Well, it’s been underway for a few days. A couple of practices. And, well, not much else to actually say that seems particularly groundbreaking.

The quarterbacks know they are in competition, but it is nothing personal.

“Competition’s healthy everywhere you go,” Sunseri said. “This, in particular, at our position, Pat knows it better than anybody. We’re also helping each other, so it’s more like a friendly competition.”

Sunseri said the position has gotten easier for him and that spending last season interacting and preparing with Stull was a major part of that.

Bostick, meanwhile, said the redshirt year allowed him to experience some things he should have when he was a freshman, when he was eventually thrust into the starting job after Stull broke his thumb.

“I got to sit back, prepare myself and get myself into the best physical condition as I can and see how Bill succeeded,” Bostick said. “It was huge being a part of that for me, and just getting back into it is awesome.”

But of course everything is pad-free and essentially non-contact right now. It’s getting the kids to do the basics and fundamentals.

Again, a lot of this was fiction because they weren’t in pads and the contact was minimal, but at least they got out there and the journey towards putting together a working depth chart is complete.

One other tidbit – Todd Thomas is coming in May and when he does, even though he was a big-time defensive player in prep school, Wannstedt said he is going to be a receiver. “He is too good at catching the ball and too good of an athlete and playmaker not to use him on offense,” Wannstedt said.

I would say, if the past is any indication, put that in pencil rather than ink. Until Thomas is actually in the practices, playing and getting chances where he fits on the future depth charts is up in the air. Plus, issues of injuries and the depth on the other side factor into it.

Then there’s the always more important issue of the O-line and depth chart.

The first-team offensive line Thursday had one minor surprise: Greg Gaskins was at right guard ahead of Ryan Turnley, but Wannstedt said the competition for that job will be ongoing and will involve a number of players.

“As far as guys like Gaskins and Turnley [and several other linemen], all those guys are interchangeable,” Wannstedt said. “What we are trying to do now is evaluate them once we get the pads on and then determine who are the six or seven best guys. It is tough to evaluate linemen when we are out here without pads on, though.”

And while there are a lot of players not practicing due to injuries and ailments:

Two of Pitt’s top receivers — Mike Shanahan (recovering from mono) and Devin Street (infection) — did not practice Thursday. Wannstedt expects Street to return to practice Saturday while Shanahan will remain day to day.  … A number of members of the secondary are out with various injuries: Safeties Jason Hendricks (shoulder), Dom DeCicco (toe) and Andrew Taglianetti (knee) are out for the spring, and corner Ricky Gary (undisclosed) is week to week.

Cam Saddler is trying to work his way into the depth chart at WR.

“The last couple days, we’ve gotten Cam the ball, and he’s been very productive. Cam’s time is now.”

Saddler was primarily a kick returner last year, averaging 25.3 yards on 25 returns and also catching three passes for 41 yards and a score.

That’s a long way from Dickerson’s 2009 stats, which included 529 yards receiving and 10 touchdowns.

But the explosiveness Saddler showcased at Gateway High School is still evident, even despite his injuries the past two years.

“It’s the best feeling in the world, just being able to show that I can make plays,” Saddler said. “Showing I’m capable of getting touches in games is real important.”

At 5-7, Saddler is one of the smallest guys out there. It’s great that he is running pain free and feels better than ever. The issue is the target he presents. I’ll be curious to read how Sunseri or Bostick are able to get him the ball when they get to more physical practices.

Early practice stories are essentially like getting some broth to start a meal. Very unsubstantial, but it gets you ready for more.

Two days before, it was Pitt’s pro-day. Not looking for a lot of draft picks from Pitt outside of tight end.

Dickerson, an All-Big East selection last season, posted a 4.4-second clocking in the 40-yard dash and ran near-flawless routes Tuesday during pro timing day at Pitt to enhance his NFL Draft stock.

Dickerson, who totaled 49 catches and 10 touchdowns in helping the Panthers record their first 10-win season since 1981, figures to be an early-round draft pick next month, according to several draft analysts, who compare him to Indianapolis tight end Dallas Clark.

Already, the New England Patriots and Arizona Cardinals have seemingly committed to adding Dickerson to their draft boards.

“I’ve been talking to almost everybody (in the NFL),” said Dickerson, who became the first Pitt tight end to be named first team All-America (Football Writers Association of America) since Mike Ditka in 1960. “So, it’s been hard trying to get a feel for which team will pick me up, but everyone has some interest.

“My interviews went well and we got along well. They (Cardinals and Patriots) use the tight end in a versatile way, so we’ll see what happens. I did everything they expected me to do at the NFL Combine, and I turned some heads.”

27 teams had reps on hand. Nate Byham is also looking forward to his opportunity in the NFL.

The other players like Adam Gunn and Bill Stull just want to make sure the scouts take note of them so they can at least get an invite to sign as a free agent after the draft. They hold no illusions that they will be drafted.

Today starts spring practice. Already we know that there will be some more competition at the center spot.

The “big” news of the day (which should tell you what a slow news day it was) is that Jack Lippert, a redshirt freshman defensive tackle from the Harrisburg Area (Central Dauphin), has been moved to center and will compete, at least according to Dave Wannstedt, for that starting position. This is a good development because, as we’ve discussed, center is a trouble spot in terms of a lack of depth, and by moving Lippert to center it means Greg Gaskins, who is the third best tackle on the roster, can stay at tackle. At least for now. Wannstedt said he likes Lipperts athleticism and his quickness and at 6-foot-4, 270 pounds, he has good size for a center.

If he can play it great. It is a somewhat surprising position move, since Lippert was one of the bigger gets from the 2009 recruiting class. Of course, DT is a position of depth, so it is not a bad choice for Lippert.

It really wouldn’t feel like spring (or even summer training camp) without concerns about the O-line.

Pitt also will try to replace two starting guards along the offensive line as well as two NFL-caliber tight ends.

In all, there are 11 starting positions that need to be filled, but Wannstedt said that is the nature of spring football as it is a time to reload and get ready for the fall.

