There's only so much "pre-camp" content anyone can take. Trust me, we all get that. And once camp starts, there's only so much "pre-season" content people can take. In the end, everyone is really just eyeing up August 31st. But until then it's all kind of speculation about what this team can be, or what this player can do, and how this coach will do this....
HAVING SAID ALL THAT.....Here are ten guys (beyond the Paris Ford's and Kenny Pickett's of the world) I'll have my eye on when I'm at practice on Monday, for one reason or another.
1. Mychaele Salahuddin - A lot of the talk this offseason has been about replacing Qadree Ollison and Darrin Hall...and might I add for good reason, too. Pitt has 5-6 guys competing for the No. 1 spot at RB. While AJ Davis is probably the favorite, I kind of think Salahuddin might be the most talented guy in the room. Pitt has a few Under Armor All-American's and four-star recruits in the RB room, but I just think Salahuddin sort of stands out...at least from what I have seen of the returnees. Now his big question is health. He did have offseason surgery. Can we go? That's a main thing that we'll be watching for...
2. Shocky Jacques-Louis - When everyone on the Pitt team wasn't talking about Kenny Pickett last fall, they were seemingly talking about Shocky Jacques-Louis. He was a star in fall camp last year, and that didn't really translate on the field much. I think Pitt is pretty comfortable with Maurice Ffrench and Taysir Mack as the starting receivers. But after them, it's kind of an open competition. Of all the guys in that competition, however, Jacques-Louis is the fastest.
3. V'lique Carter - Is he going to be working with the receivers or the running backs...or both? Carter is a unique weapon with a lot of speed, and the key obviously for Mark Whipple will be to find ways to get him the ball in space and allow him to make plays. He might line up all over the place, so it will be interesting where he is at all times.
4. Jimmy Morrissey - Morrissey is a good, reliable player. The big thing I'll be watching for is his health. Pitt ran into some tough competition at the tail end of last season, but looked lost without him on the field. Pitt really needs him come August 31st.
5. Carter Warren - I think arguably the biggest storyline of Spring ball was Carter Warren grabbing the starting LT job early and not letting it go. Can he do the same in fall camp? Warren is a big dude, he was a pretty solid recruit, and he's a redshirt sophomore. While there's not a lot of game experience there, I think there's some pedigree and he's had over a full year to work with Dave Borbely. His play this year can really make or break how this offense plays.
6. Patrick Jones - Physically, he's actually more imposing and probably more athletic than Rashad Weaver. Patrick Jones looks the part maybe more so than any guy on Pitt's roster. He posted 4 sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss last season as a backup, so the anticipation is that he can have a really strong season with starter's reps. The big thing with him is obviously eliminating mistakes. Yea, he had some great plays last year, but also some bad penalties. I'm interested to see his focus level heading into camp.
7. Keyshon Camp - I think he should be fully healthy and ready to contribute. But it seems like if Camp is going to put together a strong season, that 2019 is probably the year he needs to make it happen. He's always made a few plays each game, but in some cases the production just hasn't been there on a consistent basis.
8. Jaylen Twyman - OK, we all saw the picture of his flexing in his new No. 97 jersey. Twyman looks the part. Between his redshirt year and last season, he seemed to cut a lot of weight and trimmed up, and between last season and heading into this year it looks like he added some muscle. Twyman played some last year and he showed some flashes in some games too. If there's one guy on this defense that can break out, it seems like he's as good of a candidate as any.
9. Phil Campbell - Will the Spring hype continue into Fall camp? Narduzzi and Harley raved about Campbell more than once during spring practice as he made the move from safety to linebacker, so can that momentum carry over? Campbell always seemed a step slow at safety, so I do think the "STAR" LB position is sort of his thing given his body type and athleticism. I'll be interested to see where he stands as far as his weight goes. He was still sort of a tweener in April, so I'm guessing he'll have some added weight and muscle by now.
10. Therran Coleman - Pitt's secondary is pretty set. We're pretty sure Paris Ford is going to join Damar Hamlin, Dane Jackson, and Jason Pinnock in the starting four. We know Damarri Mathis is practically a fifth starter. But what about after that? Therran Coleman is entering year four in this program and he does not have a ton of game experience. A lot of his problems are injury related. Can he stay healthy and carve out a role this year? I'll be watching. Because when you see him in pads, he looks the part just as much as any starter. He had the game-winning INT in the Syracuse game a year ago. Coleman has some ability. It will be interesting to see if he can harness it and be a factor this season.
