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Wednesday, August 23, 2000

By Shelly Anderson, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

Some positions could be on the line this afternoon when Pitt closes its training camp with a scrimmage at Three Rivers Stadium.

Coach Walt Harris said yesterday he will pit the first-team offense against the second-team defense and vice versa. How players perform could determine some of the starters.

"I'm sure some of it will," Harris said.

Probably not at quarterback, though. Junior David Priestley and senior John Turman, who are battling for the No. 1 job, will play more than redshirt freshman Rod Rutherford, Harris said. Priestley had problems with a sore arm over the weekend.

"It's hard to say how that position is going to play out," Harris said. "I don't know."

In Pitt's first scrimmage Saturday, 15 players, including several returning or projected starters, sat out with various injuries, and the Panthers have practiced without any pads since then.

Harris wasn't sure how many might miss the scrimmage today, but some borderline players still might be held out.

"We're going to probably keep some guys out that would be in if we played [a game]," Harris said. "We're going to be very precautionary."

The scrimmage is closed to the public.

It's the ticket

Single-game orders for tickets to the final scheduled Pitt-Penn State game won't be filled until after the Panthers' opener Sept. 2 against Kent State, Pitt Athletic Director Steve Pederson said.

The Panthers are host to the Nittany Lions Sept. 16 at Three Rivers Stadium. Pederson expects the game to sell out.

Fans who buy Pitt season tickets are being given the option of buying an equal number of extra tickets to the Penn State game. Pederson said the Panthers are still selling season tickets by the hundreds.

"We're at over 4,500 student season tickets sold," Pederson said, compared to about 1,800 at this time a year ago.

"Regular-season tickets are up over 30 percent from our final number from a year ago already. We're also selling a lot of single tickets for the North Carolina [Nov. 4] and West Virginia [Nov. 24] games."

Pederson declined to reveal the number of season tickets sold.

One less chore

Free safety Ramon Walker is no longer returning punts -- at least for now.

Walker has practiced the past two days, when all sessions have been noncontact. He sat out the scrimmage Saturday because of soreness in his shoulder, which was injured last spring. Harris said Walker also has a high groin or lower abdominal problem.

"He's a first-team all-conference safety," Harris said. "We've got to get him out there doing that" first, before worrying about grooming him as a punt returner.

Sophomore Antonio Bryant and senior Tim Stein, who specializes in fair catches, are handling punt returns.

Quick hits

Freshman running back Julius Wallace (knee) and freshman receiver Mark Santucci (shoulder) had surgery. Wallace, of Martins Ferry, Ohio, is expected to return to practice in a matter of weeks, Harris said, but Santucci, of Valley High School, probably is out for the season. ... Senior receiver Latef Grim, who sustained a sprained ankle in the scrimmage Saturday, was off crutches yesterday afternoon. ... At least a handful of players -- including starting center Jeff McCurley and freshman quarterback Pat Hoderny -- were bothered in the morning by a stomach ailment. "I don't know if it was something they ate or what," Harris said. ... Bryant, a starting receiver, dressed for the first practice but did not participate, apparently as a disciplinary measure. He returned for the second. ... Highly regarded Thomas Jefferson High School lineman Tyler Reed visited practice in the afternoon. ... Harris' game-week Monday news conferences will not be shown live on Fox Sports Net Pittsburgh this year. They will be shown on a tape-delayed basis on Tuesdays.