I’m being unfair, I know. But the instinct kicked in with this bit from this afternoon’s post-practice comments.

On an overall evaluation of camp:

I think we’re going to go into the season with a lot of positions cleared up but also with the mentality that we’re going to play a lot of guys. Right now it’s going to be running back by committee. We’re going to play them all. LaRod (Stephens-Howling) is the starter but we’re going to play them all. At receiver, if we we’re playing tomorrow, it would probably be Oderick (Turner) and (Derek) Kinder, but Marcel (Pestano) is going to play a ton and we’ll rotate other guys in. I think the same thing with the defensive line, there are very few positions that are locked in that it’s going to be one guy, and that’s good, that can be helpful. When you’ve got a young football team like we are, I think the competition is good.

[Emphasis added.]

Get that?

The depth chart is being written in pencil. I don’t actually disagree with Coach Wannstedt. It’s a young team and there is no way training camp is going to clear up all the questions at so many spots, but it seems then, that it’s less like a depth chart and more like the general roster broken down by position.

A day after calling out the offense, for a lack of effort, they naturally made some today.

On the improvement displayed today:

That’s why you practice. I think our guys showed a little bit of character today, especially on offense. Yesterday’s practice was so one-sided defensively, it was good to see the offensive players come out and respond today and that’s what it’s going to take, it’s a team effort. We’re not good enough to go out and beat anybody with any one face. It’s going to take offense, defense and special teams every week. They came out today, I’ll tell you. Our receivers (and) Shane Brooks had a good day today. Marcel Pestano had his best day since I’ve been here. Not just catching the ball but showing some toughness. Getting knocked around a little bit and holding onto the ball. I thought our offensive line as a whole really showed up today and competed.

I think you could have cancelled the season and found Coach Wannstedt going fetal in a corner if they hadn’t responded today.

Kennard Cox’s consistency seems to have him winning the open CB position over Reggie Carter. Aaron Berry had a very good day. Not sure where he’ll be on the CB depth chart but expect to see him very active on special teams.

Punter Adam Graessle, Defensive Lineman Raashad Duncan and QB Tyler Palko got praised today. Dorin Dickerson is still not fully healthy. Conredge Collins, T.J. Porter and Conor Lee all were held out of practice as precautions or minor dings.

Mick Williams is still not right, but the MRI’s are clean.

Just a few little things.

According to PSR’s e-mail update, Jordan Mabin out of Macedonia, Ohio is going to delay his decision. It was expected that he would decide this Friday. Pitt was the big favorite, but now Mabin is going to wait. Apparently Northwestern has really come on strong and he has decided to take official visits to each. It will likely be in September before he makes his choice. Mabin is a 3-star or 4-star DB recruit. (It could also be he is still waiting to see if an offer will come from Ohio State, but that is just speculation on my part.)

Pitt verbal commit Dom DeCicco does one of the “blue chip Q&A” for the P-G.

COLLEGE TALK: DeCicco made a verbal commitment to Pitt June 16, choosing the Panthers over scholarship offers from such schools as Arizona State, Georgia Tech, Indiana and Cincinnati. DeCicco could play a number of positions at Pitt but said he was recruited to most likely play receiver, with the possibility of moving to defensive back.

Then, just about 10 miles up Route 2 from where I live, is Painesville, Ohio. For the SF geeks, that is notable as the birthplace of Harlan Ellison. There’s also a potential sleeper offensive lineman by the name of Jeff Spikes.

Spikes hasn’t played football since the seventh game of his freshman year when he sustained a broken leg. One leg surgery and two years of pesky stress fractures in his feet later, Spikes’ lower body is back in working condition.

And college coaches are noticing.

“For sure,” said first-year Harvey coach Devlin Culliver. “If he produces those first three games, there’s a list of schools that will offer (a full-ride scholarship). Right now, we have 10-12 schools that are really interested but are going to wait for the first tapes to come through. Most want one game film. Ohio State will probably want three.

“The only thing holding up the whole show is the tape.”

The window of opportunity for a Division I football scholarship is a small one for Spikes, Culliver said, but he is confident the huge two-way starter can sneak through it.

He might just break through it, despite not playing football for more than two years.

Culliver said he didn’t really know what to expect from Spikes when he convinced the basketball and track standout to give football another try. When Spikes had his cast removed April 5 from surgeries on each foot, it left only two weeks to get ready for a scouting combine hosted by the Browns.

“He wasn’t able to do anything up until then,” Culliver said. “I was like, ‘Don’t fall down and don’t look clumsy.’ By the time he went over the first bag, I looked up and there were 40 coaches wanting to talk to him.”

Which floored Spikes. It wasn’t something he expected.

After all, the only game film available is from his freshman year, and what college coach bases a player’s ability solely on film from nearly three years ago?

Ohio University and Miami (Ohio) were the first two schools to come knocking. Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt made the trip to Painesville not long after, and schools such as Bowling Green, Akron and North Carolina also took notice.

