Guys at the Cat Basket had been saying from the start, that Tino Sunseri was going to be handed the starting QB job by Coach Wannstedt in the spring. The early indications bore that out as the supposed to be a QB competition alternating the 1st and 2nd team between Pat Bostick and Sunseri went out the window as soon as practice began.

Now Offensive Coordinator Frank Cignetti is saying there is competition — but the description is in name only.

“Right now, there’s competition at every position. Tino’s number one and Pat’s number two, just like Dion Lewis is number one and Ray Graham is number two but there’s great competition. There’s competition at every position,” Cignetti said Thursday.

Cignetti’s analogy is telling: there’s no uncertainty about Lewis’s role in Pitt’s offense, and now there appears to be little uncertainty at the quarterback position as well.

Yeah, not the best comparison to suggest “competition” in the way expected. The thing that seems so odd is that Sunseri has hardly appeared to be running away with things by most accounts.

So far in spring camp, Sunseri has completed roughly 66% of his passes and has been intercepted six times, most coming in a rough outing on Tuesday when he threw four picks. Bostick has completed approximately 73.9% of his passes and has been picked off just twice.

“Some of the interceptions are bad decisions, and those are correctable,” Cignetti said. “Tino and Pat are doing a tremendous job of competing. The first thing we ask those young men to do is come out here and compete. They’re both out here to win a job, and they’re both here to win every snap and every drill. They’ve both done a very nice job running the offense. There are run-game adjustments, there are protection adjustments, and there are obviously decisions to make in the passing game, and I think that Tino and Pat have both made good decisive decisions.”

Yes, there is a big difference between passing against the 1st team defense and the 2nd team defense (especially with such low depth in the secondary). So that has to be taken into account. The fact that the coaching staff hasn’t even tried to switch things up early to pay lip service to competition with Sunseri and Bostick is still surprising. Even if the end result is predictable.

Also predictable. The story of a young player responding well to a new position coach and getting better. Hello, MLB Dan Mason and new Linebacker Coach Bernard Clark.

Mason has a new mentor who should help ease his transition. Bernard Clark took over as linebackers coach this spring after Joe Tumpkin left to become the defensive coordinator at Central Michigan.

Clark won two national championships when he was the starting linebacker for the Miami Hurricanes in 1987 and ’89. He wants to help Mason with his mental approach to the game.

“The best thing about Dan is he has such natural instincts,” Clark said. “The thing about Dan is you have to slow him down. He’s so excited about playing. He’s really hyper when he’s out there on the field. It’s basically pulling the reigns back and letting him know things develop in front of him — let it develop and react that way. He’s so quick to react right now. That’s the biggest thing we’re working with him on right now. His instincts and speed are outstanding.”

How’s it going in learning to handle pass coverage?

Clark said it’s not unusual for a linebacker coming from the high school ranks to be behind in pass coverage skills. Most high school teams do not face sophisticated passing schemes, so when they line up in college and face intricate passing games it is the first time they are exposed to it.

“It’s a situation where he hasn’t played the pass as much, so it’s getting used to it more than anything,” Clark said.

Insert cynical, snarky, outdated comment about going against Pitt’s offense to learn pass coverage.

Now for the silly. Pitt has depth at running back. We all know that. There’s some quality at the spot. So there’s the story of the competition pushing Dion Lewis and the absurd headline to the article. “Pitt rushing game won’t be one-man show.”

“We all know Dion had a lot of success last season. We know he did a great job,” said Pitt running backs coach David Walker. “But Ray Graham’s trying to win a job. Jason Douglas is trying to win the starting tailback job. Chris Burns is trying to win the starting tailback job. So, those guys are working hard, and they’re not going to concede anything to Dion.”

Now to be fair, there is nothing in the story to suggest that Pitt is even pretending that there will be a rotation at running back. Also keep in mind that the story writer is not the guy that writes the headlines for articles.

Take those factors out and it becomes a standard spring practice story on a position that is set. We know that Dion Lewis is the starter. That he is going to be the workhouse back — having already shown he can handle it — and that Coach Wannstedt is a one-back guy.

This is my fault. Luke has sent me some updates, but I’ve been lousy about getting them posted. So, here’s how the final scenarios play out:

Renato leads with 293 points, but he can garner no further points with his Kansas-Kentucky championship game. He needs Duke to beat WVU, then lose to the winner of Butler-Michigan State.

Jacob actually nailed three of the four Final Four teams. If WVU wins the whole thing, he takes the prize. Presently he sits back at 229 points but WVU can carry him all the way to 325 points.

Eric has WVU in the championship game, but losing to Syracuse. If WVU beats Duke but loses the Championship, he takes the prize with 306 points.

Finally, OntarioLetsGoPitt also picked a Duke-WVU match-up, but went with Duke winning the entire thing. If Duke wins the NCAA Tournament, OLGP gets to 294 points and just edges Renato by a single point.

