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.

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[EDITOR NOTE: Crap. I thought I put this out before taking the kids to camp and going to work. Nope. Still sitting in draft mode. So, it’s late and dated by 12 hours but nothing else to do but push it out now.]

Padless. No contact. But still, camp is open and that means one step closer to actual Pitt football.

Let’s do this with a link run through and then note some actual things from camp.

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It had to figure, right? Pitt decides not to do a spring game and the weather was absolutely perfect this past Saturday.

Well, from the talk and some reports the Field Pass event was a success. Pitt had more people than they expected sign up and attend the event. I think if they had announced the event at the same time they made the announcement not to have a spring game, the reaction might have been better. Including from me.

Seems, though, that Pitt is at the start of a trend. Or at the very least a debate on the merits of spring games. For programs that will pull in over 30,000 fans for a game, it’s a no-brainer. For other programs it becomes a trickier decision, much more about what the coach and the athletic department feel is needed.

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No real theme to the stories. Basically some of the ones that have piled up in my browser tabs that need to go.

The pads came off for yesterday’s practice per NCAA spring practice rules. Given the number of players banged up or sitting out practices for injuries, that seemed like good timing. The good news is that Isaac Bennett is returned, but is going to be limited in practices. At this time of the year, it is hard to say what are real injuries that would keep a player out for games and what are little things that they are just being careful not to aggravate when the season is five months away.

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At least for the rest of spring practices.

It’s been quite a few months in the offline world. Not necessarily in a good way. That’s really all I want to say about the latest gap in posting.

When last I posted on football it was about the running back position. About how there was depth and lots of good feelings at the spot. Naturally that couldn’t last.

Pitt running backs James Conner and Isaac Bennett will miss the final five practices of the spring session because of injuries suffered Friday, the university announced via social media.

Conner, a rising sophomore, sprained his left knee, while Bennett, a senior, sprained his left shoulder, the team posted on Twitter.

The injuries are not expected to prevent them from being ready for offseason conditioning when it begins in May, the team said.

Bennett and Conner combined for 1,596 yards rushing and 15 touchdowns last season.

Conner left the indoor practice facility on a golf cart with his knee wrapped in ice. He had an MRI, which revealed no structural damage.

Not long after Conner was injured, Bennett injured his shoulder. He watched the remainder of practice with his arm in a sling.

Yes, it could have been worse. Both with sprains. Not tears or breaks or anything else.

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I guess the only question I have is, why did they decide to work on this now?

While quarterback Chad Voytik goes through his first spring as the presumed starter, sharing snaps equally with Trey Anderson, he is working on cleaning up mechanics in his throwing motion.

“My stride length is a little long,” he said.

He said Chryst noticed it, but Voytik said he has been aware of it since high school.

If Voytik’s accuracy suffers in practice while making the changes, he isn’t worried.

“There are a lot of days before the first game,” he said.

Chryst said perfecting the details can make a difference.

“You have to teach what to do,” he said. “But how-to is important. That’s where you gain an edge.”

And by now, I mean why didn’t they work on it any time in the previous two years? Yeah, it beats deciding to fix this sort of thing in the fall, but Voytik is a redshirt sophomore. There was no coaching change during that time to throw any work on it off.

You would think that the time to work on it would be earlier when there is a lot less pressure and plenty more time to get it straightened out. This isn’t exactly the giant hitch in the throwing motion Pat Bostick had, but it just seems odd that the coaches waited until now to have him work on it. I guess Chryst being a lot closer to what the QBs are doing this year must have decided it wasn’t something that should be left uncorrected any longer. Well, as long as it is all taken care of before the end of August.

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Offense is what everyone notices. It’s always the focus of stories. Especially in the spring practices where contact is more limited, so it is easier for the skill positions to stand out.

It doesn’t feel this way for this spring. Even with all eyes on Chad Voytik. Even with the annual angst concerning the O-line. No, the questions, concerns issues of depth all seem to be on the defense.

It’s replacing the irreplaceable Aaron Donald. It’s the half the DBs being new starters. It’s the questions at the defensive end spots. And without any obvious stud players coming in this fall, it is about seeing who is developing this spring.

