AND Juantez Hollins suspended by team for the year. Can still practice, but no games.

Incoming freshman Chris Davis suspended for 1st week of training camp. His twin brother stayed out of whatever mess it is. Good for him.

just beat me to it Chas.

Too bad, i believe Meyers had a legitimate chance to start this year.

Meyers never bought in

PVV – Myers was never going to play QB at the DI level. He just didn’t have the talent for it. As I posted elsewhere just this morning:

“A misconception is that Myers is more physically gifted than most QBs and that is wrong IMO. The only thing he’s above average with is throwing the deep ball. Unfortunately coaches only call that play a few times a game at best.

Sunseri is a more physically talented QB than Myers is so that is saying something. Sunseri is certainly more accurate with his passes, throws a better out ball, way less INTs in practice and moves a lot better than Myers does.

I was really pulling for Myers prior to the spring practices because I felt like he would be suited to Chryst’s offense vice Graham’s of last season. But then I wasn’t surprised at all when Chryst announced that first Anderson would split 2nd team reps with Myers then when Anderson stated getting the bulk of the 2nd team reps toward the end of the spring.

One thing that has shown up with Myers is that having only one year starting in HS didn’t prepare him well for this level. That might have been mitigated by this point had he played well enough in practices at PITT to get a decent amount of PT over the last two years but that didn’t happen. IMO he doesn’t have the gym rat gut football instinct that most successful college QBs have. Believe it or not, Sunseri has just that.

On the other hand there is a lot to be said about being happy with your lot in life and being a back up player for four years. I don’t know the numbers but there has be be a large percentage of kids who fall into that category.

Another thing. About Myers’ recruit rankings…. they were all over the chart between the three recruiting services. Yes, he was ranked 11th & 4* by one – but he was also ranked 32nd & 3* and 103nd & 2* by the others. PITT fans latched onto the 11th ranking and their expectations outgrew his talent.

I can be wrong and Myers could come out like gangbusters and wow them during training camp and I’ll be glad for him if that happens. As negative as I am about his overall skill level I really appreciate the fact that when we were stuck for QBs at the end of the spring practice last year he decided not to transfer and stayed to help out.

We haven’t heard one negative word out of him, no complaints or bitching and no academic or disciplinary problems either. He’s done what is required to stay on the team and be a true student athlete and from all I have heard he is proud to be a PITT Panther. That right there tells me he’s a team player and those are qualities that I feel most fans overlook when discussing Myers and his time at PITT.”

Shhhh – Don’t tell DRW.

Best of luck to Myers. Hopes he finds his niche. Has any Pitt player had more been written about them and done less here at Pitt? (And I’m not meaning that as a shot at him)

Hollins may hurt. He did not play well last year but seemed poised for major time this year. Wonder what he did to warrant the whole year…

I hope Tino doesn’t get hurt this year. Trey is too small and doesn’t fit the offense while Chad is just a frosh. I think they should move Gonzo back at least for some wildcat formations.

Reed, I agree with most of your post, but I think you are overlooking one important component: By transferring to a D-III school, Myers is seriously jeopardizing his once-promising career as a punter!

Yikes, this season just got more interesting

Myers other offers I believe were Ball State and Toledo. He probably should have gone D-2 or 3 to begin with.

Bowling Green Panther – Yes! Greg Cross – he scored a TD on his only touch, never to be heard of again.

So I guess all we have to hope for is a Tino or Voytik debate this season. Thanks Myers for ruining our blog fodder.

A completely unrelated question: What’s stopping Penn State’s alumni or other such group from setting up a fund to give “student athletes” a free ride, thus circumventing typical grant-in-aids?

A few thoughts on this, dudes…

1. Best of luck to Myers. Hope it works out for him wherever he goes. There was some talk that he wants to pursue a career as a doctor and if D-III is where he’s headed, hey, my alma mater W&J has a great pre-med program and a solid team with a pass-happy offense whose head coach cut his teeth at Mount Union. Not sayin’, Mark Myers. Just sayin’. Do it.

2. Damn, is the loss of Hollins frustrating.

Zeise points out in his blog this evening that Hollins was one of the only true offensive tackles with returning with any experience, and the line is already thin at tackle to begin with. He notes that Rotheram got a few starts there last year but beyond him, we’re looking at Demhasaj, Ricketts, Vrbitsky and true freshman Adam Bisnowaty.

3. I guess the hope is that Ricketts realizes his potential sooner than expected. Zeise points out that someone else could always emerge and they could move things around a little, but it’s crazy to think that camp hasn’t started yet and we’re already at this point. And here’s hoping no one else gets hurt.