“We [had] a big group of seniors so there’s a lot of opportunity for younger players, and most of these guys see this as an opportunity to get in there and an opportunity to play,” Wannstedt said. “Offensive line is the biggest concern. [Offensive line coach] Tony Wise has a challenging job trying to figure out not just the starters but the depth.

I mean, as much as I look forward to the season where I have no worries about the O-line other than fear of injuries — I’m not sure I won’t default to worrying about it from habit.

Then there is the guy putting it all together for the offense, OC Frank Cignetti who spoke positively about both QBs.

Sunseri was Stull’s backup last year and has long been a fan favorite.

“First of all, I like his mental makeup,” Cignetti said of Sunseri. “He’s competitive, he’s tough, he’s functionally intelligent, he expects to win. He’s a very good passer who can make all the throws. He can throw the ball deep, he can throw the intermediate route. And I like his mobility — not only can he play within the pocket, but he has good movement outside the pocket.”

Bostick has won big games in his career already (at West Virginia in ’07, at Notre Dame in ’08) and spent last year honing his game while redshirting.

“He has made tremendous strides,” Cignetti said. “When you talk about functional intelligence, he’s got it. Pat can think and react as fast as anybody, and that’s why probably why, in practice when I’ve been around, he completes so many balls. He’s a decisive decision-maker and he has tremendous leadership skills and the respect of all his peers.”

I also like what Cignetti said about making sure that Baldwin is not forgotten (if that’s possible) or wasted.

“It’s my job and my responsibility to make sure Jon gets his touches,” Cignetti said. “He’s legitimately as good a playmaker as there is in the country. We’re looking forward to increasing his production.”

Should be quite the information overload in the next week or two.

Same week the NCAA Tournament starts, spring practices get underway. I realize they have to get the practices in while school is still in session — that whole education thing — it just does not make it easy with everything with the NCAA Tournament.

SI,com’s questions for the Big East spring practices, centers on whether Pitt can dethrone Cinci — which even after 2 years of Cinci on top still seems odd.

The Panthers have their own holes. They must replace three starters on the offensive line as well as both tackles on the defensive side. More importantly, they need a successor for QB Bill Stull. Vying for the role: sophomore Tino Sunseir and redshirt junior Pat Bostick, who started as a true freshman in 2007 but sat out last season to improve his mechanics.

With Pitt, there’s also the matter of mental hurdles. Did this group learn from the three-point loss to West Virginia and the one-point loss to Cincinnati that kept it out of a BCS game? If so, the Panthers could be legit contenders.

The QB question is also the big spring question from Brian Bennett at ESPN.com. It’s not a revelation that this is Pitt’s headline theme for spring practices. It also is not the only big issue.

Both starting corners from a year ago have moved on, and it wasn’t exactly a position of great strength beforehand. Gary and Reed have playing experience, with Gary starting the final five games of ’08 and once last season. But Pitt is counting on junior college transfer and midyear enrollee Saheed Imoru to claim one of the starting spots. If Imoru lives up to his billing, this could turn out just fine. If not, the Panthers may have to scramble to find answers in their pass defense.

And as Paul Zeise points out in an extensive and must read — all of it — post, not the only issue with the secondary.

The secondary is a mess, an absolute mess, because of injuries so the spring is probably going to be somewhat of a wash for that unit. With Dom DeCicco and Andrew Taglianetti sitting out with injuries and the aforementioned Mr. Fields on a voyage elsewhere, there is going to be a lot of mixing and matching and just trying to get enough bodies in certain spots to make it through camp. Antwuan Reed and Ricky Gary and Saheed Imoru will start spring as the top corners and Jared Holley will start at one of the safety spots but beyond those three there are a lot of questions. Eventually, once the season starts the secondary, at least the safety spots, will be solid which means Gary, Reed and Imoru and guys like Buddy Jackson better have a big spring and show they are capable of holding down those corner spots.

Obviously this is opening up some big opportunities for players. Wide open and a chance to seize a pole position on the depth chart. There’s also the possibility come the summer of someone like Todd Thomas might end up as a DB rather than WR, given the glut on that side. Again read Zeise’s in full.

Lots to digest and probably get you in the mood for some crazy obsessiveness for every tidbit that comes out of spring practice.

You know, we can pretend that the biggest concern is replacing two starting cornerbacks, the depth at safety, the change at MLB, who the hell is going to be the center.

No. We all know the big question as far as position question is the QB spot. Specifically Tino Sunseri or Pat Bostick. Let’s get it done now. So the fact that ESPN.com’s Big East writer Brian Bennett teased his interview with Coach Dave Wannstedt to end last week has been awaited.

Wannstedt said it will be a competition this spring between Pat Bostick and Tino Sunseri. Bostick redshirted a year ago, and Wannstedt said he really learned a lot and showed great improvement in practice. Wannstedt also had high praise for Sunseri, the redshirt sophomore who was Bill Stull’s backup a year ago.

“He’s ready to play now,” Wannstedt said. “It’s his time. He understands the offense, and we’ve got a good feel for his abilities and what he can do.”

This spring, Wannstedt said, Bostick and Sunseri will split the reps evenly early on in practice, with Andrew Janocko serving as the third-stringer.

Barring multiple, horrific injuries there will be no way incoming freshmen QBs Anthony Gonzalez or Mark Myers are even going to sniff the field this fall. So, by all means, pine for their tantalizing untapped potential. Drool over grainy and choppy YouTube snippets of their performances in high school. Dream of what they might one day do in the Blue and Gold. Just please, do me this small favor. Don’t even suggest that either will have a shot at starting come August. We all know it won’t happen.

So let’s go directly to the questions and quoted answers on the matter:

Let’s talk about the quarterback situation, which is always a big deal. Where does that stand going into the spring?

