Last year Dion Lewis grabbed the starting tailback job as a true freshman. A lot of attention was on how he beat the more heralded Ray Graham — also a true freshman. Really, though, it was that he also beat Chris Burns and Sharif Harris that made it surprising. Before the season started, this seemed like a bigger concern. I mean, Lewis didn’t even have the starting job at this time last year in camp. It was still open.

Hindsight (or even just a couple games into last season) made it obvious that Dion Lewis was a special player that was somehow missed by nearly everyone as Pitt was his only 1-A offer when he accepted. A mix of luck, shrewd evaluation, and late realizations by other programs.

Now that theme is being promoted with true freshman CB K’Wuan Williams.

“If he continues to improve he has a shot to help us,” said defensive backs coach Jeff Hafley. “We still have a long way to go before that first game, and he has a lot of work to do with the rest of us. But he’s putting himself in position to battle for a spot. There is no question about that.”

That’s quite an accomplishment for someone who did not receive another scholarship offer coming out of St. Joseph Regional High in Paterson, N.J.

Williams appears to be another recruiting coup for Hafley, who is gaining a strong reputation for being able to identify high school players out of New Jersey. Hafley is the coach who is responsible for landing another lightly recruited player from New Jersey, Heisman Trophy candidate Dion Lewis, and many other New Jersey-bred players on the roster.

One of the reasons Williams was overlooked by major-conference schools was his height. He was only 5 feet 8 as a senior in high school. He has grown a full two inches since signing day in February, which has been an added bonus for the Panthers.

It’s not to say that Williams will be starting in the first game. Antwuan Reed has one spot locked-up. Ricky Gary is a senior and has played well in training camp, so he looks like the other.

What Williams has done is guaranteed that he won’t be redshirting. He passed JUCO Saheed Imoru — who was expected to be starting opposite Reed after a good spring practice — and senior Buddy Jackson to be the third corner so far.

Again, this is all really good for Williams and speaks well for him at the position. It is also another feather in the cap of DB Coach and NJ recruiting fiend Jeff Hafley to recognize his potential.

That said, it hardly looks good for Pitt’s present crop of CBs. Buddy Jackson gets raves for his athleticism. This after coming back from injuries that have cost him seasons, and chances in the depth chart. He’s healthy, but getting burned. This time, it simply seems he doesn’t have the drive. As if the effort to continually get healthy and get on the field have taken it all out of him.

And then there is no one else. Aaron Berry and Jovanni Chappel were not always beloved players at their spots, but at the same time Pitt was extremely lucky on how healthy they were last year. There was no depth behind them. While Reed has made big strides by all accounts, last year it was ugly when he went in to games.

For all the depth Pitt has at various positions, the cornerback position does not appear to be one of them. Especially when you realize that Jackson and Gary are gone after this season.