At Pitt spring football practice, defensive players wear blue jerseys, the offense wears white.

	John Beale, Post-Gazette Craig Bokor is fitting well into Pitt's defensive line plans. Click photo for larger image.

And at this time of year, there are a lot of guys practicing -- wearing both hues -- who just get lost in the shuffle and seem to be running around doing more wandering than making plays.

All that said, a handful of blue jerseys stood out last Thursday at the UPMC Sports Performance Complex on the South Side. One was No. 90, worn by defensive tackle Craig Bokor.

"He's making progress and he gives great effort," first-year Panthers coach Dave Wannstedt said. "I love his toughness and I love his effort. We just have to get him polished up a little bit and teach him a few more things, as far as from the technical standpoint.

"But I will say this: Craig Bokor is tough and gives a total effort every day, and because of that, he's going to succeed."

Bokor might also succeed because of what he had to endure for five months right after graduating from Hopewell High School last June.

Unable to meet NCAA eligibility academic standards, Bokor made a stop at Valley Forge Military Academy for a semester before enrolling at Pitt in January.

"Everybody was really working hard to get me eligible [at Pitt directly out of high school]," Bokor said. "I was really close, I missed it by, like, a percentage point. My high school and Pitt did a lot to help me get eligible, but it was a case on reporting day where I was a few points short."

Falling short in the classroom forced Bokor into a semester at Valley Forge, where days began at 4:30 a.m. with what he called, "this really loud trumpet waking you up" and ended with lights out at 9:15 p.m.

In between, there were the standard rigors of a military school. From marching in formation to shining his shoes to the demanding physical training, Bokor did it all.

"It gets you more focused, especially on life," he said. "It makes you less of a lazy person because you learn how to expend your energy and do things all around instead of just focus on one thing."

Bokor has also adjusted to a shift while at Pitt. When Panthers assistant Bob Junko recruited Bokor, thoughts were that this 6-foot-3, 290-pound mountain of a young man with bright red hair would be a defensive end. But because of his brute strength and ability to mix it up and get to the quarterback or ball carrier through the heart of the offense, Bokor was moved to defensive tackle, where he's shined in Pitt's spring workouts.

Bokor established himself as a backup to Thomas Smith at the left defensive end spot and saw plenty of action in Pitt's scrimmage last Saturday, making three tackles.

"At defensive tackle is where he has the best chance to play for us," said Junko, Pitt's assistant head coach who is also in charge of the defensive line.

"Craig demonstrates toughness and it's just a learning process for him. Really, this is like him being a freshman in training camp, and he's doing an outstanding job."

Bokor said he's also driven by something else. Now engrossed in that blue-and-gold world that is Pitt football, it might be a sacrilege, but he pulls motivation from someone who is Penn State through and through. Bokor is close friends with former high school teammate Paul Posluszny, who will be a junior Penn State linebacker in the fall.

When Posluszny made his debut with the Nittany Lions just five games into his freshman season, Bokor immediately looked at his pal and wanted to have the same sort of impact early in his college career.

"He's one of my best friends," Bokor said. "Especially because he had that success early, it makes me want to do some of the things he did. In our town, everyone looks at you like, 'Paul did this, now you have to do the same thing.'"

Bokor is hoping to make just as big a splash as Posluszny did. While they understand he's young, Pitt coaches also believe Bokor could have a huge impact, and sooner rather than later.

"You have to look at Craig Bokor just as if he was a freshman," Wannstedt said. "He shows up in January, with no training camp, no notebook and he's really learning as if he's started from Day 1 coming out of high school.

"We're high on him, and we're expecting him to help us right away this season."