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I’m not saying Coach Paul Chryst does his level best to minimize any hype and attention to football in the spring, but cancelling the Blue-Gold Scrimmage and having the first practice on the same evening as Selection Sunday. Well, it’s hard not to make some inferences.

Between my absences and basketball season, football talk has gotten a short shrift from me. Not that there has been much beyond speculation for most of the last month. Still, there were some items.

Bryan Murphy and Mark Giubilato have left the team, though the two will remain at Pitt to finish their academics. Both will be seniors. Some attrition was expected simply because the scholarship numbers weren’t adding up correctly.

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Lots of stories about the defense abound. Very little about the man in charge, Matt House, but that’s my problem.

Time to run through what’s there.

At the defensive end position it looks like Ohio State transfer David Durham is putting himself solidly in the starting spot. He started out at OSU as a DE, but moved to fullback. Now at Pitt, he’s back at DE.

Durham said he expects the defensive line to increase its presence in opponents’ backfields this year. But he also said that, especially against Boone and other mobile ACC quarterbacks, he may have to pull back that aggression a bit.

“We have to know when we can turn it loose,” he said. “We do face a lot of mobile quarterbacks in this league, and that’s a challenge. It’s a challenge when you play spread teams because you have to be able to, not rein things in, but be smart.”

Through a week of training camp, Durham said the little details — footwork, play calls and fundamentals — have been his focus so far. He credits new defensive ends coach John Palermo as having a big impact on his game the past six months.

Ultimately, Durham is ready to finally get his chance on the field Sept. 2 in Pitt’s opener against Florida State.

“I’m hungry, man, I’m hungry,” he said. “I just come out every day and try to be the best player I can be for this team.

Sitting out a year as a transfer can do that to you. With a name like Durham, it’s just a coincidence that he is a North Carolina native.

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Justin let me know that word is out that Todd Thomas is at practice. Cannot link to sources since I am not at my computer.

Obviously there will be more later. But for now the waiting and worrying that this drama would drag or that if it went any longer Thomas would never return. Well, that is finished

Closer to full pads. Closer to full contact. The shoulder pads went on and the effects of three straight days of practice are starting to hit the players.

Freshman offensive tackle Dorian Johnson said after practice that he actually felt better following the shoulder pads-only practice than he did after the non-pad practices.

“I don’t feel as bad as I did yesterday,” he said Thursday afternoon.

Of course, Johnson sputtered out that sentence in between gulps of air, and the freshman from Belle Vernon was more than a little winded as he walked off the field. Johnson has been “double-shifting,” working on the second team and third team at right tackle since Pitt doesn’t quite have enough tackles to fill three full shifts.

That doesn’t mean Johnson is bemoaning the workload, though.

“It’s a little rough, but it’s worth it. I get extra reps. I’m not complaining about that.”

No doubt because Johnson has his sights set on grabbing the starting right tackle job.

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I do have to keep reminding myself that turnover following a new coach — and radical change in demeanor — is nothing new. Maryland endured mass defections in Randy Edsall’s first year-and-a-half. As did Syracuse when they went from Gerg Robinson to Doug Marrone. Just to name a couple examples off the top of my head. In neither case was it where the on-the-field style was radically changed. It was the shift in the way the head coach handled the players.

It isn’t as simple as just getting rid of the guys that don’t want to be there. Or “changing the culture.” It usually just comes down to the simple truth, not all players like and respond to the same style of coaching. Just as not all coaches are comfortable with the personalities of all players. And when you radically flip styles there is going to be significant attrition.

It doesn’t (necessarily) mean the players are soft, quitters, whiners or can’t take it. Nor does it (necessarily) mean that the coaches can’t communicate, handle or manage different players. It’s just easier for the narrative and our own biases to frame it that way.

That said, enough already. I’m tired of this.
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Are we really expecting lots of information after the first day of practice? Real clues? In non-contact, padless practice? Don’t we know better?

Sure we do. It’s just that it has been an eternity since any semblance of actual sport. After the off-the-field police blotter stuff. Recruiting obsessions. Parsing every puff interview. It doesn’t matter. Give us the crumbs!

First practice in the books. No questions really answered. No depth chart issues resolved. From that, the only reasonable conclusion one can make is that Chryst is not the answer. A real coach would have everything resolved and set in stone. He would know exactly what players will be starters and where based on their unsupervised off-season conditioning program. It is time to move on to another coach.