I guess this begs the question…

4. How did the o-line cupboard get this bare under Wannstedt? And how many years in a row now does it seem like one of the lead issues going into camp every year is offensive line depth? depth? Three? Four? Maybe I’m wrong here and I know the starting five has always been typically solid. It just seems like the depth has been a noted issue for a few seasons in a row now, and it reared its ugly head last year in a big way.

I’m not looking to bury Wannstedt here; I was a big fan of his (though I thought it was time to move on when Pitt did). I just think it’s very strange that just one full season removed from his tenure, a team that was bred to run a ball-control offense had such little offensive line depth.

The bottom line re Hollins and Davis is that Coach Chryst will not put up with nonsense. We have no way at this time to know what happened, however, what ever caused the problems for these two young men the message has gone out to the team….the era of no discipline is OVER!!

Myers was never going to be a decent QB..I wish him well.

Last but not least….Pitt has (and this not new news)MAJOR opportunities for QB and OL recruits to sign up and have a chance to play in the ACC within two years. The depth chart is weak…a smart talented high school player should be able to understand that Pitt really offers a chance to start and not be relegated to the bench!!

@ Tossing Thabeets – lol I thought about Cross but at least he actually scored one touchdown!

I think the blame for the o-line can be spread around. I think Dave’s staff missed on a few too many recruits. But over the last 2 years through all the coaching turmoil we have added way too little. I was really hoping we could bring in at least 4 good recruits this year. I think most successful programs add 3-4 a year. We’ve gone 2 years without that.

some thing must have happened for him do this this late if any info please pass it on.
with our luck in the years to come he will be a number 1 draft pick in the NFL.

right on Frankcan haha

steve1 and TEX Panther time to duck and cover.
I hope as time goes bye Chryst does not have to suspend or have players transfer.

Becuse there are only 3 commits in this class that
a high major like ohio state or bama might want.

The rest of the commits belong at bowling green or kent state so far it is a great class if we were in the MAC.

I know there is time yet till LOI day but things are not looking good i think he will be a great coach but recruting is not his strong suit.

run for cover boys here it comes they are blinded bye the light that is for you steve1

While we are on the subject of the OLine I was saddened by the news that Jeff Otah failed his physical with the Jets and was returned to The Carolina Panthers and released.

Steve1
Nebraska pulled that stunt for decades. Every county had a scholarship to offer and it went to the sons of farmers..the kind who grow up to be offensive lineman.
It and schemes like that have since been outlawed by the NCAA.

Paul Jones?

Mike Hull staying at PSU?

Re: Hollins Suspension. I don’t believe Chryst had a choice in the matter of suspending him.

This was almost certainly a failure of the NCAA’s drug policy. PITT is not allowed to state anything about failed drug tests due to federal student privacy laws.

The exact same thing happened with Elijah Fields. Check out the two public statements from the PITT SID office…

Fields:

“Although we have suspended Elijah for the season, he will remain part of our program and practice,” Wannstedt said in a statement. “We will continue to demand that he work hard on the field and in the classroom so that he can be an important part of our program’s future.”

The only time you’ll read about a college player and drugs is if he gets arrested.

Hollins:

“Even though he will not play in any games, Juantez will remain an active and valuable member of our program and be accountable every day in practice and in the classroom,” Chryst said.”

Frankcan, I know you get worried about recruiting. Here is some research I did for a message board thread:

“Time to cast an eye back to the past.

As of August 1st PITT historically had these recruits:

’13 – 12 recruits w/ two 4*s

’12 – five recruits w/ one 4*s

’11 – two recruits w/ zero 4*s

’10 – 15 recruits w/ one 5* and four 4*s; this was the year seven kids committed in one week in June.

’09 – six recruits w/ zero 4*s

’08 – six recruits w/ one 5* and two 4*s

Except for DW’s good 2010 recruiting class Chryst is ahead of the game going into training camp.

People need to relax and let Chryst do his work. The top shelf recruits very often don’t commit until the football season is under way and that is when we have gotten our biggest recruits at PITT. Wouldn’t it be hell if Chryst stocked up right now like some fans want and missed out on some great recruits toward LOI Day?

As for the PSU transfers can anyone tell me just who is so valuable that PITT has to have them? Forget about Redd, he was going to USC or nowhere. Mike Hull is probably staying and wasn’t a starter at PSU anyway. Who other PSU transfer has Chryst “missed on” which I keep reading about?

Somehow it is quickly becoming an urban myth that Chryst is asleep or lazy with this just because he isn’t on late night public access TV touting how great a recruiter he is or how many points we’ll score.

