The offensive line, in preparing for Utah knows it will not be the same as going against the defense in camp and practices.

The philosophy for Pitt’s defensive line is to get off the ball and whip the offensive line straight up. Wannstedt’s defenses rarely blitz and, when they do, the blitzes are reserved for certain situations.

Utah, however, will bring extra guys from all different directions, and Wannstedt said he expects to see a steady flow of run blitzes, blitzes off the edge and stunts from the Utes. That is why he said he is glad the Panthers’ offensive line has had extra time to prepare for the game.

“They are similar to a lot of teams we will face in that they do a lot of fire-zone pressure and whatnot,” right tackle Lucas Nix said. “The whole thing is they will have eight [players] in the box the whole time, or at least we’re expecting that, and then it becomes a matter of picking up tendencies.

“They are pretty much an edge rush team. We will see a little bit of pressure from the middle, but, for the most part, they are going to bring strong pressure from the tight end side and try to get in the way of our bread-and-butter plays.”

Karabin added, “Since it is the first game of the year, they will come out with some different things, some things which aren’t expected, but we’re going to try and prepare for anything they can really throw at us.”

I would say the best comparison to how Utah likes to attack on defense is Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights are a blitz-happy team that attacks and brings pressure as much as possible. Corner-blitzes, safeties, overloading a side. That has been the style of Schiano’s defenses and it seems much like what Pitt will see from Utah.

(more…)

There’s a rhythm to training camp media coverage. The first few days is about how the players look, what the coaches are saying, and just general optimism. The players are without pads, and just doing drills.

Then the pads go on and the hitting starts. The reports are about what is happening on the practice field. Injuries, who looks good, bad, moving up the depth chart. How the units are looking.

As always, there are individual stories spaced in there. But at the end of camp. That’s when the individual stories dominate. It is all that is left for a while. There isn’t much more to write about practices. Depth charts are mostly set. It is really about counting down to the first kickoff.

That means most of the stories start focusing on individual players and the soft-focus puff pieces. Let’s hit them quickly.

(more…)

Before I can get to actual training camp, I need to clean out some browser tabs that rapidly accumulated over Big East Media Day.

Related to nothing, but a good laugh. A 1980s golf outing photo featuring Coach Wannstedt and Nick Saban.

If you want to judge which Pitt player was the favorite choice for the media to interview there are two options. One is to wait until you find an article that mentions which players got the most attention (“…the media’s most popular interview at Tuesday’s event — Zach Collaros and Dion Lewis tied for that award…”). The easiest metric, though, is volume of stories. Dion Lewis was the overwhelming option.

(more…)

It’s camp season for coaches and players.

Gary McGhee is in Akron for the LeBron James Skills Academy. That makes him one of the “counselors” to work with the high school prospects. For McGhee, the benefit isn’t just a chance to meet-and-greet with LeBron James while James is being stretched.

(Phil Long, AP Photo)

It also means playing against some of the best college players in games after the skills camp part.

It is McGhee’s second camp of the summer. He performed well in the Amare Stoudemire camp earlier.

Gary McGhee, 6-10 senior post, Pittsburgh: Coming out of high school–and even earlier in his Pitt career — McGhee didn’t look like much of a prospect, but thanks to continued development, he’s now a solid low-post scorer, a beast on the glass, a tough defender and a hustle guy that doesn’t require touches, all of which has the makings of a second-round pick in 2011 and eventually a solid pro, particularly due to his rugged frame.

Of course, while he is counseling, he might want to whisper in the ear of potential Pitt prospect Khem Birch about developing as a player.

Birch has seven big-time NCAA Division-1 programs who have already offered him a scholarship for the 2012-13 school year -Ohio State, West Virginia, Iowa, Pitt, Texas, Arizona and Providence -with more undoubtedly to come.

He spoke to The Gazette yesterday during a break at the exclusive LeBron James Skills Academy in Akron, Ohio; a dream week that came just after he helped lead Canada’s junior national team to a bronze medal at the FIBA Americas U-18 Championships in Texas.

But in spite of all the accolades and accomplishments, Birch can’t understand how he could be regarded so highly.

“I’m still shocked,” Birch said of his ESPN ranking. “I never thought I was that good.”

Birch was a shot blocking machine at the FIBA Americas tournament, averaging better than four a game while pulling down nearly eight rebounds a contest.

“I don’t know, I could have done better at the offensive end,” Birch said of his 5.8 points per game average. “To represent my country and come back with a medal, I’m really happy right now. But I learned that I need to get way better, I need to develop a more well-rounded game.”

I’m sure Coach Dixon will make an appearance at the LeBron camp at some point. Just like all the coaches do to be seen. Yesterday, though, he was in Indy to be seen with other coaches for an Adidas camp.

He also has to find a new video coordinator, as Rasheen Davis took an assistant coaching job at Xavier.

He has worked Louisville under Rick Pitino and for Jamie Dixon at Pitt, so I asked if he comes to XU with any particular lessons they imparted.

“With Pitino, it’s all about working extremely hard and improving every single day in whatever facet you’re doing. With Coach Dixon it’s about family about being there for one another. He stresses working hard but also having each other’s back,” Davis said.

Yet another Pitt assistant moving up the coaching ladder.

Want a puff piece to hype Talib Zanna? Here you go.

“The redshirt’s going to help me a lot,” Zanna said. “It’s going to make me learn a lot from offense and defense and get ready for next year.”

