I had the opportunity to attend practice today thanks to Chas. He emailed Senior Associate AD EJ Borghetti to see if I could and EJ was more than willing. I have a ton of notes on practice, coaches, and I’ll add some quotes from Gabe Roberts, Adam Bisnowaty, and Coach Chryst himself as well throughout. Before I get into that, I want to extend another public thank you to EJ, who is quite possibly the nicest person I’ve ever met. For a man with all of his responsibilities to not only take the time to acknowledge me, much less introduce me to people and take me on a tour of the facility, is amazing. I’m a blogger and he made me feel like a VIP.
There was a ton of noteworthy stuff at practice…well at least to me.
After some introductions, I headed over to where all of the real journalists were (Chris Peak, JerryDiPaola, Sam Werner, Josh Sickles etc). Even better, those guys were nice to me. They weren’t even fake nice to try and trick me into heading to the 9th green at 9. The first thing I noticed as I walked over? Isaac Bennett was having his right knee looked at by a trainer. Later on it was wrapped in ice. He did not practice. Other players who didn’t participate were Jason Hendricks and K’Waun Williams. Chryst said after practice that injuries are “hopefully nothing serious but we knew K [CB K’Waun Willams] wasn’t going to go today and Jason hopefully just wanted to take care of it [the injury] a little bit but nothing should be serious there.” Chryst didn’t specify what Hendricks was suffering from, but did say that it wasn’t his foot, an injury that kept him out in the spring.
I’ll start off with random observations from the position drills before some team drills.
1) The RBs were doing an agility drill and I immediately noticed that James Conner is a monster. He looked comparable in the agility drills to the smaller Rachid Irbrahim and Malcolm Crockett. I was highly impressed. More on Conner later.
2) The QBs and WRs were doing a simple pass and catch drill. WRs were doing some type of curl or hitch route and the QBs would hit them as they turned around. Only one WR got the ball late: Tyler Boyd. Why? He’s faster than everyone else. It’s good that he’s that fast and hopefully the QBs can adjust to it so passes aren’t late. From talking around with people most seem to agree that Boyd is probably the 2nd best WR right now.
3) There were waaay too many drops. I saw Street with 1 or 2, Orndoff with 1, and a few others.
On to team drills!
They did a few types of team drills, 7 on 7, 9 on 9, then full squad, early on with light hitting but no tackling then more aggressive later. With Bennett out nursing his right knee, James Conner took most of the first team reps and he seemed to be the best RB out there today. Crockett and Ibrahim were about equal behind Conner and I can see why they weren’t getting the ball as often. Conner has some good wiggle in the hole and combined with his size, he’s tough to bring down. After practice, Chryst stated that he “loves the way he’s [Conner] approaching everything. He did some good things…as he understands what’s going on in front of him that’ll help. He’s certainly earned the right to get more reps.” With an OL that struggled at pass blocking (both the 1s and 2s), we’ll need a good rushing attack to keep the burden off of the passing game. If you read between the lines with Chryst, he wants to get Conner more touches. If he can read his blocks better, look out; he’s going to be dangerous in the open field.
Boyd is getting the most reps at WR after Street and I got a glimpse as to why. Savage threw him a bullet about 20 yards down the middle, and even with a DB hitting him as he caught it, he held on. Granted, it wasn’t a full speed hit, but still an impressive catch. There were 2 designed WR reverses where Boyd went in motion and took a quick handoff from Savage. Both plays were blown up by true freshman Ryan Lewis. Not sure if that’s Lewis knowing the play or an issue with the play itself. Something that will be critical for Boyd if he wants to get playing time will be run blocking. I got a good look at one play where Boyd had his man 5+ yards downfield and locked up. Amusingly, I complimented him aloud without realizing that Boyd’s mother was standing right next to me. I had a nice little chat with her afterwards about Tyler and she introduced me to the other Clairton moms in attendance.
