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August 27, 2010

Hitting the Player Pieces

Filed under: Football,Players — Chas @ 9:58 am

Still backed up, and everytime I think I’m going to get caught-up, I get bogged down with other things.

The loyalty of the tailbacks seems to be a theme. Ray Graham has been noted for his loyalty despite a 4-star, sought after RB stuck behind Dion Lewis. Well, behind Graham is Jason Douglas. Another part of the 2009 recruiting class. The redshirt freshman has been just as loyal.

“I knew coming back this year that I was up against Ray and Dion and those two are great backs, the two best running backs I have ever seen,” Douglas said. “But if you are a competitor, you still have to come out and compete for your spot every day. And now I got an opportunity, I just need to go out there and make the most of it. I just want to make some plays, help Pitt win football games.

“You never know when your opportunity is going to come so you have to stick with it.”

Redshirt sophomore Chris Burns has also remained loyal despite not seeing playing time. I have to believe that part of it is simply they know that with RB Coach David Walker they are getting taught by the best out there.

AP wire article starring Tino Sunseri. Think the theme might be inexperience?

The No. 15 Panthers begin one of the nation’s toughest nonconference schedules Thursday at Utah, in a stadium where the home team hasn’t lost in three years. They’ll go there with a quarterback who’s never started a major college game.

Tino Sunseri, a redshirt sophomore, has thrown all of 17 college passes. He’s never stepped into a stadium knowing that his team’s success that day rested largely on his play. He’s never thrown a touchdown pass that’s won a college game, or thrown an interception that’s lost it.

Still, the Panthers don’t seem to be the least bit worried that Sunseri’s inexperience is a glaring negative going into one of the toughest road openers in school history.

“Everybody has to start somewhere,” Sunseri said. “Look at all the great quarterbacks who come out, Colt McCoy, all those other guys. They had to start and play some teams. I’d rather play one of the teams that’s good rather than a bad one.”

Everyone is publicly being confident.

The helpful thing is having a target like Jon Baldwin. Size, strength and hops.

Tristan Roberts gets some love from his local paper for being such a hard worker.

Motivating himself by just wanting to contribute to the team and stay healthy, Roberts has shot up the depth chart this offseason and currently finds his name in the starting lineup at weakside linebacker.

Roberts played some linebacker for the Panthers two years, but has not played every down since his days at Pennridge.

“I got here and played weak side, went to strong side, and now I am back learning the weak side more in depth,” Roberts said. “Weak does a lot more running around. The biggest challenge is the speed difference from high school. I used to be one of the fastest, now every defensive back is faster than me. It makes it more important that I know what is going on.”

And just as he gets the local profile, Paul Zeise blogs that Greg Williams seems to finally snapped out of a funk and is pushing hard to start.

Chris Jacobson is one of the three new starters for the interior of the O-line. And the only one that I feel reasonably confident can handle it.

“I feel like I’m in the best shape of my life right now,” he said. “I’m ready to go and I feel great. The mental preparation, it’s all there now.”

The 6-foot-3, 290-pounder looks the part and has the physical tools. He could help make Pitt’s left side the dominant run side with Jason Pinkston.

“When he comes off that ball, he comes off low and hard,” said defensive tackle Myles Caragein, who was Jacobson’s high school teammate. “When you line up against him, it’s not a walk in the park. It’s a brawl every time.”

As for the rest of the line, Jacobson said he feels confident in center Alex Karabin and right guard Greg Gaskins. The three new starters, he said, “are going out there every day and proving ourselves.”

And we will be watching for that proof very intently.





I wonder how much Larod having success with the Cards and maybe to a lesser extent Rashad Jennings getting carries in Jacksonville has to do with our runningbacks not looking to transfer. There’s proof that you don’t have to be “the guy” here and you can still make the league.

Comment by Pabs 08.27.10 @ 11:05 am

steve, it appears that you put a lot of time and effort into the “game night” event. I trust that the NJ/NY faithful will come out and collectively cheer the Panthers on.

link to secure.www.alumniconnections.com

Comment by BigGuy 08.27.10 @ 1:40 pm

first time blogger on any website so bear with me. Have enjoyed this page for the last six months or so. The intelligence level is above other sites I choose not to follow anymore. Walt was asked years ago how many PITT players could have played on the Buckeyes national championship team when he took over for PITT? Was ever the question asked of “the stache” about his days with Miami’s championship days? Just wondering, and again, redshirt freshman blogger!Thanks

Comment by PITTPUP 08.27.10 @ 8:34 pm

Pabs – don’t forget LSH had one season where he put up 900 yards and a 5.0 YPC average… he had a full season where he was the featured RB at PITT. That said he was drafted not as an RB per say but as a special teams player – surely on the strong advice of Dave Wannstedt.

Jennings he was drafted on the strength of what he accomplished at Liberty U. and his ‘measurables’. It had nothing to do with PITT probably. He was one of three interchangeable RBs for us that year and only got 86 carries.

I think fans predicting numerous player transfers are way out of proportion to what actually happens. Most often reality sets in and these marginal players realize what a good thing they have at PITT – a chance to contribute to and play on a winning team and to get a degree that actually means something in their adult lives.

I understand the competitive nature of college football players, but they are thinking adults also – very few kids transfer for more playing time… almost always there is a back-story that has to do with discipline, academics or personality conflicts with the staff.

Comment by Reed 08.28.10 @ 5:34 am

It’s competitive out there. These kids have it rough..

Comment by JR Ocon 08.28.10 @ 8:38 am

bubby

Comment by JR Ocon 08.28.10 @ 8:39 am

Reed, are you up that early or up that late?

It has been a long time since Pitt Football has been relevant nationally. It looks like we finally have the horses to make some noise. The game this Thursday is huge. Will they step up and make plays when needed or will the headlines read “Same old Pitt” on monday? It is only one game, but it is as big as any that I remember.
They had a chance last year and fell short against WV and Cinci.
Will they step up in the big games? I think the three key players are Sunseri, Mason and Taglianetti. Defense, Offense and Special teams. if they make the big plays when needed, this team will be special.

Hail to Pitt!

Comment by gc 08.28.10 @ 8:50 am

Lousaka Polite is another Pitt back who is in the NFL with a decent career. Nick Goings too – he definately surprised me with a career in the NFL that has spanned at least 4-5 years.

Comment by dish 08.28.10 @ 12:01 pm

Lousaka Polite will be the Dolphins starting fullback for some time. He’s really good at run blocking and at picking short yardage.

Comment by Salgado 08.28.10 @ 12:45 pm

gc – up that early, comes from being on ships for years… on weekends I’ll go back to sleep.

Can’t wait for Thursday and keep reminding myself that a loss isn’t the end of the world – and that a win means nothing toward a BCS game.

I hope the players don’t feel the same way though.

Comment by Reed 08.29.10 @ 6:28 am

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