It seems to be paying off already, as he has been one of the top players in this summer’s Pro-Am league in Greentree. Through four games he’s averaging 12.8 points and 10.3 rebounds per game.

While that might be a surprise to some, the people who watched Zanna in practice last season saw this coming.

Former Pitt guard Jermaine Dixon compared Zanna’s natural abilities to a recent Panther great, saying, “If he works on his ball handling I think he can be as good as Sam Young. His rebounding is great, and he can shoot the ball.”

“I think that kid’s just going to be a pro,” Woodall said. “That kid’s unbelievable.”

Maybe in time. I’ll settle for serviceable with flashes of possibilities this year.

Newest Pitt verbal Lafayette Pitts may have been listed as an athlete or running back on recruiting sites, but Pitts makes no bones about where he wants to and likes to play.

Pitts made a verbal commitment to Pitt Satuday at its team passing camp, where he shined in showing off his coverage skills.

Pitt was the first to offer a scholarship to the 6-foot, 185-pounder, who picked the Panthers over Buffalo, Illinois, Iowa, Kent State, Maryland and West Virginia.

“I bring a little bit of toughness to the cornerback spot because I like to press,” Pitts said. “I want to stay close to home and they all feel like family here.”

Pitts played receiver and running back last season for the WPIAL Class AAAA champions, and also starred in the secondary and as a kick returner.

“He’s like the Energizer Bunny – he’s always on the go,” Woodland Hills coach George Novak said. “He can do a lot of things but he’s very natural at defensive back. He’s very competitive for the ball and a good tackler.”

No question Pitts is a solid player for Pitt and as a DB, fills a need spot. This is recruiting, though, and nothing ever occurs in a vacuum. Everyone wants to see whether this effects other players.

But perhaps, most importantly, Pitts’ commitment could swing a couple other Woodland Hills’ prospects — LB Ejuan Price and DL Quinton Jefferson – to stay closer to home and choose Pitt as their school. Both Price and Jefferson are piling up the scholarship offers — Price has nine offers to date and Jefferson 10.

“That’s what we’re hoping (that Pitts committing to Pitt helps keep Price & Jefferson local),” said Woodland Hills assistant coach Joe Lafferty told me prior to the Wolverines’ first scrimmage Saturday morning against Findlay.

Pitts said he committed to the Panthers to stay closer to his family and to home. He also said Pitt was always his favorite program.

“Pitt has a great program and Dave Wannstedt is one of the top coaches in the nation,” said Woodland Hills head coach George Novak. “Pitts is a very versatile athlete and is one of the best in the WPIAL and the entire state.”

Unanswered (or asked) is just how close Pitts is to Price and Jefferson. That would offer more insight into how much his decision holds any sway. Jefferson might decide on Pitt, but it may have as much to do with 2010 commit and his cousin Brandon Ifill.

Like Pitts, the other two are solid 3-star prospects. All of three of them recevied offers from Iowa and WVU. Price has offers from Michigan State and Ohio State as well. Jefferson holds offers from Illinois, Maryland and Wisconsin.

As a sidebar, you can bet that fans/alum of other schools are less than thrilled to read Gateway coaches openly hoping their players go to Pitt and any fawning given to Coach Wannstedt.

Speaking of fawning. Here’s a solid puff-piece on Coach Wannstedt. Native Pittsburgher. Check. Worked iron mills. Check. Great recruiter. Check. Pro style offense run. Check.

Still, Wannstedt believes he’ll take the Panthers to the Promised Land again. “Nothing has changed since that press conference,” says Wannstedt, whose team finished No. 17 in the final BCS poll last season. “In fact, enough things have happened recently to reaffirm what I said then.”

There is evidence to support Wannstedt’s beliefs. First, Pittsburgh is winning regularly. After three seasons in which the program went a combined 16–19, the Panthers went 9–4 in 2008, then produced that 10–3 mark last season. The Panthers were seconds away from the Big East title and a BCS bowl berth in the regular-season finale, but a one-point loss to Cincinnati foiled those hopes. That setback was followed by a victory over North Carolina in the Meineke Car Care Bowl.

Small steps, yet vital, according to one college football historian. “I thought 2009 confirmed that the program is moving forward,” says Beano Cook, the venerated analyst. “Now, the question is: Can they go from this point to a national championship? It would be difficult, but feasible. Things are more challenging today because they don’t have the high school players in Pennsylvania that they used to have. And, Pitt has to play a tough non-conference schedule. That’s imperative. And, to their credit, they are playing tough non-conference games.”

A pleasant enough read.

It’s here. Hopefully everyone had a good time with family — or at least faked it.

Let’s hit the links as I still have plenty of family things to get through so I can sit and watch the game tonight without the wife glaring at me too much for doing nothing else.

How about this. Tickets (maybe 800) still remained for the game.

2007. 2007. 2007. It continues. Even in an SI.com feature as the game of the week, it leads with what happened that year. Another “turning point” for Pitt story (along with speculation on how it could have altered the coaching carousel if WVU had won). And there’s the “it hurt so much” to lose in 2007 stuff.

More interfaith stuff — this time within the Pitt Athletic Department.

Pitt isn’t looking past the Backyard Brawl.

Meanwhile WVU looks for their signature win in the Bill Stewart era — apparently that Fiesta Bowl trouncing doesn’t count since Stewart was only the interim head coach. And the Meineke Bowl win last year wasn’t it either.

