Taking a moment from conference realignment angst. How about some good things.
Like LaRod Stephens-Howling doing good back in Johnstown.
“I was really nervous coming in, and LaRod was nervous,” [Artrell] Hawkins said. “We talked (Thursday) morning. We were both like, ‘Did you go to sleep last night?’ Aw, I couldn’t go to sleep last night, either.’ We wanted it to be something that was effective and fun for the kids. I stayed up all night double-checking everything, and LaRod said he did the same thing.”
The free camp features 100 players from eight local schools, but it focuses on more than just football. Hawkins and Stephens-Howling also work with the players on community involvement and leadership skills.
“They’re learning a lot of things out here,” Stephens-Howling said. “We’re just trying to be as positive as we can be and be great role models for them.”
So working with some local high school players at a camp in their hometown should be no problem, right?
But Hawkins, who played 10 years in the NFL before retiring in 2008, and Stephens-Howling, who is about to begin his second season with the Arizona Cardinals, had some nerves before their three-day camp started at Trojan Stadium on Thursday.
They are also participating in further community service by helping to clear an area for a trail.
The extension will connect the trail from its current head near the Ferndale Bridge in Moxham to the city by building approximately 1.5 miles of trail through Moxham and Hornerstown.
Hawkins and Stephens-Howling, along with the high school athletes attending their football camp this weekend, will help clear the overgrown planned trail area along the Stonycreek River opposite Greater Johnstown High School and will help create a veterans memorial along the Sandyvale Memorial Gardens section of the trail.
Stephens-Howling has been very active in Johnstown, despite playing in Arizona.
Now, stop me if you have heard this before. Dorin Dickerson is going to be playing a new position.
Dickerson hasn’t played wide receiver since his freshman year at Pitt, but he has the benefit of learning a new position from the NFL’s best.
Dickerson is the living, breathing example of what a seventh-round draft pick is supposed to be. He has an impressive package of skills, is smart and has a terrific attitude. That said, there’s no way of knowing when or if he’ll be a productive player. He understands that special teams may be his path onto the roster for at least a year or two.
He jumped onto the radar screen at the scouting combine with a 431/2 -inch vertical leap and 4.38 clocking in the 40. All the Texans had to figure out was if they could find a way to use those skills.
Dickerson played wide receiver, fullback, linebacker and tight end during four years at Pitt. He played tight end his senior year, but his speed and 6-4 height prompted Kubiak to think wide receiver was a possibility.
“His coaches at Pitt loved the kid but were never able to find him a home,” Kubiak said. “There’s a risk there, but the athlete is not a risk. He’s very athletic. Moving around has been hard on him. Hopefully, we’ll settle him down, and he’ll be the best he can be.”
Cardiac Hill notes he has to lose some more weight.
In future news, the Big 33 game is this weekend. As usual, a fair amount of players won’t make it.
Future Nittany Lions weren’t the only stars who won’t shine in Hershey on Saturday.
Penn Hills teammates Cullen Christian, a four-star defensive back prospect headed to Michigan, and Aaron Donald, a defensive tackle who is bound for Pitt, both chose not to play in the game, as did Gateway wide receiver Brendon Felder, who will play for North Carolina.
Injuries play a part every year as well. Sam Bergen, the Rutgers-bound linebacker from East Stroudsberg South, will miss the game with an injury, as will Bishop Canevin’s Drake Greer, a kicker who is headed to Pitt.
Add it all up, and that’s a significant amount of star power that won’t be on the field Saturday. And you could very easily argue that, as has often been the case since the game was moved from late July to mid-June in 2006, the dwindling number of marquee names has less to do with a lack of enthusiasm for the game than with the increasing number of players enrolling early.
One of the players who was tabbed to take a spot after the injuries and early enrollments turned them down because he was already committed to another all-star HS game (hattip to PittScript).
That means Penn Hills’ Brandon Ifill was effectively No. 35.
