Facing intense criticism comes with the territory when you are a quarterback. No one knows that better than Pitt senior Bill Stull, who has been the whipping boy for a critical fan base in the wake of his rocky junior season.

Stull is entering his third year as Pitt's starting quarterback, but he is still trying to prove he belongs. A 6-foot-3, 215-pound local product from Seton La Salle High School, Stull just completed an unspectacular preseason camp where he rotated with redshirt freshman Tino Sunseri and junior Pat Bostick.

Stull has earned the right to start the opener against Youngstown State, but it is clear that coach Dave Wannstedt will not have a problem going with either of his reserves should Stull struggle early.

"I've never been around a training camp where we rotated two and three guys with the first group like we did," Wannstedt said yesterday on the final day of camp. "Tino had as many snaps with the first group as Billy. Pat Bostick got a share of them. They've all improved.

"Pat has gotten a lot better. Tino has shown us the type of player he will be. And has Billy made big strides? I would probably say no. But has Billy performed to the level where you can say he is the starter? I would say yes.

"I'm just trying to be about as honest about it as I can. He has 13 starts under his belt, so he's our starting quarterback. I feel good about the other guys and I feel good about Billy."

That's not exactly a ringing endorsement from the coach a week and a half before the season starts.

The way camp unfolded it is hard to remember that Stull started 12 games in a season in which the Panthers recorded their most victories (9) in a season since 2002. Stull had his share of ups and downs, but he is remembered most for his rock-bottom performance against Oregon State in the Sun Bowl, when he completed only 7 of 24 passes and threw an interception in a 3-0 loss.

"Absolutely, it motivates me," Stull said. "That's not how I wanted to finish the season. That's not how I want to play a football game. That's not how we want to play as a football team. That's not how the coaches want to coach. There's a chain reaction there."

Stull's downward spiral began after the seventh game last year against Rutgers when he left the game with a concussion. He sat out the following game against Notre Dame, but came back to start the final five contests.

Stull was not the same quarterback post-concussion, and the coaches let him know during the offseason that he needed to get back to his previous mental form in order for the offense to get better.

"I really didn't blame [the concussion] for bad play," Stull said. "Obviously, I saw some things that the coaches pointed out to me after the season. There were some things I'm sure that had something to do with the injury."

Chief among them were his movement in the pocket and his time clock for getting rid of the ball. Wannstedt is confident that Stull is back to where he needs to be mentally, but he said he will have to prove it when it counts.

"He'll have to go out there and play when it's for real," Wannstedt said. "He's been knocked around by our pass rush. Teams will pressure us, but we won't face many teams that will pressure us more than we do. He's handled it well. I do believe he has gotten back to where he needs to be."

For Stull, the only cure for what ails him is winning. He knows it. The coaches know it; his teammates know it.

"We're always encouraging him," sophomore receiver Jonathan Baldwin said. "With the game he had in the Sun Bowl people are always pointing the finger at him. We just keep telling him he's going to be fine. We all have a bad taste in our mouths from the Sun Bowl.

"When people ask me about our quarterback I just tell them it's a new year. We're turning over a new leaf. He's going to do great."

Stull has the most experience of any of the quarterbacks on the roster, and he plans to use it in his final season.

"I know how to deal with the ups and downs," he said. "I have some game experience and I know what to expect. Each play could be your last. In my mind, I know that makes each play so much better. I just want to experience that and have fun.

"It's fun winning football games. That's the ultimate thing.

"If we're winning football games and playing Pitt football, it's going to be a fun and exciting season."

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NOTES -- Yesterday marked the final day of preseason camp. The Panthers will have their Fan Fest today at Heinz Field and will begin preparations for Youngstown State tomorrow night. "You can tell the guys are looking for something new," Wannstedt said. "It's time to turn our focus to another opponent."... Wannstedt said freshman running back Ray Graham has earned the right to see playing time behind fellow freshman Dion Lewis at tailback. "Dion is the starter, but what we have discovered during the course of camp is that Ray Graham can play and will play a lot this year."