. He also was arrested, charged and convicted in Tampa of approaching an undercover police officer and offering her $20 for sex while he was an assistant at the University of South Florida in 1999. The Long Beach charges, details of which were not available, eventually were dismissed, according to the paper.

You can’t be worrying what your assistant coaches will be doing in their spare time, on top of worrying about the players.

DeAndre Kane out of Schenley is headed to prep school in New Hampshire. I wonder whether he’ll ever make it into a college uniform. I also can’t help but wonder if he’s got a learning disability. No one questions that he has talent, but no one can commit a scholarship until they can see that he will be able to survive the academic side. It’s too big of a risk, especially with the Academic Progress Rate and potential penalties.

This reads like it is just a matter of when for Tom Droney to commit to Pitt. Droney is only junior, and will be part of the 2010 recruiting class.

Droney, from Sewickley Academy, just twelve miles northwest of Pittsburgh, has not even begun his junior season yet, but he already knows he has had enough of the recruiting process.

“I plan on committing in September,” says the highly mature Droney. “I want to make sure that there is a spot open for me at the school I want to go to. I talked to (Pitt assistant coach) Tom Herrion and he said they were recruiting a lot of guards in my class and that it was best not to wait. I love Pitt. I’m not saying I’m going to go there, but if that’s my choice then I have to do it now. My high school coach and AAU coach agree with me.”

While you won’t see Droney yet on many top 50 lists that will change when more people see him. He has played in obscurity somewhat this summer, playing offsite in Las Vegas and playing in the 16 and under league in West Virginia. But one out of state college coach who saw Droney play in West Virginia had no doubts about Droney’s talent, saying, ”He’s definitely top 50 and could be higher when he becomes a more consistent three point shooter”.

The other school he is considering is Wake Forest.

Another guard for the 2010 class that Pitt has been after for some time is Isaiah Epps.

Currently, Maryland and Pitt are in the lead to land the talented Garden State star. Saturday night at the Summer Shootout at Allentown (NJ) High School, Epps actually wore Pitt basketball shorts.

“My cousin goes to that school, Travon Woodall,” said Epps when asked if wearing Panthers’ gear indicated anything in particular. Does Jamie Dixon’s squad have an advantage over Maryland and others because Woodall is already in the fold?

“Oh no, I just like the school,” Epps told Alex Schwartz. Isaiah is high on Pitt “because they [are in the] Big East and I want to start. They told me I can start as a freshman.”

Epps, who is being recruited by former Pitt star and NJ Playaz alum Brandin Knight for the Panthers, would likely be fine coming in and starting right away, as he is older than his grade would indicate.

Epps is already 18. Right now, the combo guard is 6’2″, but apparently there are expectations of another growth spurt to put him closer to 6’4″ in a year or two.

Pitt wants to add another big man for the 2009 class, and apparently this one has been getting a lot of attention.

Talk about a kid whose stock has risen in the last month or two. Jordan Williams, a 6-foot-8 power forward/center from Torrington High (Conn.), has offers from Villanova, Marquette, Maryland, Georgetown, Providence, Pittsburgh and Penn State. Wake Forest is also in the mix.

It must have. WIlliams is only a 1-star PF on Scout.com. Rivals.com has 3-stars by him. ESPN.com/Scouts, Inc. (Insider subs.) hasn’t updated their point score for him but does seem to note that he has a lot of potential.

Williams has good size and strength, which he uses to wreak havoc in the post on both ends of the court. He uses his size to carve out deep position in the post for rebounding and scoring close to the basket. Williams, despite his size, runs the floor reasonably well and will finish in transition, keeping up with the smaller, quicker guards. He rebounds in traffic very well, and extra contact does not seem to bother him most of the time.

They say he needs to work on his conditioning and footwork. His size is listed anywhere from 6-8 to 6-10 and his weight is around 240-250.

July 26, 2008

Sign And Release

Filed under: Alumni,Football,NFL — Chas @ 10:56 pm

Jeff Otah has signed his contract with the Carolina Panthers.

Carolina… swung a trade that included giving away a 2009 first-round choice to land Otah with the 19th pick.

Terms of Otah’s contract weren’t available.

Otah, 6-foot-6, 330 pounds, is expected to add a mauling presence to the right side of the offensive line. He’s first on the depth chart at right tackle after being credited with 192 knockdown blocks in two college seasons at Pittsburgh, including 26 that led to touchdowns.

Another former Pitt offensive lineman, Charles Spencer was released by the Houston Texans.