Chryst isn’t that type of person folks and we knew that even before he got here.

Plus, here’s a little secret – the PITT administration doesn’t want him on TV and doing a million interviews either. They want a low key but winning 2012 to leave the BE and segue into the ACC next season. We got burnt and embarrassed by one over the top outward personality last year and don’t want it to happen again.”

and the 2012 season is off to a fine start….Go Pitt!

for those from the previous blog … still bored?

many times, no news is good news

I don’t believe the OL is that depleted although Hollins will be missed ….. it’s the depth of the DL that worries me right now. Under Wanny, that was never an issue … in his later yeaars at Pitt, the position was always well stock with quantity and quality.

Thanks, SFPitt. Didn’t know that.

Totally bummed about Hollins. Typical Pitt bad luck/curse. Just when I was thinking things were improving for the better. Well I guess we will see how PC and coach up a raw over looked kid. And as far as Meyers goes this explains a lot about why this kid had no drive to be the #1 QB. I better order that case of bourbon I had decided not to get, I can see its going to be a long season.

Comforting words Reed, thanks. I’m hoping Johnny Mike at least.

Stooch, The talent level didn’t diminish because of Dave Wannstedt. Actually he raised the talent level almost accross the board. Yeah, he missed on a few guys, but no one bats 1,000. Dave Wannstedt had what was reported to be the best recruiting class of his tenure at Pitt coming in, when Pederson fired him. Almost all of them went elsewhere with the messy divorce. Then the Heywood fiasco didn’t help either. After that you’re looking at a completely new system with Todd Graham and he leaves after one year. Paul Chryst will have his work cut out for him. I think he’s a good guy, but they are are going to be thin at several positions.

Good Post Reed. The Pitt administration and fans have had their fill of snake oil and bullshit. They want a solid guy who they feel,will set a solid foundation. I feelthey are prepared to give him time and the benefit of doubt. All of us know this won’t happen over night. I am optomistic and I think we are on the right track.

I hate to bring up old fights, but seriously ask yourselves was getting rid of wanny worth it? I emphatically say no. I am hopeful and confident in chryst but power football and a blue collar work ethic was something we already had wasn’t it??

John, by your logic then the mistake was not getting rid of Wanny but getting rid of Harris. Overall,the losing seasons under Wanny offset his two good seasons.

At both points the change had to be made. Fans, the administration had lost hope and faith in the particular coach. Especially the fans in the case of Wannstedt.

Wannstedt’s teams were a train wreck off the field, that more than anything led to his demise, IMHO. I’d also like to point out that with Myers transferring the QB controversy has pretty much been put to bed before it started. Unless Voytik has a ridiculous camp, that is.

I respectfully disagree (as you probably know.)

Let me qualify … I consider Harris to be the best Pitt FB coach since the 80s, bur face it, he and his agent burned out in flames his final year. His team didn’t belong in the BCS bowl (a 4-way tie in a 7-team league that had 2 dormats.)
But more importantly, he left Wanny with total shit on both the OL and DL … to the extent that Wanny had to start natural freshmen on both sides of the ball the following year.

Certainly Wanny is not be confused with Bear Bryant but at the very least, his recruiting would ensure that Pitt would be fighting for a league title — one game away the last 3 years — 3 points combined in his final 2 years.

Your disdain for Wanny (along with Reed’s and Dokish’s) was so great that I believe you all lost perspective … to the point that you totally bought into Graham … while precious few of us that remained on this site immediately that saw thru his facade were chastised to no end (I used the snake charmer reference the very fist time I heard in his hiring presser.)

You and Dokish continue to blindly believe that Pitt can return to quality of th late 70s / early 80s …. ain’t going to happen!

I do believe we can occasionally make a run for the ACC title and even win a BCS bowl …. but I made this point when Wanny was fired, this program screams for stability at the top. If all ADs had your’s (and Dokish’s) expectations, then the lkes Beamer and Nehlen would have both been axed earlier in the careers.

Atlanta Panther, off the field, Wanny’s teams were a trainwreck only 1 of 6 years … and in fact, in his final 3 years, over 90% of his seniors graduated.

Good Luck Mark Myers.

I wouldn’t sleep on Anderson, I’m not sure if he is limited by his physical abilities but he’s perfect to test how good this coaching staff is, the one thing I see in Anderson is he believes in himself and believes he can start for Pitt. Isn’t this the kind of player that PC took and made into a player at Whisky?

