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Fitzgerald, Miree earn positions on offense

Tuesday, September 10, 2002

By Shelly Anderson, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

Pitt's lineup is more settled after two games.

There are no disputes for starting jobs on offense as the Panthers prepare to play UAB at 7 p.m. Saturday at Legion Field in Birmingham, Ala. Freshman Larry Fitzgerald has won the flanker job. Alabama transfer Brandon Miree is the No. 1 tailback.

	Brandon Miree rushed for 63 yards in Saturday's game against Texas A&M. (Lake Fong, Post-Gazette)

"It's part of the process of us finding out who really is the guy that can execute under pressure," Coach Walt Harris said.

Fitzgerald, 6 feet 3 and 210 pounds, beat out sophomore Roosevelt Bynes after having an outstanding performance in Pitt's 14-12 loss to Texas A&M last Saturday. Fitzgerald had 10 catches -- many of them in traffic -- for 103 yards.

"Larry really had a very nice game for us," Harris said. "He made a bunch of critical plays, critical catches. We thought that he was a very talented football player. We haven't thought anything different [watching him in games]. It is exciting to see him establish himself in a game as a guy that the quarterback can go to and he can make it happen."

Miree, a 6-0, 235-pound junior, had been in a three-way battle for the No. 1 tailback spot and did not start the first two games.

Against Texas A&M, he relieved sophomore Marcus Furman in the second quarter and led the team in rushing with 63 yards on 14 carries. Returning starter Raymond Kirkley did not play.

The only position where two players are still vying for the starting job is at one cornerback, where senior Shawn Robinson and junior Shawntae Spencer are running even.

Young faces surgery

Harris said sophomore nose tackle Tyre Young is expected to have surgery on his broken left ankle when the swelling subsides.

Young, who missed Pitt's opener after being suspended, emerged as a starter last year. He did not start against Texas A&M, but seemed to be earning his way back into the No. 1 spot against the Aggies.

He had four tackles, one of them unassisted, before being injured about midway through the second quarter.

"Anytime you lose a starting football player, especially up front -- an area that we are always trying to improve -- it's a big loss," Harris said.

"That one's a difficult one for us to live with. Plus, it was not a very pretty scene when he got hit."

Another injury

Pitt starting center Chad Reed wore a soft cast on his right arm yesterday for a sprained wrist. The injury occurred when he was hit by a helmet in the first half against Texas A&M.

Reed played the rest of the game, X-rays revealed no break, and he is probable for UAB.

UAB loses a lineman

Pitt isn't the only team that has lost a defensive lineman for the year. UAB Coach Watson Brown said senior starting tackle Marvin Nickson has a torn anterior cruciate knee ligament.

Nickson had a sack among his five tackles and broke up a pass this season. He had three solo tackles and four assists. The Blazers award their players a half-sack for each assist.

Post-Gazette sports writer Paul Zeise contributed to this notebook.