Spencer (6-4, 337 pounds) is battling back from a serious knee injury he suffered Sept. 17, 2006, against the Indianapolis Colts. He remained hopeful all month the Texans would let him open camp with them Friday.

“They just didn’t feel I was healthy enough to compete in camp, so that’s why they made their decision,” Spencer said. “Only I know how I feel, and I feel like I can compete and be a starter for the Texans. But they make their decisions. I respect that.”

Spencer remains focused on playing again. He said his leg is stronger than it was before the injury, and he is simply working to get back in football shape.

“Of course I’m going to play football again,” Spencer said. “I’ll find a job.”

A third-round pick in 2006, Spencer suffered a serious fracture to his tibial plateau in just his second start. He underwent surgery and had eight metal screws inserted in his knee. He has spent the past 22 months rigorously rehabilitating it.

Well, Spencer was right. He was signed by… the Carolina Panthers. Add in Nick Goings and Carolina probably has the most  former Pitt players in the NFL

June 19, 2008

Not DeGroat’s Fault?

Filed under: Alumni,Basketball,NBA — Chas @ 4:50 pm

There’s no disputing that John DeGroat was an absolute bust with Pitt. He never showed much in the way of skill and he seemed to have little confidence. In fact, in his final year he got worse the further into the season. The bizarre turnovers at the start of games because he would double dribble or pick-up the ball with no one near him. It was painful, even if he didn’t play much beyond a few minutes per game. Even that was enough to frustrate most fans who wanted Coach Dixon to just plant him on the bench and not let him start. Mop-up duty, maybe.

Still, given what DeGroat had overcome growing up, and how well he turned out, I rooted for him.

So when he suddenly seemed to put it all together in the CBA last year, that was just something great to read. And it seems to have opened the door to other opportunities.

DeGroat’s NBA audition comes with no guarantees. He is a long shot. DeGroat could get a shot at a free-agent camp after next month’s NBA draft, or possibly showcase his game with a team in the NBA’s summer league.

DeGroat’s agent, Oliver Macklin, who played for the University of Connecticut in the early 1990s, has heard from several NBA teams about his client, including the Lakers, Clippers, Celtics, Cavaliers and Sonics.

“I think John’s chances at getting a legit look are pretty good,” Macklin says. “It’s not like he’s an average CBA player, he’s an all-star. The teams that have contacted me love his energy. John doesn’t have to go to the NBA and be a superstar. He just has to play good defense and hit some open shots.”

Adds Macklin: “I think John has a good upside. The NBA Developmental League is an option and there were 22 NBA call-ups from the D-League last year.”

That’s tremendous. Great. But DeGroat himself says something in the story that makes no sense other than to take a shot at Coach Dixon.

Looking back, DeGroat says Pitt might not have been the best fit. He played sparingly his first season, but started every regular-season game as a senior. However, Pitt coach Jamie Dixon benched a slumping DeGroat for most of the Big East and NCAA tournaments.

“I really don’t know what happened,” DeGroat says. “I’m still on speaking terms with (Dixon), he’s a good coach, but he’s not the best under pressure. But, no matter what, he gave a kid from upstate New York a Division I shot.”

What does that have to do with how badly DeGroat played? There’s a little bit of self-deception it seems from DeGroat. Trying not to take much responsibility for his bad play.

It’s painful to watch him regress over the last few weeks. I’ve never seen such happy feet from a basketball player. He starts to shuffle his feet when he gets the ball, like he is going to do some sort of hesitation dribble-drive. Unfortunately he keeps forgetting to dribble. 2 turnovers in 5 minutes. I feel bad that he is having his minutes falling faster and faster, but he is doing it to himself by being so wound-up when he touches the ball.

I mean if he was going to make excuses, the least he could have done was go with something that related to his situation. Say he was looking over his shoulder afraid of making a mistake and getting pulled. Or something like that.

I still want John DeGroat to have success. He is more than a little diminished in my eyes, though.

Meanwhile, in the Pros

Filed under: Alumni,Football,Good,NFL — Chas @ 9:09 am

Mike McGlynn is ready to play for the Eagles, including having signed a 4-year contract. It’s very likely that McGlynn will continue for a while to be an offensive lineman playing at multiple spots. One day it may be guard.

McGlynn, a right tackle for much of his collegiate career, says Eagles offensive line coach Juan Castillo has told him he’ll likely play guard or center in the NFL. With two-time Pro Bowler Shawn Andrews on the Eagles’ right side, McGlynn likely will have to be a left guard if he hopes to start.

The next day he’s at center, snapping the ball to Kevin Kolb.

He is getting the positive press.