DW: We’re better off than we’ve been in the past for a couple reasons. From a depth standpoint, we have Pat Bostick coming back, and I think the redshirt year has done wonders for him knowledge-wise, from a physical and mental standpoint. And the interesting thing with Tino Sunseri is, if you go back to last spring we opened up the competition between Billy Stull, Pat Bostick and Tino. So all three quarterbacks got equal reps throughout the spring. Then we got to training camp and made the decision to redshirt Pat. And Tino was alternating between first group/second group all through camp with Billy.

So, really we came out of camp where Billy was a little bit ahead of him, but Tino had gotten so much work with the first group on offense, as I look back on it, it was one of the better things we did to help his development. So he’s ready to play now. He’s a redshirt sophomore. He understands the offense and we’ve got a good feel for his abilities and what he can do. So we’ll see what he can do. It’s going to be a competition.

Then we have two really good freshmen coming in, and obviously you’re not counting on them. But we like Anthony Gonzalez from Liberty (Penn.) and Mark Myers from (Cleveland) St. Ignatius. Here’s kind of an interesting tidbit: They were both picked to play in the Big 33 game; one will be playing for Ohio and one for Pennsylvania. So at some point in the game, both quarterbacks in the Big 33 game could both be going to Pitt. That’s probably never happened before.

Will you keep Gonzalez at quarterback? He’s a versatile all-around athlete.

DW: We’ll see. That’s the plan right now and we’ll just have to see how it unfolds.

So going into spring, is Sunseri No. 1 on the depth chart, or is it officially even between him and Bostick?

DW: We have a walk-on kid, Andrew Janocko, who’s been here three years. All three of them will get work. We’ll split the work early with Tino and Bostick, but I think they’ll both have to go and show what they can do, and we’ll give them each a chance to go out and prove themselves.

Do you anticipate the competition going into fall camp like last year?

DW: I don’t think so. I think it will be cleared up pretty good this spring. But you never know. I’m anticipating that it will.

How do you want to read it? Bennett seems to think that Sunseri goes in designated as the guy at least technically the #1 or 1A on the depth chart. If for no other reason being Sunseri was the #2 last year behind Stull.

I have no clue. Nothing in the answer seems to make it clear to me who is favored. Clearly Wannstedt thinks Sunseri has the opportunity. Does that mean it is his to lose? Does it just mean that he will gets to go out with the first team on the first day of practice?

There is the reality that Bostick had a redshirt available while Sunseri didn’t so there was a logic in that for last year.

We just haven’t seen Bostick in almost a year throw the ball in even a scrimmage situation. Wannstedt was careful to praise both.

Coach Wannstedt wants this settled by the end of spring practices. I’m guessing that fans won’t see it settled until late-August — at the earliest

Just  22 days until spring practices commence.

Pitt starts spring practice on March 18 . The Blue-Gold Scrimmage or whatever they are going to do to mark the end is set for April 17. I really wish they would have started at least a week later.

I hate saying anything good about them, but West Virginia is doing it right. Start the spring practice on April 6 — the day after the NCAA Tournament ends. That’s just good planning. Attention fully on the football side. All basketball over.

A little more regarding Pitt’s first commit for 2011 and his visit.

Offensive lineman Cyrus Kouandjio and defensive linemen Darian Cooper and Kendall Patterson went with Collura to Pittsburgh. After touring the campus, they met with position coaches and went to the Panthers’ basketball game that afternoon.

“When we broke off into meetings, their tight ends coach was straightforward what he expects tight ends to do, blocking and running routes,” Collura said. “Right then and there, I had an idea. Coming in, I was thinking Pittsburgh where I wanted to go. That seemed perfect right there.”

On Monday, after reviewing Collura’s game films, the Panthers extended a scholarship offer and it did not take long for him to decide.

“Everything was going crazy in our household, my dad was calling all the family,” Collura said. “Two hours later, after talking with Coach McGregor and my dad, I decided to commit. It seemed like an obvious choice.”

The big name of note in the list of teammates that came with Collura to visit Pitt is Cyrus Kouandijo. Tons of offers for him already (including Pitt, USC and Alabama). A consensus 5-star recruit considered by Rivals.com as the #1 OT in the 2011 class — at a point when most recruiting evaluations are not ready. So that’s something else.

Another visitor from the weekend was Jameel Poteat (apparently the nephew of Pitt standout Hank Poteat — one of the few bright spots from Johnny Majors II) who had a nice time (h/t to Dan).

…Poteat was very impressed with Pitt.  Poteat told Peak that, “It was great.”  Poteat went on to say that he was very comfortable, especially with head coach Dave Wannstedt. Poteat got to also hang with former Bishop McDevitt and Pitt running back LeSean McCoy.

Poteat is rated by Rivals.com as one of the top running backs in the country and an indication of that was that he just picked up offers from USC and Florida. In the past 2 seasons, he’s rushed for close to 3,000 yards and scored 39 rushing touchdowns.

Poteat says that he hopes to come up with a final five by July.

Here’s some very encouraging that Poteat told Pike when talking about the Pitt program. “I had that feeling. It just feels like you’re at home and the coaches and the fans show so much love. My parents love it, too, and that’s a big thing for me. And I love what Coach Wannstedt is doing with the program and how everything seems to be going right.”

Poteat isn’t yet starred by Rivals.com but is listed as a 5-star and the #5 RB nationally by Scout.com. It could not have hurt to have a former BIshop-McDevitt RB, Pitt great and next year’s starting tailback for the Philadelphia Eagles, LeSean McCoy at the game as well.

At least Pitt won. I mean, losing to Le Moyne? That hurts worse than the average loss to a D-2 program which does happen. Michigan State and Ohio State both lost to such a couple years back. The problem for ‘Cuse is that Le Moyne is located right in Syracuse. That would be like Pitt losing to Point Park College.

So, Pitt struggled a bit with Sippery Rock as the team experimented with combinations and where to play people. This was not completely unexpected.

Dixon’s biggest concern after the game was the decision-making of the guards. Travon Woodall, who got the start at point guard, committed four turnovers. Starting small forward Brad Wanamaker had three.

