From the Desk of Jim Snyder
Panthers beginning spring practice under Dave Wannstedt
This is the first time Dave Wannstedt has taken a college team through spring drills as a head coach. He returns to college football after approximately a dozen years in the NFL. The more you watch him the more impressed you are. These practices really represent the first time Dave Wannstedt, Matt Cavanaugh, Paul Dunn and the other new coaches get a first hand look at just what they have on their hands. This is a veteran team that won eight games a year ago. Their charge is to tweak the system and the personnel in order to give Pitt its best chance to keep the football program moving forward.
Coach Wannstedt told the media he really has no depth chart. He obviously wants to keep the entire squad motivated. He wants them to give their best effort. During the football season Pitt releases an “official” depth chart to the media. During the football season that is depth chart the Pantherlair publishes each week. This time of year it is simply our best estimate best on observations and the limited info provided by Pitt. It was reported earlier this week that Kyle Smith (concussion) and Charles Sallet (shoulder) are being held out this spring because of injuries. We have temporarily moved them down on our depth chart. Both players played a lot last year and could easily move up fast once they are healthy.
There have been times in the first week where Nick William was playing with the first team defense but on other occasions Phil Tillman was playing with the first team. We will have to see how this works out. Tillman is much bigger and Williams is quicker. It is possible you could see both playing depending on the situation.
Defensive ends Joe Clermond and Azzie Beagnyam were seen playing with the first team defense. Chris McKillop and others will get a chance to show the coaches what they can do with Kyle Smith and Charles Sallet out.
It appears Derrelle Revis, Terrell Allen, Marcus Furman and Kelvin Chandler have been handling most of the punts so far. Coach Walt Harris had a reputation for throwing the ball but at the core he was very conservative. He would often sacrifice the possibility of long returns for players that could catch the ball. Pitt led the conference with the fewest number of turnovers and it helped them win eight games. Nothing could get a player in the doghouse faster than fumbling the ball. Coach Wannstedt made it clear that there was room for improvement on special teams. This year Coach Charlie Partridge has been put in charge of special teams.
Dave Wannstedt told the media at the beginning at camp that one of the big jobs ahead is to find the five best offensive linemen. Veterans Charles Spencer, Mike McGlynn, John Simonitis should be locks to start in the fall. That leaves Paul Dunn to find a pair to go with them. Joe Villani was spotted running with the first team at center the first day the pads were put on. Dave Wannstedt also singled out redshirt freshman Dominic Williams after Tuesday’s workout.
Darrell Strong and Rob Agnone have both been moved to tight end. Last year Strong started the year at quarterback and was later moved to wide receiver. Once Luke Getsy left the team Rob Agnone was moved to quarterback. In high school both of these players played quarterback their senior year but the staff saw them as potential tight ends when they were recruited. Strong and Agnone rotated with the second team in one practice. Coach Wannstedt indicates at every press conference that improving the running game is a high priority. There are three tight ends on the roster that are very good athletes in Steve Buchess, Darrelle Strong and Rob Agnone. It may come down to who is the better blocker. Eric Gill should have the starting job but the back up job and the two tight end sets might be awarded to the best blocker. Central Catholic’s John Pelusi will join the mix next fall. This looks like a very deep group and you would expect at redshirt year for Pelusi.
Coach Harris was often quick to praise Tyler Palko for being an accurate passer. There were games last year, however, when they did not throw to the tight end position. In one of the practices this week they threw often to the tight end. If you are going to emphasis the running game, throwing to the tight end a little more often might be a good option. They seem to have the athletes this year to pull this off.
One of our subscribers asked this week how many scholarships does Pitt have to give this year? It seems every year that is a hard one to answer. We count 14 seniors that are on scholarship that are in their last year of eligibility. This was a young team last year and it will still be a fairly young team again this year. History tells us, however, that a few players will transfer and a few may not make it academically. You would think with a new coaching staff this would be more likely to happen this year. Coach Wannstedt’s staff did not recruit many of these players. If they get the impression they do not fit into their long-range plans you could see a few more players transfer than normal. Today the number looks like something in the mid-teens but it would not surprise us if that number grew.
Teams are often an extension of their coaches. Virtual everyone that had had a chance to visit practice reports a little more enthusiasm and a team that is more vocal. So far it looks like a team enjoying itself a little more.
Pitt practiced yesterday (Thursday) at the UPMC complex. They will now take a week off for the Easter holidays. They will resume practices next Thursday.
The War Room is targeted towards our premium customers. We ask that all information reported in the War Room MUST stay right here! That’s the way this deal works. When this information is repeated outside of the Between Fifth and Forbes forum it only cheapens the price of yours and every other die hard who have purchased premium services. The War Room is one of our more popular features...thank you all for keeping the information on this board.
Note to Pantherlair.com Fans: The staff at Pantherlair.com works diligently to bring you the best information on University of Pittsburgh football and basketball recruiting (in addition to game coverage). Thousands of Panther fans visit our site on a daily basis. We have received a tremendous amount of e-mail thanking us for our efforts. If you like our site, please feel free to tell other fans about it. “Spread the word” and let’s add to our online family of Panther fans.
