Quarterback at Pitt

[Sean Miller Fan]

Chris Peak talked about this on a recent podcast, but Pitt has only had a handful of NFL draft picks at QBs ever. After Marino, the 2nd best QB is Van Pelt, a career backup. After that, you are looking at guys who only had cups of coffee in the NFL. Its unbelievable that Pitt has not produced more high-level QBs. If you're looking at reasons why we have had 3 losses or more for over 30 years in a row, this is may be reason #1. Pitt should have lucked into a Matt Ryan, Ben Roethlisberger, or.......Joe Flacco.

 

[Swervin27]

Chris Peak talked about this on a recent podcast, but Pitt has only had a handful on QBs ever. After Marino, the 2nd best QB is Van Pelt, a career backup. After that, you are looking at guys who only had cups of coffee in the NFL. Its unbelievable that Pitt has not produced more high-level QBs. If you're looking at reasons why we have had 3 losses or more for over 30 years in a row, this is may be reason #1. Pitt should have lucked into a Matt Ryan, Ben Roethlisberger, or.......Joe Flacco.

Congemi seems to get the shaft from pitt fans.. I was just a little swervin/pghfan when he was at pitt but his record speaks for itself.. Palko and Rod were pretty good QBs too, not near the level of AVP but still pretty good. You are right though SMF, i see QBs play pretty well every saturday, for programs not named Alabama or OSU.. It happens everywhere, avg recruited QBs develop and become really good in college, we are basically bucking the odds by not at least "lucking" out here once or twice...

 

[HailtoPitt]

I'm an advocate for having too many QBs instead of not enough. Over recruit the position and let players transfer out when they fall down the depth chart. Some of those 2 star guys turn out to be Tony Pike. Not sure how that plays with the scholarship numbers.

But I'd also say that the quarterback position is probably most affected by program instability.

 

[echowaker]

flacco never got a fair shot.

 

[QuitCallingMeWanny]

I'm bullish on DiNucci, if he didn't have a funky motion, more people would get on board with him and I believe that, and MacVittie, just continue to add to the depth

 

[Jpripper88]

Chris Peak talked about this on a recent podcast, but Pitt has only had a handful on QBs ever. After Marino, the 2nd best QB is Van Pelt, a career backup. After that, you are looking at guys who only had cups of coffee in the NFL. Its unbelievable that Pitt has not produced more high-level QBs. If you're looking at reasons why we have had 3 losses or more for over 30 years in a row, this is may be reason #1. Pitt should have lucked into a Matt Ryan, Ben Roethlisberger, or.......Joe Flacco.

I only care about what they do at Pitt, not the NFL. There are lots of very, very good college QBs who do not succeed in the NFL. I would gladly take a lineage of good college QBs who do absolutely nothing in the NFL.

 

[KTP]

The list of college QB's from most schools is actually very small. Take a look at OSU what Kirk Herbstreet? We all know about the nits futility in producing QB's. Even Michigan their biggest QB graduate was a kid who was constantly being pulled for lack of production. That position is an enormous crapshoot. Look at this years big QB prospects and where they are from Memphis and ND state. Look at Big Ben. Moral is don't get overly crazy about where a kid is from or his offers. The rules on offers don't even seem to apply to this position. It's nuts.

 

[pittdan77]

I'm bullish on DiNucci, if he didn't have a funky motion, more people would get on board with him and I believe that, and MacVittie, just continue to add to the depth

DiNucci is putting in the work, apparently. Hope it pays off.

 

[pittdan77]

Hey, Tino holds the all-time professional record for 2-pt conversions in a single game. That's nothing to sneeze at.

 

[9nationalchampionships]

Ideally you want 5-6 QBs spread over every year of eligibility. We will be taking a QB in this class and as someone mentioned....it may be Pickett.

 

[MajorMajors]

DiNucci is putting in the work, apparently. Hope it pays off.

Good to hear he's putting in the work. Frankly, he looked kind of lost in the spring game - though his opportunities were limited.

Go Pitt.

 

[MajorMajors]

Speaking of QBs and ND, when they came to town last season I watched their QBs in warmups. They had three guys throwing bullets. They all threw the ball with much more velocity than the Pitt QBs -- at least in warmups.

I thought the difference was rather striking. But I don't know if it reflects differences in arm strength (likely), a different approach to preparing for the game, or a combination of the two.

Go Pitt.

 

[thebadby2]

I'm an advocate for having too many QBs instead of not enough. Over recruit the position and let players transfer out when they fall down the depth chart. Some of those 2 star guys turn out to be Tony Pike. Not sure how that plays with the scholarship numbers.

But I'd also say that the quarterback position is probably most affected by program instability.

This is certainly the smart strategy when you're trying to build or rebuild. Bring in as many QBs as you can-recruits, transfers, etc-let them all compete and see who emerges. More often than with other positoons, the guys who look best in practice aren't necessarily best in the games. The guy that moves the chains the most consistently is your man. He might not win the beauty contest or any measurables, but if he moves the ball down the field, he's the guy.

 

[thebadby2]

I'm bullish on DiNucci, if he didn't have a funky motion, more people would get on board with him and I believe that, and MacVittie, just continue to add to the depth

He took 4 snaps in the spring game at a paper thin position that is crying out for a capable backup to emerge. That says it all. He's young yet, just a RS freshman, but it's pretty obvious that the coaches aren't quite as "bullish" on him as you are.

