Post by WVUfanPHILLY on Aug 13, 2007 14:49:09 GMT -5
By JIM BUTTA
PITTSBURGH, Pa.—Few rivalries in major college football have attained the goal that West Virginia University and Pittsburgh will reach when the two meet at Milan Puskar Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 1.
That’s because the “Backyard Brawl” will reach the century mark.
The Panthers hold the overall lead in the series at 59-37-3, but West Virginia has captured four of the last five meetings and has outscored its biggest rival by a 45-20 margin over the last two seasons.
Pittsburgh head coach Dave Wannstedt, a former Panther player, enters his third season at the helm of his alma mater still looking for his first victory against Rich Rodriguez and his Mountaineers.
The following is a position-by-position breakdown of WVU’s opponent for the 100th “Backyard Brawl”:
Quarterback: Pitt returns three scholarship quarterbacks, but none of them go by the name Tyler Palko.
Palko took every significant snap for the Panthers during the last three seasons, making 35 consecutive starts.
That leaves the starting job in the hands of junior Bill Stull, Palko’s backup in each of the last two campaigns. Stull’s numbers, however, aren’t eye-catching—6-of-8 for 89 yards and a touchdown.
Redshirt freshmen Kevan Smith and Dexter Davidson entered the spring as the primary challengers for the starting nod with walk-on Steve Malinchak looking to work his way into the mix.
Wide Receivers: Whoever the new quarterback will be, he will have the luxury of throwing the football to a pair of the most productive receivers in the Big East.
Senior Derek Kinder, a Biletnikoff Award semifinalist in 2006, was selected to the all-Big East first team after hauling in 57 passes for 847 yards and six touchdowns. He will again be joined by sophomore Oderick Turner, who caught 44 passes for 660 yards and eight touchdowns.
Junior Marcel Pestrano and sophomores Cedric McGee and T.J. Porter will provide the bulk of the depth at the position.
Running backs: Pitt lost one letterman from last year’s team—reserve fullback Mark Yezovich.
Starting tailback LaRod Stephens-Howling is back after leading the Panthers with 893 yards and nine scores. Sophomore Shane Brooks was the primary reserve at the spot in 2006, rushing for 218 yards on 50 attempts.
However competition at the position elevated in the spring with the addition of four highly regarded freshmen—LeSean McCoy, Shariff Harris, Greg Williams and Henry Hynoski.
Tight End: Despite the loss of four-year letterman Steve Buches, this might be the Panthers’ deepest position.
Senior Darrell Strong and sophomore Nate Byham played prominent roles in 2006 and went into the spring in a virtual deadlock for the starting nod. Strong had the better numbers a year ago—15 catches for 171 yards and a trio of scores.
Byham played in 11 games as a true freshman.
Offensive line: Four starters are back, including senior left tackle Jeff Otah, junior left guard C.J. Davis, sophomore right guard Joe Thomas and senior right tackle Mike McGlynn.
The lone vacancy appears at center where senior Chris Vangas, a three-year letterman, entered the spring as the leading candidate.
Look for redshirt freshman Scott Corson and walk-on Alex Karabin to get their looks at the position early in training camp. Other candidates for the offensive line include sophomores John Bachman and Jason Pinkston and tackle and junior Dominic Williams and sophomore Craig Bokor at guard.
Defensive line: Both starters are back on the interior front.
Junior Rashaad Duncan will again line up at the nose while junior Gus Mustakas will man the other tackle slot.
Senior Joe Clermond, the Panthers’ most productive lineman a year ago with 16.5 tackles for loss, will again hold down the left end while senior Chris McKillop and sophomore Doug Fulmer will continue their battle from this spring for the starting nod at right end.
Linebackers: All-American H.B. Blades is gone. But, the bad news for Panther fans doesn’t end there as Pitt must find replacements for three players at this position.
Junior Scott McKillop will look to move up and replace Blades in the middle, but could receive a big challenge from sophomore Steve Dell, freshman Justin Hargrove and redshirt freshman Greg Webster.
The Sam position appears to be in the hands of junior Adam Gunn while the competition for the Will slot revolves around redshirt freshman Nate Nix and a pair of coveted safeties—junior Jemeel Brady and sophomore Shane Murray.
Secondary: Cornerback Darrelle Revis elected to enter the NFL draft and forego his final year of eligibility with the Panthers.
Senior Kennard Cox started every game at the boundary cornerback and senior Mike Phillips, who has played every position in the secondary, has moved into the starting free safety spot.
Junior Eric Thatcher, sophomores Aaron Berry and Irvan Brown and redshirt freshman Ricky Gary are among a host of players vying for the other starting jobs.
Special teams: Junior Conor Lee returns after connecting on 12-of-14 field goal attempts and all 47 of his extra points in 2006.
However, the Panthers will be without the services of All-Big East punter Adam Graessle.
Junior Dave Brytus, a transfer from Purdue, headed into the spring atop the depth chart. Junior Mark Estermyer will again handle the long snapping duties for punts while senior Mike McGlynn will snap for field goals.
2007 outlook: It’s hard to believe that the Pittsburgh faithful will sit back quietly and watch their Panthers suffer through another 6-6 campaign (2-5 in the Big East).
After back-to-back outstanding recruiting campaigns fans are going to want to see the results on the football field. Should they not, Wannstedt’s stay in his hometown may very well be shorter than he anticipated.