Well, at least that is also along the lines of what the WVU DC Casteel is telling his players. That they have yet to win the big games. Just looking to close the season strongly.

Puff piece on Coach Wannstedt keeping an eye on the players in the classroom as well. Clearly something he didn’t learn from Jimmy Johhnson when they were at Miami. An interesting little thing in there was that when he was hired, in addition to getting money to hire and retain coordinators he was also able to get 3 more full-time academic advisers to help the players. He just got the Pitt Athletic Department to make more of a financial commitment to the football program.

Another Wannstedt puff piece about building his team.

Then there is the puff pieces on OC Frank Cignetti. Another focusing on the turnaround of Bill Stull and Pitt’s offense. This one from the San Francisco paper is on leaving Cal to go home. The fans of Cal (at the time) may not have been too bothered by his departure since Cal Coach Tedford was an offensive guy who made their system, but clearly the media liked Cignetti.

Bruce Feldman at ESPN.com puts Pitt at #7 on his list of top-10 biggest surprises (Insider subs).

Losing LeSean McCoy and LaRod Stephens-Howling figured to be a couple of big blows to a Panthers team that wasn’t exactly scary. But Coach Dave Wannstedt brought in new offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti, who has sparked major improvement in QB Bill Stull (fourth in the country in pass efficiency), WR Jonathan Baldwin and TE Dorin Dickerson to flow with the arrival of star freshman RB Dion Lewis. Pitt also has been outstanding on defense, leading the nation in sacks and ranking 16th in run defense.

Senior Tight End Nate Byham is still a great teammate. The Hoopies concern, though, is Dorin Dickerson.

Puff piece on how DEs Jabaal Sheard and Greg Romeus have raised their game since the NCState loss.

Which outcome will clarify the Big East bowl slottings for teams? Backyard Brawl or ND-Stanford?

As for the actual game itself, in case you haven’t heard Pitt plays power football. Looks like the computers see a near toss-up with a slight edge to Pitt. In one of those unit-by-unit comparisons, the edge goes to Pitt.

The WVU offensive line is young, but has played together all season. Whether that translates to stronger play after a week off, will go a long way to deciding the game.

That seems to be a strong theme. Even when they aren’t in the story directly. Vindication. Redemption. Anything else you want to call it.

Go figure, since Frank Cignetti’s father was a WVU assistant then had to follow Bobby Bowden when he went to FSU, there might be a little interest in his success.

Also at the time Cignetti was raising a couple of sons, one of whom was Frank Cignetti Jr., who spent 12 years in the town.

“There are a lot of great memories,” Cignetti Jr. said. “I played Little League baseball there, played football, had a lot of friends.”

But it was only a temporary stop, for at heart Cignetti Jr. wasn’t really a Mountaineer.

“Make no mistake, we’re Pittsburgh Panther fans,” he said. “Look at the biographies of my family. My dad was born in western Pennsylvania, his first job was at the University of Pittsburgh for Dan Hart. It just so happened that Dad got a tremendous opportunity to go be Bobby Bowden’s offensive coordinator at West Virginia.”

“Oh, I’ve been a West Virginia fan since I coached there,” Frank Sr. said from his home in Indiana, Pa., where at 72 he is finally able to enjoy retirement. “I watch them when they are on television. I’ve followed them through Coach Nehlen and Rich Rodriguez and now Bill Stewart.”

But it changed when his son home came to Pitt.

But make no mistake, the story emphasizes how Cignetti and Wannstedt have the same offensive philosophies and what they want to do. It’s just that Cignetti is doing things that, you know, use the talent.

“We want to go from good to great,” Cignetti said. “Our players are hungry to get better. It’s fun to see guys feel good about themselves, and it has really been satisfying to see our offensive personnel build confidence through success. There’s a belief that whenever they step onto the field they can put the ball in the end zone.

“It’s our job to put them in a position to be successful. We’ve been able to put Dorin in different positions where he can have some success. (Tight end) Nate Byham and (flanker) Oderick Turner have put the team goals ahead of individual goals, and those guys have provided solid leadership all season.”

Cignetti plays humble quite well. Deflecting credit to the players and even going so far as to say Matt Cavanaugh very well could have had similar success this year as the OC (riiiigggghhhht). But again, it comes back to the players who succeeded after nothing working right for some time. Hence the feature on Dickerson and Stull.

The two have been doing it ever since. Stull has thrown for 18 touchdowns with just four interceptions. Dickerson has 43 catches for 496 yards and those 10 touchdowns.

“I knew I could play here,” Dickerson said. “Not just play, but be a playmaker.”

“All Dorin needed was a chance,” Stull said.

“The biggest turning point in my life came when Coach Cignetti came here,” Dickerson said.

“Dorin’s ability really fit what Coach Cignetti wanted to do,” Stull said. “He’s a freak. He’s 6-2, 235, runs a 4.34 and can jump over 40 inches. There’s just no way a linebacker can cover him.”

Stull laughed as only a quarterback who loves to see such mismatches can.

“It’s stealing,” he said. “That’s what Coach Cignetti calls it. He says we all should go to jail because we’re stealing touchdowns.”

Here’s another piece on Stull succeeding and beating back the critics, while admitting the change in OC’s worried him.

“It was tough for me. Having a system for four years, and knowing it like it was the back of my hand, it was tough. There was some doubt whether I was going to be able to pick it up and feel comfortable with it,” he said.

He knew the system, but did not exactly thrive in it. That was the problem.

