Under 2 months to the first game of the season and without an All-Star Game to serve as an additional distraction they are starting to look ahead down in Virginia. A capsule look at the opponent in the Cavaliers’ opening game.

Inside the game: Pitt allowed 185 yards per game on the ground last year to its opponents. That should be good news for UVa quarterback Christian Olsen, who will be making his first start, and senior tailback Jason Snelling. Virginia’s ball carriers will have to work against Panthers linebacker H.B. Blades, who should be one of the best defensive players that the Cavaliers will face this season. Fans can also expect talk about the cornerback position. Virginia’s Marcus Hamilton and Pitt’s Darrelle Revis are among the best in the land, but both QBs will know that long before the kickoff. Don’t be surprised if the first game in the home-and-home series – Pitt travels to UVa in ’07 – has an NFL-type feel to it with it being played under the lights in one of the newest NFL stadiums as a pair of former NFL coaches man the sidelines.

It needs to be repeated, Pitt couldn’t stop the run last year, and they couldn’t run.

Nick Krupa made his verbal to Pitt at the end of June, part of the flurry of verbals at that point. His local paper now gets around to taking note.

Krupa said he also was impressed by Wannstedt and the direction of the Panthers program. Krupa said Wannstedt told him that he was one of two tight ends the Panthers want to sign.

Verbal commitments are non-binding. Players can sign official letters of intent at the start of the football signing period in February. Among the other schools recruiting Krupa are Auburn, Stanford and UCLA. After a heavy recruitment period and receiving several phone calls during the spring, Krupa said he wanted to make an early decision.

“At this point, I’m pretty set,” he said, when asked whether he might still visit other schools.

Finally Rivals.com lists its top 40 players in Pennsylvania and Mike Farrell provides some brief thoughts.

Many recruiting fans know Pennsylvania for producing top quarterbacks and big, strong offensive linemen. This year that’s the theme in Pennsylvania as future Pitt quarterback Pat Bostick is the No. 1 player in the state and an amazing 15 offensive linemen highlight the Pennsylvania Top 40.
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But it’s the offensive line that dominates the state for 2007 and the difference between the top five big uglies is minimal. Another Pitt commitment, Pittsburgh (Pa.) Keystone Oaks guard Chris Jacobson ranks at the top of the offensive linemen and at No. 7 overall. Stefen Wisniewski, Josh Marks, Gino Gradkowski and Dan Matha also check in as top 20 players.

And it just so happens that the line is where Pitt really needs to improve.