in Alumni, Pitt Football, Pitt POV, Players, Recruiting, Statistics 1,226 Words

Who’s Out & Who’s In? Offense

Pitt’s recruiting is winding down now with just eight more days for the staff to close out what they want to accomplish.  Regardless of who they get from now until LOI Day the chances are that whoever it is won’t make an impact next year – although some true freshmen do it, it’s a long shot.  So let’s talk about the departures from the three team units; offense, defense and special teams.

Today lets look at what the 2017 the offense may be in the opener in September. Which by the way the first three games look like this .

3-games-2017

Not the easiest 2nd game for new starters to play in – PSU in Happy Valley. Ugh

We know there are at least five starters who will be missing when spring practices start in late march. Here they are:

QB Nate Peterman, RB James Conner, TE Scott Orndoff and OL’s Adam Bisnowaty and Dorian Johnson.  Damn, that is a hell of a lot of talent and just among those skill players, the three TDs makers, Orndoff, Conner and Peterman accounted for 46 of our 64 touchdowns… let me say that a different way. Between the three they scored 72% of our offensive points!

How do we try to replace that with the returning talent on hand?  At the QB position I don’t think anyone is really thinking that Thomas MacVitte is going to be in the starting lineup. There is no doubt in my mind that transfer rsSR QB Max Browne is slated to be the starting QB when September rolls around.

We have seen Pat Narduzzi make this exact move just two years ago and back then he was intent on replacing a incumbent QB who had already started 13 games in Chad Voytik.  There isn’t going to be any hesitation on his and/or whoever is the new OC’s part to get an experienced QB in behind our center. That is even more imperative when you consider we will have brand new TEs and two new OLs starting (and maybe even a new RB).

But there are alternative QBs waiting in the wings.  rsFR Thomas MacVitte is a 3* recruit who sat out his true FR year and is talented.  Personally, I think the fans have built up an unworthy amount of hype around MacVitte and sometimes that isn’t necessarily a good thing for a young man to have to live up to.

Expectations based on perceived talent and past performance is one thing and that’s normal; big hype is a whole different animal. I think he’s at least a year away from being ready to take on a Power Five starting role. 

Alongside him and a year older is rsSO QB Ben DiNucci who we just saw give his best effort in the bowl game. DiNucci was recruited to be a career back-up in my opinion.  He a nice sized kid at 6’2″ and 215 lbs, pretty much the same size as Peterman, but there the comparisons stop.

DiNucci’s best offer was Akron and we targeted him as a late offer scholarship and turned him from U of Pennsylvania to Pitt.  But I think it was really to get an additional local player on the roster. Others differ on that point.

Along with him we have JR Bo Schneider and now 2017 recruit Kenny Pickett – but they are out of the conversation for the 2017 season.  Pickett will be one to watch in the 2018 season especially I think – he’s a good one.

Let’s assume it will be Max Browne on the field for us.  What does he bring to the table that MacVitte doesn’t? Well, we know he started three games for USC last year before losing the job to a highly rated true FR. Hmmm, that isn’t all that that great.  We also know that Browne was everyone’s Golden Boy coming out of HS back in 2013.browne-rivals

Take a look at those rankings and his offers – along with the five stars.  That is only half of his offer sheet. #1 QB, #7 overall and #1 in California is pretty damn impressive.

But what has he done lately?  Well, even with my poor graphics work below you can see Browne actually threw 112 passes over his last three years at USC and getting experience with a PAC-10 team in doing so… 112 passes for 650 yards.

Put it this way with a comparison to our last transfer QB.  In Peterman’s three years playing at Tennessee he had just 23 passes for 94 yards or only 15% of passes Browne had thrown.

browne-stats

Speaking of the “New King O’ the Southside” Max Browne I have to make a correction.  I had written earlier that Browne  was like a water buffalo behind center – meaning slow footed. I was wrongly informed as he’s pretty mobile apparently. Sorry Charlie.

At Tight End things get interesting this upcoming season.  In the last two years we lost very good, maybe even ‘star’, TEs in J. P. Holtz and now Scott Orndoff. Orndoff had a very productive season for us as you can see below:

orndoff-2016

His 35 receptions for a 16.5 average is excellent for a TE and he could block very well also. Look at the ’16 highlights videos and you’ll see him downfield blocking a lot because he had the speed to do that and that’s not easy for a guy who is 6’5 and 255 lbs.