As for Coach Wannstedt, he’s in his own redemption and vindication storyline. He’s in a good place winning and succeeding at his alma mater. The success now, comes in no small part to the administration sticking with him.

“Our chancellor stepped up,” Wannstedt said. “I had had two or three years. We talked about the direction of the program. I said, if we were to go forward this or that must happen. He stepped up, made a commitment and extended our program.”

That was a few days before Pitt was to play at West Virginia in 2007, a few days before the upset of the century.

Things took hold from there, and the patience paid off.

Now it’s understandable why people would question Wannstedt at the beginning. College football was going in one direction; he was going in another. The game had evolved into Madden football, spread offenses, speed everywhere, bubble screens, zone blocking.

That wasn’t, however, what Wannstedt believed in.

He liked the pro-set offense, quarterback under center, a fullback, a tight end. He liked to run and run, then throw when he had teams looking for the run.

“We’ll probably be one of the dinosaurs left that are lining up with the fullback and a tailback and trying to pound people and play-action pass,” Wannstedt said. “In all the Super Bowls and national championships that I’ve been associated with, that’s what we did. Football goes in cycles. But you have to do what you believe in and what you understand.”

I won’t pretend I was not one of those who questioned the extension. I was not arguing for his firing, but an extension at that point in year 3 seemed ridiculous. The extension seemed more that the school and particularly the money and powers in the University just like Coach Wannstedt a lot and were satisfied with the fundraising and being able to get along with the coach. Happily, I was wrong.

Of course, down in Morgantown, there’s more than a little pressure on Coach Stewart. So, he looks rather wistfully at what Pitt did. Especially the patience.

“This is five years in the works,” Stewart said. “It is five years of getting better each year and adding to the repertoire.”

Stewart has also spoken in recent weeks about how the Pitt fan base showed patience with Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt, even as Wannstedt went through his first season with five wins, his second with six and third with five

In Stewart’s opinion, that patience has been paramount to Pitt gaining national prominence, and so, too, is a maturation of a roster that Wannstedt recruited and then cultivated.

Nothing self-serving there. Except that Stewart wasn’t radically changing the system being run — on either side of the ball.

Or is that Link Dump Notre? Notre Link Dump? I feel like I’m leaving something  out. Oh, well. Plenty of stories. No time to hash them. Sort through them yourself.

Q&A with Adam Gunn — McKillop wishes he was playing this weekend.

Apparently Notre Dame likes to pass. This Jimmah’ Clausen appears to be a decent QB. Best Clausen of the bunch — FWIW. It might test the secondary. In fact, the secondary faces its biggest challenge since NC State. Eep.

Any chance ND repeats its 6 trips to the red zone with only 2 scores to show for it? Considering they only came away empty handed 4 times in the prior 8 games, I doubt it.

The magic number is 10. As in top-10 wins for Pitt since 2002. Plus it’s been 10 years since Pitt beat ND in Pittsburgh — I feel even older.

Notre Dame likes to blitz. It is expected. But their defense has continually failed in big games.

For those Pitt fans who think too many older Pitt fans are living in the past of the 70s, it beats hanging the hat on the 60s and wistful memories of Ara Parseghian.

More speculation on Weis surviving at ND. Meanwhile, Coach Wannstedt is sympathetic to Weis’ plight.

Some work on on revisionism and/or trying to figure out how Wannstedt became an NFL punchline. This one’s a tough sell for anyone who is a Dolphin or Bears fan.

Happy, fluffy puff piece on Dorin Dickerson finding his position and success.

Former special teams/DB Pitt player from York, PA now in his first year as a defensive assistant coach at Duquesne.

Everyone’s favorite OC, Frank Cignetti gets the hometown love from the Indiana paper.

The Manning Award Watchlist expanded by ten more QBs. Bill Stull is one of them. He has no real shot, but it’s an honor to be among the 48 QBs on the list. There isn’t a cut-down until November 20 or so.

There are 12 players on Pitt’s roster from Florida. USF Coach Leavitt is especially familiar with the Florida guys on the D-line.

He’s familiar with at least three: Jabaal Sheard, Gus Mustakas and Greg Romeus — all Florida natives he targeted on the recruiting trail. “I know those Pitt defensive linemen very well,” Leavitt said. “They’re very active and very strong.”

In trying to describe Mustakas, Leavitt paused, then said: “He is very strong. There is no finesse there.”

His name is Gus Mustakas. Finesse just is not possible with a name like that.

The storyline for Pitt’s O-line is stopping George Selvie. That kind of ignores that the other DE, Jason Pierre-Paul, who has been outstanding this season. Especially since Selvie has been more reputation than output in key games this season.

One could make the same claim about Pitt’s Greg Romeus and Jabaal Sheard who were expected to be the dominant force on the D-line. They haven’t been as impressive, but the interior has stepped up nicely.

In terms of sheer production the Panthers rotation of tackles — Mick Williams, Gus Mustakas and Myles Caragein have been more productive than the trio of ends — Sheard, Romeus and Brandon Lindsey.

As an example, last Friday, the Panthers beat Rutgers, 24-17, and the three defensive tackles combined for five tackles for loss (the team had seven) and the team’s three sacks. The three ends had no tackles for loss and no sacks but did knock down three passes at the line of scrimmage.

The defensive tackles have combined for 75 tackles, 20 1/2 tackles for loss and 8 1/2 sacks; the ends have 56 tackles, 15 1/2 tackles and 11 1/2 sacks.

