Haven't posted in a rivals forum in a long time, but this thread intrigues me..
As many of you have already acknowledged, Pitt is a true question mark, even here in W. PA. But, that's what having 18 coaching changes in a 5 year period will do to you..
In the last two years under Chryst, Pitt lost numerous games that they shouldn't, but, most importantly, their defense was a mess.. Chryst promoted a D.C. after year 1 that was clearly unqualified and undeserving of that position. In fact, there are rumors floating around that Narduzzi used our D.C. AGAINST Pitt when recruiting Michigan State's starting safety, Monte Nicholson (out of Pittsburgh).. Not only did he whiff on some elite Pittsburgh defensive talent, the schemes were terrible.. However, the offense is a different matter.. The o-line is full very good players, with Bookser and Johnson having the opportunity to play at any college in the country.. The two QBs fighting for the starting spot are also 4* recruits.. Voytik showed last year that he is a very capable QB, but Peterman, a transfer from Tennessee (who our new OC, Chaney from Arkansas, seems to like) showed to be very capable as well.. While the position is technically "unsettled", they are both extremely adequate at what they do..
Outside of Boyd, who is a first round draft pick next year, the WR is thin.. A former 4* WR, who saw the field last year (Jennings), transferred out, leaving us very thin.. And there doesn't seem to be anyone stepping up to take pressure off Boyd.. Regardless, Boyd will get his targets, and Boyd will probably make a few plays, even being the only true passing threat..
Losing Conner just plain sucks.. He was fun to watch.. We've been spoiled getting to watch McCoy, Dion Lewis, and then Conner run the ball.. It's a shame his season ended so early as we expected big things.. (70+ yards in the first quarter before going down).. However, we have 3 4* recruits taking his place in Ollison, James and Hall.. Ollison is most like Conner, a bigger back, the other two can move.. Hall is only a true freshman, so, as expected, he's raw..
On defense, its already night and day.. But, there are some glaring holes, one being middle linebacker.. You will expose them for a big play at some point Saturday night.. One player to keep an eye on is defensive end Rori Blair.. Very neat story out of Pittsburgh.. He was well on his way to being another highly touted high school recruit out of the WPIAL when he suffered a stroke and almost lost his life.. Following his recovery, (if memory serves) he had 0 scholarship offers.. Pitt offered him, he played as a freshman, and was a wrecking ball at Akron.. Another year in a college football program and he will be VERY good..
If your interested in the potentially next great Pitt Panther to be in the pros (outside of Tyler Boyd), watch #9 at safety, Jordan Whitehead.. He is a true freshman who could have played anywhere in the country.. The "crystal ball" predictions had him going to PSU, OSU, or Alabama, and he chose to stay home at Pitt... You might not see him make too many plays Saturday night as he is only a few months removed from high school, and this will be his first experience against a P5 team (at night, on the road no less) but remember his name, he is a stud and the sky is the limit for him..
Lastly, like pitt-girl said, I wouldn't look at Pitt's first two games as good indicators (I know we at Pitt don't).. Being 2-0 is nice, but we have no clue what kind of team we have.. YSU game was high scoring, but we lost the turnover battle 3-0 (one pick 6), were beat in the time of possession, and lost our workhorse RB in the first quarter..The Akron game was a complete wash out.. I've been to hundreds of sporting events, Pirates, Steelers, Pitt, etc., and have never sat through weather like that.. Truly miserable and could not wait for the game to end, just hoping Pitt was on the right side of it..
As for the coaching carousel, we're hoping that we finally have an administration in place to end it.. Our previous Chancellor (who pitt-girl mentioned) made Pitt a highly respected academic institution, but somewhat of a laughing stock in athletics.. Our former A.D. Steve Pederson, left Pitt for Nebraska (his alma mater), was run out of town in Nebraska, and was for whatever reason welcomed back to Pitt.. Right before our Chancellor retired, he extended his buddy, the A.D.'s contract, knowing that the new chancellor would most likely can him for his incompetence.. That's exactly what happened; and we're still paying this clown that fired a coach who won the most games in a three year span since the Marino era to hire... Mike Haywood and his staff of 74 year old coaches, and essentially started this circus..
Our new Chancellor brought in Utah State's A.D., has brought back Pitt "script" to the program (which fans have been asking for a decade, but the former A.D. wouldn't budge), upgraded the football facilities, and gave Narduzzi money to hire the coaches he wanted (Chaney from Arkansas being one of them).. If the administration is willing to get behind the sports programs, Pitt can be an attractive job; but we shall see..
Best of luck the rest of the season..