Now that Zach Poker has left the program the only two TEs left on the current roster are SO Chris “The Nomad” Clark and non-scholarship player Nate Bossary, who most likely will remain in a deep back-up role. Interesting thing about Bossary is that he was in the Air Force Academy until he transferred to Pitt in mid-year 2015.

Apparently Clark is talented – although that didn’t stop UCLA from asking him to leave and then Syracuse pulling their offer to take him as a transfer after he announced he’d be going there.

To me  Chris Clark is a real case of “I’ll believe it when I see it“.  Until then I’m going to hope like hell true 4* freshman recruit Charles Reeves can rise to the occasion and step right into a starting role.

The size factor won’t be a problem for Reeves – at 6’5″ and 265 he’s already D1 built.  The problem I see, and this is common among TEs coming out of HS, is getting his blocking down well enough to be the 6th offensive lineman when needed. 

Going out on pass patterns will come with him drilling with the offense in fall camp. But being a receiver is way easier than learning  blocking schemes well and then doing it consistently.

We’ll cover the Offensive line and Special Teams tomorrow then go into the defense. Also thanks so very much for the donation turnout so far – you guys are truly the best.

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We have started to accept donations specifically to offset travel and associated expenses that this blog requires.  Click on the image below to get started and THANK YOU!

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74 thoughts on “Who’s Out & Who’s In? Offense”

  1. You can’t replace a James Conner and all he brought to the University of Pittsburgh. Outside of James, I feel the holes are “fillable” for 17 with the QB slot being the biggest concern going into the YSU game.
    #H2P

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    1. Believe it or not, between Ollison, Hall, Moss & Sibley, Conner’s on field production will duplicated in 2017. What is the true loss with Conner going pro is his leadership. leading by example and just his presence as a winner over all of the odds, over injury, over cancer, over chemotherapy and over comeback doubters. Wait until he proves once again what it means to be Conner Strong when he gets suited up in the NFL.

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  2. QO is a good start to begin filling Conner’s shoes. He started his career against YSU and ran for over 200 yards.

    I’m not sure the coaching staff is on the same page though.

    That’s why they (coaches) get paid the big bucks???

    Without knowing who the OC is, it is hard to get a read on what the O might look like. Max’s experience at QB will help in creepy valley. RB by committee? Ugh! TE position will have two studs where last year it was only one.

    HTP!

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  3. RB Ollison’s status on the team is an enigma. I like him, but there is something going on there that we don’t know about IMO. I look for Sibley to get the starting nod.

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  4. I’m trying to remember if Schneider is on scholarship at Pitt. Because right now Pitt has too many holes to fill at other positions to have that many scholarship QB’s IMO.

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  5. With the exception of the OL, I believe we will be more talented all around next year … but sadly it will take time on both offense and defense.

    The good news is that I do think Browne will adapt quickly since he will take part in spring drills, and Clarke has been practicing this past year. Thus, we may be facing PSU this year with a better passing attack than last year (remember .. it took a few games last year for the pass game to really develop ; Peterman passed for 90 yards vs PSU last year.) TE depth will be an issue but can be offset with more use of the H-Back.

    We will miss Conner’s talent and the intangible .. his leadership. But there certainly is talent at the RB returning. Moss, Hall, Sibley and Ollison (if he returns) are certainly not chumps.

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  6. Based on everything I have read and heard, both MacVittie and Pickett show a lot of promise. Like most, I would like to see MacVittie get a decent share of snaps this year. Pickett is a likely redshirt, but remember, he is already enrolled and will participate in spring drills.

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  7. Reed, obviously the coaching staff shares your concerns regarding the TE position. They just made their 11th offer to a junior TE. A cousin of Ruben Flowers, BTW, who is 6′ 7″.

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  8. … they have 3 TEs in 2017 class, and the offer that PetePitt73 referred to was the 11th TE offer for 2018. They also offered MacVittie’s TE at Moeller.

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  9. Of the 3 TEs for 2017, one is 6’6 and the other two are 6’7. I’m wondering that with the success of switching O’Neill from TE to OT .. they are thinking that at least one these guys can fill out and also switch. One of the really big traits for O’Neill is allegedly his footwork.

    In 1974, Larry Brown started at TE for World Champs Steelers .. he became the starting OT thereafter, and part of more title teams.

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  10. wwb – of all the positions on the field I think a freshman TE is one that can be put in the most places – TE, OL, DL and even HB.

    Case in point Devon Edwards was recruited as a TE in 2013 and now is a rsSR at DL.

    DB is another as they can go to RB and LB rather easily with some body shaping in the S&C program in their redshirt year.