Pitt defensive coordinator Phil Bennett said that while the numbers aren’t overwhelming for the ends, Sheard and Romeus are playing well. He said they are just drawing a lot of double teams and help from running backs, which has hurt their productivity.

Yes and no. Romeus and Sheard have been facing a lot of attention, but they haven’t seemed to do a great job at beating it. At times, it seems like Romeus is more interested in the tape ball.

Some love for Hynoski, who is all about the team.

“I just want to do whatever it takes — running, blocking or catching,” said Hynoski, who had career highs of 29 yards rushing and 36 receiving in a 24-17 win at Rutgers last Friday. “I want the coaches to feel confident in me in all three areas. I’m not a guy who cares about the stats. I just want to win, and that’s all that matters.

“The way I look at it, if Bill throws a touchdown or Dion scores, it’s just as good as me scoring one. Once the team does well, all the individual things will fall into place.”

Jarred Holley has taken advantage of the injury to Elijah Fields to show he belongs out there. Hopefully someone on Pitt’s defensive staff does this.

Q: Despite Dave Wannstedt’s unwillingness to change from his preferred 4-3 defensive alignment, do you think that he would entertain the idea of taking out a linebacker and replacing him in the starting line-up with Elijah Fields (assuming he is healthy) in that bandit/hybrid position that he can play against the more athletic teams left on Pitt’s schedule (i.e. – South Florida, Notre Dame, West Virginia, and Cincinnati)? I think that both Fields and Holley need to be on the field against the teams mentioned above to help match the speed of those offenses.

ZEISE: If I had a gift certificate or something to give away for the question of the week — you would certainly get it because that is a great question. And the answer is — I think against South Florida, West Virginia and Cincinnati (three spread teams left on the schedule) — I guess Syracuse plays a bit of a spread now too, don’t they — you will see more of that bandit/buck stuff and Fields will be the guy to fit that role. One thing these last two games have done is convinced coaches that Jarred Holley is indeed ready to fill that role as starting safety and he is capable of making plays and holding his own.

Coach Wannstedt doesn’t want a redux of the Russell Wilson/NC State defensive debacle with B.J. Daniels. No body does.

The fans, commentors and this blogger have not been shy about heaping praise on OC Frank Cignetti. He gets a puff piece today focusing on his modesty.

In no particular order, Pitt offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti credits coach Dave Wannstedt, quarterback Bill Stull, running back Dion Lewis, tight end Dorin Dickerson, the other playmakers, the offensive linemen, the offensive coaching staff, the ball boys and even former coordinator Matt Cavanaugh for their roles in the team’s surprisingly effective offense and its 6-1 record, No. 20 ranking and first-place standing in the Big East Conference.

It just keeps making former OC Matt Cavanaugh look worse.

Q: I believe Frank Cignetti Jr. is a much better fit as a college offensive coordinator than Matt Cavanaugh. I think he has shown more creativity in his schemes and is younger and better with college athletes. Do you agree?

ZEISE: Yes and mostly because he really likes being a college coach. Matt is a very good offensive mind and he knew what he was doing but in four years here you never got the sense that he really wanted to be a college coach, in fact he had said as much. His heart was in the NFL as a coordinator. Frank Cignetti wants to be a head coach and he loves the college game so he has embraced it and ran with it…

At one time, early in his job at Pitt, Cavanaugh talked about being a head coach in college. Yet, no one took it particularly seriously. He was very much like the Paul Hackett style coach/coordinator. More about seyt schemes and systems and less about using the players in ways that played up their strengths.

It’s been a pretty good week for Dion Lewis. The Big East Offensive Player of the Week has gotten a lot of attention, as he is 82 yards from 1000 yards after only 7 games.

The storyline after a trip to Rutgers was how all the other schools missed him. Everyone seems to be running with it including Sports Illustrated.

Two years ago, after rushing for 979 yards and 14 touchdowns on only 79 carries as a junior at Blair Academy in Blairstown, N.J., Lewis sent copies of his highlight tape to several Division I-A programs, including nearby Rutgers. The response was underwhelming. Only Pitt assistant coach Jeff Hafley paid him a visit, and he immediately began working to get Lewis’s commitment. “I’d run into other coaches who were recruiting one of the seniors [at Blair],” says Hafley, who liked the way the 5’8″, 195-pound Lewis broke tackles and accelerated through holes. “They thought he was too small, and I’d lie and say, ‘Yeah, he’s real small.’ But he’s short, not small. He’s built like a truck.”

And once Pitt got that commitment, Lewis wasn’t interested in going anywhere else.

When Lewis averaged an astounding 14.1 yards per carry as a senior, more major programs — including Cincinnati — checked on his availability. Lewis wouldn’t even take a call. He had verbally committed to Pitt the previous summer.

“If coach (Stone) told me a (college) coach wanted to talk to me,” Lewis said, “I’d say, ‘Tell him I’m not here or something.’ “

The other impressive thing is that he hasn’t worn down at this point. Something many (including me) expected if he didn’t see more splitting of time with Ray Graham.

“You have to tackle him every time,” Wannstedt said. “And, in the fourth quarter, those 21/2-yard runs become four-yard runs. He has proven he can do it all. He can go inside and outside, shows power and speed, and that is very unusual for any back, let alone a freshman.”

Pitt guard John Malecki said it is no coincidence that Lewis is getting better and stronger as games wear on because he is one of the best-conditioned athletes on the team.

