Yes, because my focus is right there for this matter. Guess what is getting started today? Spring practices kick off. Pitt is even letting us watch the post-practice presser with Coach Graham at 5pm.

Here’s the official place for Pitt’s spring practice stuff.

Not sure how much of a practice it will actually be. Today is also Pitt’s pro-day.

Dom DeCicco is hoping to make an impression.

DeCicco was not invited to last month’s Combine in Indianapolis, so today will be the first time he will be able to show his measurables to NFL scouts.

“It is definitely important,” DeCicco said. “Just to show teams that I can run and that I have good footwork and be able to flip my hips and all the other stuff.”

Pervert.

Dion Lewis is also trying to raise his stock. Because it’s all about heart.

“They’re going to get a player who works hard,” he says. “Not the biggest, not the fastest, not the strongest, but he’s going to have the biggest heart and go out there every day and give it everything he has.”

That and productivity in college will get a team to take a flyer on him and stick him on special teams.

The prior weekend had Coach Graham and his assistants talk to fans and explain how things will be this year. I didn’t get to it, but Fear the Stache (along with Pitt Script) was in attendance and has his write-up. Hope you take or took the time to read it.

By just about every account, Graham and the coaches did a hell of a job selling the program.

“It was very much like 1972 when Johnny Majors came,” Bigley said. “John brought with him a lot of enthusiasm, a lot of new ideas, a lot of motivation, a lot of good coaches. Certainly, Todd Graham has all of the same attributes and characteristics of Johnny Majors.”

Majors won a national championship in 1976. Graham isn’t backing down from those expectations.

“Everywhere in our (training facility) where it says nine national championships,” Graham said, “I want to put there, ‘Expect 10.’ “

Brian Bennett at ESPN.com had a bunch of Graham/Pitt football stuff in the last week. In case you missed any of it. There’s the bit on Graham stressing character and integrity in the players on Pitt.

In a Q&A he admitted that Sunseri has a headstart at QB as the starter from last year, but it seems very clear that it is wide-open. He also raved about how Brandon Lindsey will be used at Linebacker.

You’ve said you want to run a three-man defensive front. How does Brandon Lindsey fit into that? Will he be the hybrid, linebacker/defensive end guy?

TG: In our system, the 3-4, he’ll be what we call the Panther outside linebacker, the rush linebacker. And boy, standing him up, he’s a guy we think can be special. He really impressed us last year with his speed. We’ll move him around, move him all over. He’ll be a guy we think can be a really big impact rushing the quarterback.

We’re a multiple front, but we’re a three-man system, and we feel really good about him.. It will be much like what the Steelers do with [James] Harrison, that’s kind of what our system is. Sometimes it will look like a 4-3, but the difference is our end on the three technique side is standing up. So there will be three guys with their hand on the ground and the rest of the guys will be standing up.

It’s about getting more speed on the field, and Lindsey is excited about standing up. He moved down from defensive end to linebacker, and looks really impressive on film. Of course, he will not able to go through spring because of a [shoulder], but there’s no reason to push him because we know what he can do.

The most exciting statement — at least to me — was this:

Have the players been watching a lot Tulsa film?

TG: We’ve got them looking at a lot of our Tulsa stuff and some of the Michigan stuff. Naturally, it will be a blend. But we’ll mostly be adapting to the players that we have.

It seems so wrong that taking the talent and players on-hand and bending a little to what they can and can’t do seems so revolutionary.

He’s also planning to work over and with the receivers on hand.

Graham said that when he was at Tulsa, he and then-offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn put pedometers on the wideouts during a practice; they ran 3.2 miles worth of routes in that session. With only seven scholarship receivers on the roster this spring, there won’t be many water breaks for those guys.

“The receivers look like they’re going to Six Flags every day,” Graham said. “They’re pretty fired up about this system. We’ll see how fired up they are after that first practice when run about three miles.”

Then a couple team capsule quickies on Big East teams and spring practices.

SI.com:

Pittsburgh: Can Tino Sunseri run Todd Graham’s no-huddle attack?

Like West Virginia, Pitt will be learning a new offense this spring. Todd Graham’s Tulsa teams put up huge numbers the last few years, finishing in the top five nationally in total yards in three of Graham’s four seasons. His stated goal is to have more snaps than any other team, telling The Washington Post, “We’re not a no-huddle offense. We’re a no-huddle team.”

The quarterback is obviously the key piece in the no-huddle attack, and Sunseri had an up-and-down season in his first year as a starter for the Panthers, throwing 16 touchdowns to nine interceptions while being sacked 21 times. He struggled in the red zone and threw at least one pick in eight of Pitt’s 13 games.

Graham has not committed to Sunseri as his starter just yet. With top receiver Jonathan Baldwin and top rusher Dion Lewis off to the NFL, the quarterback will take on even greater responsibility in 2011. Graham wants to find out who will be the best fit for his high-speed attack.

SportingNews.com:

Pitt: Star power lifted the Panthers to early-season favorite status last year. Now, Dion Lewis, Jon Baldwin, Jason Pinkston, Greg Romeus, Jabaal Sheard and Dom DeCicco are gone. Lesser-known names will spend the spring trying to develop into all-league players.

Too much Pitt stuff this week. Hopefully it stays on overload through the first week of April.