Been quiet. Too quiet on the football side. Can’t have that.
Offensive lineman Arthur Doakes is “transferring.” Doakes finally got a chance to play when injuries took their (seemingly) annual toll on the O-line. Doakes responded to the opportunity and was playing well to the end of the regular season. One of the few “project” offensive linemen Dave Wannstedt brought in that actually developed.
Unfortunately, he was suspended before the BBVA Bowl. He remained suspended through spring practices. Reportedly/rumor the suspension would have run for the entire 2013 season. Doakes would have been a redshirt junior this year, so the suspension would have killed one of his two remaining years of eligibility. Not to mention the likelihood of never getting back on the depth chart by the time he was a senior.
Best guess is that he drops to 1-AA or lower to be immediately eligible. Once more, concern for the O-line depth makes its annual appearance.
Quite a housecleaning that is ongoing.
In the past six months, 14 players have either been suspended from the team for one game or charged with crimes. Seven are gone. Two (Ray Graham and Shayne Hale) exhausted their eligibility, two (Shell and Chris Davis) will transfer and three (Carswell, Williams and Steve Williams) were dismissed.
“The actions have to be dealt with accordingly,” Chryst said. “But (the players) are not necessarily all bad guys. (Situations) are always unfortunate but necessary.”
Chryst said he is sending the message to recruits.
“We are telling guys we are recruiting and who we recruited last year, this is what we believe in this room,” he said.
But holdovers from previous coaching regimes didn’t have the opportunity to play for the man who recruited them.
“They didn’t have a chance to read the disclaimer,” Chryst said.
Well, um, at least there’s room for Charles Sims if he is interested.
In a more positive story, here’s the annual trip by Pitt athletes to help in Haiti.
The Saturday home game versus the New Mexico Lobos has a start time. Good news! It’s not a nooner. Not in the ACC, man. Not with their ACC Network syndication. That’s not how they roll. This ain’t the Big East. This game starts at 12:30 pm.
Well, yeah. Not much that can be done about that right now. As far as conference TV games go, it is a dog. For those of you without ACC syndication, the game will also be on ESPN3.
Speaking of the ACC, they did announce the bowl line-up for the coming year. Destinations like Shreveport, Nashville and El Paso are on the dance card. Along with San Francisco, D.C. and of course Charlotte. In the future we can expect to see the Pin Stripe Bowl added, and the game that could be Pitt’s next Birmingham: Detroit.
The Detroit Lions are expected to create and operate a new bowl game at Ford Field starting in 2014, which would eliminate the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl after this season, sources said Tuesday.
The Lions are in negotiations with the Big Ten to have a Big Ten team annually in the new bowl game in Detroit, sources said. The Big Ten’s opponent would no longer be from the Mid-American Conference, a source said. A team from the ACC is the most likely opponent for the Big Ten, sources said.
It’s not too late to bring back Toronto and the International Bowl.
Hope we get some FB recruits soon. Chryst plays an honest game.
Disappointing as lacking in depth.
I believe when there are lots of players and depth, that provides for better competition and cream rises to the top.
I support the suspension Chryst is making. However, I don’t believe he is consistent and that may be problematic down the road. ie. Chapman and KK.
With Maryland leaving, wehave no geographic rival within the ACC … but one may develop.
Regarding Chapman, what he did is EXACTLY the same as Steve williams. Smacking or grabbing some girl. Williams was kicked off the team within 48 hrs of the incident.
We don’t know the specifics of KK, but hard to imagine why he is not kicked off the team.
I have no problem with suspensions or kicking them off the team, so long as Chryst is consistent.
A rivalry can develop from a bad call that helps a team win, an incident somewhere (not that I’m cheering for any “incidents”), playing in a game that decides who goes to the championship game every year (we can only hope), and even playing the same team in the championship game several years in a row to see who goes to the BCS game. (Again, we can only hope).
So, Syracuse from familiarity, and I would also say Va. Tech. If you look on their message boards, they may not consider us a rival, but they are well aware that we’ve beaten them 4 times in a row.
Where will we find that right combo in coaching to be a winner?