Hollins is a big loss but unless he has improved his footwork he really wasn’t that good anyway, and if he did fail a drug test one can only wonder how hard he was working. He got beat against fast DE. Again this will test the staff I hope they have a kid that wants it. Can’t wait to see how they do

I was one that felt it was time for DW to go (the home beating from WVU pushed me over the top). However, I don’t see how any rationale person could deny that DW’s firing may prove to be a big mistake. It is already bad enough what has transpired with our HC position since DW was fired. But if PC does not have success, then who could argue that firing DW was not a big mistake? Remember, we fired a coach who had the best 3 year run in the last 30 years at Pitt.

One more thing … I guess I wouldn’t have had such a big issue with Wanny’s firing if our AD had a capable replacement waiting in the wings (like his cohort down 90 miles south of Pgh had), but he made the very same mistake he did at Nebraska and ended up with thr 4th or 5th choice which was clearly a step down. Christ, he didn’t even know what the market bore salary wise for a HC .. and he’s firing a guy that average 9 wins in hs last 3 years who is an alum!!

The firing of Dave Wannstedt coupled with the Haywood and Graham hires was a complete fiasco. It’s amazing that Steve Pederson still has a job and that we still have a football program. We went full circle and it seems like we have a guy in place, much like the guy we initially got rid of, who is basically a meat and potatoes coach. The biggest difference, as I see it, is that Paul Chryst has an offensive orientation. Hopefully Chryst will get off to good start and can begin to build a successful program.

It is way too early to judge Chryst. While his philosophy seems to mirror Wanny’s … (establish the run game).. on the plus side, he seems to have much better concept of the college game but is not close to being the recruiter … but again, he needs a few years befre a fair assessment can be made. (But I just hate the way that we semned to go backwards this past year or so — IMO it was unnecessary.)

Reed said:

“Yes, he was ranked 11th & 4* by one – but he was also ranked 32nd & 3* and 103nd & 2* by the others. PITT fans latched onto the 11th ranking and their expectations outgrew his talent.”

This is a truism for many a Pitt fans. Henceforth the fretting over stars and particularly at this time in the LONG recruiting cycle.

Also I got your back Reed in respect to the firing of DW. I hated the hire because he is NOT a good head coach in respect to game day, talent evaluation and said talent development. Every time he has been hired as a HC, he subsequently has been fired. Every time his teams were good and had the chance to win championships they failed. The prime factor in these failings was DW.

Evidently he was not only a legend in his own mind but some Pitt fans as well. All you need to know about the “Great Recruittinator” is the way he acted when he was justifiably fired. It was sad to say the least….

Idealy, when you fire a coach, you would hope it would be for an upgrade. I think Pederson wanted to make a big splash with an up-tempo spread coach. When he couldn’t a anyone the first time around, they settled for Haywood, which was a big mistake. Todd Graham, was just a bum. Unfortunately it’s often the narcissisists who do the best in interviews. This time around the administration realized that they couldn’t afford to gamble and instead of looking to make a splash, they looked for a solid guy.

As wbb has stated “I guess I wouldn’t have had such a big issue with Wanny’s firing if our AD had a capable replacement waiting in the wings” I have to agree 1000 %.

Furthermore, given the search for a new coach and hiring fiascos that followed, the timing of the firing couldn’t have been any worse.

Since Pederson had no one waiting in the wings to take over, he should have either held off another year (while he quietly looked)–or, at the very minimum, waited until after LOI day in February so as not to lose, into the bargain, what was shaping up as a great recruiting class.

Clearly, the outcome with all its collateral damage is on Pederson and showed extraordinarily poor judgment, IMHO.

Pitt 72, I felt they should have given Wanny one more year. He had, by many accounts an outstanding recruiting class coming in and he was a good guy. Yes, I realize that he had under achieved and that he wasn’t a particularily good game day coach. His positives were his loyalty to Pitt, his relationships with the local coaches, administration and alumni, and his ability to recruit. If you’re going to bump out a guy like that, you should have a very good replacement in the wings.

I think Pitt wanted Golden but it took too long and he took the Miami job (mistake).

PC should have been hired before the last two were.

DW recruited well but we all suffered in key games.

In my best Wisconsin-ese, would have been ‘soooper greeaat’ to have seen Myers get at least one start last year to judge him, but given how astonishingly talented Tino is, I understand why we didn’t. Good news for Anderson and Voytik, and any other QB out there considering transferring.

What’s the under/over for games Tino sh@ts the bed until Coach C. loses his cool and yanks him? Regarding his mental health, ‘bench Tino, for Chryst’s sake?’

