Wednesday, September 10, 2003

By Paul Zeise, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

Pitt running back Brandon Miree started this season with a bang as he rushed 21 times for 134 yards and a touchdown in the Panthers’ 43-3 victory Saturday night against Kent State.

	"For a change, we finally came out of the gates quick this year," said Dan LaCarte, Pitt's lineman of the game vs. Kent State. (Andy Starnes, Post-Gazette)

That is a stark contrast to the start of last season when Miree rushed for 62 yards on 15 carries against Ohio and then lost his starting job to Marcus Furman for the Panthers’ second game.

Part of Miree’s success against Kent State can be attributed to his experience, but a big reason for his success is the Panthers’ offensive line, which has progressed much quicker than it did last season.

Pitt left guard Dan LaCarte said getting off to a good start was a priority for the line because it has not always carried its weight early in the season in the past.

“For a change, we finally came out of the gates quick this year as opposed to the way we did in previous years,” said LaCarte, who has been a starter since the fifth game of 2001 and was named Pitt’s lineman of the game against Kent. “That was important for me, personally, for us to come out strong from the beginning and not wait until the fifth or sixth game to get it going. It was important for us to get a good game from Brandon Miree and the other running backs.”

The line’s performance was encouraging because it had many questions throughout the preseason. There were new starters at right guard and center, and the candidates at center didn’t perform well in the spring.

But junior center Justin Belarski separated himself from the pack in the first 10 days of training camp and seized the job by the end of the second week. He and starting right guard Jon Schall then began to work at fitting in with the three returning starters -- LaCarte, right tackle Matt Morgan and left tackle Rob Petitti -- to form a cohesive unit.

The unit was not very good in the first scrimmage of the season but improved greatly for the second scrimmage and continued to improve in the final two weeks leading up to the opener.

LaCarte said that the performance Saturday of Belarski and Schall should erase any doubts about their ability to get the job done.

“Justin Belarski has a lot of physical talent, maybe even more than the past two centers who were very good,” LaCarte said. “He did well, and with more experience he’ll be even better. Jon Schall ... I thought he played really well.”

LaCarte was a little concerned about the line before the season because of uncertainty at two of the five positions. But he has since become a believer and said this unit has the potential to be Pitt’s best in many years.

“We have a really good group,” LaCarte said. “We’ve been together for a long time now, four or five years for some of us. Matt Morgan and Jon Schall have been with me for five years and Petitti has been with me for the past three years, so it should be something special.”

This week the Panthers play host to the Mid-American Conference’s Ball State, a 31-point underdog.

Despite the apparent mismatch, LaCarte believes the Panthers have learned not to overlook opponents.

“We don’t look past anyone,” LaCarte said. “From experience -- South Florida two years ago. You can’t look past any opponent. We worked so hard at getting to this point, we don’t want to lose it by overlooking any team. I think Ball State is a very formidable opponent. They won six games last year and have a lot of returning starters on defense. This will be a tough game”

NOTES -- Running back/wide receiver Abdur Abdullah has quit the team. ... Sophomore quarterback Tyler Palko said he isn’t discouraged that freshman Luke Getsy is the backup quarterback. “I came here because I trust [head coach] Walt Harris and that’s what I’ll continue to do. Coach will do his best to keep a redshirt on me. Once spring comes, I’ll come in, battle my [butt] off and see what happens. That’ll never change.” ... Harris was not pleased with the team’s practice yesterday but said that’s typical of Tuesdays. “It is always a slow day. I’m amazed at how much we drop off after a day off [Monday].”

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