“Our penetration and decision-making had been good in practice, but we really took a step back today,” Dixon said. “That was something we could have done better. Fifteen turnovers aren’t a huge number, but it seemed like a lot more. I thought we forced up some shots on our penetration. We played in a crowd too often.”

Dixon also was disappointed that his team didn’t secure the victory earlier. Pitt had an 18-point lead with 10 minutes remaining, but allowed Slippery Rock to cut the margin to seven with 1:31 remaining.

“We got it up to 18 or 20 and had an opportunity to pull away and just didn’t do what we needed to do,” he said. “That was what I addressed mostly after the game. The main thing is we’ll be a much better team our next exhibition game. We wanted to see where we’re at. We need to see where we are at next Sunday. This thing will be all about improvement.”

The game showed a solid debut by Dante Taylor who got in there and looks like when the games go, he will live up to some of the hype.

A good article explaining why faith in this team and the coaches is not misplaced.

His [Travon Woodall’s] confidence will grow the more he plays and he’ll cut down on the mistakes the more Dixon yells about them. But he’s the only one that’s going to thread the needle to Taylor and Miller when they’re running and Pitt needs them running.

Taylor will be fine. He’s very, very talented physically and he has the desire needed to maximize that talent. It will be a roller coaster, but it will be fun.

That’s where, if you’re a Pitt fan, you have to have faith in the process. The schedule is such that they might lose a game or two (or three) before they get Dixon and Brown back.

Yet the improvement in one week was remarkable (especially in Taylor). Wanamaker, Gibbs and Nas Robinson are going to be steady — if not spectacular — game in and game out. The foundation for molding a team that’s maybe 9-1 or 11-2 when they start to reintroduce Dixon and Brown should make things interesting.

Is it possible that there will be more angst over the basketball team and development than the football team this year?

Just looking at the experience of the individual players, it should be obvious that the backcourt will be expected to do a lot more than simply work the ball inside for the post players. Gibbs, Wanamaker, Dixon (when he returns), Brown (when he returns) and the new guy Adams are all guys that work more on the perimeter. (Yes, I know that Gilbert Brown plays small forward as well, but he definitely likes to post and slash to the basket — not play inside).

By contrast, the front court has only two players with any experience — McGhee and Robinson. After that it is heavy on the youth and raw potential with Taylor, Patterson (who may be a lot more like Brown insofar as he’s a guard/forward type), Zanna, Miller and Richardson.

Coach Jamie Dixon seemed to indicate that the backcourt will be very much the driving force — and will show a lot of different looks and combinations.

Coach Jamie Dixon is looking forward to playing with his guard combinations once senior Jermaine Dixon, the only returning starter from last season, returns to the lineup from a foot injury. Among Adams, Dixon, Gibbs and redshirt freshman Travon Woodall, Jamie Dixon believes he can develop a nice rotation where everyone is making a contribution.

“When we get Jermaine back, those four guys will be interchangeable,” the coach said.

“That’s going to be a strength of ours — our versatility. They can play off the ball and on the ball, and I think they’re all going to be good defenders. That’s encouraging. I think we’re going to have a good shooting group out of those four.”

The guards certainly carried the play last night. Brad Wanamaker, who will play guard and small forward because of the absence of the suspended Gilbert Brown, finished with 19 points. Gibbs had 17 and Woodall 11.

The combinations may seem almost random at times early in the season. If for no other reason, than experimentation and figuring out which players mesh best together on the court.

The comments from those at the scrimmage are most interesting to me.

They jibe strongly with the reports on how Chase Adams looks. He seemed to fit right into the Pitt team.

The much heralded Dante Taylor struggled in the scrimmage.

…Taylor finished with three points, three rebounds, one assist and one steal in 22 minutes. The 6-foot-9 Taylor, who played eight minutes on the Blue squad and 14 on the Gold for the short-handed Panthers, shot 1 for 7 from the field. “Dante is trying to figure out our offense and trying to find the times when to post,” coach Jamie Dixon said. “He doesn’t quite have that down yet.

It also had to make things difficult since Coach Dixon said that Taylor will likely be playing center rather than power forward for the team.

It’s all going to be a work in progress this season.

Tonight is the Blue-Gold scrimmage for the basketball team.

Pitt Head Coach Jamie Dixon uses the scrimmage to simulate a typical game day schedule. The 14-player team will be split into two squads. Pitt will play two 16-minute halves with normal media timeouts and a five-minute halftime break.

Assistant AD Greg Hotchkiss has tweated the Gold team:

Gold Team: Ashton Gibbs, Nick Rivers, Brad Wanamaker, Nasir Robinson, Dante Taylor, J.J. Richardson

And the Blue:

Blue Team: Travon Woodall, Chase Adams, Lamar Patterson, Talib Zanna, Gary McGhee (big men will rotate)

There will be lots of curiosity about the freshmen, especially the much heralded Dante Taylor — who was picked by the Big East media as preseason rookie of the year. The guy I will be most curious about how he looks will be senior transfer Chase Adams. The man who would be starting point guard.

NBE: What can you add to the mix that this team might not have had without you?

CA: I feel like I bring a lot of energy and passion for defense, not saying their defense has been bad in the past, but I really care a lot about getting stops and battling and fighting for loose balls. I think this group has a ton of toughness already and I think I add to that with my toughness and I bring a veteran presence to a team with a lot of young guys on it along with Jermaine, Brad and Nas.

Look forward to reports on the team.

The last practice was yesterday. Tonight is FanFest at Heinz Field. Unlike previous years there won’t be any practice to watch. All the other bells and whistles — autographs, music, cheerleaders, live media interviews, kids’ stuff — barely a half-speed practice.

“Tomorrow we have FanFest so we’ll get down to the stadium in the afternoon and give the guys a chance to get in the locker room and do the pre-game warm up and do limited work on the field. We’ll still throw the ball around a little bit and give them a taste of what it’ll be like come game time. So, I think we’re right on schedule at this point. I’m glad we’re not playing Saturday; we’re not by any means ready to play a football game. We have to clean some things up in all phases and we have to get a little better in all phases. We have time, and we will. But, I think we’re right where we need to be at this point.”

I’ll be curious to find out what kind of turnout will take place, especially with the weather being overcast and possible rain all day.

Coach Wannstedt also addressed the return game. Something Pitt struggled with last year.

On Aaron Smith and Cameron Saddler concerning punt return drills:
“I thought we started off the season doing a poor job with our return game in general. We ended up first in the Big East in punt returns, but we started off not very good and so we did spend more time with that and we tried to create more situations where they would have to make decisions and handle the ball under pressure, and they’re both doing a good job. Right now we probably have four or five guys that can do it, Aaron Smith and Cam Saddler would be the top two.”

Concerning kickoffs:
“We got Cam back on kicks, we’re working Aundre Wright, and we’re working Dion Lewis. We have Antwuan Reed back there. We haven’t finalized anything yet.”

Losing Saddler in training camp last year was a big hit to what was expected in the return game. As long as his ACL is healed and he trusts it, I am expecting him to have a significant impact in the return game.

(more…)

As for observations from the scrimmage, well that is where the beat writers’ blogs come into play. The posts are chock-full of good bits, and I’m not going to provide annotations of them. Everyone takes different things from them, and later we really find out what was foreshadowed.

The obvious thing that jumps out is that the scrimmage featured bad QB play all-around and Coach Wannstedt decided to just skip it.

The one thing you have to understand about a controlled scrimmage is that the play-calling can and will be manipulated by the coaching staff, which makes training camp scrimmages no different than the dog-and-pony show in the spring called the Blue-Gold Game.

So, for those hoping that the second scrimmage would create separation in the quarterback competition and force Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt to play backup Tino Sunseri ahead of starter Bill Stull, think again.

Wannstedt, after all, is the one calling the shots.

When it became evident that Pitt’s passing game wasn’t going well — Stull was 2 of 7 for 3 yards, Sunseri 4 of 10 for 36 — Wannstedt made it a day to focus on the running game. Smart move. Instead of Pitt fans walking away wondering why star receiver Jonathan Baldwin hasn’t caught a pass in two scrimmages, they marveled at the elusive open-field running of freshman tailback Ray Graham.

“Of the quarterbacks, I don’t think anybody really did anything bad,” Wannstedt said. “I don’t think anybody did anything to make you jump up and down, partially because of the limited number of passes we threw today and the emphasis being on the running game.”

Bostick was 3 of 4, but was working with 2nd and 3d teams. It seems he might be headed for a redshirt year at long last.

Bostick has worked exclusively with the second- and third-team offense this week, and it appears that he’s headed for a redshirt year. Neither Wannstedt nor offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr. has mentioned as much, always counting Bostick when talking about quarterbacks, but Bostick addressed the idea when asked about it Saturday.

“I’m open to it,” Bostick said. “I don’t know what they’re thinking. I can’t read minds. I’m not too concerned about it. I’m just concerned with getting better every day. Those decisions are out of my control. I go out there every day, try to improve. Whatever decisions are made, those are the decisions that are made. If the redshirt’s in the back of their mind, OK. If not, OK, let’s move forward. I just try to take it all in stride.”

No, not too much to figure whether to try and read between the lines or simply take at face value.

Zeise looks at seven items from the scrimmage. He really seems high on Graham because of his ability to make the big play running the ball, Aaron Berry has looked really good and the depth is really far better than it ever has in years (something Gorman also noted). Then there was this bit.

The right tackle position is the only shaky position on the offensive line and mostly because the starter is a sophomore (Lucas Nix) who needed a lot of work but spent the past four or five days watching with a leg infection. And even before he got hurt he was swimming a little bit, though trying to block Jabaal Sheard would make a lot of guys look shaky. There is no question, however, that Nix needs to get back and work his tail off over the next two weeks in order to get ready to play. If he does come on, the line will be pretty good as the other four guys, and in particular Jason Pinkston and John Malecki, are playing really well. And that is regardless of who emerges at left guard because both Chris Jacobson and Joe Thomas have played solid throughout camp.

Nix is starting to make his way back on the field, but the infection is scary. No one has uttered that dread word of locker room/athletic infections to this point (rhymes with laugh), but you can bet it is being monitored and watched closely. Just get Nix healthy and healed first, then worry about getting him back up to speed.

After a day spent shuttling around home improvement and paint stores arguing discussing color gradients over which I don’t really care and color choices for a Corian countertop, I’m glad to get back to blogging practice reports. I realize there might be a potential liability issue with the power tools and lawn tractors, but the profit margins would be huge for Home Depot or Lowe’s if they stuck a small bar right next to the paint or kitchen design centers.

The day after the Saturday scrimmage was very light, non-contact. So not much there other than Tony Tucker’s continued excused absence for “personal reasons.”

The status of redshirt sophomore defensive end is still unresolved, as he was excused for the sixth day of training camp to deal with “personal issues.” It’s not a disciplinary matter, and Wannstedt wasn’t sure whether Tucker will rejoin the team but said Tucker is welcome back.

“I don’t know if it’s going to work out or not. There’s been some personal issues going on with him,” Wannstedt said. “We’re trying to help Tony in any way that we can.”

The clock, however, is ticking.

“Obviously,” Wannstedt said, “it needs to be resolved here pretty quick.”

Well, the scrimmage seemed to resolve nothing in terms of the depth chart. Left guard is still a position that is “officially” still up in the air.

Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt said that the competition between Thomas and Jacobson will continue at least through this week because the two are so close.

“Physically they are really very, very close,” Wannstedt said. “Chris is still making some inexperience mistakes that Joe has not made. So in my mind it is a little bit like [safeties] Andrew Taglianetti and Elijah Fields, they are both starters, they are both capable, but if we were playing tonight, Joe Thomas would probably be the starter.

“But we have two weeks before we play so we will see, but Joe had a good scrimmage and it really right now is just experience versus inexperience.”

It’s Joe Thomas at this point. Experience matters more to Wannstedt. We all know that.