Hey Reed,

Can’t wait for your 70 paragraph explanation of how Tino is statistically superior to Myers, Palko, Marino, and every other Pitt QB since Jock Sutherland strapped it on…hope you had a good summer and look forward to our jousts this season!

iKenny, you wrote … the way he (Wanny) acted when he was justifiably fired. It was sad to say the least….

That’s the rub!!! He was not fired .. he was asked to tender his resignation, and if that’s not bad enough … he was told to announce this resignation the masses just to relieve the pressue off of the AD that fired him. WHAT MOTHER FUCKING BULLSHIT!!

The fact is that both Pederson and Luck refused to man up and fire their coaches, and then got exactly what they deserved!

wbb, Yes talk about bullshit, being fired and then being expected to smile about it and tell everyone that you retired. After what went down, there was no way that Wanny wanted to be Steve Pederson’s “special assistant.” Pederson didn’t want to face the music of firing a coach who was well liked by the Pitt administration, the media and the local coaches.

Incidendly, I do like Paul Chryst and I do think he’s a good football coach. I just hope after what happened in the Pitt coaching carousel, that he will be able to bring in the players that he needs. The events of the last two years haven’t been condusive for getting big enough recruiting classes.

WBB/Justinian boy you sure are emotional aka the use of m***** f******/bullchitt its not like his firing made the Earth’s axis tilt…

He needed to be fired and if Steve P is the devil for doing it in the way he did so be it. And I stand by my words….Wanny was a legend in his own mind and some Pitt fans as well. If Wanny was half the representative Pitt man he was supposed to be, he would have sucked it up and took it like a man. But alas this was not the case. It was bad enough those in AUTHORITY at Pitt went against the wishes of the Wanny loving fans but the same fans condone his actions in light of them. And yes it was there for all to see across this football loving nation, Wanny the fabled Pitt Man coming off like an offended child. Poor Wanny, I’m sure glad he is gone and could care less if the supposed Antichrist of the Pitt Football Program, Steve P is still atop the Pitt Athletic Department…

The wrong guy got fired at PITT obviously. Wanny was true old blue & gold and was truly a great ambassador for the University. He was a decent enough coach and a great recruiter to lead PITT to it’s best 3 year run in 30 Years !! With 9 wins, 10 wins and 8 wins his final 3 years. We might not see that 3 year run again at PITT for another 30 years.

In effect you traded in a guy that was loyal to the bone, an alum with NFL head coaching success and a great recruiter for a guy (while he seems nice enough) with NO Head Coaching experience at all, and no recruiting (or extremely limited) experience at all. Basically he’s getting on the job training at PITT and we all know (or you should know) should Wisconsin have a couple average seasons and Chryst do a decent job at PITT, he’ll be off to Madison.

And we’re going to run a power running game, well isn’t that Wannstedtian as well.

Dave could have been eventually been kicked upstairs ala Barry Alverez at Wisconsin and be made AD.
And we would have still enjoyed all his coaching contacts in both college & the NFL. Plus all his flourishing high school coaching contacts as well.

We would have also been in position to clean up as well in recruiting with the Ped State pedophile fiasco. Wanny had all his contacts in Eastern Pa & New Jersey. ALL that was lost, as was a ONCE IN A LIFETIME opportunity of having Ped State in TOTAL DISARRAY. Thank you Sneaky Steve for blowing that ONCE IN A LIFETIME OPPORTUNITY that could have put PITT back in a commanding position.

Nothing has gone right at PITT since this HUGE disservice was inflicted upon a great guy like Wanny. To the point I can’t even count and name all the HC’s we’ve had since that day in December when Sneaky Steve forced Wanny to resign, cause that little toad didn’t even have the balls to fire him.

No the wrong man (and I mean man) was fired at PITT and we are paying the price and will continue to pay the price for the forseable future.

And you know what, we deserve it !

Still stand by what I said Emel…

He needed to be fired and if Steve P i

Comment by Kenny 08.04.12 @ 4:05 pm

He needed to be fired?? Are u kidding me????
What for leading PITT to it’s best 3 year record in 30 years ??? For leading PITT to it’s highest end of season ranking (#15) in 30 years ???
For putting PITT back in a spot where we were somewhat relevant in college football again ????

For being a 24/7 best ambassador a University could have ???? For taking the job in 2006 when nobody else wanted it ???? For having to deal with a asswipe clown like Pederson ??? (the man who single-handily ruined Nebraska football and you can add PITT football as well)

I don’t understand your rationale at all. I swear some ppl just hated DW cause he was/is a yinzer.

And no the Peterson Events Center is not named after Sneaky Steve. In case you thought it was!!

