Another practice notebook piece. The focus is primarily on the receiving corp.

The wideout corps was hampered by injuries to junior Greg Lee (shoulder) and redshirt sophomore Terrell Allen (hamstring), the past week or so. Lee and junior Joe DelSardo were set as starters when camp began, but sophomores Derek Kinder and Kelvin Chandler and redshirt freshman Marcel Pestano were expected to push for playing time. Neither stepped up, despite the increased reps, while frosh Oderick Turner made progress.

“The receivers are getting better, but there’s still a lot of work to do,” Cavanaugh said. “Losing Greg for about a week set us back a bit because he’s just not our most explosive receiver but he’s one of the leaders.

“That left a big hole to fill. … There were signs that some guys would step up. Instead, they reminded us just how young and inexperienced they are, but they’re working hard and getting better every day.”

If Allen could get and stay healthy I would love to see what he could do as a receiver.

Athlon finally put their Player’s Forum story online. This was a feature in their college football preview magazine. Tyler Palko was one of the participants, but he only answered some of the questions.

Do players read the Internet?
Palko: I can’t speak for everyone but I don’t have enough time to read it myself. I try not to pay attention to stuff like that. It ends up being a distraction. To tell you the truth, it really doesn’t matter what anyone else says or feels except for your team and your coaches.
…
Did you enjoy the recruiting process?
Palko: No, I hated it. I just wanted to pick a school and start playing football.

Worth a look.

Finally, USA Today has a story on Coach Wannstedt taking over at Pitt (hat tip Smith). The article starts out and ends with stock material we’ve already heard. The stuff about the steel mills where Coach Wannstedt worked and how much the area has changed, and the ability to eat, drink and schmoose at the Duquesne Club then down to the South Side. The rest of the article, though is pretty good.

Former coach Walt Harris “did a great job,” Wannstedt says of his predecessor, now at Stanford. “We’ve got a good foundation.”

The current players are already enthused.

“Every time (Wannstedt) comes out to the practice field he’s ready to teach,” says Blades, whose father, Bennie, played for Wannstedt at Miami (Fla.), where the coach was on the Hurricanes staff from 1986-88. “My dad told me that whole staff with Coach Wannstedt would do anything to win, and that’s what we want.

“It gives us that much more energy, and we want to learn. On the first day of practice, he ran out clapping his hands and ready to go. I thought he was ready to suit up and hit somebody. Everybody wants to play for a winner, and Coach Wannstedt is a proven winner.”
…
Still, Wannstedt was hesitant about taking the job. He had been away from Pitt and the college game a long time and wanted to be sure he wasn’t acting only on emotion.

“I know the responsibility that comes with being a head coach, and knew the work and commitment it would take to build a top-10 program. And that’s the goal,” says Wannstedt, who was an assistant coach with Pitt’s 1976 national championship team.

“The (ex-coaches) Johnny Majorses and Foge Fazios and ex-Pitt players, all these guys were calling, friends and family members — but at the end of the day, I’m the guy who has to walk in that office and deal with it.”

It also talks about his fast start on recruiting, and how much he enjoys doing the full circuit required of a college football coach today.

“I know I can help them play pro football,” he says. “But for the vast majority, they’re going to have to go out and get a job and have a family and make a contribution to society, and I really believe I can help these kids do that.”

Another refreshing change, he says, is breaking up the 12-month football year with things other than game planning and film grading.

“I spent a month on the road at golf tournaments with alumni, and I loved that,” says Wannstedt, who also has enjoyed interacting with students on Pitt’s campus.

“Now football’s starting, so for the next five months I’m ready to go and start X-and-Oing and coaching football.

“The change has been good for me as compared to the NFL, where you have one month for the draft and the rest is all X’s and O’s. You can only draw up so many blitzes, you know.”

11 days until kick-off.