Pitt's Big 3, prior to the season, were its QB, RB and WR, namely Voytik, Conner, and Boyd.
There was a long discussion about which were most important, and specifically, which of the three Pitt could least afford to lose.
There were a variety of opinions on the matter. No one thought that CV was the most talented of the three, but since the QB spot is so critical, many thought he was the most indispensible. But plenty of others voted for JC or TB, and for good reason.
Well, we ended up playing the season with 2 of the 3 on the sidelines. Had we known that upfront, no one would've thought it possible that we'd win 8 regular season games, and yet we did.
I think that if there are any players who are indispensible for 2016, you'd have to look toward the defensive side of the ball. Our OL and RB groups are very deep, and while there are injuries that will hurt on offense, we'll survive. Peterman is being discussed on another thread, and I don't disagree -- a fifth year QB with experience is large.
On D, I'd hate to see Whitehead go down, or Jarrett, who is needed both for his massive size and lone DT experience. And Maddox will be important early in the year, since he is the only guy with any experience. We could lose him late in the season, once the freshman have time to adjust and gain experience, but an early season loss will hurt.
Hamlin could get a mention due to his potential, but you can't really talk about a true freshman being indispensable until he has proven himself.
There was a long discussion about which were most important, and specifically, which of the three Pitt could least afford to lose.
There were a variety of opinions on the matter. No one thought that CV was the most talented of the three, but since the QB spot is so critical, many thought he was the most indispensible. But plenty of others voted for JC or TB, and for good reason.
Well, we ended up playing the season with 2 of the 3 on the sidelines. Had we known that upfront, no one would've thought it possible that we'd win 8 regular season games, and yet we did.
I think that if there are any players who are indispensible for 2016, you'd have to look toward the defensive side of the ball. Our OL and RB groups are very deep, and while there are injuries that will hurt on offense, we'll survive. Peterman is being discussed on another thread, and I don't disagree -- a fifth year QB with experience is large.
On D, I'd hate to see Whitehead go down, or Jarrett, who is needed both for his massive size and lone DT experience. And Maddox will be important early in the year, since he is the only guy with any experience. We could lose him late in the season, once the freshman have time to adjust and gain experience, but an early season loss will hurt.
Hamlin could get a mention due to his potential, but you can't really talk about a true freshman being indispensable until he has proven himself.