Panthers beginning spring practice under Dave Wannstedt
This is the first time Dave Wannstedt has taken a college team through spring drills as a head coach. He returns to college football after approximately a dozen years in the NFL. The more you watch him the more impressed you are. These practices really represent the first time Dave Wannstedt, Matt Cavanaugh, Paul Dunn and the other new coaches get a first hand look at just what they have on their hands. This is a veteran team that won eight games a year ago. Their charge is to tweak the system and the personnel in order to give Pitt its best chance to keep the football program moving forward.
Coach Wannstedt told the media he really has no depth chart. He obviously wants to keep the entire squad motivated. He wants them to give their best effort. During the football season Pitt releases an “official” depth chart to the media. During the football season that is depth chart the Pantherlair publishes each week. This time of year it is simply our best estimate best on observations and the limited info provided by Pitt. It was reported earlier this week that Kyle Smith (concussion) and Charles Sallet (shoulder) are being held out this spring because of injuries. We have temporarily moved them down on our depth chart. Both players played a lot last year and could easily move up fast once they are healthy.
There have been times in the first week where Nick William was playing with the first team defense but on other occasions Phil Tillman was playing with the first team. We will have to see how this works out. Tillman is much bigger and Williams is quicker. It is possible you could see both playing depending on the situation.
Defensive ends Joe Clermond and Azzie Beagnyam were seen playing with the first team defense. Chris McKillop and others will get a chance to show the coaches what they can do with Kyle Smith and Charles Sallet out.
It appears Derrelle Revis, Terrell Allen, Marcus Furman and Kelvin Chandler have been handling most of the punts so far. Coach Walt Harris had a reputation for throwing the ball but at the core he was very conservative. He would often sacrifice the possibility of long returns for players that could catch the ball. Pitt led the conference with the fewest number of turnovers and it helped them win eight games. Nothing could get a player in the doghouse faster than fumbling the ball. Coach Wannstedt made it clear that there was room for improvement on special teams. This year Coach Charlie Partridge has been put in charge of special teams.
Dave Wannstedt told the media at the beginning at camp that one of the big jobs ahead is to find the five best offensive linemen. Veterans Charles Spencer, Mike McGlynn, John Simonitis should be locks to start in the fall. That leaves Paul Dunn to find a pair to go with them. Joe Villani was spotted running with the first team at center the first day the pads were put on. Dave Wannstedt also singled out redshirt freshman Dominic Williams after Tuesday’s workout.
Darrell Strong and Rob Agnone have both been moved to tight end. Last year Strong started the year at quarterback and was later moved to wide receiver. Once Luke Getsy left the team Rob Agnone was moved to quarterback. In high school both of these players played quarterback their senior year but the staff saw them as potential tight ends when they were recruited. Strong and Agnone rotated with the second team in one practice. Coach Wannstedt indicates at every press conference that improving the running game is a high priority. There are three tight ends on the roster that are very good athletes in Steve Buchess, Darrelle Strong and Rob Agnone. It may come down to who is the better blocker. Eric Gill should have the starting job but the back up job and the two tight end sets might be awarded to the best blocker. Central Catholic’s John Pelusi will join the mix next fall. This looks like a very deep group and you would expect at redshirt year for Pelusi.
Coach Harris was often quick to praise Tyler Palko for being an accurate passer. There were games last year, however, when they did not throw to the tight end position. In one of the practices this week they threw often to the tight end. If you are going to emphasis the running game, throwing to the tight end a little more often might be a good option. They seem to have the athletes this year to pull this off.
One of our subscribers asked this week how many scholarships does Pitt have to give this year? It seems every year that is a hard one to answer. We count 14 seniors that are on scholarship that are in their last year of eligibility. This was a young team last year and it will still be a fairly young team again this year. History tells us, however, that a few players will transfer and a few may not make it academically. You would think with a new coaching staff this would be more likely to happen this year. Coach Wannstedt’s staff did not recruit many of these players. If they get the impression they do not fit into their long-range plans you could see a few more players transfer than normal. Today the number looks like something in the mid-teens but it would not surprise us if that number grew.
Teams are often an extension of their coaches. Virtual everyone that had had a chance to visit practice reports a little more enthusiasm and a team that is more vocal. So far it looks like a team enjoying itself a little more.
Pitt practiced yesterday (Thursday) at the UPMC complex. They will now take a week off for the Easter holidays. They will resume practices next Thursday.
The War Room is targeted towards our premium customers. We ask that all information reported in the War Room MUST stay right here! That’s the way this deal works. When this information is repeated outside of the Between Fifth and Forbes forum it only cheapens the price of yours and every other die hard who have purchased premium services. The War Room is one of our more popular features...thank you all for keeping the information on this board.
Note to Pantherlair.com Fans: The staff at Pantherlair.com works diligently to bring you the best information on University of Pittsburgh football and basketball recruiting (in addition to game coverage). Thousands of Panther fans visit our site on a daily basis. We have received a tremendous amount of e-mail thanking us for our efforts. If you like our site, please feel free to tell other fans about it. “Spread the word” and let’s add to our online family of Panther fans.
