I hope Tino Sunseri has had some long talks with Bill Stull as he gets ready for the upcoming season. If there is one person that knows what is coming for Tino from the fans this year, it is Stull. An underdiscussed thing that Sunseri will face this year, is not the new system. It’s not the new coaching staff. It is the skepticism to outright hostility from the fans based on what he did last year.

There have been no shortage of stories on Sunseri working very hard to become a better QB and better leader for Pitt. This article was encouraging, because he openly admitted to weak spots in his game last year — that were completely obvious to every fan watching.

In July, Sunseri was tabbed to take part in the Manning Passing Academy. He was one of only 30 college QBs invited to participate. To serve as a college counselor to high school QBs and learn from Archie, Eli and Peyton Manning. Along with coaches like Jon Gruden.

How valuable was the camp? I don’t know. Maybe it just serves to give Sunseri some extra confidence and motivation. Maybe the little tips and extra things learned will help.

“The biggest thing you could watch as they worked out was that they gave 100% every time,” Sunseri said. “And they expected the ball to be a certain way, and if it wasn’t there, they told us, even if it could be caught by the receiver.

“They had certain expectations of themselves, and that’s what you could see. You could see what kind of demand they had of what they expected of each play, and you could see that it really bothered them when it wasn’t there.”

Sunseri, who led Pitt to an 8-5 record in his first season as a starter in 2010, spent an extended amount of time with Eli Manning during the weekend. First, he worked in a small group with the younger Manning where the Giants’ quarterback broke down his own footwork in detail. Then the focus of the drill turned to the college quarterbacks, with Manning watching and critiquing Sunseri and his colleagues.

Sunseri also picked up more than a few pointers from Peyton Manning. Mannings study habits and preparation are the stuff of legend, and Sunseri got a taste of that work ethic at the camp.

“[Manning told] us how he looked at things and how he broke it down and how he has a regimen. He keeps it the same way each week; he wants to make sure that he’s on a certain schedule so that he’s always understanding and by the end of the week, one, he understands, and two, he doesn’t forget what he looked at on Monday.

“[Manning also talked about] how he was able to bring his guys and make sure how they worked out on the field, how they went over routes, how they got timing down, how they were able to make sure people were on certain routes and certain yard lines and be there and expect where the ball was.

“Those were two things that I really took away from the camp and understand and I can apply to this month and the season.”

By all accounts and reports from training camp, Sunseri has been very good. Sharp. Showing a very good grasp of the new offense. Crisper passes, and the system is being tweaked to his strengths — rolling out, short to medium passes downfield. None of that will matter once the season begins.

The minute he underthrows a receiver. The minute he tosses and interception. The minute he makes any sort of mistake — the grumbling, complaining will be there. Why? Because it will confirm everything said and/or believed about Sunseri last year.

Sunseri may have a fresh start and new beginning with the new coaching staff, but the fans  still have the perceptions and biases from last year. The performances against Miami, WVU, Kentucky last year will be treated as the typical performance against good opponents.

People will still hold the actions of Dave Wannstedt regarding Sunseri against him. The fact that Wannstedt never actually let anyone else compete for the QB job despite claims that the position was open. The belief/conspiracy theory that Wannstedt handed Sunseri the job because Sunseri’s dad Sal is a crony of Wannstedt/a Pitt alum with significant booster backing that forced it/or any of the other explanations created. That added to the hostility towards Sunseri in the season. The perception that Sunseri didn’t even earn the job as starter.

This brings it back to Bill Stull. He went through much of that in 2009. His abysmal finish to the season in the Sun Bowl. His tailed off performance after his concussion versus Rutgers. That’s what was remembered by the fans regarding Stull heading into his senior year.

As Pitt headed into camp, he didn’t even look like the best QB early in the camp. Sunseri came out looking good in most reports, and there was no shortage in message boards and the comments on this site that Sunseri should be the guy. Or Pat Bostick be given another shot. At the very least, there should be a real competition for the starting QB job. Yet there was never even a hint that a change would be made at QB.

Even as camp went further along and Stull re-asserted himself as the best QB in practice according to reports, there was plenty of skepticism, doubt and hostility. Why? Because of how Stull looked in 2008. Not just because of how he finished the season, but his overall mediocrity. That his best wasn’t going to be enough for Pitt to compete and win the conference. Stull went into the start of the 2009 season with a lot of fans against him.

As big an issue as anything else, that is what Tino Sunseri has to be prepared to face on September 3.