As we have been stating on here for sometime it looks like it is shaping up for Manny Stocker to be the QB2 going into fall camp… no, actually that’s a done deal now.

Still, one of Narduzzi’s goals this off-season is to find a backup quarterback to replace Chad Voytik, who is transferring.

Voytik, a starter in 2014, would have been a nice safety net to in case of an injury to starting quarterback Nate Peterman. Instead, senior walk-on Manny Stocker has taken the early lead over sophomore Adam Bertke and redshirt freshman Ben DiNucci.

“Right now, I’d say he’s the guy,” Narduzzi said of Stocker, “but we’ve still got a lot of football to play. We still have all summer for those guys to go out and throw together.”

Here’s some not so good news for the listening audience… Billy Osborne back in the radio booth:

Bill Osborn, who served as the color analyst for Pitt football radio broadcasts from 1995-2003, is returning to the booth this season.

He will replace Pat Bostick, whose duties as director of development in the Panther Club are expanding. Bostick, a former Pitt quarterback, has been the analyst since 2011.

Osborn was a three-sport athlete at Pitt from 1985-88, including a three-year stint as a starting wide receiver. He also played basketball and baseball, becoming the first Pitt athlete to letter in three sports since Mike Ditka.

Longtime play-by-play veteran Bill Hillgrove will remain in the booth for the 47th consecutive season, 43 of them spent doing play-by-play. Larry Richert will return as the sideline reporter.

I’ll state this publicly now and get it out of the way so that you can say you heard it here first – Pat Bostick, Jr. is being groomed for big things at Pitt and I personally wouldn’t be surprised to see him as a Pitt Athletic Director within 10-15 years.

(more…)

Well, this is a surprise. Pat Bostick won’t be filling the analyst role on the Pitt football radio broadcasts this year. He’s going to focus on his other job as the Director of Development for the Panther Club. More with the fundraising aspect.

Coming back to the booth is Billy Osborn.

Osborn has been highly active in broadcasting over the past dozen years. He called college football games for the Comcast Network and also did color for the Arena Football League’s Philadelphia Soul. Osborn is co-host of the “OZZIE and KRAUSEY SHOW,” which can be heard on ESPN 610 AM Sports Radio in the Philadelphia/South Jersey area.

A four-year football letterman at Pitt (1985-88), Osborn was a quarterback and defensive back before settling in as a three-year starting wide receiver. He finished his collegiate career with 77 receptions for 1,104 yards (14.3 avg.) and nine touchdowns. In addition to football, he also lettered in baseball and basketball, becoming the first Pitt student-athlete to letter in three varsity sports since Mike Ditka.

Osborn previously served as the analyst for Pitt football from 1995-2003.

More from Pat Bostick.

Bostick, the former Pitt quarterback, served as color analyst the past five seasons. He joined the Panther Club staff in 2011 and has continued to assume elevated roles for Pitt’s official athletics fundraising office.

“It has been an honor to call Pitt football games alongside the legendary Bill Hillgrove,” Bostick said. “I will forever owe a debt a gratitude to Bill for his friendship, professionalism and introducing me to broadcasting. While I’ll miss being in the booth, I’m very excited about taking the next step in my professional journey. I want to welcome Billy Osborn back to the broadcast team and thank our athletic director Scott Barnes and the entire Pitt family for giving me the opportunity to continue serving the great University of Pittsburgh.”

Bostick did a fantastic job in the booth. A little disappointed that he won’t keep doing it.