    JRNpitt – QB Bo Schneider is not on scholarship at this time and that’s why I think he’ll take off soon.

    I can’t help but think Ollison was in the doghouse for some reason last season… if not then I think it was pretty bad decision on the coaching staff’s part not to play him on a regular basis and the next RB up after Conner.

    BTW – Ollison has plenty enough speed for college – in 2015 he had long runs of 71, 43, 43 and 35 yards.

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  11. Larry Brown, one of the most underrated players in NFL history. Such a terrific right tackle.

    I’m cool with the running back by committee. It works on all levels. Moss will be so much better as a sophomore; Hall and Ollison should be different players now as juniors.

    Just get it done, no excuses.

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  12. I believe Schneider is a resident of Texas and for him to transfer to Pitt absent a scholarship is quite a gamble. I’m assuming he had a scholarship at the Florida school he transferred to Pitt from. To stay at Pitt he would have to believe he could win the QB job in spring and then be granted a scholarship. I don’t like his odds.

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  13. For whatever reason, Ollison was fourth on the depth chart all year. Remember, not only was Conner hurt in the bowl game … Hall got injured during a brief appearance in the game and Moss was questionable going into the game. Thus, Ollison saw action in the 2nd half and did well.

    I have no idea why Ollison was in the doghouse (if indeed he was) … but it could be that the coaches, especially Canada, liked Moss and Hall better. With production of the offense this year, it would be hard to criticize this decision … but I tend to be on the side of coaches, since it is to their benefit that the team does well. On the other hand, coaches at all schools tend to to favor their own recruits over ones who were already in the program … so that may have been a factor.

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    1. Hey guys – I think I figured out how to reply in box. Do you want to keep it this way or have the commenter reply at the end of the thread…

      I think I asked this before but I’m open to changes.

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      2. I like the reply in box. Makes following the comments easier—and it permits us to direct our comment to the actual issue/question that someone has raised. For example, we can better help Upitt choose his goat date for the weekend.

        H2P

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      3. I think the only drawback would be you always need to review the entire commentary to see all the recent comments. Would be tedious on game day posts.

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        1. @ Larry V. But if “in box” commentary is accomplished accordingly, wouldn’t all recent comments that relate to the post that you’d be replying to directly be chronologically in order right there in that box? just like my reply is now.
          So I vote for in box reply.

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          1. I like the idea of all the replies being grouped with the original comment. My thought was that on long threads if the readers wanted to see all comments they would have to continually review the entire thread which could be onerous.

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  15. One of the running backs needs to step up and be the guy. The best running backs get better with more carries.I think part of the issue with Ollie is that he is a clone of Conner and the other two were the change of pace guys with more flashy moves. Although neither looked all that flashy to me.

    I think the line may be even better next year with Jones-Smith and Dintino being the new guys. Not as much depth though, so they need to stay healthy.

    No, I don’t think those two are better than the two that left, but O’Neil, Bookser and Officer will be one year better.

    QB is the key, someone needs to be good and not turn the ball over.

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  17. Can anyone compare MacVitte and Pickett to Alex Hornibrook, whom Potato Paul (ode to Upitt) took to Wisconsin?

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  18. Not to be too much of a numbers geek, but shouldn’t you only count the TDs for Peterman that he ran or threw to someone other than Orndoff and Conner?

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    1. on the other hand, if you would include another senior (Blewitt), you would have much more than 72% of the points scored. But, of course, a kicker and QB always should account for a high percentage

      Liked by 1 person

  19. Browne left USC because USC has a QB that the Steelers would take instantly. PSU game sets the tone next year. They will probably have an early white out because the game also sets their tone for the year. I believe HCPN will pull out all the tricks to win this game. H2P

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  20. Don’t know much about Pickett but MacVittie has a strong arm, way stronger than Hornibrook. Some look at Tom’s offers or lack of and aren’t as high on him as others are. I trust that Reed has watched him in practice and feels he’s not ready just yet. On the other hand it seems that Narduzzi is quite high on MacVittie. I did see Hornibrook a few times this year and I wasn’t really all that much impressed. Weak arm but moves well in the pocket. Alex needs a good team behind him imo……..ike

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    1. agree about the weak arm from Hornibrook. He reminded me of Bill Stull … nice touch passer but floats almost all of his passes

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  21. Best news for me is Reed reporting that Browne has more mobility than first thought. That’s huge to an OC planning attack.