A play that worked perfectly in the spring game did so again today: the TE screen. Voytik rolled right off of play action and hit Orndoff in the flat for a solid gain. The athleticism of our TEs will be a huge strategic advantage for this offense. NFL LBs and Safeties struggle with athletic TEs. College players will get stomped. Holtz, Garner, and Orndoff are all going to be a huge part of this offense. Even if the OL struggles, short passes to TEs are a great way to nickle and dime your way down the field. With 2 TE sets where both TEs can catch, it forces the defense to play you straight up; they can’t key to the run or pass. I expect to see a lot of 2 TE formations this season. In fact, it’ll probably be the base offense.
Savage is still taking most of the 1st team reps and the only time I saw him with a really bad throw was on a deep pass to Street with some pressure in his face. A properly thrown ball is an easy touchdown, but Street had to slow down and come back and he dropped it too. Voytik had his moments, but one area he seemed to struggle with was touch. When he’s throwing the ball straight to a target, he’s fine. His arm isn’t as strong as Savage, but the ball had some zip. If Voytik had to arc the ball or throw it softly, it was overthrown. He missed high on throws to Tinker and Boyd during a red zone drill.
The pressure Savage saw on the underthrow to Street was not uncommon enough. I mentioned in my OL column earlier this week that I was concerned about pass blocking and it was a problem today. I did notice in 11 on 11 that runs off of the left side (behind Bisnowaty and King) were working the best. I’d expect to see a lot of runs to that side throughout the season. I was also concerned about Gabe Roberts, a RS freshman, with regards to making the calls at the line.
After practice he admitted “I screwed up a little bit and got pulled out.” The most common mistake, according to Roberts, is “taking the wrong step.” He added later that “sometimes you want to do something and it’s the not the way you should do it at all…there are a lot of plays, as a center, you’re reading blitzes. I know Artie [Rowell, fighting for the center job], me and him go over stuff and yesterday I read the safeties wrong a few times and that kind of messes everybody up and kind of makes us soft throughout the pass protection so if we’re stepping wrong it kind of messes everybody up and it’s not all on the center but once you get down on the plays it’s all about the technique.”
The OL is talented but inexperienced and it’s fair to be nervous. How quickly they come together will be a huge factor in determining how successful this season will be. One thing is certain: if this OL fails, it won’t be due to a lack of effort from Coach Hueber. He’s constantly coaching, critiquing, and yelling when necessary. Adam Bisnowaty stated that “we all know what he’s done in the past…whatever he tells us is what’s best for us. Everything he has told us has worked and you ‘re like wow, it’s sort of like a light bulb goes off. Wow that actually does work.”
Practice ended with some good old fashion red zone drills. 11 on 11, full contact. There were 2 sets from the 5 yard line, first and goal. The first set was 3 James Conner runs. First play he was stopped for no gain. On 2nd down he got 4 to the 1 yard line then punched it in on 3rd down. The second set had Malcolm Crockett in at RB and he punched it in on his 2nd attempt after getting 3 yards on 1st down. The coaches were apparently pleased with this and they ended practice a little early. EJ said practice would probably end at 1 or maybe a little later and they started post practice stretches at 12:40.
I hope this wasn’t too convoluted, it was my first practice and I had a furry, 11 pound distraction, making things difficult as well. I’ll hopefully be attending the scrimmage on Friday. I’d love to be there every day, but Chas has greedily not offered me 6 figures to do this daily. Feel free to tweet him about it.
There you go. Just like a koolaid drinker.
If a player doesn’t committ to pitt, he must not be good or a problem.
But if he committs, that is good. smh.
Just like a player that quits or transfers.
Just be consistent.
For you to say Pitt doesn’t need Henry or Mckenzie or that they may be problems is just an excuse to coverup for Chryst and crew inability to recruit elite players.
btw. The fact is, Pitt scheduled the time for Henry to call in at 8pm (yes pm) per wpial insider and 3 times they did not answer.
but hey, don’t let the facts stand in the way for you to post inaccurate information.
