Perhaps Georgia Tech AD Dan Radackovich misremembered?

Or perhaps it was AD Steve Pederson and Assistant Athletic Director/Football Operations Chris LaSala?

You may recall Post-Gazette beat writer Paul Zeise wrote this.

There are rumors flying around the Internet that Pitt and Georgia Tech are nearing a deal to play a home and home in football. As it turns out, they seem to be just that — rumors, and not very credible ones.

How do I know?

I asked Steve Pederson — who in turn asked Chris LaSala — and both laughed as they said they have never spoken with Georgia Tech.

Since I was likely the source thanks to a loyal reader and an Atlanta resident, I couldn’t back up the “rumor” at the time. The station only put the first half of the interview on their site.

Thankfully there are all these technological things like e-mail and mp3s. So, I e-mailed the producer of Mayhem in the A.M. at Sports Radio 790 The Zone in Atlanta, Scott Klug. He was nice enough to send me the MP3 of the second part of their interview with Georgia Tech AD Dan Radakovich.

Here’s the final 1:47 of the interview where they do get into the non-con football schedule.

GT AD Dan Radakovich Interview

Is this conclusive that it will happen? No. Does it suggest that Pitt and GT have done more than a little talking? I’d say so.

So, at least now that “rumor” has a source.

So much activity in the first week of training camp. So many stories to mention. Just need to get them out of my browser tabs.

The secondary has lots of battles going on for starting positions. Senior Eric Thatcher appears set at free safety.

It was a battle in spring drills and it is still raging as Dom DeCicco and Elijah Fields are trying to get the starting strong safety position.

The mix of experience and his ability to grasp the defense is what sets DeCicco apart, [Secondary Coach Jeff] Hafley said.

“Dom covers a lot of ground,” he said. “He’s very physical, he’s a great tackler and he’s an intelligent football player. He’s a young kid right now, he’s only really been playing college football for one season, but he’s pretty intelligent back there. That’s a position where he’s got to be a leader and he’s got to be a quarterback. He brings those intangibles to the defense.”

Fields also brings an important aspect to the Panthers defense. He lettered as a freshman in 2006, appearing in eight games on special teams, before redshirting last fall.

“I think I just have to learn the defense inside and out and make plays, do what I usually do,” Fields said. “(Dom and I) are both like the same size, with my speed, covering ability and closure to the ball and stuff like that, I think I’ve got a good shot.”

“Everybody kind of says the same thing, he’s a super athlete,” Hafley said of Fields. “He can run, jump, he’s physical, he’s got the size you want, he’s got great coverage skills and he’s learning the game. He’s done a nice job, he had a great offseason and we’re really hoping he becomes a part of it this year.”

DeCicco has the advantage of getting a year of practice and playing special teams, while Fields had to sit all of last year due to a suspension. I expect this one to get a lot more attention deeper into camp, and the final decision to come late.

Then there is cornerback. Aaron Berry isn’t going anywhere at field cornerback, but at the boundary position and determining the depth chart, it seems up in the air. Jovani Chappel came into the training camp at the top of the chart on that side, but that was definitely written in pencil.

Buddy Jackson has already gotten some early mentions by Coach Wannstedt, and his athleticism is a big reason why.

Jackson, a 6-foot-1 redshirt freshman from Plantation, Fla., runs the 40-yard dash in 4.3 seconds, has a standing broad jump of almost 11 feet and sports a 41-inch vertical leap. He can dunk a basketball with two hands — after doing a 360-degree spin in the air — and ran the 100-meter dash in 10.4 seconds in high school.

…

News of Jackson’s 40 time and other numbers began to circulate and as the summer wore on he began getting offers from programs in the SEC, ACC and even the Big 12.

Jackson stuck with his commitment to Pitt because it was the first school to give him a shot and because he said Pitt “just felt like home to me.” Coaches are hoping his knowledge of the position and football ability can match his physical ability sooner rather than later for Pitt, which is ranked 19th by Sports Illustrated in the magazine’s preseason poll being released today.

Jackson doesn’t shy away from contact, so that also helps him. Freshmen Ronald Hobby and Jared Holley have also been noticeable in the position battles. It is crowded back there with Chappel and Ricky Gary as well.

Good problem to have.

Yesterday was the scolding day for the quarterbacks.

“I have not been happy with our quarterback play. I would like to think we would be a bit farther along than what we have shown. We have not shown the execution that I would like to see. Our expectation for these guys is a little higher than where we are at right now. We did inside run drills today and with both groups the defense did get the better of the offense. However, I have never been a part of a good team anywhere in the first couple days where the defense is not ahead of the offense at this point.”

Effect of the quarterback play on the defense:

“No, the decision making and execution is there. It’s on them to perform better and be more efficient.”

On how the quarterbacks will respond to the challenge:

“They will respond fine. It’s only practice three but we hold that position highly and if we’re going to play well they have to play well.”

Of course that last comment strikes me as somewhat conflicting to Coach Wannstedt’s general view that a QB for his squad just needs to manage the game. An implication that the QB just needs to be competent and avoid mistakes.