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  22. Like I said before, I hate the reply inbox. I like to read all comments, not just replies to me. Also, I like to read them in chronological order. Having the inbox makes it nearly impossible. I guess the thought is it makes it like 1 big conversation and that’s why I like it.

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  23. Lastrow, I’m glad to hear that tidbit about Max’s mobility. He doesn’t have to be Aaron Rodgers, but if he can move around like Nate Peterman I’ll be happy as a clam. A couple of friends of mine are big U of Miami fans, and they are both glad Kaaya is moving on to NFL. They both claim he cost them games because he “doesn’t give you anything with his legs.” I tell them you’d better watch what you wish for. He’ll be hard to replace.

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  26. 2016 we played a third of the season with an extremely limited and conservative passing game…wasn’t a threat for the opposing D…
    would be nice to have an OC stick around a couple of years or more … who knows – if MC doesn’t Produce at LSU he might be looking for work in 4 years…

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  27. Actually, when you really think about the “in box reply” option, it is just that, an option. the poster has complete control of where he would like his post to appear then, either in direct reply, in box or in full chronological order of all comments through the entire thread. For that matter, if you have time to waste, you could copy and paste the same reply post in both positions, if that floats your boat. Therefore, I see no down side in adding this option to the site.

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    1. Hey – I was very honest about that stance when discussing Narduzzi’s hire back in 2015 and this season – when he beat Clemson to win a “big” ACC match i said that was all the checkpoints I needed to say he was a good college HC.

      I never said it was a bad hire either – just wait and see on my part.

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  29. Weah could have a great senior year if he improves 1/2 as much as he did this year. Will make whoever is the QB look good.

    Also hope Flowers can show why he was a 4*. Orndorf had a nice year bit he was a big factor in the bowl loss. Dropped passes one for a TD and illegal procedure at the 5 was awful.

    Clark is going to be good I believe. I also think Carrigan will end up at OT not TE. He’s slow but tough and looks like he enjoys hitting.

    Matthews might be the breakout WR next year with the experience he got as a freshman.

    RB is deep and not a problem next year especially if QO stays and plays.

    It’s all about the D, and especially the DBs, if Pitt wants to move to the next level. A new DC might also help but that is just screaming into a pillow.

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    1. Agree!! Also hoping guys like Pine, Pugh, Blackwell, McKee etc can upgrade LB position. If nothing else, there will definitely be more speed on defense

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  30. Believe it or not, between Ollison, Hall, Moss & Sibley, Conner’s on field production will duplicated in 2017. What is the true loss with Conner going pro is his leadership. leading by example and just his presence as a winner over all of the odds, over injury, over cancer, over chemotherapy and over comeback doubters. Wait until he proves once again what it means to be Conner Strong when he gets suited up in the NFL.
    (Example of copy/paste from reply box in first comment of this thread)

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    1. Agree on Conner. He made some terrific runs, but he’ll be missed off the field more than on the field.

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  31. I would really like to see the comparisons of the amount of snaps all the RB’s played this past year. I have a feeling that Ollison might have played the second most?? It’s either that or gas?

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    1. Name Yr Pos G Att Yards Avg. TD Att/G Yards/G
      1 James Conner JR RB 13 216 1092 5.06 16 16.62 84.00
      2 Quadree Henderson SO WR 13 60 631 10.52 5 4.62 48.54
      3 Nathan Peterman SR QB 13 72 286 3.97 3 5.54 22.00
      4 Chawntez Moss FR RB 10 42 227 5.40 1 4.20 22.70
      5 Darrin Hall SO RB 12 36 160 4.44 0 3.00 13.33
      6 Qadree Ollison SO RB 13 33 127 3.85 2 2.54 9.77
      7 Maurice Ffrench FR WR 8 12 122 10.17 2 1.50 15.25
      8 Jordan Whitehead SO DB 9 9 98 10.89 0 1.00 10.89
      9 George Aston SO RB 12 22 75 3.41 5 1.83 6.25
      10 Tre Tipton FR WR 9 11 61 5.55 0 1.22 6.78
      11 Rafael Araujo-Lopes SO WR 13 6 32 5.33 0 0.46 2.46
      12 Brian O’Neill SO OL 13 2 29 14.50 2 0.15 2.23
      13 Ben DiNucci FR QB 2 2 18 9.00 0 1.00 9.00
      14 Manny Stocker SR QB 6 2 9 4.50 0 0.33 1.50
      15 Dontez Ford SR WR 8 3 8 2.67 0 0.38 1.00
      16 Team 10 14 -49 -3.50 0 1.40 -4.90
      Total 13 542 2926 5.40 36 41.69 225.08
      Opponents 13 436 1555 3.57 28 33.54 119.62

      http://www.cfbstats.com/2016/team/545/rushing/index.html

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  32. QB position is the most important and will determine Pitt’s success next season. TE position looks like trouble with no experience returning. I agree that we might see George Aston doing some TE type stuff.
    RB should be fine, IMHO.