The most noticeable thing from the first day of practice was that Todd Thomas was not playing with the first team defense at weakside linebacker (WLB). Instead, Mike Caprara was moved over from middle linebacker (MLB). There was no subtlety to the move and Coach Paul Chryst and Todd Thomas didn’t hide from its meaning:

“I did (need motivation), a little bit, little extra,” Thomas said after practice. “I am going to keep working hard and see how it unfolds. … That’s how the cookie crumbles. I have to go out and earn a spot.”

Chryst downplayed the existence of first and second teams in practice, even though there is a clear division during drills.

“Right now, everyone has to prove they can provide a role that you can rely on and play with,” he said. “Then, you find out how many of those guys you can use.”

Thomas said he used the demotion as motivation while knocking away three passes. He practiced with an attitude, getting physical in coverage with tight end J.P. Holtz and running back Rachid Ibrahim.

“The motivation worked, definitely,” Thomas said.

Chryst said before practice that Thomas can make an impact.

“I think he can give us some stuff, but he can play at a higher level than what he’s been, need him to. That’s not negative.”

He added, however: “I think he thinks a lot of himself, you know, and match it.”

Told after practice that Thomas used the demotion as motivation, Chryst said, “I would hope so.”

“You love the energy he brings. You love the competitiveness he brings. If you look around, a lot of players respond to Todd. That’s all good stuff.”

When Thomas is healthy, he is one of the best players on the defense. The problem has been staying uninjured. It has to be hard to want to bring it in practice when you were injured during practice as a freshman. Then njured again in 2011 which was slow to fully heal and delayed a return last year. So the temporary demotion right at the start of practice was a good way to get his attention.

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My questions concerns and thoughts on Pitt as the first day of camp begins and it is less than 28 days to FSU-Pitt.

Part 1 is here. Part 2, here.

8. Who is going to kick field goals? This is the one question that  has the potential, at the end of the year to look back at and wonder why there wasn’t more concern over this issue. Kevin Harper is gone. He never quite got that consistency to match the leg strength, but now what? Does freshman Chris Blewitt come in and beat everyone? There are two walk-ons in Brad Lukasak and Drake Greer battling with him. Pitt was 0-7 in games decided by 5 points or less the last 3 years.

9. Can the D-line dominate? As much as Pitt intends to rely on the defense, it really is about how the four guys up-front perform. All the optimism on defense stems from the D-line. Aaron Donald is going to face regular double teams. Tryone Ezell and Tyrique Jarrett absolutely have to take advantage of that to help create the pressure on the opposing offenses and take the pressure off Donald.

On the outside, David Durham — the Ohio State transfer — is expected to start and make the line stronger on the edge. This is the make-or-break year for Bryan Murphy who has been dogged by injuries and academic struggles. He’s now a redshirt junior and freshman Shakir Soto enrolled early and already made the depth chart.

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Part one of  is here. Just a list of some of the issues — and where they rank to me.

4. Offensive Line. You can’t talk concerns about Pitt for the last 10+ years without putting the O-line on the list. The fact that I have it all the way down here should be encouraging or terrifying. It either means there’s a lot of reasons for optimism or that there are so many other issues this one actually gets dropped this low.

Freshman Dorian Johnson will get the opportunity to seize the right tackle starting job from T.J. Clemmings and/or (fresh from his own one-year suspension) Juantez Hollins, but Coach Chryst is doing his best to hedge on that.

“None of us feel comfortable (with starting a freshman),” he said.

Chryst pointed out that Joe Thomas didn’t start as a freshman at Wisconsin, but he became an NFL first-round draft choice.

“On all true freshmen, you have to make sure that they’re ready, that it won’t hurt them and hurt their development.”

On the rest of the line, it looks surprisingly stable. Technically there is a battle at the center spot between Gabe Roberts and Artie Rowell, but Roberts was clearly the guy from the spring at center. Despite converting from a tackle spot.

I’m going with optimism. I like the job O-line Coach Jim Hueber is doing, and I feel confident that Coach Chryst and OC Joe Rudolph does more than simply say that they need the O-line to do well.

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