I always get a laugh when the Pitt faithful refer to the MAC teams as inferior. In recent years Pitt has lost games to, Toledo, Bowling Green and Ohio U. Also, there are at least 6 teams this year in the MAC that T. Sunseri would have no chance of starting. Pitt’s 3 year starter at QB did not get one offer from MAC schools because coaches knew that he could not play D-1 football. That’s a fact.

This season Pitt will be lucky to win 5 games. That’s my call.

I agree with you emel 100%.

Well we have to assume Myer’s did not have what it takes and let me be the first one to swallow my pride and say I was foolded by his senior statistics and size.
The worse thing is no one can say in any sincerity since we all saw him play too much that Anderson is a DivIII QB. At 5’10″ (now listed at 6’0″) and a 180 lbs and an arm like a BB-gun Myers leaving puts us in worse shape regardless of what Reed proports to know. Reed leads us to believe that Myers was rated 2 at the end of the year and that is simply false.
Look it up, and this not an argument for Myers just a staement of fact and not to join the kissing “Reed’s _ _ _ club.” The low ratings and Mid American offers came before he started his seniot year. At the end of his senior year after he was name first team Ohio, he was rated 4 and was being contacted by Wisconsin and other major programs. By that time he had alreay committed to Pitt. This is why he was rated 4 Lauded by Rivals as the top quarterback prospect in the state of Ohio following an exceptional senior year at St. Ignatius…arm strength earned national recognition by the scouting services…was rated No. 4 on Rivals’ “country’s strongest arm” list…named the No. 11 pro-style quarterback in the country by Rivals…threw for 2,127 yards and 20 touchdowns with only eight interceptions during his final season at St. Ignatius…completed 54% of his passes (140 of 261)…selected first team All-Ohio Division I (largest classification)… Northeast Lakes District Co-Offensive Player of the Year…led St. Ignatius to an 11-1 record and the regional semifinals of the Ohio Division I playoffs…played under Coach Chuck Kyle…selected to play in USA Football’s “Team USA vs. The World” game, which matched USA Football’s 2010 Junior National team (45 of the country’s top high school seniors) against a world team comprised of 45 of the best players aged 19 and under from eight other countries…also selected to play in the Big 33 Football Classic…a letterman in basketball and track and field.
You are not selected to first team QB in the top division of football in a state like Ohio if you did not put up some numbers

Frankly I am sure Reed knows no more than I as to why he is leaving but he talks like he has the inside story on everything so everyone believes. I have a job and a family and do not have the time to follow every rumour with Pitt. I suspect this he had personnel problems because if he threw with his right arm he could be more accurate and throw further than Anderson.

Note on Penn State defections: I read the top plays will be picked up by the elite big ten schools and the second line of players will go to Pitt and Rutgers.

wow, there seems to be a lot of hatred on here today. lets get over it all and move forward to a new era. stop living in the past, stop being negative, and wait till this team and staff give us something new to chat about. Hail to Pitt!

@ move on. While ur points about some MAC teams beating PITT are true. The fact that Sunseri is starting qb at Pitt has more to do with who he is (namely the son of a former Pitt all-american & long time college coach, now Defensive Coordinator at Tennessee) than the talent level at PITT and those MAC schools does.

As far as us winning 5 games this year. Have you seen the schedule? lol If we don’t win at least 7-8 games, even with Sunseri it would be a truly horrendous season. And since Sal is in Tenn now, is there a BIgEast tie in with the Gaylord Hotel Music City Bowl ?

But seriously, I count these games as victories,
YSU, Gardner-Webb, Syracuse, Buffalo, Temple, Uconn, Rutgers. That’s 7

These games are winnable: USF & Louisville

These games are certain losses (unless lightning bolt energizes Tiny to Marino status) Notre Dame & Virginia Tech

So more than likely, 7-4 and another trip to some crappy bowl game I will more than likely not watch. As I did’t in the CCSA Gyroscope Bowl (or whatever it was called) from beautiful dilapidated Legion Field. And so ends the Tiny era at Pitt, will anyone remember other than the record books. Proving once again, how records can be so very, so very deceiving !

I do not hate DW nor use childish language on this or any blog site. I could care less what others think of me, DW, HCPC or whatever because it is only about Pitt football. My view of DW is based on his history as a HC both pro and college full stop. Is it me or coincident that some people’s devotion to DW seems somewhat cultish?