This is the same exact thinking we use to criticize that everytime Pitt would outrecruit PSU for a player, some Nitter would say “well, PSU stopped recruiting him anyway”
@wbb,
…you missed the point of my comment… my fault if I was not clear.
I agree if at the end of the recruiting season Pitt does not demonstrate an ability to recruit top WPA talent, then your point is correct and I will not be kind either
Just look at Panther prey right now… I am criticizing every rumor that some people use to turn negative on Pitt just because they are a pathological problem child…
I think my point of view was reasonable when I argue that right now this staff is prioritizing building a culture and a philosophy for a program.
For some “bling, bling” players with lots of “stars”, this staff is going to pass on them… “headcases”…
the tale of the tape will be the W/L record and February letter of intent day.
Until then I am going to enjoy training camp and good posts such as Justin’s above…
McKenzie I think will be one of those types of players this staff quietly passes on…. and I have been making that point now since the Shell saga.
Henry, no idea yet… see how he plays out (and he certainly has not said he is no longer interested in Pitt anyway. As Justin said, all the press/social media stuff is just different people with different agendas…
… and clearly several very good players will not chose Pitt and that is because Pitt is not a fit for them or they can go to AL…
… they can choose to go to WVU…
Good for them… their kids… just like the kid who chose Pitt over a free ride to Yale and Harvard…
Amen brother!
…. and if that is “koolaid” drinking… then my tough is all pink/red from @Pittofdreams strawberry mix…. lol…
– that everything I ever heard about Thomas’ character has been positive, including from his high phys ed teacher
– all of the player issues that PC has had of late
– the lack of managerial skills that PC has shown since he’s been here, not to mention ..
– Thomas is in his 4th year and 3rd head coach here, has overcome 2 ACLs and is graduating a term early …. and apparently (as Chas alluded to) he is even granted the same courtesy as short-timers Shell and Rippy and allowed to re-consider??
Just remember no one did anything harsh to him other than start him second string on day one (saying all along it was temporary)… supposedly he talked to the coaches that Wednesday night… but still come out on Thursday saying he quit.
Remember Street’s comments as well…
So I hope he somehow works it out and makes it back… but you can’t blame PC for this kids actions… he has to own them himself.
I mean, just trying to be fair about it.. we are responsible for our own actions.
Better yet, don’t even recruit those types.
We’ve been wallowing in mediocrity for 30 years now… sans one or two years. I’d rather wallow with kids who aren’t an embarrassment to the University, the City and us as alumni.
And perhaps down the road we become a ‘destination place’ for parents with kids who are both achievers ‘on & off’ the field. And parents who want to send their kids to a school who doesn’t put up with all the garbage the other 90% of college FBS schools do.
If it takes another few years to start to accomplish that……hey…what’s a couple more years when you’ve already waited 30. lol
Hail to PITT !
Veritas et Virtus !
However if he can’t accept being demoted for a day or two to the 2nd team, do we really need to coddle him.
This isn’t Little League or Pop Warner Football, dealing with children and their almost child like parents. Or is it ????
Do you want a guy that some on the team look towards for …………LEADERSHIP.
A guy that quit on his team and teammates on the very first day of training camp. Do you even want this guy in a position of leadership ?
With only a semester till he graduates from what I’ve read, you seriously have to question this guy’s judgement and most certainly his leadership abilities or lack thereof.
So with all that in mind, do you think it would be good for the future of this team and program(long term) to let him waltz back ?
Nice of you to stand on your soapbox and beat your chest. You guys sound like you never held a top managment position or owned your own business.
In my opinion and based upon my experiences and knowledge of Thomas, Chryst handled the Thomas situation wrong.
So,
How many games will Pitt win this season?
Should Chapman be kicked off the team?
