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Tuesday, March 13, 2001

For such a small number of guys, there is a lot going on at running back this spring at Pitt.

The Panthers have just five players to use during spring practice -- fullbacks Lousaka Polite, Dustin Picciotti and walk-on Joe Vaglia, and tailbacks Malcolm Postell and Mike Jemison. All will get plenty of work.

Some will see double duty.

Kevan Barlow, who rushed for 1,053 yards, and Nick Goings have used up their eligibility, leaving Pitt with no experienced tailbacks. Postell redshirted last fall as a freshman and played on the scout team. Jemison just joined the team as a mid-year addition and will be a freshman in the fall.

Polite, who was expected to be redshirted last year but was pressed into action, and Picciotti will take some turns at tailback. Jemison will work some at fullback, Coach Walt Harris said yesterday.

"It's so that we don't overwork anybody," Harris said.

If Picciotti, the Panthers' top recruit a year ago who played sparingly last fall, looks good at tailback, could he move there permanently?

"We're going to go with our best guy, honestly," Harris said of the open tailback spot. "He may be out of position there. He may not look like he can do the things we'd want him to do. But he might. Who knows? We're very wide open. Or it might be Lou. If he's a natural at that position, then we might play with that."

Evaluating Picciotti and Polite at tailback is not the main intent, though.

"We're trying to spread things out for our health, so our guys don't get worn out," Harris said.

The backfield won't be so sparse during training camp in August. Six running backs were signed this winter.

"We recruited very hard this off-season to get some good backs, so we're looking forward to looking at those guys as well," Harris said. "We're planning to play the ones that are most ready of the young guys. But if someone in this little exercise in spring steps up and looks like he could play that position, we would sure look at it."

On the sidelines
Five players will sit out spring drills because of injuries -- receiver R.J. English (knee), defensive end Ryan Smith (herniated disc), defensive tackle Joe Conlin (shoulder), long snapper Kurt Johnson (knee) and center Darryl Weston, a converted tight end who had what Harris called "non-football-related surgery."

Smith and Johnson are returning starters, and English and Conlin played a great deal and have a shot at earning a starting spot in the fall.

Scrimmage TV
With Three Rivers Stadium gone and the new North Shore stadium still under construction, Pitt will hold its spring Blue-Gold game April 7 at the UPMC Sports Performance Complex on the South Side.

Space precludes the scrimmage from being open to the public, but the Panthers have come up with a way for their fans to watch. For the first time, the scrimmage will be televised. It will be shown live by WTAE.

Schedule shift
The Panthers originally were going to start spring practices today but decided to start Thursday and add a session Sunday.

Harris said the delay gives Pitt a chance to hold a couple of extra early-morning winter conditioning workouts and then allows the team to get into the flow of practice by starting with four consecutive days of work.

"It kind of fits our situation a little bit better," Harris said.

The team typically will practice on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

This is not like three years ago, when Harris postponed the first spring practice because he was not happy with his team's work ethic in winter conditioning.

"This has been our best by far winter program," Harris said.

Quick hitters
Three sophomores are switching positions: Matt Mefford moves from tight end to defensive tackle, Chris Curd moves from receiver to tight end, and Dan LaCarte moves from defensive tackle to offensive line, possibly center. LaCarte missed most of winter conditioning after having his tonsils removed. ... Pitt returns starters everywhere but quarterback, tailback, center, left offensive tackle, one receiver spot and a defensive tackle spot. ... Defensive lineman Brandon Dewey, who left the team before last season because of an illness in the family, has not returned. Harris called his status for the future "up in the air." ... Pitt has hired Ellwood City native Burt Lauten as an assistant athletic media relations director. Lauten most recently held the same title at Miami, Ohio.