As for safety, Elijah Fields is apparently freelancing a bit too much for the coaching staff. That’s the only explanation for Andrew Taglianetti apparently getting the nod at the moment. Tags does not have the physical gifts or size of Fields, but he is more disciplined and much like Scott McKillop, just makes plays. Fields on the field gives Pitt better size in the secondary and speed, but if the coaches don’t trust that he will play smart enough and stick to his assignments he won’t get the starting nod.

Robb Houser seems to have re-established himself to be the starting center. Like last year, it’s the lack of anyone behind him that makes it an unnerving thing.

Q: How much depth is there at the center position? How big of a deal is it if Robb Houser goes down?

ZEISE: I’d say considering the back-up is a walk-on, Alex Karabin, there isn’t much. Not that Karabin isn’t a good player or capable, just that it speaks volumes that none of the scholarship guys they have can beat him out. Karabin is athletically pretty good, but he is a tad undersized and I think if Houser went down the coaches would consider moving John Malecki over to center and putting Joe Thomas into Malecki’s spot.

Which, in light of the way C.J. Davis played there when he had to move over there after Houser went down seems to be less of a concern. The problem is what that does to overall depth. The O-line still remains a very thin unit and losing depth by moving Malecki would mean if any other lineman went down, the drop-off would be that much more dramatic.

Especially since Lucas Nix has been out for a bit with a leg infection.

“I think that Greg Gaskins made a lot of progress last week. He closed the gap a little bit on Lucas Nix. It’s not Lucas’ fault, he’s hurt, but he has to get back with it.”

The kicking game actually seems to be okay. Dan Hutchins has been named the starting punter (no surprise), and is still battling Kevin Harper for placekicking duties. Some concern over Harper’s accuracy, but not his leg.

“There’s no question that Harper’s got the strongest leg. If we were attempting any 50-plus field goals, he gives you the best chance to make it because his leg is so strong,” Wannstedt said. “But, as we all know, field goal kickers make their money kicking between the 30s and 40s.”

I’m still picking Harper to get placekicker duties. He has been nearly as consistent as Hutchins in shorter yardage, but he is close. I just don’t see Wannstedt being very comfortable using two kickers depending on the yardage. He wants consistency in the units.

On to running backs, where Ray Graham did not fumble and had statistically the best day.

Graham, a 5-foot-9, 185-pound freshman tailback from Elizabeth, N.J., put on a show by picking up 152 all-purpose yards and scoring two touchdowns in Pitt’s second scrimmage of training camp Saturday.

“I’m real excited with what Graham did,” Wannstedt said. “Now, will he know what to do? Will he hold onto the ball and do all the other things to trust him in a football game? That is still up for evaluation, but the statement he made today is: ‘I have the ability to make guys miss.’

“He did some Shady moves out there today.”

At this point it is Dion Lewis and then Ray Graham for the two-deep at tailback.

Dan Mason appears poised to grab the middle linebacker spot — if not starting playing there a lot more than the coaches expected this season.

Another true freshman who made a strong case to crack the two-deep depth chart was middle linebacker Dan Mason, a Penn Hills High School graduate. Mason has been one of the standouts throughout camp and yesterday had a team-high six tackles, including two for a loss.

“People see if you work hard. I just want to continue to work hard and, if they want to play me [as opposed to redshirt me], then I would be OK with that,” Mason said. “I’ve been playing hard and I am getting it down mentally, so I think I should [play this season].”

Wannstedt said, “We played Dan Mason with the second unit today and he showed up. He is going to be a player, we know that.”

The beat writers both envision Mason playing middle and Adam Gunn moving outside to play with him. That makes sense to have the experienced Gunn out there with a playmaker like Mason in the best spot.

Nate Nix is happier playing at DE.

“Because of injuries we moved Nate to defensive end and he made some plays. After practice he asked me if he could stay at defensive end, and I said he could. Coach Gattuso is excited to have him.”

Given the depth all across the D-line, this is not a major move, but if it puts the players in their best spot to help and be their most productive then it is a good move.

Another jam-packed weekend of crap to do. Just getting the links.

Scrimmage, scrimmage, scrimmage. Effective list of the key remaining positional battles on the two-deep.

Cat Basket roughly predicts the final two-deep.

Good Q&A question about the secondary.

Those headaches of Nate Byham still haven’t gone away. Now referred to as concussion-like symptoms.

Practices have been brutal, but they are football players and always swear by them afterwards. Lots of bumps and bruises. More concerned with the fact that Shayne Hale apparently had a concussion and a couple others get listed with “headache.”

With good reason, there’s a lot of importance placed on the scrimmages in terms of positional battles, getting on the depth chart and not getting redshirted. Tomorrow is the next scrimmage, and yesterday’s practice seemed to reflect some of that preparation for spots still up for grabs and players trying to move up.

The running back battle is probably down to three: Dion Lewis, Chris Burns and Ray Graham. Shariff Harris, who really didn’t seem to be in the mix is unofficially eliminated from the chances of getting even 3-deep with his two week suspension for “disciplinary reasons.” No explanation given beyond that.

Two weeks. Hmm. That means he finishes after training camp ends. He could suit up for the opening game with YSU, but obviously he is not going to see any action.

Without any knowledge of the offense incurred or insight into Harris’ mindset, this seems set-up for Harris to transfer out of Pitt. He’s a redshirt sophomore with 3 years of eligibility remaining. I hear Liberty is fond of ex-Pitt backs.

Harris definitely has been a non-factor dating back to spring practice, when he had the best chance to grab the starting tailback spot — or at least be the second back. Instead it was Dion Lewis who grabbed the starting spot, and just has not let go. Chris Burns is probably second at the moment, but if Ray Graham can hold onto the ball he should be breathing down his neck. Harris is probably behind another freshman, Jason Douglas, by the time it is all said and done.

I don’t type this to say he should transfer or want him to, but the fact pattern looks rather predictable.

Sticking with the tailback spot, Dion Lewis appears to be getting closer to nailing down the starting spot as Wannstedt once more singles him out for praise in his opening comments after practice.

