Even with the loss of Steve Buches, our group of tight ends is possibly the deepest position on the team. Senior Darrell Strong and sophomores Nate Byham and John Pelusi are all going to see playing time — it just depends who will see the most.
Right now the depth chart looks like it is going to be Byham as the starter with Strong and Pelusi each seeing some time on the field.
“Nate came in as the No. 1 guy in the rotation, but we’re going to use all the tight ends,” tight ends coach Brian Angelichio said.
“They all do things a little bit differently. We’re going to use all of their strengths wherever they can help us win football games.”
Pelusi is generally considered the best blocker of the bunch, and Strong, who led Pitt’s TE’s with 15 receptions, 171 yards and three touchdowns in 2006, is thought of as the best pass catcher and route runner. So what is Byham? Darrell Strong has that answer:
Nate is a mixture of me and Pelusi, just a little lighter.
It looks like most of the times that Pelusi and Strong see action will be in two tight end sets.
“I don’t see Nate coming off the field very often,” Wannstedt said. “I don’t see any scenario, unless we go no tight-end, where Nate will be standing next to me [on the sidelines].”
We rarely hear such a straightforward sentence from Wannstedt, but it’s a welcome change. Byham is their man right now, and he says he is feeling some pressure. As long as he can contain it and turn it into productivity then the pressure isn’t all bad. He says even if he were to be dropped to the 2 spot on the depth chart, he’ll still “feel comfortable in [his] role.”
Strong, who the article is mainly focused on, is trying to move forward and forget past actions. You might recall him throwing up his middle finger after a TD at South Florida.
“I’m past [those incidents] right now,” Strong said. “I’m trying to go out this season and surprise myself and everybody that’s around me. I’m definitely looking forward to this season, especially since it’s my senior season.”
He missed two games because of the incident. Meanwhile, sophomore John Pelusi was redshirted last year because of a knee injury, which he says feels fine now. In 2005 as a true freshman he played in 11 games.
Overall, the TE corps looks like it’ll be a solid group — not only this year but with two sophomores, the future looks good too.
“You can put any three of us out there, and we’ll get the job done,” Strong said.
“Having all three of us is not only good for the team, but it gives the coaching staff a lot of options,” Pelusi said.
Awesome.
“I’m not crazy about us being ranked lower than Rutgers, Louisville, and West Virginia. I think we could beat all of those teams.” and to get in a shot at us:
“It’s certainly better than being unranked like some people… (with a hyperlink to pittblather on the word “people”).
More of the hype 11’s “we would win if we did play” bullshit…same shit over and over again.
Meanwhile they can’t beat a top 25 team the entire year. What a joke, as usual. I’m suprised they don’t get along better with ND fans considering the similarity in delusions over how bad they are. Who was their big win last year? Tennessee? They’d get shelled playing any of the top 3 in the BEast. Stay in the big ten as the #4 team, talk your garbage, and don’t play any real teams to get exposed. Your fan base will keep you overrated every year.
While we are on the subject of Pitt 12-0 over State Penn U, if other Big 10 teams thought about it, they would want 2 for 1 home games in basketball with State Penn U. It must be a lot of fun for them to go visit up in them thar mountains in the winter. I will never forget those dumb bus rides up there in the winter. What a great destination 🙁
…Maybe it’s just because ESPN is pissed that the Big 11 Network is going to take some of their games?
As for out TE situation, I’m loving it. Maybe it took Strong 4 years to grow up but better late than never. Strong and Byham in a 2 tight end set could cause some problems this year. If everything works out like in my dreams then PITT has the number 1 ranked offense in the Big East.
Reading this article really made me hope that the staff is coaching how important downfield blocking will be this season. With LSH & McCoy carrying, and our speedy WRs, we might see a lot of regular plays turn into big gainers if these guys and the WRs can block in open space.