The Pitt Panthers are embroiled in a quarterback controversy as their last home game approaches, and the tailback position could be the next clouded in uncertainty.

Running backs coach David Walker said yesterday that talented freshman LeSean McCoy has to do a better job of securing the football when he runs or he'll lose playing time. McCoy has fumbled five times in the past six games and the Panthers have lost three of them. Two of the lost fumbles have come at crucial times in close losses over the past three weeks.

The Panthers were trailing, 17-10, in the third quarter of their 20-16 loss Saturday to Rutgers when McCoy caught a short pass from Kevan Smith and ran to the Rutgers 22. It would have given Pitt a first down and put them in position for at least a field-goal attempt, but McCoy fumbled while trying to get an extra yard and Rutgers recovered.

It was McCoy's second fumble of the game -- he was able to recover his first one -- and LaRod Stephens-Howling was in the backfield for Pitt's next offensive series. McCoy also lost a fumble near the goal line with 1:10 to play in Pitt's 24-17 loss Oct. 27 at Louisville.

Walker said that if McCoy doesn't quickly find a cure to his case of "fumblitis," Stephens-Howling will be the Panthers featured back once again. The Panthers (4-6, 2-3 Big East) already are trying to decide whether freshman Pat Bostick or redshirt freshman Kevan Smith will start at quarterback Saturday against South Florida (8-3, 3-3) at Heinz Field.

"We've already talked with LeSean about it and part of his maturation of a ballcarrier is he has to do a better job of protecting it, and if he can't protect it, then he can't carry the ball," Walker said. "The easiest thing all players understand is playing time, and that goes for whether they are doing something right or doing something wrong, so that is the number one solution because we have another guy that won't fumble the ball.

"Number two is, you can keep concentrating on [ball security] and keep coaching it in drills every time a guy gets a rep in drills. But the solution to this is easy -- the solution is [Stephens-Howling]. So I'd tell you my solution is easy -- either [McCoy] can learn how to carry the ball or he won't play. It is real simple."

Walker said he knows that McCoy, who usually speaks to the media on Wednesdays but is not being made available this week, is a freshman and is learning, but sometimes a tough love approach is the best.

Walker, who was a standout running back at Syracuse, also doesn't buy the rationalization that McCoy has fumbled in situations when he was trying to make extra yards. He said the most important thing for any running back is to hold on to the football.

"Maybe it is a little bit of him trying to do too much, but he'll learn that holding the ball is more important than the extra inch you are trying to get at that particular juncture of the play," Walker said.

"If we're trying to make a play and the ball is on the goal line and you are trying to extend the ball, that's another issue, but if you have the first down and the ball is inside the 25 you just have to know when to say when."

Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt attempted to soften Walker's stance a little bit when he was asked about McCoy's fumbles but agreed that it could become a problem. He told a story about how former Pitt star Tony Dorsett used to carry the ball as if he were palming a basketball and how it always made coaches nervous. He said that McCoy, along with many great ones, has similar traits.

"Penalties and turnovers are something that you ask 'Are we coaching it? Are we working on it at practice?' " Wannstedt said. "If a guy is a repeated penalty offender, he can't play, and that goes with throwing interceptions. And LeSean has to realize he has to protect the ball better. But I don't think it is a problem with LeSean and I am not concerned about it because some guys are fumblers, but he is not."

Fumble issues aside, Walker is looking forward to working with McCoy in the offseason because he believes there are several areas that he can improve. McCoy has carried 220 times for 1,125 yards (5.1 per carry) and he has scored 11 touchdowns.

"He is a work in progress," Walker said. "He has been very productive in what we've asked him to do and we've asked him, at certain times, to carry the offense. But he will continue to improve, both with the ball in his hands and without the ball in his hands. And in order to be a complete guy and be exceptional and be considered one of the best, you have to make plays both with and without the ball in your hands, and he is working on it."

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NOTE -- Wannstedt said that he had a "long, good conversation" with Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese yesterday regarding the officiating in the Rutgers game. The Panthers had two key questionable pass interference calls go against them -- including an offensive pass interference call on an apparent winning touchdown. "I will not comment on what was said," Wannstedt said. "I will say this, he is doing everything he can to do the right things."

Next

• Game: Pitt (4-6, 2-3 Big East) vs. South Florida (8-3, 3-3).

• When: Noon Saturday.

• TV: WTAE.

By the numbers

LeSean McCoy

Category.....No.

Games played.....10

Carries.....220

Yards gained.....1,125

Yards/carry.....5.1

Touchdowns.....11