OK enough of that and am fully behind pittisit37. This is a new season for Pitt fans, let us all forget about the past seeing we cannot change it. But rather let us with one accord look to the future and the future is now with the current staff. There is enough negativism in all of our lives forget about the past, so dwell on the future with the hope of good things happening for our football program…

i need the 2013 schedule released asap so that i can ask for my weekends off, I figure since i live down here, i can finally see my panthers-either at duke, unc, nc state, or wake forest. i love the move to the acc. hit the fast forward so we can get 1 season with PC underway and we can now use Pedo States motto and say WE ARE PITT! Hail to Pitt!

Oh my bad, this was a Mark Myers blog. Somebody should have informed him that he never had a chance of beating out Tiny for starting QB, BEFORE he came to PITT.

Saw him play in the Big 33 game and he led Ohio to victory on a time consuming late 4rth quarter drive to win over the PA team. If I remember correctly he scrambled into the endzone from like 10 – 12 yards out, which isn’t bad considering everyone has led us to believe the kid was immobile. He was first team Ohio, his senior season which was his only season as starting QB. Since he was backup to a pretty good QB who led the team to the Ohio state championship the previous year (his junior year). (might have even been the coaches son)

We will never know whether he would have been good at PITT or not. Just as we never knew if Joe Flacco would have been any good. (my guess he would have, lol) The two common denominators in both situations, they both got no chance to play over local HS kids (palko & tiny) and those 2 kids also had fathers who were coaches. Don’t believe Myers father was a coach, too bad for him.

I don’t blame the kid for transferring out, I’d do the same thing, albeit I would have done it 2 years ago. Good luck Myers, prove the Zeise’s and the other Tiny apologists wrong.

Veritas et Virtus

speaking about moving on …. in about an hour or so, two Pitt alums will be inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame.

H2P

After reading these comments I sure am glad football starts soon!

voytik will not redshirt even if he is second string and taking second string reps. if tino gets hurt, burn the rs and play voytik. no sense in wasting a year

I think Wannstedt’s abilities as a recruiter are tremendously overstated by some folks. I mean, this is the same guy that thought “Tiny” was deserving of a scholarship, right? If that’s not an indictment of his ability to evaluate talent, then I don’t know what is.

In all seriousness, it’s time to stop hashing and rehashing the Dave Wannstedt Era. He’s gone. Whether his termination was the correct decision or not is merely water under the bridge now. It’s time to move forward and embrace the future.

For the record–lest I be put in the camp of a “Wanny-lover.” I had no problem with DW having been let go. It seemed clear that he had reached his ceiling. I did have a huge problem with the totally incompetent way the change was handled:

1. No planning for succession

2. Poor timing w/lost recruiting class

3. Panicked search for a successor.

So, instead of building on where Pitt was, as should have happened, Pitt became a laughing-stock and regressed.

I wonder why it is that some Pitt fans look back on the Wannstedt era with such fondness, but don’t have the same feelings for Walt. Given the dire straits the program was mired in when Walt took over, I think he accomplished more than Dave but with far less. Yet no one seems to pine for him.

Good gaawwd…!! There is seriously a debate going on in here about whether the Wannstedt firing was justifiable. Everyone needs to move past it. Paul Chryst is coach now. Go Pitt.

Swinging Gate, Walt Harris SAVED Pitt football. A lot of us realize how good a job he did. His teams gave some very good Verginia Tech teams fits and but for a few fumbles, they could have beaten a No. 1 ranked Miami team. Walt was a very good game coach. His recruiting went south when the Big East lost Miami, BC, and VA Tech and people didn’t know the conference would make it.

Pitt owes both Walt Harris and DW a lot of thanks. WH took over a Pitt program that was at rock bottom and made us respectable. The problem was he “fired” himself through his agents words. DW took over the program when the BE imploded. I really think without him we were headed to Temple like status with our attendance. His major fault was he promised championships and failed to deliver in a league that was ripe for the picking. It’s on to PC and hopefully that elusive “next level”. Hail to Pitt!

Only at Pitt could there be so much debate over the past. We’ve had five guys, F-I-V-E assume the head coaching position at Pitt since the Wannstedt Era. Harris and Wanny discussions are about ancient history. It’s been forever since Wannstedt has been on the field as our HC, lets see, like 20 whole months. 20 months? Oh, thats like a little over one season, never mind.

Maybe we should just start hoping that Paul Chryst doesn’t quit on us in the next few months, that just might be a touch too embarrassing at this point, don’t you think?

Long live Paul Chryst, please, just “win baby, win”! Hail to Pitt.

Reed is right. Pitt does not need a motor mouth coach and frankly, does not know how to handle one. We/Pitt is not good at media management.

wbb is right..SP fired Dw with zero game plan in place…that is the type of move you orchestrate to the nth degree. We got ole wife taunter, then that fool who now lives in the desert.