“We had about four or five guys that weren’t practicing yesterday or this morning that were practicing this afternoon. It was good to get those guys back. I think we’re starting to become a little healthier. As far as practice today, I thought our receivers, especially Jonathan Baldwin, made some plays. I was very disappointed with their performance this morning and I pleased with the way they responded. Dion Lewis continues to make guys miss in the open field and make plays. I like the progress that he’s made. Defensively, it was one of those days where you run 60 plays, 55 of them were right on and the other five we gave up some big plays. It’s a reminder that it’s a 60-minute game. It was very competitive today. It was a good practice, I was happy with the effort. We’ve had some good practices in pads and we got a lot of work done.”

The offensive line is where the most questions seem to remain. Center Robb Houser had two different practices in the morning and afternoon.

That said, after criticizing Robb Houser for a poor practice this morning, it’s only fair to give him credit when he plays well.

The senior center had a strong second practice, drawing praise and a fist bump from offensive line coach Tony Wise twice, the biggest after his downfield sprung Aundre Wright on a reverse for a big gain.

Houser playing well and consistently is vital for Pitt. He is not only the lone true center on the team, keeping him out there increases Pitt’s overall depth on the O-line.

The other spot still in question on the O-line is Left Guard between Joe Thomas and Chris Jacobson. They have continued to split 1st team reps, and there seems little separation between them. Coach Wannstedt has said they will split the reps on Saturday’s scrimmage and the performance in that scrimmage will be the final test to make a decision.

Lucas Nix, the starting right tackle is still out with an infection on his leg. Erp.

Jared Holley is making noise to be on the field at cornerback.

“That’s the plan,” Holley said of his strong summer. “I hope that this camp has shown the coaches that they can trust me.”

The plan is working. Holley is pushing sophomore Antwuan Reed for the fourth cornerback spot behind senior starters Aaron Berry and Jovani Chappel and redshirt junior reserve Ricky Gary.

Regardless of his role, Holley will provide valuable depth in a secondary that will face some elite receivers, including Mardy Gilyard of Cincinnati, Mike Williams of Syracuse, Golden Tate and Michael Floyd of Notre Dame and Naaman Roosevelt of Buffalo.

Holley’s scrimmage interception came while playing safety. His versatility will enable him to see time in both the nickel and dime packages.

“Holley is playing extremely well,” coach Dave Wannstedt said. “He’s got a real feel for making plays. We are trying to get him on the field.”

Otherwise, for a lot of the other players it is just about the practices and getting better. Stull didn’t seem to have a bad day, overall. The O-line seems to be getting more cohesive, the defense is still nasty. The D, however, did let several big plays happen after appearing to have things contained — as Coach Wannstedt had noted in his opening comments.

On injuries, Safety Elijah Fields and Tight End Nate Byham returned, but TE Dorin Dickerson is still dealing with a hamstring problem.

Really looking forward to two-tight end sets this year.

Q: With the new addition of offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr., and with the running game taking a hit with the loss of LeSean McCoy, are the tight ends (Nate Byham and Dorin Dickerson) going to play a bigger role in the offense this year?

ZEISE: Yes. Cignetti has said as much on many occasions. And early in camp — before Byham and Dickerson were both injured — it reflected as much. He knows these guys are two of his best players and he said he wants to make sure they both get enough touches to have an effect on every game. Byham will also play a big role in the running offense because he has developed into an excellent blocker.

The key to using Byham and Dickerson will be trusting the QB to throw the ball over the middlle. Cavanaugh/Wannstedt preferred the sideline, screens and bubble screens since it meant less risk of an interception if the pass was errant.

Another of what is hoped to be many pieces on Greg Romeus and Jabaal Sheard as one of the best pairs of DEs in the country.

“It is definitely different,” said the 6-foot-6, 270-pound Romeus, who was named second-team All-Big East last season. “So we know that we are held to a higher standard. At the same time, we know that as hard as we go is hard as everybody else is going to go, so we have to set the tempo, but that is a good thing.

“The key is, they can’t really double-team either of us, and if they run to [Sheard’s] side I’ll make plays, and if they run to my side he’ll make the plays. It helps us both a lot because they’ll have to pick and choose how they want to block us.”

Romeus is rated as one of the top defensive ends in the country and is listed as one of the top defensive line prospects in next year’s NFL draft even though he has another year of college eligibility.

At the other end of the line, Sheard, who is 6 feet 4, 260 pounds, is every bit as fast and quick as Romeus and probably a little more refined as a player.

So many potential playmakers on defense. There’s a good reason to expect a lot from the defense this year.

Late start today. Too many offline responsibilities and matters to attend.

Not that it mattered as much as practice yesterday was uneventful.

Getting the daily QB stuff out of the way. Coach Wannstedt naming Stull the starter is a full AP story making the media wires. Nothing new there, though, Bob Smizik sees a short leash for Stull.

I’m not sure I agree with his point that it had to be done since Stull played best in the spring practice. And I’m not sure I believe Stull has a short leash. What I do find myself agreeing is his point that Stull would be ill-suited to come on in relief in a game. I think that if Stull loses the job or keeps it, Pat Bostick stays the #2 QB. I can see Sunseri being put as the #1 guy and Stull down to #3 and vice-versa. Bostick at this point, and Zeise alluded to it in a Q&A, is the best choice at back-up. He’s done it. He’s probably the most comfortable of the three to do it in a live game. That’s probably the only route available to Bostick at the moment to get the #1 spot. He would have to come in for a yanked Stull and grab the job.

Coach Wannstedt confirms what I already thought, that he has Dion Lewis as the leading candidate to be the starting tailback to date.

“As far as yesterday and Dion Lewis, it’s easy to watch a scrimmage from the sideline. You see one guy make a run, and you really evaluate how his technique was, and how he was during those 32 plays. Sometimes what you see in one or two plays might not really be the true evaluation. But Dion Lewis did some good things.”

