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Monday, August 12, 2002

As Brandon Miree saw it, his career was disappearing before his eyes. One day he was this oh-so-promising stud running back at Alabama; the next day he was a backup's backup, consigned, if he was lucky, to a career as a backup.

That's the way it can work in college football where new coaches have new ideas. Dennis Franchione, who took over at Alabama last year, was a man set in his ways and his way was to spread the field and operate with one running back. That wasn't good for Miree, a classic power-I runner used to operating behind a fullback.

The 2001 season was two games old and Miree, who had gained 426 yards on 94 carries a year earlier as a freshman, had touched the ball three times.

"He [Franchione] didn't know me," Miree was saying the other day. "And he really didn't know my athletic capabilities. I felt like I should have been appreciated more."

A lot of athletes would have left it at that and pouted the remainder of their career.

Miree is not a typical college athlete. He is bright, articulate, well-mannered and mature beyond his years. He wasn't about to let his dream slip away because of a coach's offensive philosophy.

Although the season was two games old and it was well into September, it wasn't too late to transfer. Which is why Miree is at Pitt less than a year later, eligible to play and vying for a starting job with the Panthers.

"I had a real good relationship with the Pitt coaches coming out of high school," said Miree. "It was kind of hard telling them I wasn't coming. When I thought about transferring, Pitt was the first school I thought about."

It didn't hurt that Pitt recruiting coordinator Bryan Deal was coaching in Ohio when Miree was running for 2,455 yards and scoring 31 touchdowns as a senior at Winton Woods High in Cincinnati. And it didn't hurt that Deal was a good friend of Winton Woods Coach Lou Cynkar.

Deal learned that Miree was unhappy before a lot of people did. Pitt couldn't do a thing until Miree secured his release from Alabama, but when he did, everything was in place to get him into Pitt.

With the semester underway, there was no time to spare. A few wasted days and it would be too late to enroll.

"We worked feverishly to get it done," Deal said.

"Getting here before the time limit was like a miracle," Miree said. "I'm still not sure how it got done."

All the effort was worth it.

Miree, 21, at 6 feet, 235 pounds, worked with the Pitt scout team last year as an ineligible transfer. When starter Raymond Kirkley missed spring practice to recuperate from wrist surgery, Miree made the most of the opportunity. He's listed as a co-starter with Kirkley on the Pitt depth chart.

"He impressed me with the way he came in and learned things on his own," said Pitt running backs coach Shawn Simms. "The other thing that impressed me is that he's a little bit more mature than the rest of the guys. He's a very focused kid who knows what he wants and knows what he has to do to get it."

Miree has some specific goals in life. The NFL is one of them. So is GSPIA, which is Pitt's Graduate School of Public and International Affairs. He's on line to graduate in April and wants to be working on a graduate degree while playing next season. GSPIA is a prestigious program, but Miree is confident his grades will be good enough to help him gain admission to the school.

"The world is open," he said. "It will be a tremendous opportunity for me. Hopefully, I'll be able to get the education I want and help other people realize their fullest potential."

Kirkley is healthy and won't easily concede the job after rushing for 645 yards on 156 carries and starting 10 games last season.

That doesn't mean there's not room for Miree.

"The good things is," said Simms, "is that we know we have two guys who have been there and done it before. We know we have two mature kids who won't be shell-shocked by big crowds. They're two guys who are ready to play."

Miree makes no claims on the job. He understands the rules of football. But that doesn't mean he's willing to downplay his aspirations.

"Hopefully, I can come in and make contributions from the start. Hopefully, I can be a leader, a motivator and a game-breaker."

He has the skills to fill all three of those roles.

Bob Smizik can be reached at bsmizik@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1468.