College football Q&A with Paul Zeise

Friday, April 21, 2006

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Spring football has come and gone, which means the next time the Panthers line up for practice Dorin Dickerson, John Malecki, Jeff Otah, Joe Thomas etc., will be in uniform and we'll get a chance to better gauge just how good the Panthers will be. The end of the spring also means the end of my Q&A sessions until August, but keep the questions coming throughout the summer and we'll get them answered as soon as the team starts training camp.

My impression of the spring session was that it was more efficient than last year, the team made more progress and there are some young players ready to step up. But the offensive line is still a very big question and the defensive line, while better, needs to improve if Pitt is to have a chance to return to the postseason. I think this is a .500 team which will need a few breaks to get to seven wins.

Q: What area has shown the most improvement from last year's team? And what starting positions do you feel are locked up for the fall?

Ligori Lacey, Slippery Rock

Zeise: I'd say the defensive line. To me, those guys up front seemed to take some strides forward. They aren't the purple people eaters of Vikings fame, but they are certainly better. Rashad Duncan came on strong at the end of the spring, so did Corey Davis and Mick Williams, when healthy, seems to make a lot of plays as well. You add to that Doug Fulmer's emergence and I don't think there is any question the defensive line will be better. How much remains to be seen, but given what happened last year, there was nowhere for this unit to go but up.

Q: Why was Joe Flacco not released from his scholarship? Is this really the message Dave Wannstedt wants to send to his players?

Peter Hmel, Gaithersburg, Md.

Zeise: Coaches everywhere don't release players from their scholarships because they don't want to send the message to every disgruntled player that you can just leave and start over somewhere else with no consequences. Had Flacco left in January, at least the coaches could have recruited another quarterback or brought in a junior college guy as an insurance policy. By waiting until June, he left the team in a very bad spot. Luckily for Pitt, Tyler Palko stayed healthy. There have been a number of players, like Robbie Agnone, who coach Wannstedt and company helped move on and find a good situation and released them to do so. Flacco's case was different, though, because he played through the spring even though he knew the status of the starting quarterback job was not going to change -- it was Palko's job and that wasn't going to change. Flacco will automatically be released at the end of this semester and will be free to earn a scholarship and play at Delaware.

Q: Are the Panthers running the risk of becoming too small on the defensive side of the ball?

Ian Leyda, East Liberty

Zeise: Yes, but they do seem to be adding some beef at defensive tackle. Corey Davis, Mick Williams, John Malecki, Jason Pinkston and Craig Bokor are all getting into the weight category of legitimate defensive lines. The real concern is defensive end, where pretty much all of those guys are so small that any team with two tight ends and power running schemes will be able to push them off the ball. That's just the reality of what they have to work with right now. I wouldn't expect the Panthers to be lining up with 220 pound defensive ends in a couple of years, when Wannstedt has his recruits in place.

Q: How do you see the tight end position ironing itself out? Are any of those guys likely to red shirt?

Joe Flannery, Ross

Zeise: If any of those four -- Nate Byham, John Pelusi, Darrell Strong or Steve Buches -- is a candidate for redshirt, it would be Pelusi just because of his knee injury. It is a serious injury and if he is not 100 percent by the fall, it wouldn't shock me if they redshirt him and work with the three others. Buches and Strong will obviously be the two starters (in two tight end sets) but I'd expect Byham to get plenty of playing time as well. This is clearly the most talented and deepest area of the team so, hopefully, the coaches take advantage of it.

Q: How many Pitt players do you think will get drafted this year? Why did Darrelle Revis not play in the spring game? Is Kennard Cox related to Torrie Cox? How close is the battle at kicker and who will handle kick-offs?

Jason Cook, Bridgeville

Zeise: Wow, that's a lot of questions, but they all are easily enough answered. I'd say three will get drafted -- Charles Spencer, Josh Lay and Greg Lee.

Revis was held out of most of the spring game because coaches didn't want him to get injured. They already know what he can do so there is no need to risk him.

Kennard Cox is Torrie Cox's cousin.

The battle at kicker will go right down to the last week of training camp and Adam Graessle will handle kick-offs.

Q: What is your take on the receivers and running backs?

Shawn Smith, Rochester, N.Y.

Zeise: The fullback position is in great shape with Conredge Collins, but the tailback position to me is still a big question. LaRod Stephens-Howling is a great player, but I'm still not convinced he is an every down back. Shane Brooks showed some skills, but I'm not sure how fast he is as compared to the defensive players he'll face. And Kevin Collier might be the second coming of Barry Sanders, but he'll still be a freshman.

The receivers are a good group and I think by the time it all shakes out, could be a strength of the team. Oderick Turner can be very good, Kinder and Delsardo are consistent and the freshman class is loaded. Here is one name to remember from this recruiting class -- Tamarcus Porter. From everything I know about him, he could be a big-time player.

Q: What is your honest assessment of the Big East as a football conference?

Reed Kohberger, Columbia, Md.

Zeise: It is improving. It still has a ways to go, but it is much better than the national media and Big Ten shills in our local media would have you believe. There is a lot of room to grow among almost every program, so I'd expect it is only going to get better as programs like South Florida and Connecticut continue to improve and teams like Pitt and Syracuse rebound.

Q: Wasn't the offensive line last year the same as the one that led the team to the Fiesta Bowl in 2004? It seems like you are making excuses for Wannstedt and company.