Not too confusing at this point.

Hello all. Sorry for the gaps. Been visiting family and yesterday was travel day to get home.

Coach Jamie Dixon was doing studio work for CBS College Sports Saturday night in New York City. Guess who was also in NYC that same weekend?

It is not known if Dixon has officially been interviewed by Pat Kilkenny, the former UO director of athletics heading the search, but it seems likely. Dixon is in New York this weekend, working for CBS College Sports Network, while a source indicated that Kilkenny traveled to New York on Friday and was still there Saturday.

Kilkenny could have also arranged to meet other coaches during his stay in New York, but Dixon is the only one definitely known to also be in the city. Neither Dixon nor Kilkenny responded to telephone calls Saturday.

Texas A&M’s Mark Turgeon, who had once been an assistant at Oregon is apparently out as he just got a raise and extension prior to the weekend. The money is for $1.5 million — or about $100K less than what Coach Dixon reportedly earns. Why this means Turgeon is out, but Dixon is still in play exactly remains a mystery.

Tubby Smith remains another mystery as to whether Oregon really wants him, and whether he is really interested. Some reports say he’s going nowhere, others suggest he is mulling a slight bump to $2 million +/year to go west.

Smith has been offered the University of Oregon job, but hasn’t accepted it, a person with knowledge of the situation told the Pioneer Press on Sunday.

The offer is believed to be in excess of $2 million annually. Smith, who led the Gophers to a 21-14 record and a second straight NCAA tournament appearance in his third season this year, currently earns a salary of $1.8 million a year.

Oregon representatives contacted Smith directly last week about the job, a person close to Smith said Friday. But Eugene, Ore., television station KEZI-TV reported Sunday that Smith wasn’t a candidate and that the university hadn’t spoken to him.

I am not too sure about believing anything from that Eugene TV station after this report.

A source close to the University of Oregon Athletic Department has told KEZI the Ducks are planning to offer Michigan State Head Coach Tom Izzo the largest contract in college basketball, with the backing of Oregon’s biggest booster, Nike Chairman Phil Knight.

Kentucky Head Coach John Calipari currently has the largest contract, after he signed an eight-year, $31.65 million deal last year. Izzo currently makes about $2.5 million per year, excluding bonuses.

Don’t get me wrong, after this weekend it is hard not to say that Izzo is one of the absolute best coaches in college basketball and is the present master of NCAA Tournament. Now appearing in his sixth Final Four. So if anyone is going to get the biggest contract out there, why not him. It is simply that when you add in his bonuses, Izzo makes well over $3 million. He’ll get another raise after this year. Plus he is a Michigan native with no ties or reason to go to Oregon.

Oh, and then there is the fact that the guy — who is not the AD at Oregon — running the search says he wants his the coach hired by the weekend of the Final Four. The lack of knowing who is in charge at Oregon (I mean aside from Nike) is going to be a big deterrent for anyone other than an assistant or mid-major coach to take the gig. Heck, they don’t even have an interim AD at this point.

The interim AD is Lorraine Davis, who doesn’t take her post until April 20, and won’t be involved in the hiring.

The decision will instead be made by Kilkenny.

But what will Kilkenny’s long-term role be with the Ducks?

Unless he is planning on again running the department on a daily basis, the new coach is likely to want some assurance of any promises that are made to him. That could come from UO president Rirchard Lariviere, but he’s traveling in Asia for the next week and unavailable for an in-person talk with any coaches.

It’s no wonder that ESPN’s Andy Katz is dismissing all the “names” that Oregon is pursuing.

Once Oregon is done with Smith (after not getting Turgeon), Gonzaga’s Mark Few, Florida’s Billy Donovan and Pitt’s Jamie Dixon, the Ducks will have to refocus the search.

The lack of stability in the Oregon athletic department is the main reason I dismiss most of the Dixon talk.

Has he listened to what Oregon is trying to sell? Wouldn’t surprise me in the least. Outside of more cash — which he has turned down at other places with better potential — there isn’t much to want. Add in questions of who would actually be in charge of the athletic department, when Dixon has shown an understanding of how that really affects the success or failure of the coach, and it looks like a ridiculous longshot.

UPDATE (10:08 AM): And here’s a post from Jeff Goodman at FoxSports saying that Oregon is now focused on Tubby Smith and that Dixon “spurned” Oregon interest.

However, most top-tier coaches understand that the job isn’t nearly as attractive as the Ducks believe it to be. Sure, there’s the Nike connection – but the recruiting base is often bare and even with a state-of-the-art new building set to open, it’s an average Pac-10 job.

Oregon attempted to get guys like Gonzaga’s Mark Few, Florida’s Billy Donovan and Pittsburgh’s Jamie Dixon, but were spurned by all three.

So it twirls.