McGlynn knows what he’s up against, and also knows by now how much more time he’ll need to put in to gain the complete trust of meticulous offensive line coach Juan Castillo.

So each day during this Eagles’ organized team activity for rookies and first-year players, he just tries to soak up as much as he can from Castillo, who is the perpetual motion machine that has driven the line even before Reid arrived.

“So far it’s going good,” McGlynn said. “My goal is to play, but I just want to pick everything up right now, take one thing at a time, pick everything up, the offense, the techniques, then try to earn a spot on the team.”

And he’s got his cliches down. Good sign.

June 4, 2008

A Lost Regular

Filed under: Alumni,Fans,Uncategorized — Chas @ 9:07 am

My condolences to the Beiswenger family and the brothers at Delta Phi on the passing of Jared Beiswenger. A recent Pitt grad, passionate Pitt fan and a regular reader of this site.

“He was a die-hard Philly fan,” Placone said. “He went to probably more than 20 Phillies games this season alone, and he wouldn’t miss the Eagles on Sunday for anything.”

Placone also remembered how hard Jared took each loss that his favorite teams faced.

“It was impossible to even talk to him after a game was over,” he said. “He’d be too angry to even acknowledge your question.”

Luke Fidler, another one of Jared’s fraternity brothers, remembered Jared’s competitive spirit and hatred for losing.

“I’ll always remember going to Pitt basketball games with him,” Fidler said.

“He was the craziest fan I’ve ever been with at a game, and the Zoo definitely lost one of its biggest fans,” he said.

Jared always got his choice of seats at Pitt basketball games by arriving at the gate several hours before tipoff, Placone added.

“He liked to wear an Adidas headband, harking back to the Julius Page days,” he said.

He was planningto teach English in Peru via TEFL, and was supposed to be going in August.

May 28, 2008

Rubber Chicken Circuit Notes

Filed under: Alumni,Athletic Department,Fans — Chas @ 11:43 am

Dead period for recruiting. No organized practices permitted. Spring semester long past. That means it’s time for coaches and ADs to hit the chapter functions.

There’s the Mon Valley Panther Club holding its 25th annual banquet tomorrow. The three major coaches — Wannstedt, Dixon and Berenanto — are expected to attend.

A couple weeks ago, AD Pederson went to the Johnstown chapter’s banquet which returned after a 9 year break.

“These last six months have been pretty amazing,” Pederson said. “My first day here was the day we beat West Virginia (in football). A few days later we were beating Duke at Madison Square Garden (in basketball).

“We went through the tough injuries in basketball but (coach) Jamie Dixon did an unbelievable job of pulling everything through some tough times and getting us through a Big East championship,” he added. “(Coach) Agnus Berenato takes the women’s team to the Sweet 16, the first time in our history. Then, we had the only wrestler in the United States that goes wire to wire. Keith Gavin was the only undefeated wrestler in all of Division I wrestling.”

Both Coach Wannstedt and Offensive Coordinator Matt Cavanaugh were at the Central PA Chapter event last week.

He is confident in his university, his program, his team.

And, apparently, he sells that as good as anyone sells. Certainly, his first three recruiting classes have been applauded by the national experts, including the one two years ago that landed quarterback Pat Bostick from Lancaster, running back LeSean McCoy from Harrisburg and even William Penn offensive lineman Greg Gaskins.

Cavanaugh just watched the coach work the room Wednesday at Heritage Hills.

“I know what’s in his heart,” Cavanaugh said. “He said, ‘The one goal in life I’ve got remaining is to bring my alma mater back to national prominence.’

“He’s got no aspirations of going back to the NFL. He doesn’t want to work at another university. He wants Pitt to get back on top and that shows in everything he does. How he motivates the team, how he recruits, how he handles the media, how he talks to alumni.

“I believe it’s going to happen.”

May 14, 2008

Basketball Notes, 5/14

Filed under: Alumni,Good,Practice,Recruiting — Chas @ 11:18 am

Not sure why there is still more new stuff on basketball than football these days.

I’m sure the Pitt coaches are working on this. As are the strength and conditioning and nutritional consultants.

With PF Sam Young set to return for his senior season, Pitt’s priority is ensuring that 6-10 C Gary McGhee has the kind of offseason that turns him into a consistent rotation player. McGhee reached double figures in minutes only three times as a freshman, including in a solid game against South Florida when the Panthers were just beginning their recovery from injuries to SF Mike Cook and PG Levance Fields. McGhee will need to be better conditioned and more assertive to expand his role, but if he can play 12 to 15 minutes per game, the Panthers will be able to show opponents a different look.