Joseph Gzybrokowski, Avalon

Zeise: No, actually, it was significantly different than in 2004 and clearly inferior. Rob Pettiti -- you might have heard of him, he starts for the Dallas Cowboys -- played for the 2004 team and Justin Belarski was the starting center. With Pettiti gone, Charles Spencer had to move to left tackle -- thus weakening both his former spot, left guard, and left tackle since he was just learning the position (Spencer by the way will get drafted, but is a prospect at guard, not tackle). And Belarski was an excellent center, one of the smartest and strongest players on the team. They took a step back at that position as well. That's 3/5ths of the line, and when you consider that Mike McGlynn got hurt early in the season and really wasn't 100 percent until late in the year, there is no question that the offensive line wasn't close to being the same as it was in 2004.

Q: Does it seem like recruiting is going a lot slower this year? Is it because people are cooling on Pitt because of the bad season?

Pete Chambers, Hazelwood

Zeise: No, Pitt is doing fine. They are in on a lot of kids who two years ago, they wouldn't even be talking to. They are also being a little more selective because they have a few less scholarships to give. The big thing, though, is that May is the month when things usually heat up in recruiting because it is really the first period when the coaches are allowed to go on the road. That's usually when the teams get commitments.

Q: Is Pitt going to find a quarterback to replace Palko in its recruiting class next year?

Brandon Martin, Pittsburgh

Zeise: Pitt's top priority in recruiting -- other than linemen -- is quarterback and Manheim's Pat Bostick is the Panthers top target. Bostick has Pitt on his short list of finalists and if they get him, I'd say he's the favorite to be the starter in 2007.

Q: How do you see Pitt matching up with Virginia?

George Lucas, Prescott, Arizona

Zeise: Way too early. Ask me again in August. So much can happen and Pitt's depth chart is likely to change dramatically in the fall. Also, who knows what is going to happen at Virginia? It seems like that program is falling apart to a degree with suspensions and guys getting kicked off the team.

Q: Is Bryan Williams coming to Pitt as a freshman in the fall?

Dan White, Butler

Zeise: From what I understand he's tentatively set to come to Pitt in January.

Q: I'm worried about our offensive line. Has Joe Villani improved that much to hold onto his job or is just nobody stepped up at guard?

Drew McCoy, Slippery Rock

Zeise: I think the ideal situation would be for Joe Thomas and Jeff Otah to both come in and be so impressive that they earn starting jobs. If that were to happen, C.J. Davis could move to center and the line would be, from right to left, McGlynn, Simonitis, Davis, Thomas, Otah. If that doesn't happen, I think the offensive line will be OK provided nobody gets hurt. There is absolutely no depth on the offensive line. Villani will be fine, he's a year older, stronger and smarter, and he knows the offense.

Q: How legitimate is West Virginia? Weren't they a flash in the pan last year? People can't seriously be talking about them winning the national championship can they?

Adam T., New York, N.Y.

Zeise: I think Louisville is the best team in the Big East and will win the championship. They should have won it last year but they fell asleep in the second half in Morgantown and blew a big lead. But West Virginia should go 11-1 looking at their schedule because they are very good. I'm wondering if that happened -- if, say, Louisville wins the Big East and the Mountaineers are 11-1 -- would the powers that be give the Big East two BCS berths?

Q: How has Bill Stull played this spring?

Joe Barr, Pittsboro, N.C.

Zeise: Inconsistently. He's played very well at times and other times he's struggled. That's about what you'd expect from a player at his stage of development. But he does look like a player who, if he continues to improve, will be a good player in the future.

Q: Will Pitt be able to stop the run this year?

Corri F. DiBagno, Sewell, N.J.

Zeise: That's the million-dollar question. Like I said before, the defensive line will be improved so you'd hope they improve in this area. If the line is competent and doesn't get dominated like it did in most games last year, then yes, I think the Panthers will have more success against the run because they do have good linebackers and their safeties and corners are good in run support as well.

Q: Will Pitt beat any good teams this year?

Thomas James, Wexford

Zeise: Well, they beat South Florida last year and I think the Bulls were a good team. I'll be shocked if they get blown out by anyone, but I'm not sure if they are ready to step up and beat the best teams on their schedule simply because they are so young and so inexperienced at so many key positions.

Q: What is your take on Gus Mustakas moving to defensive tackle? And is Charles Sallet really going to be the starter at defensive end or would coaches rather someone beat him out and he be used on third down passing situations?

Kory Parsia, Limerick, Pa.

Zeise: I think it is a good move with Mustakas because I think if you look at his frame, he'll gain some weight and won't be quite quick enough to rush off the edge. At tackle, he can battle inside and he will be quicker and faster than most tackles so down the road, he has a chance to be an excellent player. I think he's better suited at tackle than end -- I thought that last year. As for Sallet, yes, coaches would hope one of the young kids -- be it Doug Fulmer or McKenzie Mathews, can beat out Sallet and enable Sallet to be a pass rush specialist as opposed to an every down defensive end. That's a role he is better suited for.

Q: What happened to Kelvin Chandler?

Bill Owens, North Huntingdon

Zeise: He was switched from receiver to defensive back and is competing for a back-up spot at corner.

First published on April 21, 2006 at 12:00 am