    One of the things I like about Coach Duzz is that he goes out and solves personnel problems. Where ever we have a weakness, he addresses it… And not just in recruiting, with transfers too.

    Go Pitt.

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  33. Thanks wwb. I’m also looking for all snaps played and not just running attempts. Ollison was on the field more than most think either as a lead blocker or the man in motion/receiver.

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    2. I’m very surprised that I’m not seeing some dizzy looking guy, with a “sheepish” grin on his face, standing firmly behind that poor penn state goat a$$, while securing his position with a firm grasp of hands on both of the goats ears.

      I’m going to love this “in box” replying to Upitts posts, I just know it!

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  35. the Wildcard that makes this offensive discussion premature is not having our new OC on board yet. Until after the Spring game, attempting to predict just about anything speculative about this offense is nothing more than a crap shoot. That being said. First off, I think that Reed is being unfair to Max Browne when he implies that his talent level may be somewhat suspect if a true Freshman QB could beat him out for the starting QB position at USC. That’s mis-information to begin with because Sam Darnold was not a true freshman in 2016 but a redshirt freshman that had been with the program for an entire year already, just like MacVittie is for this coming season. Secondly, DID YOU WATCH THE ROSE BOWL GAME!?!?!? Darnold played like a RS Senior in that game, the biggest game of his life and he handled it like it was a Sunday walk in the park. The IceMan, that’s my new nickname for that kid. I’m just glad the we don’t have thenm on our schedule for the next three years.

    So don’t condemn Max Browne’s decision to graduate from USC and get on with his football career elsewhere. He’s making the best decision for himself going forward, IMO, because unless Darnold gets injuried in 2017, Max Brown was going to be nothing more than a veteran benchwarmer next season, kissing his aspirations of playing at the next level goodbye. Now at least, he’ll have a real shot of making a final impact on the FBS scene at Pitt, and who knows maybe he gets noticed. That seems to be what is happening with Peterman right now and maybe Nate gets his shot in the NFL because of it.

    In any case, it’s Narduzzi, once again, filling the position of need, the most important position on the football team. As everybody knows I’m Mr. Optimist, but before Browne showed up I was pretty convinced that we were going to be no better than 1-1 by September 10th. Now I’m not so sure. With Browne being there in the Spring, not only doe’s he have the opportunity to gel with the team early but he throws down the gauntlet in front of MacVittie who was set to ease into the starting QB spot without any resistance.

    MacVittie is going to be good. I disagree with Reed here. MacVittie is going to be good, whether Reed thinks that that is premature hype or not, really doesn’t matter. MacVittie is going to be good. The only real question is when.

    Competition will only make him good that much quicker. Browne provides that competition. Now, I do agree that almost assuredly, Browne gets the nod as the starter for the penn state game, if for no other reason than he’s been on that big stage before. Oh boy, those penn state fans are going to be chanting for blood too. Thank God we’re not their rivals or it could get really ugly. LOL! So yeah, we need a mature battle tested signal caller under center to beat penn state next season, so that is Max Browne’s position to lose early but I won’t be the least bit surprised to see MacVittie getting his first start in 2017 as the season progresses. No worries there, he’s going to be a good one, just a matter of when.

    Somebody else that is good already, but we just don’t know it yet is Chris Clark. Once again, since Reed is a “show me” kind of guy. he is not singing Clark’s potential praises yet, but trust me on this one, he’ll be more than an adequate replacement for Scott Orndoff, and I love Scott Orndoff!

    Lastly, how can you discuss what the offense is going to look like next season without mentioning the WR corps? Hello? We are losing Dontez Ford to graduation, who replaces him? Weah has transformed himself of course, so he’s our go to guy next year but the #2 spot is wide open and we have a plethora of options to consider here. You pick, Tripton, Ffrench, Mathews, Flowers, Araujo-Lopes & I’m not even going to consider the three true freshmen options that we have coming in or Henderson for that matter because I see him in the slot position as a flanker. This is one position where we see our next breakout star player just like Q, Henderson showed up last season. Myself, I’m leaning toward Mathews, loved him as our gunner on special teams this season. Faster than I imagined he was and he made ‘first man down’ solid tackles all season long. I realize that those skills don’t necessarily translate to producing a 1,000 yard WR but the kid has both the size and the skill set to be a star.