It would be good not just to spell DeJuan Blair but also allow Pitt to throw a bigger look at teams with Blair and Young being able to slide to the 4 and 3 spots on the court, respectively. Getting McGhee more minutes and in the rotation consistently seems to be likely so that he can step in as a starter in his junior year.

Mike Cook (with Coach Dixon and Pitt’s help) formally submitted his appeal to the Big East for a 6th year of eligibility on Monday. The Big East then passes it on to the NCAA which will rule on it. A decision isn’t likely until sometime in June.

The NCAA has gotten a little more lax with medical waivers, but one question remains: where’s the available scholarship if he gets the clearance? Either Pitt knows that one of the present recruiting class is going to miss qualifying or there’s another transfer/player quitting coming soon.

Aaron Gray was back at Pitt and PittsburghPanthers.com has a Q&A.

What brings you back to Pittsburgh for the week?

“I love it here. It is a great situation for me. I am able to come back and work with the strength and conditioning coaches. I can work with players like DeJuan Blair and Austin Wallace and help them improve.”

Do you still try to stay in contact with your former teammates and coaches?

“Absolutely, I use them for advice and help all the time. Coach Dixon came out to training camp last year too. They have continued to be great teammates and coaches since I have been with Chicago.”

Were you able to catch any of Pitt’s Big East Championship run this spring?

“Oh yes, they had me on speakerphone the whole time. It was as if I was celebrating right there with them.”

Via NBE Basketball Report, this bit on a possible Pitt recruit having issues.

A St. Raymond high school basketball player was arrested Tuesday afternoon after an altercation with a coach during a team meeting at the school, according to a police source.

A witness said junior Kevin Parrom punched Ravens head coach Oliver Antigua in the face after the two had a brief argument in the locker room.

A person close to Parrom said the player was provoked by Antigua.

No charges have been filed and Oliver Antigua is the brother of former Pitt player and present (for a little longer) assistant coach Orlando. The small forward has offers from Pitt, Rutgers, WVU, Xavier and others.

May 6, 2008

Just Trying To Make Their Way

Filed under: Alumni,Football,Good,NFL,Players — Chas @ 1:08 pm

Not sure how Chris McKillop’s tryout with the Jets went over the weekend. The former Pitt DE was trying out at Linebacker. It’s as much about making an impression to be invited back in the summer and to maybe create some additional interest from other teams.

That seems to be the result for Mike Phillips after his Browns’ tryout. He didn’t get invited back.

“It was a great opportunity to be in front of a lot of scouts,” Phillips said. “I think it opened some doors for a lot of things to happen. I have to keep working and go from there.”

Phillips has no intention of ending his dream. He’ll confer with his representation at the DeBartolo Co. and see if he can get a chance with another team.

“I’ll have to talk to my agent and look at the rosters of other teams and what they really need,” he said.

One possible destination for Phillips is Chicago. He and his agent weighed offers from the Browns and Bears before deciding on the Browns.

’’When I talked to my agent, we felt like the Browns were the better situation,” he said. “Things didn’t work out the way we thought.”

Which of course, does go back to taking advantage of the educational opportunities at Pitt. Just ask Ben Pryor.

Pryor, a highly sought Western Pennsylvania high school football player in 1976 who played in four college bowl games, is enjoying his career in education. He received his degree in elementary education in 1998 and his Masters in 2000.

“It’s going well in this change of careers, and I enjoy what I am doing,” said Pryor, who previously worked in the steel industry.

A focus of Pryor’s daily responsibilities is working with ninth graders entering Roosevelt High, a school of approximately 2,800 students in Prince Georges County, a Washington suburb.

On May 17, Pryor will be one of eight inductees during the A-K Valley Sports Hall of Fame’s 39th banquet at the Clarion Hotel in New Kensington.

Pryor had tremendous success in both high school football and basketball. He was named first-team all-state, a Parade Magazine All-American and an adidas All-American in 1976, and played in the 1977 Big 33 all-star football game.

There are always other things after football.

April 6, 2008

Dorsett and McCoy

Filed under: Alumni,Football,Good,Puff Pieces — Chas @ 10:56 pm

I haven’t written about the press conference/PR thing with Tony Dorsett and LeSean McCoy to this point, simply because I hadn’t had time to watch the video.

A couple thoughts before I get to the news write-ups.

Watching the interspliced clips of Dorsett and McCoy really makes me miss the old Pitt colors. But then anytime I see old clips I probably think that.

I got a kick out seeing how they dressed McCoy for the event. I have to imagine he was thinking something like: They put me in a collared shirt, pulled the logo sweater over my head and put me in khakis — make me dress like I’m Bobby friggin’ Knight — for this. And Dorsett shows up in jeans and sweatshirt???