 

[upj87]

Chris Peak talked about this on a recent podcast, but Pitt has only had a handful of NFL draft picks at QBs ever. After Marino, the 2nd best QB is Van Pelt, a career backup. After that, you are looking at guys who only had cups of coffee in the NFL. Its unbelievable that Pitt has not produced more high-level QBs. If you're looking at reasons why we have had 3 losses or more for over 30 years in a row, this is may be reason #1. Pitt should have lucked into a Matt Ryan, Ben Roethlisberger, or.......Joe Flacco.

Matt Cavanaugh had about a 12 year cup of coffee with the best job in the world, backup qb....

 

[Dr. von Yinzer]

flacco never got a fair shot.

That's complete nonsense. The whole Flacco thing is revisionist history of the highest order.

The question was never Tylet Palko versus Joe Flacco, it was Palko versus Luke Getsy - who was also pretty good at the time but ultimately not as good as Flacco turned out to be.

Everyone pretends that it was some sort of controversy and that Pitt chose unwisely but that's not how it went down at all. Two different coaching staffs - including one head coach who is well regarded for his eye for talent and development of quarterbacks - determined that Flacco was the third best quarterback here at the time.

Also, in 2004 Pitt made its first and only BCS bowl appearance with Palko under center. There is no way that they - or anyone else in the country - were going to the bench that kid the following season because another kid who had not yet developed but had a stronger arm deserved a fair shot. They would've been crucified for that decision by the fans and media.

Now, to his credit, Flacco improved dramatically at Delaware and made it to the NFL where he has enjoyed a good career. However, when he was at Pitt, he was the clear No. 3 and there was no debate about that until after he was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens a few years later.

I am telling you, as someone who followed the entire situation closely at the time, when Flacco transferred to Delaware it was greeted with the same amount of fanfare as Adam Bertke's announcement that he was leaving Pitt earlier this week. Nobody batted an eyelash. It wasn't even anywhere close to the amount of discussion generated by Chad Voytik's announcement that he was transferring to Arkansas State.

It's just classic Monday morning quarterbacking – kind of like when people criticize the coaches for letting Tommy Campbell get away. Again, nobody was killing them when that happened. However, he goes to the NFL and has a cup of coffee there and it becomes an easy target for people. It's all BS though.

 

[Swervin27]

That's complete nonsense. The whole Flacco thing is revisionist history of the highest order.

The question was never Tylet Palko versus Joe Flacco, it was Palko versus Luke Getsy - who was also pretty good at the time but ultimately not as good as Flacco turned out to be.

Everyone pretends that it was some sort of controversy and that Pitt chose unwisely but that's not how it went down at all. Two different coaching staffs - including one head coach who is well regarded for his eye for talent and development of quarterbacks - determined that Flacco was the third best quarterback here at the time.

Also, in 2004 Pitt made its first and only BCS bowl appearance with Palko under center. There is no way that they - or anyone else in the country - were going to the bench that kid the following season because another kid who had not yet developed but had a stronger arm deserved a fair shot. They would've been crucified for that decision by the fans and media.

Now, to his credit, Flacco improved dramatically at Delaware and made it to the NFL where he has enjoyed a good career. However, when he was at Pitt, he was the clear No. 3 and there was no debate about that until after he was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens a few years later.

I am telling you, as someone who followed the entire situation closely at the time, when Flacco transferred to Delaware it was greeted with the same amount of fanfare as Adam Bertke's announcement that he was leaving Pitt earlier this week. Nobody batted an eyelash. It wasn't even anywhere close to the amount of discussion generated by Chad Voytik's announcement that he was transferring to Arkansas State.

It's just classic Monday morning quarterbacking – kind of like when people criticize the coaches for letting Tommy Campbell get away. Again, nobody was killing them when that happened. However, he goes to the NFL and has a cup of coffee there and it becomes an easy target for people. It's all BS though.

Good post DVY.. Flacco really wasn't even in mix, you are right, it was a Getsy / Palko battle. Good for Flacco, he wouldn't have gotten a shot and he left, developed and is now living the dream. Amazing the eye that Walt had for QBs.. We had, briefly of course, Getsy, Palko and Flacco on our squad.. Not too long after Rod graduated.. We actually had QB depth.. Can you imagine? I cant..

 

[OH Pete]

Chris Peak talked about this on a recent podcast, but Pitt has only had a handful of NFL draft picks at QBs ever. After Marino, the 2nd best QB is Van Pelt, a career backup. After that, you are looking at guys who only had cups of coffee in the NFL. Its unbelievable that Pitt has not produced more high-level QBs. If you're looking at reasons why we have had 3 losses or more for over 30 years in a row, this is may be reason #1. Pitt should have lucked into a Matt Ryan, Ben Roethlisberger, or.......Joe Flacco.

Sort of unfair. Few pro teams can luck into a Matt Ryan or Ben Roethlisberger. So it is a bit unrealistic to expect Pitt to be able to do it. Those are once in a generation type talents.

 

[Swervin27]

Sort of unfair. Few pro teams can luck into a Matt Ryan or Ben Roethlisberger. So it is a bit unrealistic to expect Pitt to be able to do it. Those are once in a generation type talents.

not even looking for that, just some avg recruited QB that comes in and develops nicely, dare I say, over performs..

 

[ThePanthers]

Sort of unfair. Few pro teams can luck into a Matt Ryan or Ben Roethlisberger. So it is a bit unrealistic to expect Pitt to be able to do it. Those are once in a generation type talents.

Not for SMF. Everything is easy.

 

[ThePanthers]

flacco never got a fair shot.

That is a load of crap.

 

[QuitCallingMeWanny]

He took 4 snaps in the spring game at a paper thin position that is crying out for a capable backup to emerge. That says it all. He's young yet, just a RS freshman, but it's pretty obvious that the coaches aren't quite as "bullish" on him as you are.

Ok we'll see......