It’s a simple equation. No fumbles (Graham is having that problem) plus running better than Chris Burns minus Douglas and Harris having injuries hamper them equals Dion Lewis.

Craig Bokor has been a Pitt player for longer than Bill Stull has, and it seems like Stull has been here forever. Now Bokor has his academics and priorities in line and will finish his final year.

Today, Bokor is a chiseled 260 pounds. That’s a long ways from 330, and he overhauled his approach to academics, as well. He spent a semester at Valley Forge Military Academy after high school and will earn his diploma (legal studies) in December with the possibility of becoming a lawyer.

“I made some bad academic choices early in my career here, when I thought college football was all about football,” Bokor said. “It’s not. It’s about becoming a better person.”

No. No. No. No. Not a lawyer. Don’t do it.

Jonathan Baldwin gets a puff piece devoted to his efforts to improve in the offseason.

“I knew that I didn’t do enough last season and I wanted to set the tone for this season right away,” Baldwin said about his offseason workouts. “I knew that to do more than I did last year, I’d have to do more on my own in the offseason. I wanted to work with the quarterbacks and get our timing better. I just wanted to get better.”

By all accounts, Baldwin got a lot better in the offseason.

He has been one of the most dominant players in Pitt’s training camp. and there have only been a few practices in which he hasn’t done something special.

Well, he did a lot of that last year in training camp. This year, though, it isn’t just the spectacular. It is the domination.

This bit on the linebackers dealing with an interception drill amused me.

The Pitt linebackers surely had some jammed fingers and sore hands after their interception drill. Former Panther quarterback Rod Rutherford, a first-year graduate defensive assistant, was firing left-handed lasers from about 10 yards during the drill. The linebackers dropped back and then reversed field to catch Rutherford’s offering. Adam Gunn and Shane Murray were among those who, somehow, managed to hold on to the passes. More frequently, Rutherford’s rockets whizzed through the hands or bounced off the chest of the grimacing linebacker. For sure, in the real games, it will be easy. They will not face any harder-thrown balls all year.

The linebacker depth chart is getting closer to being solidified, it appears.

Q: I read your take on the middle linebacker. What about the outside linebackers?

ZEISE: Right now Greg Williams has been one of the best players on the field. Well, besides the two defensive ends and Mick Williams who are in another stratosphere right now. But Williams is at strongside linebacker and he has played extremely well. He’s clearly taken the next step as coaches hoped. Max Gruder and Shane Murray have battled at weakside linebacker but it seems as if Gruder has been consistently ahead. Murray is still coming back from a knee injury and they’ve limited him some. Both look capable of getting the job done. The other guy who has really played well is Manny Williams and if he continues to progress, I think he’ll get into the mix at weakside linebacker and perhaps Murray could move to strongside behind Greg Williams.

At the risk of sounding Wannstedtian, the inexperience at the linebacker spots is still a bit worrisome, but the athleticism and potential of the group is exciting.

The beat writers have spoken. Both Kevin Gorman and Paul Zeise have blogged that they are done with the whole QB issue. The matter is settled until after the season has begun and the whole thing is moot.

First, Gorman:

Are you going to bench a fifth-year senior quarterback with a 9-4 record in 13 career starts in favor of a redshirt freshman who has never taken a snap in a college game after eight days of training camp?

The answer is a resounding no.

So, before we begin the recap of Pitt’s first controlled scrimmage, let us end the outrage over Wannstedt’s insistence Tuesday that Bill Stull remains the starting quarterback. Stull has struggled. Tino Sunseri has shined. Pat Bostick has been steady, solid if unspectacular.

What is Wannstedt supposed to do? Pitt fans would like to hear Wannstedt announce that he is opening the quarterback job up for competition. They would like to hear him say, “Let the best man win.”

Don’t hold your breath.

What Wannstedt is doing is standing by his starting quarterback publicly, despite Stull’s unimpressive play in camp so far. It says here that Wannstedt should be applauded. Now is the time to build confidence in your quarterback. The season opener is less than two weeks away.

The message has been served. Offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr. has made it clear in the quarterback room that there is open competition. Stull knows this, as do Bostick and Sunseri. It’s as simple as this: perform and play, struggle and sit. But training camp is not the time to, as Cignetti likes to say, make such decisive decisions.

Come September, it’s a different story.

Perform and play. Struggle and sit. Win or lose.

And Zeise:

The only comments I will make is this — Pitt did indeed win eight games (Pat Bostick started the Notre Dame game) with Stull at quarterback and the only of their four losses you could pin on him was the Oregon State loss. Two of the other three losses (Bowling Green – way too conservative early – and Rutgers – a really bad defensive game plan) probably fall more on the coaches shoulders than anything else and it was Cincinnati’s year and they seemed to get every bounce in that game.

Now, Stull wasn’t great in those losses but he wasn’t the reason they lost, either. There is no question that the Panthers can win with him at quarterback, particularly if he improves some from where he was at in the second half of last year.

But like I said, when the head coach says “this guy is our starter”, that’s good enough for me to move forward. I would assume that Bostick will be the back-up because I have a hard time believing that they would throw a redshirt freshman to the wolves in the middle of a game or halfway through the season if the starter is gets hurt.

So with the quarterback position settled (at least in the mind of the only person whose voice matters…..), here 10 other observations/analysis from today’s scrimmage……

I guess they both have gotten a little tired of the e-mails and questions about it as well. From their perspective, it must be a little tiring. It’s the one aspect they get asked about. I’m guessing they are getting a fair amount of outraged and frustrated responses to their reports and answers they give. They don’t get to make the decisions, but their job is to report on the Pitt team. Instead they are repeatedly answering the same questions about the same spot. Something they have no control over, no influence and it certainly must put a strain on their dealings with players and coaches if they are continually focusing stories and posts on that one portion.

Plus, it must get a bit tiresome.

Stull will be the starter when the season starts. They are acknowleding, at least, that if he still can’t get to a point of mediocrity in the season then things likely will change. Even with Coach Wannstedt having the final say.