Forget about rivalies guys, I’m not sure we will have a football team!
Hell, my grandson’s play lacrosse and soccer. That’s were my interst will be. Probably at some Div 2 team.
I’ll be better that watching Pitt self destruct.
What I’m saying is Williams could have had several strikes against him already that we (the public) didn’t know about. There could have been history there that we didn’t know about. As far as we know with Chapman, this is the first time he has ever shown this type of behavior. I’m not sticking up for either guy and I’m not supporting letting this stuff go. I’m just saying that 99% of the time, we don’t get the whole story and we definitely don’t know everything that is going on with a situation. So you can’t totally compare one incident to the next. Trust me, I don’t believe in running a shady program or letting guys off the hook because they are players on the football team. I’m totally against a lot of the crap Paterno pulled to often get his guys out of trouble over the years. I just don’t think we can pass judgment on Chryst yet for being inconsistent in discipline.
JJ, sorry, the Willams behavior and Chapmen behavior requires the same discipline whether 1st offense or 10th offense. In my opinion, kicked off the team. I’ve never heard of Williams being suspended in the past, (no game or practice suspension).
Based on the information, it appears from the outside looking in (in my opinion) that Chryst is inconsistent with Chapmen and KK.
Pitt fans over 35 think PSU is the rivalary that should continue.
Pitt fans under 35 think WVU is the rivalary that should continue.
That observation, whoever made it, is very true.
Rivals are usually within the conference, or within a geographical area. The only exception I can think of is ND – USC.
Meanwhile, while Toad Graham can tweet/phone in his resignation, poor Shelly cannot:
link to espn.go.com
They are the same type of incident. Below is a link to williams and chapman. you tell me the difference.
link to post-gazette.com
link to espn.go.com
link to recordpub.com
@Old Pitt Grad, certainly your right, but unless you’re being sarcastic, I can think of know reason in the world why you would check in and read the Pitt Blather, let alone post on it.
To each their own. Strange.
If KK lives in the house, then he should be kicked off the team.
The story I read was that KK came out of the house and the cops were at the sidewalk ready to go in. They held him at the sidewalk.
KK got charged for prohibited acts of some sort.
Comment by Winedogs 05.24.13 @ 12:05 pm
Agree with Winedogs.
Why do most ppl assume the female is always right.
Some of these girls/women are great at baiting boys/men. And some of them are just tramps.
And some would not like that their former or current boyfriend left them, to go away. In this instance, Travon left for Pittsburgh. So the ax to grind could very well be in play here.
None of them appear to have “Beat Pitt” in them.
So they probably removed it. Which is good, as who wants to be associated with pedophiles/boy rapists.
It was better than 99% of them out there.
May the JoPedo rot eternally in hell. Sandusky will join his buddy shortly !
Anybody know what he did to get suspended for both the Schmuck Bowl Game and then Spring practice ?
We’ve had more kids jumping ship in both football & basketball than Capt. Blye’s ship did. lol
See the last blog, on why Pitt football is:
A Storied Program without doubt !
Just as the Pirates are one of Major League Baseball’s “Storied Franchises”
That too without a doubt !
You can say the same thing about Steve Williams. He pleaded innocent. But was kicked off the team within 48 hrs. Black and blue marks don’t lie.
To quote Chryst,
Chryst is consistently Inconsistent in how he punishes players.
But the girl who said she was fearful of Chapman, wasn’t so in fear to go to his house…..by herself.
And what is she, 17, 18 years old.
Girls today are by no means Joan of Arc’s.
And some are very spiteful. We shall see how this plays out.
It’s supposed to be in front of a woman judge/magistrate I believe.
Oy Vey !
It appears to be a cultural thing. As we keep slipping into a deeper abyss.
Does anyone really wonder any longer why we were putting up losing seasons recently?
None of them appear to have “Beat Pitt” in them.
So they probably removed it. Which is good, as who wants to be associated with pedophiles/boy rapists.
Comment by EMel 05.24.13 @ 4:26 pm
I think we are due for another commit.
Paul Chryst will right the ship. Expect a few more changes in personnel to make more schollies available for next year.