HAVING SAID ALL THAT.....Here are ten guys (beyond the Paris Ford's and Kenny Pickett's of the world) I'll have my eye on when I'm at practice on Monday, for one reason or another.
1. Mychaele Salahuddin - A lot of the talk this offseason has been about replacing Qadree Ollison and Darrin Hall...and might I add for good reason, too. Pitt has 5-6 guys competing for the No. 1 spot at RB. While AJ Davis is probably the favorite, I kind of think Salahuddin might be the most talented guy in the room. Pitt has a few Under Armor All-American's and four-star recruits in the RB room, but I just think Salahuddin sort of stands out...at least from what I have seen of the returnees. Now his big question is health. He did have offseason surgery. Can we go? That's a main thing that we'll be watching for...
2. Shocky Jacques-Louis - When everyone on the Pitt team wasn't talking about Kenny Pickett last fall, they were seemingly talking about Shocky Jacques-Louis. He was a star in fall camp last year, and that didn't really translate on the field much. I think Pitt is pretty comfortable with Maurice Ffrench and Taysir Mack as the starting receivers. But after them, it's kind of an open competition. Of all the guys in that competition, however, Jacques-Louis is the fastest.
3. V'lique Carter - Is he going to be working with the receivers or the running backs...or both? Carter is a unique weapon with a lot of speed, and the key obviously for Mark Whipple will be to find ways to get him the ball in space and allow him to make plays. He might line up all over the place, so it will be interesting where he is at all times.
4. Jimmy Morrissey - Morrissey is a good, reliable player. The big thing I'll be watching for is his health. Pitt ran into some tough competition at the tail end of last season, but looked lost without him on the field. Pitt really needs him come August 31st.
5. Carter Warren - I think arguably the biggest storyline of Spring ball was Carter Warren grabbing the starting LT job early and not letting it go. Can he do the same in fall camp? Warren is a big dude, he was a pretty solid recruit, and he's a redshirt sophomore. While there's not a lot of game experience there, I think there's some pedigree and he's had over a full year to work with Dave Borbely. His play this year can really make or break how this offense plays.
6. Patrick Jones - Physically, he's actually more imposing and probably more athletic than Rashad Weaver. Patrick Jones looks the part maybe more so than any guy on Pitt's roster. He posted 4 sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss last season as a backup, so the anticipation is that he can have a really strong season with starter's reps. The big thing with him is obviously eliminating mistakes. Yea, he had some great plays last year, but also some bad penalties. I'm interested to see his focus level heading into camp.
7. Keyshon Camp - I think he should be fully healthy and ready to contribute. But it seems like if Camp is going to put together a strong season, that 2019 is probably the year he needs to make it happen. He's always made a few plays each game, but in some cases the production just hasn't been there on a consistent basis.
8. Jaylen Twyman - OK, we all saw the picture of his flexing in his new No. 97 jersey. Twyman looks the part. Between his redshirt year and last season, he seemed to cut a lot of weight and trimmed up, and between last season and heading into this year it looks like he added some muscle. Twyman played some last year and he showed some flashes in some games too. If there's one guy on this defense that can break out, it seems like he's as good of a candidate as any.
9. Phil Campbell - Will the Spring hype continue into Fall camp? Narduzzi and Harley raved about Campbell more than once during spring practice as he made the move from safety to linebacker, so can that momentum carry over? Campbell always seemed a step slow at safety, so I do think the "STAR" LB position is sort of his thing given his body type and athleticism. I'll be interested to see where he stands as far as his weight goes. He was still sort of a tweener in April, so I'm guessing he'll have some added weight and muscle by now.
10. Therran Coleman - Pitt's secondary is pretty set. We're pretty sure Paris Ford is going to join Damar Hamlin, Dane Jackson, and Jason Pinnock in the starting four. We know Damarri Mathis is practically a fifth starter. But what about after that? Therran Coleman is entering year four in this program and he does not have a ton of game experience. A lot of his problems are injury related. Can he stay healthy and carve out a role this year? I'll be watching. Because when you see him in pads, he looks the part just as much as any starter. He had the game-winning INT in the Syracuse game a year ago. Coleman has some ability. It will be interesting to see if he can harness it and be a factor this season.