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  38. 2017 schedule is out.

    After playing PSU (away) and OK St (home, we have to play at GT the very next week.

    Also, close out with a bang … 11/9 Thu UNC (home), 11/18 at Va Tech, 11/24 Fri Miami (home)

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  39. 2 hard three game stretches. More concerned about the beginning of the year. Really no time to gel and I know the YSU game plan will be vanilla.

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  41. I think this next week is going to be very, very interesting on the recruiting front. Garbutt and Proctor are real possibilities even though both are supposedly leaning VT – who pretty much already has a full 25 committed and have added a few LBs and DEs. What will these guys do? How about Debose and Thomas (committed to NE)? Both are seriously considering jumping onboard. Then you have the 2 RBs who are supposedly both seriously considering/leaning towards Pitt. And then Twyman who most expect to sign with Pitt. Lots of potential to finish real, real strong. Also potential to be real disappointed. Even in a dream world Pitt doesn’t have enough scholarships for all of these guys. It will be real interesting to see who makes the first move. That may set off the domino effect as I’m sure some offers will be rescinded when the committing starts. All of these guys have good options. Who makes the first move? Let’s hope we come out smiling like a butcher’s dog!

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  42. Here are the TEs for 2017: (from Dokish)

    Chris Clark 6’5″ 255
    Charles Reeves 6’5″ 265
    Tyler Sear 6’5″ 255
    Grant Carrigan 6’7″ 260

    and the new OLs are exactly midgets — power running up the gut with speed on the perimeter. Winning combo

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  43. I feel good about QB especially with already working with the team. He will be the next leader The wide outs will have great go to guys. Mathews will be cream of the crop. He’s hard nosed and very physical. Tre and Flowers will battle both have a lot of upside. My biggest concern will be the O line. They must work together and come together very quickly with no injuries to subdue the attack of psu defense. I’m 100%sure Franklin will prepare for us this year. I’m also sure we can beat them if we have leadership and believe in our QB.which can now happen with transfer. I’m excited as I look at it snowing thinking not long to go. Let’s get a few more good recruits to seal the deal by next Wednesday. H2P

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  44. Can anyone answer this question? With Browne already enrolled at Pitt can he begin learning the playbook? ( if we are keeping the same playbook/ language)

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    1. BigB, from a common sense standpoint, of course he can. But, I have no idea what the rules permit. Would be pretty weird if he cannot learn the playbook, but is able to participate in spring practice.

      H2P

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  45. Browne can learn anything he wants to. BUT will the new OC stay with the same play book that Canada used? Coming in as the new OC behind Canada will not be very pleasant if he doesn’t come close to duplicating what Canada produced last year. That may be the reason that Narduzzi may be having some difficulty in getting someone to sign on for the job.

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  46. Dr Tom – that opinion of MacVitte isn’t held only by me and it isn’t that he won’t be a good QB but that he may not meet fan’s expectations. Actually, that is Pitt’s recent history with recruited QBs going back to Bostick, Mark Myers, through Voytik… Each of those guys had huge fan hype and didn’t become the star players the fans were ‘just sure’ they would be.

    But that is another ‘wait till I see it’ case with me. I have seen him throw a lot more than you guys – even if it was the 1st 30 minutes of about six spring and fall practices and I think he’s an average college QB, maybe a bit better… as do some others as I said above.

    I like the kid and have had conversations with his Father and they are all-in with Pitt so I like that he’s here… and he could make my change my mind. But I also think he’ll have some real competition in 2018 from Kenny Pickett.

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  47. Guys – if you notice that the replied threads have multiple lines next to them on the left side to make them easier to backtrack to.

    BigB – yes, the kids get the playbook as soon as they sign the LOI but not before otherwise they could back out of the verbal and give it to someone else – plus that would be about the stupidest thing any Pitt HC could do.

    But I think Wannstedt made that mistake a time or two, right wwb? 😉

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    1. Reed, I honestly have no idea what you’re referring to. He may have well done so but have no memory of it.

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  48. Mark me down as being on record as a big Tommy Mac fan. (the pitt QB that is) and our POV brother. He will be a top PITT QB. He’s a multi tool QB. Barring injuries and the unforeseeable you can book it. < and that’s a 13 letter word.. booya…………..ike

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