As far as Todd Thomas is concerned, he did not quit on the coaches, his university, or the team. He quit on himself. There is an opportunity for learning with Mr. Thomas here. Imagine the first time he uses his Pitt degree in the private sector and is passed over for a promotion. He will have a choice. Quit and pout, or work harder. His choice. Own it and move forward. Personally, I think he needs to own it and work his tail off. If anyone hasn’t noticed, in life we get the same problems thrown at us time and time again. For many of us, we keep handling it the same way. It is a greater being’s way of exhibiting humor. Todd Thomas will have this exact thing happen to him another 10 times in his life. He gets to choose how to handle each of them, but this is a great challenge for his maturity. He will do the right thing, no question.
It’s like Jody above. If you read his garble and expect anything other than an anti-pitt statement, you are crazy. On his tombstone it will read” I coulda, shoulda, woulda donebetter than any pitt coach. And then he would have this on his tombstone, extra pepperoni to go with my whine!
Clemson coach recently advised his players that there will be no more tweeting and social media. Why? He gets it. Social media attracts the hangers on with their own agenda, not the player. The Mclenzie’s, the Nicholson’s, the Henry’s, I apss on any that harbor any ill will towards Pitt or have a posse. The Michigan’s, osu’s, psu’s and Alabama’s take all these kids because they know they will either use the athlete for their own success or the kid must go. There is large turnover in big programs because the troubled kids or primadonna’s are replaceable at a moments notice at those programs. It is just amplified at a place like pitt because we don’t get a stable of them.
I feel the same way TX Panther.
gotta wonder how many more to go though?? Thomas was really unexpected. Too bad.
But you know we took some lumps when DW first came in and that ended up with PITT having it’s best 3 year run in 30 years in DW’s final 3 years, before that moronic Sniley decision.
Although it could be worse than that since we had a returning good QB then(Palko) and we did win 5 or 6 games and lost some close games. It never got like really bad, like mid ’90’s bad. It might get that bad until PC gets a full compliment of “his” players on the field and 2 deep. Especially with the exodus of some starters and 2 deep kids in the last little bit.
I do feel like PC and company have a plan or at least I’m hoping they do, as of course they aren’t really going to spell this plan out. You have to read between the lines and look at the type of kids they’re recruiting and more importantly signing.
As we’ve discussed ad nauseum, but worth repeating, Wisconsin and Stanford weren’t built with an overabundance of 4 star types. Quite the contrary, as we’ve noted, Pitt had better recruiting classes than the Badgers but far less success in on the field results. Probably the same can be said for Stanford (surely in the ‘on the field’ results the last 3 or 4 years).
So thinking that PC is using the Wisconsin ‘model’ per se, and is getting advise from the guy who developed the Wisconsin ‘model’, that being Barry Alvarez, we should be fine if we have the patience to let the PC-Alvarez ‘model’ take hold at PITT.
As they say,,,,,,,Rome wasn’t built in a day !
Has no one here used that type of motivational tactic in their professional lives?
What is plainly obvious to me is that Thomas actually did understand what was happening out on the field that day, talked about the practice in a very mature way… then went home and got an earful of ego stroking bullshit from his Mother and his friends.
“Todd, how dare they! You go call Chryst right now and tell him you quit. Then go into the bathroom and cut the nose off of your face No! Better yet let me handle this… There is no way they are keeping my boy from the NFL!”
Like quitting on a team on the first day of practice isn’t a huge red flag for any NFL team and he’ll surely not get a ringing endorsement from this staff.
Guys – this is all on Thomas just as it was all on Shell. Shifting any of the blame at all to anyone other than those two principals is a smoke job.
Typical.
And Reed, sorry, you can’t compare Thomas to Shell. Thomas is no Shell. Everyone knows that one.
Chryst blew it on this one from a managerial perspective.
But here is what is known and doesn’t seem to make much sense:
– immediately after Tuesday’s practice, Thomas made as postive comments that you could ever respect from a player who has been demoted.
– Coach said the next day that Thomas has lft the team, and if anything changes, he will visit it. (Not exact quote but he did use the word ‘visit’.)
