The All-Pitt team discussion with Paul Zeise continues with the topic of coaching staff.
In his Big East notes column (Insider subs.), Joe Starkey writes of Pitt’s need to work on improving the pass offense in the bye week to help open things up for LeSean McCoy. Then turns to the defense.
Redshirt freshman defensive end Greg Romeus has begun to make a large impact. The 6-foot-5, 250-pound Romeus killed Syracuse’s final drive with a sack Saturday, a week after making several big plays against Louisville. … Middle linebacker Scott McKillop leads the Big East and is fourth nationally averaging 12 tackles per game. … Pitt’s defense has improved from 87th in the country last season (363 yards per game) to 17th (313.1).
Cynical response. Don’t worry, there’s still time.
Don’t worry, though, Pitt apparently did another outstanding job of preserving redshirts.
Pittsburgh had an opportunity to redshirt 17 freshmen this fall, while Pat Bostick, LeSean McCoy, JaBbaal Sheard, Dom DeCicco and Maurice Williams all had playing time as first-year players. Wideout Aaron Smith, cornerback Buddy Jackson, fullback Henry Hynoski, cornerback Sherrod Murdock, linebacker Brandon Lindsey, running back Greg Williams, running back Shariff Harris, linebacker Max Gruder, offensive lineman Greg Gaskins, defensive lineman Wayne Jones, offensive lineman Jordan Gibbs, offensive lineman John Fieger, wideout Aundre Wright, defensive end Tony Tucker, defensive tackle Myles Caragein and defensive end Justin Hargrove.
…
Two other freshmen, offensive linemen Dan Matha and Chris (Lumpy) Jacobson, had season-ending injuries in training camp and were redshirted. Sophomore tailback Kevin Collier (broken wrist), sophomore offensive tackle Jason Pinkston (shoulder), senior wideout Derek Kinder (knee), junior defensive tackle Gus Mustakas (knee) and junior quarterback Bill Stull (thumb) needed surgery and were fortunate to have redshirts available. Elijah Fields played sparingly as a freshman in 2006 and was redshirted this season while under suspension for disciplinary reasons.
Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt believed there were a handful of freshmen that he wanted to get some playing experience this season, but in the end he decided to hold them out for a redshirt.
Anyhow. I think it is taken as almost a given that Pitt doesn’t just have to, but will recruit at least one JUCO offensive lineman. Jeff Otah has worked out well and gets a nice puff piece from his home state Delaware paper.
“Coming from a small state like Delaware, you’re never sure how you’re going to match up against guys from the biggest schools and bigger states,” he said. “And with my background and inexperience, I really didn’t know what to expect.”
Now, he does. Otah is a starting left tackle at the University of Pittsburgh, and the 6-foot-6, 340-pounder is a legitimate NFL prospect who’s certain to be drafted next April.
Not bad for a guy who didn’t even play football as a junior at William Penn and then, because of a broken hand, played in just three games as a senior on defense
This article actually ranks him as the #2 OT for the 2008 draft.
2. Jeff Otah, Pittsburgh: Big, athletic and explosive. Is a bit on the raw side because he played only one year in high school and then went to a junior college. Might have more long-term potential than Long, but isn’t as NFL ready.
Mel Kiper, Jr. has him as 14th among senior OTs.
On the recruiting front, there’s this.
But Norwin’s Mike Shanahan and Central Catholic’s Tino Sunseri also have college recruiting on their minds a lot these days.
The college situations for Shanahan and Sunseri have changed drastically in recent weeks. Shanahan, a 6-foot-5, 200-pound senior receiver/defensive back, decided this summer he wanted to play basketball in college, turning down football scholarship offers from West Virginia, Stanford, Georgia Tech and a few others.
But Shanahan has changed his mind and now thinks he might want to play football in college. Pitt offered him a scholarship a few weeks ago. West Virginia also is recruiting him again for football.
Meanwhile, Sunseri, a 6-1, 200-pound quarterback, made a verbal commitment in the spring to the University of Louisville. But he also had a change of heart in the past few weeks and reopened his recruiting. Pitt and Boston College recently offered scholarships to Sunseri, and he plans to make an official visit to Boston College.
We’ll see.