There are times when it seems like it’s too much, too soon. That it is all but setting things up for something to go horribly wrong and then to read one of those “what happened to..” articles 5 to 10 years later. But then to hear Dorsett talk about how nothing is assured and how much work is still needed. That was reassuring. As much as this was PR and singing the praises of McCoy — which Dorsett was happy to do — there was an element of reminding that there is plenty still ahead.

That element was caught in part in this story.

“He’s got to pass the test of time,” Dorsett said. “He’s go to prove himself all over again, starting again (this coming) season.

“But if he’s here for three more years, which we’re all hoping he is, he has a darn good chance of doing it. There are a lot more records that I hold here, but I hope he breaks them all. He’s going to bring back a lot of focus to this university.”

The prominent theme, though was the similarity of the two on the field.

Greatness is greatness, and we can see right now he’s a diamond in the rough,” Dorsett said. “I admire what this young man has been able to do. He can be one of the more exciting running backs in college football.”

“I say this is a special time because this is a special young man,” Dorsett said. “I’ve watched him play. Comparisons are just comparisons, and I hate to compare someone to myself … but this is the first guy that I’ve seen that reminds me of Tony Dorsett.”

McCoy rushed for 1,328 yards on 276 carries last season, averaging 4.8 yards per carry. Dorsett saw slightly more action as a freshman, when he rushed for 1,686 yards on 318 attempts while averaging 5.3 yards per carry.

“I don’t know where he gets it from,” Dorsett said. “I don’t know where I got it from, but I saw him jump through a hole one time in one of the games and he just threw a stutter and he took off like a blur and I said, ‘That’s Tony Dorsett.'”

McCoy was well composed throughout. As is typical, he handled the media with smiles. He spoke a lot of respect and seemed quite humbled by the comparisons. He was also very careful in his answers, definitely hesitant to say too much about how he sees the comparisons.

Asked how he would compare himself to Dorsett, McCoy’s face contorted in obviously deep thought.

He struggled twice to begin a sentence.

That was when Dorsett swooped in, saying, “Let me answer that for him, LeSean is LeSean. He is his own player. … We can see that his upside is so very large. He has a lot of things that he can accomplish. Comparing him to me, no, he is LeSean, let him be LeSean.”

And McCoy looked very relieved for the save.

Dorsett also mentioned the hope that McCoy would be at Pitt 3 more years. Something that seems highly unlikely if McCoy keeps doing what he’s been doing.

April 4, 2008

Former WR Update

Filed under: Alumni,Football,NFL — Chas @ 1:21 pm

Antonio Bryant is still around. He’s signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Jon Gruden needed WRs badly.

“Hopefully, one of our young receivers can step up. We’re going to need somebody to start hitting the ball out of the park consistently. We’ve added Antonio Bryant. Garcia played with him, McCown played with him and I did a lot of research on him. He’s got a lot of talent. He had a 1,000-yard year in Cleveland and he averaged 20 yards a catch with the 49ers in 2006. He’s had his problems sticking around, but he’s a talented, big player. He could be a really good player if he gets confidence and he trusts us. I’m excited to have him.”

Gruden doesn’t seem worried about his past — at least not publicly.

“I know some guys who have coached him,” Gruden said. “Walt Harris coached him at Pitt but (defensive line coach) Larry Coyer was on that staff. Jeff Garcia played with him in Cleveland. So did Luke McCown. So, we have an environment for him to take off. Whether he does or not will depend on him.”

Really, at this point it’s probably a low risk, high reward signing for Tampa. His other problems mean he wasn’t signed for a lot. He doesn’t have the contract or pull to be a real problem. If he doesn’t work or does disrupt, he’s gone. I’m hoping he gets it together, though.

As for Larry Fitzgerald, well, he’s a daddy according to the results of the paternity suit.

“My beautiful grandson is not a secret,” Mary Lou Nazario told me via telephone Tuesday. Reminded that it was April Fools’ Day, Nazario laughed and said she was dead serious that a Coconino County judge has issued an order confirming that Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald Jr. is father of Angela Nazario‘s baby, Devin Nazario Fitzgerald, who was born Jan. 1, weighing 7 pounds, 6 ounces.

On Wednesday, a court official confirmed to me the authenticity of a paternity document that came into my possession.

Angela filed a paternity suit against Junior last year.

Good thing he just signed that new contract with Arizona. The mother is a former Raiderette (recent and older photos on that link) in her late 30s.

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