– That very day, Thomas tweeted that he was not leaving, and he still loves Pitt. Then he tells his high school coach he is planning to return.
– since then, there has been nothing from either side
Thomas never made any public statement that he was leaving, or said anything negative. As Chas alluded to above, both Shell and Rippy (both who have much less time invested in the program than Thomas) were given time to reconsider.
I’m sorry … this situation from what we know about it is very puzzling. But my guess, we will find out today when practice resumes just what the final outcome will be.
That really is the best part of Pitt football — watching the team play! It’s not in second guessing the coach, screaming into the void about how many stars our recruits have or don’t have, whining about our AD, gnashing teeth over lack of an on-campus stadium, or any of the other similar nitpicking that goes on here on an almost daily basis anymore. It’s watching the team play!
I would love to have a poll of how many of the posters here actually go to the games. It is a whole different experience to watch the team week in and week out when you are a part of the atmosphere, as opposed to watching it on TV from afar. It’s a different connection to the team. Maybe that is where my optimistic slant stems from.
Call me a kool-aid drinker I guess. But it tastes far better than piss and vinegar!
“Call me a kool-aid drinker I guess. But it tastes far better than piss and vinegar!”
Genius.
I do not think my commitment as a Pitt fan can be challenged, which is all the more reason for airing out my beefs.
Nonetheless, I will be at Heinz, along with you, pulling like heck for the home team.
Just like in business, I’d rather have people working for me full of piss and vinegar instead of koolaid.
JCE, you sound like someone from the Pitt athletic department.
Answer me this, do you want players full of piss and vinegar or koolaid?
You don’t know what the term means but used it in your post. Lmao.
Just avoiding the question.
You obviously know what type of player Pitt is recruiting.
Do you know how the koolaid drinking term started?
I will educate you.
It stems from “blindly” following the leader of the group and going along with whatever that person says. Jones or Jonestown ring a bell. Google it. That term started in 1978!
It is puzzling wbb the whole Thomas affair… I hope he is back.
“Answer me this, do you want players full of piss and vinegar or koolaid?”
Players full of koolaid? PLEASE, educate me! What is THAT??
Nevermind, don’t tell me. I don’t care. Like I said, I don’t want to get dragged in. LOL!
But, you actually answered it.
Speaking of avoiding the question, why don’t you answer crazylegs above? But, you have been asked before. You never deny. Always dodge. I guess that gives us our answer too.
It’s worked out well for them, hasn’t it?
He’s the one with the stopwatch around his neck.
I GOT IT! Make the Kool-aid with piss and vinagar!
Tastes like $hit but produces some really angry, motivated and loyal football players!
Hail to Pitt!
You really do seem to read comments with a closed mind. It is like you already want to argue against the commenter regardless of what they actually write.
As for Henry…
… the notion that ‘no one answered the phone’ is stupid… like people still call an office phone and listen to ‘ring, ring’… and someone has to be in the roooom to run across and answer it…LMAO.
this staff is recruiting their strategy and they are in touch with folks the way everyone else is in this day and age.
McKenzie will not be at Pitt, and the reason … among others… is that this staff is not going to want him. He is a “headcase”..,
Henry and/or his “entourage” are showing potential “headcase” issues as well…
…doesn’t matter how ‘talented’ the kid or how many stars some expert pinned on his a$$… this program is not recruiting headcases…
thus why Thomas unfortunately may be gone because of how he, the player, chose to act… and the fact his mom perhaps is not his best advocate if still operating under previously known ‘mode of action’.
… and if such attitude ‘turns off’ some recruits… good… then we know right away who we don’t want at this program… no matter the ‘bling’ pinned to their a$$
…oh, some high school kid is not being pampered and stroked by the coaching staff to the egotistical extent this 17yr kid wants (or his wacked parents)… what a Paris Hilton syndrome some people are in…
… who the F$%^ cares…