Contact Jim Butta at
jbutta@newsandsentinel.com
PITTSBURGH, Pa.—Few rivalries in major college football have attained the goal that West Virginia University and Pittsburgh will reach when the two meet at Milan Puskar Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 1.
That’s because the “Backyard Brawl” will reach the century mark.
The Panthers hold the overall lead in the series at 59-37-3, but West Virginia has captured four of the last five meetings and has outscored its biggest rival by a 45-20 margin over the last two seasons.
Pittsburgh head coach Dave Wannstedt, a former Panther player, enters his third season at the helm of his alma mater still looking for his first victory against Rich Rodriguez and his Mountaineers.
The following is a position-by-position breakdown of WVU’s opponent for the 100th “Backyard Brawl”:
Quarterback: Pitt returns three scholarship quarterbacks, but none of them go by the name Tyler Palko.
Palko took every significant snap for the Panthers during the last three seasons, making 35 consecutive starts.
That leaves the starting job in the hands of junior Bill Stull, Palko’s backup in each of the last two campaigns. Stull’s numbers, however, aren’t eye-catching—6-of-8 for 89 yards and a touchdown.
Redshirt freshmen Kevan Smith and Dexter Davidson entered the spring as the primary challengers for the starting nod with walk-on Steve Malinchak looking to work his way into the mix.
Wide Receivers: Whoever the new quarterback will be, he will have the luxury of throwing the football to a pair of the most productive receivers in the Big East.
Senior Derek Kinder, a Biletnikoff Award semifinalist in 2006, was selected to the all-Big East first team after hauling in 57 passes for 847 yards and six touchdowns. He will again be joined by sophomore Oderick Turner, who caught 44 passes for 660 yards and eight touchdowns.
Junior Marcel Pestrano and sophomores Cedric McGee and T.J. Porter will provide the bulk of the depth at the position.
Running backs: Pitt lost one letterman from last year’s team—reserve fullback Mark Yezovich.
Starting tailback LaRod Stephens-Howling is back after leading the Panthers with 893 yards and nine scores. Sophomore Shane Brooks was the primary reserve at the spot in 2006, rushing for 218 yards on 50 attempts.
However competition at the position elevated in the spring with the addition of four highly regarded freshmen—LeSean McCoy, Shariff Harris, Greg Williams and Henry Hynoski.
Tight End: Despite the loss of four-year letterman Steve Buches, this might be the Panthers’ deepest position.
Senior Darrell Strong and sophomore Nate Byham played prominent roles in 2006 and went into the spring in a virtual deadlock for the starting nod. Strong had the better numbers a year ago—15 catches for 171 yards and a trio of scores.
Byham played in 11 games as a true freshman.
Offensive line: Four starters are back, including senior left tackle Jeff Otah, junior left guard C.J. Davis, sophomore right guard Joe Thomas and senior right tackle Mike McGlynn.
The lone vacancy appears at center where senior Chris Vangas, a three-year letterman, entered the spring as the leading candidate.
Look for redshirt freshman Scott Corson and walk-on Alex Karabin to get their looks at the position early in training camp. Other candidates for the offensive line include sophomores John Bachman and Jason Pinkston and tackle and junior Dominic Williams and sophomore Craig Bokor at guard.
Defensive line: Both starters are back on the interior front.
Junior Rashaad Duncan will again line up at the nose while junior Gus Mustakas will man the other tackle slot.
Senior Joe Clermond, the Panthers’ most productive lineman a year ago with 16.5 tackles for loss, will again hold down the left end while senior Chris McKillop and sophomore Doug Fulmer will continue their battle from this spring for the starting nod at right end.
Linebackers: All-American H.B. Blades is gone. But, the bad news for Panther fans doesn’t end there as Pitt must find replacements for three players at this position.
Junior Scott McKillop will look to move up and replace Blades in the middle, but could receive a big challenge from sophomore Steve Dell, freshman Justin Hargrove and redshirt freshman Greg Webster.
The Sam position appears to be in the hands of junior Adam Gunn while the competition for the Will slot revolves around redshirt freshman Nate Nix and a pair of coveted safeties—junior Jemeel Brady and sophomore Shane Murray.
Secondary: Cornerback Darrelle Revis elected to enter the NFL draft and forego his final year of eligibility with the Panthers.
Senior Kennard Cox started every game at the boundary cornerback and senior Mike Phillips, who has played every position in the secondary, has moved into the starting free safety spot.
Junior Eric Thatcher, sophomores Aaron Berry and Irvan Brown and redshirt freshman Ricky Gary are among a host of players vying for the other starting jobs.
Special teams: Junior Conor Lee returns after connecting on 12-of-14 field goal attempts and all 47 of his extra points in 2006.
However, the Panthers will be without the services of All-Big East punter Adam Graessle.
Junior Dave Brytus, a transfer from Purdue, headed into the spring atop the depth chart. Junior Mark Estermyer will again handle the long snapping duties for punts while senior Mike McGlynn will snap for field goals.
2007 outlook: It’s hard to believe that the Pittsburgh faithful will sit back quietly and watch their Panthers suffer through another 6-6 campaign (2-5 in the Big East).
After back-to-back outstanding recruiting campaigns fans are going to want to see the results on the football field. Should they not, Wannstedt’s stay in his hometown may very well be shorter than he anticipated.
Contact Jim Butta at
jbutta@newsandsentinel.com