Malecki also loves to block for Lewis because he is a physical, straight-ahead runner, the kind of football player people in Western Pennsylvania seem to embrace. Lewis played high school football at Blair Academy in New Jersey.

“Dion is doing a lot of incredible things,” said Malecki, a Franklin Regional graduate. “He is a four-quarter, smash-mouth, Pittsburgh-style running back, even though he is not from around here. You can tell he loves the way we run the football.

“He worked very hard to get into our strength and conditioning program to catch up to older guys, and he fits our mentality as a second-half team. Coach Wannstedt and [strength and conditioning coach] Buddy Morris implement that in all of us. [Lewis] takes it to another level.”

Obviously there are still 6 more games (including a bowl appearance), so he could still hit a wall. The good thing is Pitt hasn’t had a bye week yet. So, there will be a week off after this game and between ND and WVU to hopefully be refreshed during the final games.

And, yes, the Bulls know they will have to focus on stopping him.

“His feet are always within his body; they never get outside his framework, and they’re always moving. He does a great job with balance, does a great job with vision seeing the field,” defensive coordinator Joe Tresey said. “You just don’t know where he’s going to appear sometimes. He just gets behind people and, boom, he’s outside on the perimeter outrunning people. … He’s the best back we’ve seen so far this year without a doubt.”

This is part 2.

Bill Stull gets a media blitz and some love. Obligatory observations on being booed in the first game. Plenty of love for new OC Frank Cignetti by Stull. A Q&A with ESPN.com. AP wire story. It helps that Stull has lots of targets and is hitting them.

One of those targets, TE Nate Byham is glad to be back out on the field after the concussion that erased most of camp.

MLB Adam Gunn is still a question mark for the game. Not that anyone seems to be sweating too much if it is Dan Mason taking the spot. But Mason does admit he has work to do against QBs with mobility.

While Coach Wannstedt has publicly dismissed (after hinting at it) moving Gunn to an outside linebacker spot to give Mason more reps, Max Gruder is not concerned about losing his starting spot as the Weakside Linebacker. Gruder is also a native of NC, so he does have a bit of a homecoming — even if his parents now live in Tampa and he went unrecruited by the NC programs.

Is it wrong to be this cynical? Didn’t we have this sort of story last year? A puff piece on how Elijah Fields is finally “getting it.”

Meanwhile, Gus Mustakas has his confidence back, now that he is sure his knee won’t burst.

Dion Lewis gets a puff piece from the Albany paper.

Left guard, Joe Thomas is feeling paranoid. This is a good thing.

Love for Pitt, even if most aren’t watching closely.

NC State WR Donald Bowens is actually back from an injury.

All Zeise the rest of the way. His break down of key battles give sthe edge to Pitt. His chat from Thursday notes that he thinks wet conditions will favor Pitt. AS for the Q&As, there is delusional questions about Pitt leaving the pro-style for the spread. Right. Then there is containing Russell Wilson.

A collection of individual pieces to get out of the tabs.

Jonathan Baldwin is expecting big things from himself. As are the fans and coaching staff. Especially now that they are more confident in his route running.

“He wants to be a great player,” Pitt receivers coach Bryan Bossard said. “The first sign is to understand what don’t you do well and work on improving it. JB didn’t know much about receiver play – he was a tight end at Aliquippa that they split out wide to throw fades to – so there’s a learning curve here, a lot of adjustments.”

Just how steep of a curve?

Bossard said Baldwin didn’t know how to run many routes last season.

“Slant, fade,” Bossard said. “That’s probably it, to be honest.”

Even so, Baldwin finished with a team-high of 22.4 yards per catch and tied for the lead with three receiving touchdowns, including 52- and 60-yarders.

The one-handed catches became a daily occurrence.

“He’s just showing off,” Bossard said with a laugh, “but he’s got a knack for doing that. I used to get on him a lot last year, catching it with one hand, but sometimes you’ve just got to understand as long as he makes the play.”

And if the QB — whoever is out there — can deliver the fade pass with any degree of accuracy, Baldwin should have a lot more TDs. That or it should set up a lot of 1st and goals for a rushing TD after the pass interference penalties.

Another story on Dorin Dickerson wanting to end his career at Pitt with a strong finish.

“I feel a lot more comfortable at tight end,” Dickerson said. “I have more experience there now than any position at Pitt. I feel good. I can’t wait for the season to start to see what I can do with the position.”

With new offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti calling the plays Dickerson could get called upon much more than he did last season when he caught 13 passes for 174 yards and those two touchdowns.

During the offseason, Cignetti and head coach Dave Wannstedt made it a priority to develop more ways for Dickerson to be involved in the offense. He is used in conventional sets, but expect to see him in motion in the form of a H-back as well as split wide, where his speed can be used to create mismatches against linebackers.

“I know we’re excited about finding ways to get him the football,” Wannstedt said. “No one has worked harder in the offseason. He worked his tail off this spring. I’m a Dorin Dickerson fan. No one wants him to have success more than I do. You hope when you look back at the end of the year, you can say he was a huge part of what we did. That’s the plan going in.”

Everyone always talks about those players that seem to have been around forever at a school — the 9th year seniors — but Dickerson is the opposite in my mind. It still seems like he should only be a sophomore or junior. Can we classify him as a 3d year senior?

They still love Bill Stull in the Mahoning Valley.

This cheer, however, came from the visitors.

It was directed at native son Bill Stull, who grew up in Poland, Ohio — a suburb of Youngstown — before becoming a record-setting passer at Seton-La Salle High School and, later, the starting quarterback for the Panthers.

“When he went in, the Youngstown State fans in the corner cheered,” Bill Stull Sr. recalled. “I was so impressed and so happy that they remembered him because the youth football in Youngstown is huge.”

It’s all full circle or something like that.

Phil Bennett gets his touching profile piece, which of course discusses the tragic loss of his first wife to a lightning strike. Not breaking new ground, and as mentioned it was mildly surprising that he his still at Pitt with his wife and family still in Texas.

Bennett had some good job offers after last season but decided to come back to Pitt for a couple of reasons. One, he likes working for Dave Wannstedt, who gave him permission to miss Pitt’s first spring scrimmage this year so he could attend Maddie’s senior high school debutante ball. “One of the best guys I’ve ever worked for,” said Bennett, who has coached at 11 colleges, including two stops at Texas A&M. And two, he loves coaching these Pitt players. Why not? His defense figures to be terrific this season and carry the team as it sorts out its quarterback issues.

“I just felt like we left some unfinished business here,” Bennett said. “We should have won the [Big East] conference last season.”

Bennett was a great hire for DC, and I don’t think anyone will begrudge him when he leaves. Keeping him for a 3d year would be a big bonus.

For good and bad. Puff pieces and overcoming hardships. The individual players have some stories to tell. There have been several over the last couple days so let’s put them in one post.

Senior tight end Nate Byham has a very compelling personal backstory. It’s one that was first told a couple years ago. It is worth re-telling as Byham starts his final year at Pitt and has really beaten the odds with a lot of things in his family history.

Nate lived with his grandfather from the time he was born until kindergarten, when he moved in with his mother and aunt in Franklin. He moved back in with his grandfather for the fifth and sixth grade, but went back to Franklin to live in the seventh grade because the sports programs were better there. By the time he was in high school, Nate was sleeping at the homes of his friends because the situation at his mother’s was not good, and another move back to his grandfather’s would have meant changing schools again.

Even when Nate was not living under his roof, Ron kept close tabs on him. Nate remembers a time shortly after moving back in with his mother when he started to make some bad decisions. He said he doesn’t know what would have happened if his grandfather did not intervene.

“It’s really hard to think about because there was a stretch early in middle school when I started to follow the wrong path,” Nate said. “I started messing around with the wrong crowd. I wasn’t doing horrible things, but the kids around me were drinking and smoking weed. This was in the seventh grade. I was in that crowd. I started getting into some trouble.

“That’s when my grandfather talked to me and straightened me out. He made me look down the road and see my future. I could look at mom and other people around me. I really didn’t want to end up like that.”

As much as it is a credit to his grandfather for helping Nate Byham down the right path and raising him, it is a credit to Byham for having the maturity and focus to actually see the paths. A 13 or 14-year old finding the maturity and strength to ignore the temptations and easy ways of his social group and within his own family.

Senior defensive tackle Mick Williams has remained strong against his own personal and athletic problems.

“Mick is a lot more focused on what is at the end of the tunnel,” Junko said. “He can see the light. Some guys never see the light.”

No one would have blamed Williams if he lost his way in darkness. His father, Ernest, died of a heart attack when Mick was 6. His mother, Robin Stover, has struggled to raise six children. Williams spent the week before camp helping his family move from West Mifflin back to Monessen after they lost their house to foreclosure.

Even so, he doesn’t complain about misfortunes.

“Everybody has a problem,” Williams said. “I’m blessed we’ve got a new home, that we’re not homeless.”

No one would have blamed Williams if he would have quit Pitt football. A series of shoulder injuries and concussions left him sidelined his first two seasons. His grandfather, Donald Stover — as strong of a father figure as Williams has had — died in the spring of his redshirt freshman year. So did two of his mother’s sisters, Sheryl Graham and Valerie Stover, and Graham’s husband, Larry Detwiler. A cousin who lost both parents was jailed when he turned to dealing drugs, and Williams was tempted to do the same.

If Pitt has a big season, you can just visualize the soft-focus features being run on College GameDay.

For on the field overcoming injuries and maturity, Jason Pinkston is key to the O-line.

Now Pinkston is, perhaps, the most irreplaceable player on Pitt’s front five as the left tackle who protects the quarterback’s blind side. The difficulty of doing so was abundantly clear in his absence in the bowl game, and the Panthers don’t have an experienced backup.

“It makes me feel comfortable when I have a guy like that who’s protecting my blind side,” fifth-year senior quarterback Bill Stull said. “It’s a big help having him healthy.”

What Pinkston, a 6-foot-4, 312-pound redshirt junior from Baldwin, has to prove now is that he can live up to the potential that matches his enormous frame and the high expectations set by his demanding position coach. Tony Wise sees the talent in Pinkston and believes, with better technique and steadier performance, that he can become a physical force for the Panthers.

I’m not saying panic in the streets if Pinkston goes down to injury this year, but it won’t be a good feeling.

Shane Murray is Pitt’s jack-of-all-linebackers and coming back from an ACL tear.

Pitt coaches asked Murray to learn all three linebacker positions, and the 6-foot-2, 230-pound, fifth-year senior from Hazelwood is considered the Panthers’ top backup at both outside linebacker spots and a starter on all four special-teams units. Not bad for someone 10 months removed from surgery.

