• Pitt will play five freshmen, Paul Chryst announced today at his first formal press conference of the season leading up to the opener Saturday vs. Delaware. One is running back Chris James, a four-star guy who has had a four-star camp, and the rest, not surprisingly, are on defense with cornerback Avonte Maddox, linebacker Quintin Wirginis, end Rori Blair and safety Pat Amara.
Those who recall Chryst playing a dozen freshmen last season might think this is a sign of the Panthers’ maturity, but that’s far from the case: Their 81 underclassmen on the camp roster — 53 freshmen, 28 sophomores — marks the highest such total of any FBS team in the nation.
“You just kind of see where guys come in, how they develop,” Chryst said. “We feel good with the guys that I listed as going.”
• At the same time, Chryst challenged his seniors — only seven starters in that class — to lead the way: “That’s a group that’s small in numbers again, but they have to help show younger guys how to prepare. Even just the value of practice reps that you give them. The seniors, you put on them that they have to have the best season of their career. And guys have to follow them.”
At the forefront will be freshly named captains, right tackle T.J. Clemmings on offense and free safety Ray Vinopal, both of whom joined Chryst at today’s media availability …
• Line of the day came from Vinopal, when asked about taking Delaware lightly: “I’ve heard stuff like that already, and I’ve put an end to it. This group’s going to be different.”
By that, he must mean different than then one that opened with a loss to Youngstown State in 2012.
• First set of media game notes were released, and if you scroll down on that file, you’ll find the first official two-deep of the season. All of the above freshmen are listed as backups, with James at third string behind James Conner and Isaac Bennett.
• Thought this was cool: Chryst and his coaching staff listed junior Nicholas Grigsby, a pass-rushing specialist, as the “Freeze” linebacker based on his nickname. “He had a good camp,” Chryst explained. He’s also hard to pigeonhole: Grigsby lines up all over the field to try to keep offenses from keying on him.
• I’ll cover Saturday’s opener with a column. I’ll also fly next week to cover Pitt’s ACC opener at Boston College. And just as is the case with pretty much every Pitt season at this point for a long, long time now, I’ve got no idea what to expect.
August 25, 2014
News with Views: Panthers going green
by Dejan Kovacevic • News/views • Pitt
DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS
News with Views, on the Pitt football team …
• Pitt will play five freshmen, Paul Chryst announced today at his first formal press conference of the season leading up to the opener Saturday vs. Delaware. One is running back Chris James, a four-star guy who has had a four-star camp, and the rest, not surprisingly, are on defense with cornerback Avonte Maddox, linebacker Quintin Wirginis, end Rori Blair and safety Pat Amara.
Those who recall Chryst playing a dozen freshmen last season might think this is a sign of the Panthers’ maturity, but that’s far from the case: Their 81 underclassmen on the camp roster — 53 freshmen, 28 sophomores — marks the highest such total of any FBS team in the nation.
“You just kind of see where guys come in, how they develop,” Chryst said. “We feel good with the guys that I listed as going.”
• At the same time, Chryst challenged his seniors — only seven starters in that class — to lead the way: “That’s a group that’s small in numbers again, but they have to help show younger guys how to prepare. Even just the value of practice reps that you give them. The seniors, you put on them that they have to have the best season of their career. And guys have to follow them.”
At the forefront will be freshly named captains, right tackle T.J. Clemmings on offense and free safety Ray Vinopal, both of whom joined Chryst at today’s media availability …
• Line of the day came from Vinopal, when asked about taking Delaware lightly: “I’ve heard stuff like that already, and I’ve put an end to it. This group’s going to be different.”
By that, he must mean different than then one that opened with a loss to Youngstown State in 2012.
• First set of media game notes were released, and if you scroll down on that file, you’ll find the first official two-deep of the season. All of the above freshmen are listed as backups, with James at third string behind James Conner and Isaac Bennett.
• Thought this was cool: Chryst and his coaching staff listed junior Nicholas Grigsby, a pass-rushing specialist, as the “Freeze” linebacker based on his nickname. “He had a good camp,” Chryst explained. He’s also hard to pigeonhole: Grigsby lines up all over the field to try to keep offenses from keying on him.
• I’ll cover Saturday’s opener with a column. I’ll also fly next week to cover Pitt’s ACC opener at Boston College. And just as is the case with pretty much every Pitt season at this point for a long, long time now, I’ve got no idea what to expect.
Share this: