This is going to go over like a fart on the T, but....

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

We've only played one game and it was a close one against a real opponent, there wasn't a lot of opportunity for the younger players to get their feet wet. Some of those young guys will emerge and find their way into contributing roles as the season progresses. It has always been that way.

Bigger question is how was John Morgan not a Week 1 starter? That guy needs to be on the field at all times.

And that's a fair point and a distinct possibility. If Donald is the next Kancey, he better be playing regularly by the end of this season. Same goes Johnson, some of the corners, and some others.

And yeah... pretty sure Morgan's pressure rates have always been up there. Not sure why he isn't starting either.

 

[pittdan77]

My concern, and the point of this post, is that I'm not sure that I'm seeing that next waves of plug-and-play stars on the roster as it's constructed now. I'll throw the true freshmen out, because they're just too young.

I don't really understand what's causing your concern. The roster is loaded with upper classmen who were happy to enjoy their extra year of eligibility. Pitt is favored to win most of its games because of it. It might be different if Pitt had started to pull 25 player, top ten classes a couple years ago but there was one tiny class in there and for the most part, the classes have been about the same level of talent. There might be some individuals who were more highly regarded coming in but you just don't walk into a college locker room full of guys that are five or six years of ahead of you and take over unless you're a generational talent.

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

I don't really understand what's causing your concern. The roster is loaded with upper classmen who were happy to enjoy their extra year of eligibility. Pitt is favored to win most of its games because of it. It might be different if Pitt had started to pull 25 player, top ten classes a couple years ago but there was one tiny class in there and for the most part, the classes have been about the same level of talent. There might be some individuals who were more highly regarded coming in but you just don't walk into a college locker room full of guys that are five or six years of ahead of you and take over unless you're a generational talent.

Again, not asking for Nahki Johnson to take over Baldonado's spot; I'm asking for him to take over Temple's spot. Not asking for Donald to beat out Kancey. I'm asking for him to beat out Jules. And so forth, and so on.

We'll see if it was just a matter of starting off with a P5 team instead of a sacrificial scrub team.

 

[PittMan 72]

Again, not asking for Nahki Johnson to take over Baldonado's spot; I'm asking for him to take over Temple's spot. Not asking for Donald to beat out Kancey. I'm asking for him to beat out Jules. And so forth, and so on.

We'll see if it was just a matter of starting off with a P5 team instead of a sacrificial scrub team.

In the Peach Bowl last year. Jules played quite a bit in the 2H and acquitted himself well vs a solid B1G caliber OL in that game. He was a very solid rotational DL for PItt as the season progressed in 2021.

Temple? If you go back and review some of the staff interviews and reports, he had a very good fall camp. Like you I didn’t think he had a strong showing last week in a very small sample size.

At times there is a tendency by outside observers to undervalue experience and physical maturity. With the type of P5 opposition PItt has in their first 2 games, the staff may feel if things are even relatively close then the edge could tip towards experience.

We’ll see how things go as the year progresses. My belief is that there is quite a bit of up and coming talent throughout the roster. Their time will come. Maybe sooner? Maybe later? In particular, after the starters, there is going to be ongoing competition for playing time in games.

 

[The Ole Six-Fiver]

As was mentioned by others, you are starting rather behind the eight ball rightoff the bat, with only average recruiting. You might be able to develop many of these players into great ones if there was enough time to do so (as the pros have). But in college football, the amounts of permitted practice and meeting time is relatively limited. So a lot depends on raw talent and learning (or not) on the job, aka, during games. Unfortunately when a defense learns a hard lesson, it usually comes along with the opponent’s band playing.