“The last two days, he’s made some headway,” defensive coordinator Phil Bennett said. “We haven’t pushed him to the extent of some of them because we need him. I think he knows his role. We expect him to play about 20 plays a game. We’re not asking him to be an every-down player.”

A player not counted on to be a star, but to be an important component of the team and hopefully overall success.

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.

Went the entire weekend without firing up the computer. Not by plan, but because with college football season getting closer there is a lot to do. All the things I can get done now, will create less strife in the household when I spend 12 hour saturdays in front of the TV or traveling to the ‘Burgh for Pitt games.

SI.com predicts a 3-way tie for first in the Big East, with Pitt being third of the three (presumably meaning a belief that Pitt will lose to both Rutgers and WVU).

Family ties to look at when Pitt and Rutgers meet.

[Khaseem] Greene is already thinking about Oct. 16, when Pitt comes to Piscataway, and taking down his brother.

“That’s pretty much a big topic around where we live at,” Greene said. “My dad, my uncles, my whole family talks about that: When that time comes, when we could actually meet up one on one, what’s going to happen.

“As a man and a competitor, I gotta do what I gotta do just like he’s gotta do what he’s gotta do. And that’s how we leave it at the end of the day.”

[Ray] Graham’s speed and low center of gravity (he’s 5-foot-9 to Greene’s 6-1) rattle the nerves of Greene – who admits he couldn’t beat Graham in a running back duel these days.

The likelihood of the too meeting on the field this year are slim. Not only is it unclear if Graham will be seeing action in the game, but Greene is 3d on the Rutgers depth chart at strong safety. In time, though, it can be expected.

One more thing from the Cardinals exhibition visit to play the Steelers. The Johnstown paper ran a story on their local boy, LaRod Stephens-Howling.

Bemusing little piece on Pitt having three sets of brothers on the roster. Given the Taglianetti’s father, there is a bit more in the anecdote department regarding them.

Adam Gunn is eager to go.

Fullback Henry Hynoski gets it.

In fact, gauging Hynoski’s success will likely be done by looking at the team’s overall rushing numbers.

“I don’t get the ball as much,” Hynoski said. “I’m more of a lead blocker than a runner. They will throw me the ball, so I’ll be catching some passes when they dump the ball to me. It’s actually a lot like high school, but I’ll do more blocking.”

It’s a role that he not only likes, but it helped sell him on the Panthers program.

“The coaches that recruited me were honest that it wouldn’t be like high school,” Hynoski said. “I would be doing three things: blocking, running and catching passes. I don’t care about statistics. I’m going to do my role.

“I’d obviously like to make more runs. I will get my share of touchdowns, but I’m playing for a prestigious team. It’s an honor to play for a program like Pitt.”

Cameron Saddler says his knee is at 95%, happy to be playing and trying to win the punt and/or kickoff return duties.

New offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti gets a two-part piece. The first about his return to Western PA, the second and the bigger part most Pitt fans care about is his views on offense and coaching. Not to mention recruiting.

“Think players, not plays,” Cignetti said. “That’s especially true in college football. Identify who your playmakers are and then put them into whatever plays you are going to run against a given defense.

“I wish I had something more philosophical for you but honestly, it all comes down to the guys out there making plays and as a coach, you have to ask yourself, ‘How can I make sure my best players are touching the ball as many times as possible every game?'”

…

“Coach Cignetti has done a great job with our feet and helping me get my rear end into throwing the ball,” Bostick said. “He is a great quarterback coach and a great offensive thinker. It is definitely different [than most coaches] but it keeps you on your toes. Attention to detail is such a big part of his approach. There are so many little things that most people wouldn’t be able to even see it but he is stressing them and pushing us on them every day and on every play.”

Cignetti put it simply: “In this classroom, with the quarterbacks, we have high expectations, we expect them to compete every day and we expect to be successful.”

Beyond his offensive philosophy, Cignetti’s approach to coaching is what really sold Pitt head coach Dave Wannstedt. Wannstedt was looking for a coach who ran a pro-style offense but what he also got in Cignetti was an extremely competitive recruiter and a guy whose energy level and borderline-hyperactivity rivaled Wannstedt’s.

Which has showed up in grabbing kids out of Ohio so far for the 2010 recruiting class.

Linebackers now seem a lot more fluid than it did at the start of training camp.

In the unlikely event Gunn can’t perform, the Panthers will have to try to get senior Steve Dell, who never has started a game, or true freshman Dan Mason (Penn Hills), who has started fast, groomed to be a starter in a hurry.

Murray is the other wild card.

He is listed behind redshirt sophomore Max Gruder at weakside linebacker as he tries to show he has fully recovered from his injury.

Like Gunn, he can play all three positions but first must prove he can withstand full contact.

Redshirt freshman Manny Williams is in the mix at weakside linebacker as is redshirt sophomore Tristan Roberts, who has struggled thus far.

Dan Mason, a true freshman, has really stood out in camp so far.

“I hope I can make a contribution,” Mason said. “They are giving me a lot of reps.”

With camp only five days old, Mason already is pushing Steve Dell for second-team middle linebacker (behind senior Adam Gunn) on a defense that is the reason Pitt is picked to win the Big East title.

Mason, ranked as the nation’s No. 8 middle linebacker out of Penn Hills, is responsible for adjusting the defensive front.

“I have to work harder at the mental part,” he said. “Strength and conditioning, I’m ready. I’m feeling good.”

Not to mention convincing the coaches. All accounts have said he has been a standout in camp. The coaches just have to believe he can make the reads on defense.