The star WPIAL defensive back had an opportunity earlier this week to move up to what most would consider to be the bigger game because of an injury to a Big 33 player. Instead, he told the Big 33 thanks but no thanks and decided to stay in Blair County and play at Mansion Park on Friday in the 10th annual Pennsylvania Scholastic Football Coaches Association East West All-Star Game.
Ifill’s decision brought a smile to the face of game director John Hayes in the parking lot between Tiger Stadium the Hollidaysburg Area Junior High School.
“I’m here. I’m dedicated to this game,” Ifill said calmly of his choice. “Why would I change up?
“They [the East West Game] wanted me for me, not just because they needed someone replaced. They wanted me for me.”
Pitt Script also has a link-filled, video-clip embedded feature on Anthony Gonzalez.
Despite all the angst and uncertainty about what conference Pitt will eventually play and how much money they get, the present and future for Pitt football looks pretty damn good.
“After taking over at his own 30 with 1:28 showing on the stadium clock, the St. Ignatius High School product and Pitt steal lit a fire under his troops in the huddle. And then he went out and torched the Pennsylvania defense.”
I’m not sure I’d read too much into the early enrollment. It’s not as important as in football since there organized team activities are much more limited in the summer. The biggest advantage is that it gets the player a head start on some course work prior to the fall.
It’s actually quite amazing.
I think you’re probably right about early enrollment being less important for round ball, but it still seems to me like the depth chart’s a little crowded in front of Epps. Gibbs and Woodall are going to see the majority of minutes at PG, don’t you think, given the way Dixon seems to favor the upperclassmen? I think Epps will have to be really good or Woodall really bad for Dixon not to (in all likelihood) give him a look-see early on against some non-conference opponents and then redshirt him.
As for Epps, my impression is that he has the potential to be a pretty special player. If he is as good as advertised, I’d expect him to pick up significant minutes in the guard rotation. Will he start? I wouldn’t think so, for many of the reasons Jeff lists. But I’d be very surprised if he isn’t given an opportunity to play. He’s that good.
Again, if there is newer information out there, I’ll gladly stand corrected.
The same article mentions one benefit of early enrollment this year that I had forgotten about. The Pitt team is heading overseas to lay this summer and the early enrollees will be allowed to go as long as they complete at least one summer course. Presumably Moore and Wright will be able to go but Epps will not.
Wright…..maybe 6’3″, built better, handled the ball nicely and seemed pretty smart on the court. No shot yet, but looks like he could be a nice addition in future years. He had McGhee on his team and I liked the fact that he was smart enought to set up pick and roll situations so he could get McGhee the ball going to the hoop.
TJ McConnell ate up Woodall last night. Shook him a couple times where I don’t even think “Tra” knew what went past him. It was interesting — I’m not sure what McConnell could do in a BE game, but there’s no doubt he has a better floor game than anyone Pitt has. He had a bunch of steals purely because he was a couple steps ahead of the action……..anticipating…….and he’s lot quicker than you expect. But he’s still pretty small…..
Gil Brown shot 3 for 19. Enough said. The Slovenian league is beckoning.
Taylor looks in a little better shape. No dramatic difference; best we can hope for there is that he turns into a good big man. There’s no giant upside.
Zanna has some more heft to him; looks like they’ve had him on the weights. He’ll be ready to play by the time he graduates.
I’ll probably go up one more time to get another look. So far, freshmen look promising but the vets are really uninspiring.
I am a little more bullish on Taylor than Hugh. He looked stronger and more importantly played stronger. He was more aggressive on the boards and went up stronger with the ball in the paint. He still has a long way to go, but there are some encouraging signs. Compared to last year at Green Tree, he’s a monster.
McGhee looked good. He seems to keep getting better. His footwork looked good, he added a couple of post moves. I can’t believe I’m going to type this, but he might actually cash an NBA paycheck next year.
Nothing different about Brad and Nas. I feel bad for Lamar Patterson, don’t know where his minutes will come from. He’s not big enough to play 4 and not quick enough to play 3. Wright and Moore look like they will pass him on the depth chart quickly.
