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Monday, August 28, 2000

By Shelly Anderson, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

One of the more quiet yet fervent contests on the Pitt team this preseason has been at tight end.

Four players -- redshirt juniors Mike Bosnic and Brennan Carroll and redshirt freshmen Matt Mefford and Kris Wilson -- are vying to replace 1999 co-starters Kirk McMullen and Ben Kopp.

"I think they're all being competitive," Panthers Coach Walt Harris said. "I think we lost two real fine players."

Bosnic and Mefford are former linemen and are stronger in the blocking assignments. Wilson was a receiver in high school, and he and Carroll are more comfortable in the passing situations Harris' West Coast offense requires.

"I don't know if we've got what you would call a tight end for all situations," Harris said. "I think with that part, we're still up in the air, trying to find ourselves."

The Panthers only have until Saturday to decide on one or two starters. They open the season that day against Kent State.

Bosnic and Carroll were backups last year, but played mostly on special teams. Carroll, the son of former New England Patriots coach Pete Carroll, sat out the 1998 season after transferring from Division I-AA Delaware.

Bosnic, from Albert Gallatin High School, stands out physically among the three. The former offensive and defensive lineman is 6-feet-7, 280 pounds.

"Mike's hands are pretty good," Harris said of the former basketball player. "I just think his inexperience in the passing game makes it hard for him."

Harris said the rigors of three-a-days during training camp were difficult for Carroll (6-4, 260), who had abdominal surgery last spring.

"He's healthier," Harris said. "He's probably benefiting from the one-a-days now. He's a tough kid, though."

Wilson (6-3, 230), from Lancaster, Pa., was a scout-team tight end last year. Mefford (6-2, 270), of Wyoming, Ohio, was a scout-team guard.

"Every day we're making evaluations," Harris said. "We can't redshirt any of them. I would imagine we'd use all four to some extent."

Turf talk

With the indoor field just nearing completion at the UPMC Sports Performance Complex, Pitt has used its two grass fields at the facility at least once a day -- and often three times -- for the past 16 consecutive days.

Tim Keene, who is in charge of the Pitt and Steelers fields, said the natural turf held up well.

"I was pretty impressed with it," he said. "The coaching staff has been really helpful in moving their drills around as much as they can between the two fields."

Keene said the construction of the fields is unique to the Pittsburgh area. A four-way blend of bluegrass designed specifically to be maintained between 1 and 1 1/2 inches for athletic fields sits atop a base that includes an automatic irrigation system, a herringbone drainage system and 10 inches of sand.

This time of year, the grass gets mowed every other day. Just a little off the top.

"It's built similar to a golf green," said Keene, who devised a routine to keep the fields in shape during training camp.

"If it was warm and dry and the grass needed a little breather, I'd syringe the fields, which is a real short watering cycle just to get the temperature down in between practices," he said. "On hot, humid days, I'd water first thing in the morning before they practiced and then let it go all day."

Midway through camp, Keene aerated the heavy-use areas between the hash marks and overseeded with perennial rye grass, a hardy species that he expects will hold up in the latter stages of the season.

"Then in spring, the Kentucky bluegrass will come back and kind of take over the rye grass," Keene said.

Quick hits

Harris said while he tries to keep abreast of his team's health problems, he doesn't always ask the trainers and doctors for all the medical details when a player misses practice. "I think if I would ask they might wonder if I was questioning what they were doing, so I don't ever do that," he said. ... Today is the players' first day off since camp started Aug. 12. They are off on Mondays throughout the season. ... Kickoff for the Kent State game is 3:30 p.m. at Three Rivers Stadium.