The defense dominated in the first day of pads at practice, as expected. Still, Paul Zeise has not been impressed by the QBs so far.

Bill Stull got things started on the wrong foot this morning with an inconsistent session but you have to figure he’ll get it together as he is a smart kid, a tough kid and he is generally an accurate passer. The guys behind him, however, I’m not so sure.

Kevan Smith has struggled with his accuracy and consistency going back to the spring. Pat Bostick still needs to develop some arm strength and his accuracy has seemingly gotten worse, not better. And Greg Cross, while he is capable of being a nice change of pace, needs to show he can beat someone with his arm as well as his legs or the Wildcat will become just another goofy formation with a predictable — and thus ultimately not successful — outcome.

Again, it is early, but so far the struggles of the quarterbacks — struggles which have not gone unnoticed by the head coach — have begun to be a bit of a developing storyline.

Though, when the QBs do start to get it together, it already looks like they will have a very helpful target.

Bossard, Pitt’s new receivers coach, exchanged stunned looks with offensive coordinator Matt Cavanaugh as both watched with amazement a feat of incredible athleticism.

“There was no spoken word, but we were both saying the same thing,” Bossard said. “I thought that ball was eight feet out of bounds.”

At 6-foot-5, 222 pounds, with 4.4-second speed in the 40-yard dash and a 40 1/2-inch vertical leap, Baldwin is challenging the dimensions of the playing field and the Panthers’ passing game as a downfield threat who provides a big target in the end zone.

The word redshirt has not and will not be spoken in conjunction with Jonathan Baldwin.

It hasn’t helped the QBs, that the defensive line manhandled the offensive line. The D-line apparently looks strong and deep.

“I’ve been very, very pleased with their effort,” Gattuso said. “I think that complacency is a danger now that these guys are getting a little older and feeling a little more confident, but their effort has been outstanding. Right now, we have four tackles who have played and started a lot of games, and they are all having a good camp.

“I think one of the things we’ve found is the best motivator is competition and depth, and, right now, they are all pushing each other, so you can’t help but be pleased with what we’ve seen so far.”

…

Gattuso said the Panthers likely will use a rotation of four tackles and three ends once the season begins.

“I don’t know who is going to end up the starters, though Mick Williams has really been playing at a high level right now,” Gattuso said. “But I can put any of these guys in and feel good about it. The one thing I will say is I’ve talked to Jabaal Sheard about how he needs to increase his effort and how he needed to become more coachable, and he’s responded well. He’s working harder. I’ve never worried about his talent or his instincts, it is the fundamentals and techniques and, if he keeps working on those things, he’ll be a starter and a great player for us.”

And don’t forget about players who redshirted last year.

Myles Caragein dominated the afternoon practice like no other, in both one-on-one and team drills. He used a spin to beat right guard John Bachman almost untouched, then flipped to the other side and beat left guard Josh Novotny.

Caragein also was disruptive against the run, stopping Harris at the line on one play and beating Bachman to hit Harris behind the line of scrimmage on another. Caragein is capable of playing inside or outside on the defensive line, and it’s just a matter of Pitt coaches figuring out how to use him.

Of course, the question that always is there at this time of year. Is the defensive line really that good, or is the offensive line struggling?

Q: It has been widely documented that the 08 season will be contingent upon the performance of the o-line. But the line must face arguably the best defense in the nation. How much of their poor performance has to do with facing an awesome defense every day in practice?

ZEISE: I will concede that some of the struggles of the line in the spring were due to injury and the defense being so good. So far in camp, however, even though they haven’t gone in full pads and at full speed, it appears as if the line is going to struggle again. And some of that is the defensive line being so good but a lot of it is inexperience and the fact that these guys haven’t played a lot together as a unit. That’s why I would expect (and Pitt fans should hope) that as this unit plays together (once the starting five is sorted out) it will get better and better, and it should because this group is talented. The problem is that is not a guarantee. You never know how long it takes for linemen to develop and for the chemistry to develop between them. We know there is talent, we know it will get better with experience but we don’t know how fast the learning curve will be.

Apparently O-line Coach Tony Wise, is very high on John Malecki on the offensive line.

Q: How has John Malecki looked at offensive guard? Even with the depth at D-line I am still concerned about this move. He was a beast on the d-line.

ZEISE: If you go back to top and look at what I wrote, you’ll see I couldn’t disagree more. The defensive tackle position is fine — and he would have a hard time getting a lot of playing time there, particularly with Mick Williams and Tommie Duhart and Gus Mustakas and Rashaad Duncan all playing as well as they are. He is going to be a beast as an offensive guard. Tony Wise — the line coach — said his toughness, his intensity, his fearlessness, his physical play have all rubbed off on the other guys on the line — he’s a fighter and he loves to hit people and block people. This staff gets criticized for moving people around and sometimes justifiably so but not in this case. This was the absolute right move for both Malecki and the team.

Just a day past 3 weeks until we start to see for ourselves about all of this.