Culliver said the list is going to grow exponentially when game film becomes available.

“If Jeff would have played four years, he’d probably end up being a high school All-American,” Culliver said. “He has the natural ability to play the position. He’s a prototypical college tackle that big schools look for – the big, athletic, tight-end type of body. He understands the window is not real big to get this Division I scholarship, but barring an injury, I think he’ll play Division I somewhere.”

[Emphasis added.]

Spikes is quite literal in a way. He’s got a metal screw in each foot and 2 in one knee. Though, Pitt hasn’t offered (as noted, no school has), it is the highest profile school to show the earliest interest in him and he attended camp at Pitt.

Just some little things. Derek Kinder continues strong steady play as the #1 receiver.

Conredge Collins joined those who are a bit banged up.

While the offense was bad yesterday, the defense seemed to have plenty of good showings. Freshmen Defensive Tackles Jason Pinkston and John Malecki and Defensive End McKenzie Mathews all got rotated up to play with the first team during the practices.

Also Defensive Ends Doug Fulmer and John Clermond were seeing plenty of 1st team action.

While the wide receivers comes in for more scrutiny, the tight ends are looking even better.

Youth is the general excuse for the WRs slow progress. Unfortunately, that doesn’t explain the lack of any advancement with a number of players from last year to this year.

The Panthers are set to finish camp tomorrow and likely will do so with a depth chart at wide receiver that is unsettled. And unlike other positions, such as the defensive line, where the depth chart is cloudy because so many players have performed well, the receiver position is unsettled because of inconsistency.

Junior Derek Kinder is the only receiver who has consistently played at a high level throughout training camp. He is the veteran of the group and the leading returning receiver from last year. The coaches also believe redshirt freshman Oderick Turner has played well enough to separate himself from the rest of the pack and become a second viable option at receiver.

But after Kinder and Turner, there is no third option.

…

Hill pointed out that the receivers’ failure to progress as fast as he would like hasn’t been completely about a lack of ability. There have been injuries — McGee (calf) and Turner (ankle) have missed some time — and off-field issues — Porter left the team for a day and senior Joe DelSardo has been suspended for two weeks — that have hindered their progress as well.

The group also is extremely inexperienced — Kinder and DelSardo are the only two with more than five receptions in a game.

But the explanations for the state of the receiving corps don’t erase the fact that there is a game to be played in 11 days and the Panthers have only two receivers ready to play.

Kinder said he has seen a lot of improvement on the unit. The receivers have talked about holding on to the tradition of “Wide Receiver U.” and, as the veteran of the group, it is his job to help mentor the younger players.

He said most of the younger players have had trouble making the transition from high school to college, where receivers are asked to block and need to be a lot more physical to get open.

Seems like plenty of excuse making at the moment. Turner, by the way, tweaked his ankle in practice yesterday.
The better excuse might be that the receivers have been raided of the potentially best and/or fastest players for other positions. Elijah Fields is now a safety and Dorin Dickerson is practicing with the running backs. That I would actually buy.
The flip side is that the other part of Pitt’s receiving corp, the tight ends looks like it’s the strongest it has ever been. There is no question the depth there is best I’ve seen at Pitt, but Pitt has had an all-conference quality TE there the last 4 years. Kris Wilson was tremendous there for 2 years. Erik Gill really came into his own taking over for Wilson — though Gill had a bad senior year.

Pitt is turning its sights toward its tight ends, not only its biggest targets but also its most reliable. The Panthers are showing signs that three-tight end sets featuring fifth-year senior Steve Buches, junior Darrell Strong and freshman Nate Byham could become commonplace this season.

“As of right now, I think we should be the best targets on the team,” Strong said. “We’re still trying to find the second receiver, so that’s putting pressure on the tight ends. That’s going to be a big part of our offense this season.”

In such packages, Pitt will likely use a one-back set or an empty backfield and substitute a tight end for a fullback. Buches and Strong have lined up tight, next to the tackles, while Byham is split wide as an additional receiver.

“If you see three tight ends in a game, most defenses are thinking run,” Buches said, “so it can only help.”

Although the formation gives defenses a run-first look, any of the three tight ends – and, sometimes, all three – can release and go out for a pass.

“It gives us a luxury to try to get mismatches with corners or linebackers on our tight ends,” Pitt tight ends coach Brian Angelichio said. “When they see three tight ends on the field, they’re going to defend the run. With the athleticism of some of the guys we’ve got, they can catch the ball and stretch the field.”

The three tight end set will definitely see a fair number of appearances. What has me drooling with hope and anticipation is that the single back would be Dorin Dickerson. That could create some tremendous opportunities with misdirection and four very big targets. All of whom could catch the ball, plus the versatility of just giving it to Dickerson. It could even create the space to allow Palko to scramble for yardage.

Not to mention that both Dickerson and Strong played QB and could pass the ball on a trick play. We just have to depend on creativity from OC Cavanaugh and the rest of the offensive staff. Gulp.