Time for Pitt to find a comfort zone and stay in it…that means keep our mouths shut, show up and everybody does their absolute best.

As for SP, there are parts of the job he is good at and parts where he sucks. Can Pitt do better?
I think so, but Nordy doesn’t call anymore.

If Dave Wannstedt hailed from any city outside of western PA, there would be no debate at all about his coaching tenure at Pitt. DW’s last game vs. West Virginia was a fitting end to his resume. The fact that he was a “Pitt guy” created a blue and gold bias toward his recruiting prowess. Wannstedt was such a great recruiter that he could not even win a single Big East championship with that assemblage of talent; the worst of the BCS conferences by any objective college football fans. Either Wannstedt was a great recruiter and a below average coach or he was an average recruiter and an average coach. 10 wins in the modern day Big East is not comparable to a 10 win season in the early 1980′s…pitt1972 was spot on- The handling of his successor and the lack of direction proved to compound the problem even more. Maybe Chryst is the answer, maybe he is the next Paul Hackett. Time will tell. To think this season will be a seamless transition, is being overly optimistic in my opinion.

OK – lets back up on a few things regarding Mark Myers.

Emel – who exactly was stating that Myers was “immobile”? I never did and before last season referenced that Myers was a hurdles runner in HS so he can put one foot in front of the other pretty well.

However, that and $1.67 will get you a cup of coffee when talking about being able to be the running QB Todd Graham wanted leading his offense last season. Myers wasn’t a physical fit for Graham’s offense at all.

I have said that Sunseri is much more mobile than Myers and that is true. Sunseri actually did a fine job when called upon to run the ball last season and his ability to pull the ball down and run, when he isn’t panicked of course, was good also.

If you watched practices (which I have BTW DRW) and talked with people at those practices (which I have also done DRW) you’d have seen that moving around with the football when needed just wasn’t a positive for Myers at all.

DRW – we went around and around ad nauseum last season about Mark Myers and your beliefs about his abilities and chances to get playing time at QB. I believe I was pretty consistent in stating why I didn’t think he’d play last year and why I thought you had overrated his potential since he was recruited to play at PITT. Yet still you cling to the fact that because he was highly rated by ONE of three recruiting services he should be a starter in D1 football.

Well, it doesn’t work that way as we all know. The player himself has to actually practice and play well enough to beat out others who are vying for the same position and Myers couldn’t and didn’t do that. It is pretty simple really. He wasn’t good enough.

Why you seem to be surprised by this fact is a mystery to me because we also saw this happen with an across-the-board much higher rated QB recruit in Pat Bostick. But your arguments about why Myers wasn’t ranked higher aside, the real measure of how valuable a HS recruit is is based on the offers he received from D1 colleges to play football at their schools.

I know your stance on “he already committed to PITT so the other teams backed off” but honestly, that’s a crock.

If Myers was a legit #11 4* QB other schools would have been offering and recruiting him right up to the minute he signed his LOI. That is what happens when a player is of top shelf quality. It wasn’t like he had committed to Alabama or Notre Dame and other schools gave up pursuing him – he committed to PITT for God’s sake, where every coach in the world knew that PITT had the HC’s favorite in Sunseri. That fact alone should have made opposing HCs salivate and nip at Myers heels to decommit BUT THAT DIDN’T HAPPEN AT ALL.

He wasn’t highly recruited because, well… he wasn’t that highly thought of by people who make a living out of taking recruits and making college football players out of them.

As to his transferring – I had a pretty long conversation with Myers’ father before last year’s spring game about how serious they were about transferring at that time. That conversation, and some just plain simple observations about the team dynamics, are the basis for my thoughts about why Myers transferred.

As far as the “kissing Reed’s ass club”, which is rather witty all in all, I get a LOT of push back on things I write on here. I’ll say this, when PITT offered me media credentials a while ago I decided take advantage of that every chance I could to actually get up and watch these kids for a few solid hours at a time. I don’t just see them toss a few balls in pre-game warm ups like most PITT fans do. I drive 4+ hours to stand on the sidelines at practices watching the players try to execute the plays, listen to the interaction between the coaches and the players, listen to the interaction between players themselves, talk with recruit’s and players parents and relatives, and I talk with others who are closer to the program than I and who know a hell of a lot more about PITT football than I do.

OK – that doesn’t impress you and that’s fine because it isn’t meant to. However to think I act solely on ‘rumors’ when I post this stuff just isn’t true. A lot of times I post my opinions on here – that’s what a blog is – but I’ll also say that most of those opinions are formed with a bit of work being done to support them.