A Real POV Surprise…
Yesterday my friend Chris Logue emailed me and asked if he could contribute articles to the POV on a regular basis because, well, he wanted to be associated with the best there is.
Chris will be starting today and will take up the quill for one or two days a week article writing giving me a little bit more time for other things I have going on. One series he will be doing will be the “Know The Enemy” Wednesday pieces during the season. His will be better researched and with more detail than mine were I’m sure.
I asked Chris not to hold back on any opinions or observations he has about Pitt football – positive or negative – because that is what the Pitt POV is built on. Please welcome him and have at it.
Here is Chris’ first piece for the POV as an actual staff writer:
My Two & Two Breakouts
Nothing is closing in faster than the beginning of football season. Not just any season however as this is a season filled with weighted expectations for both Narduzzi and our Panthers. We know graduating losses were sustained and the shifting athleticism on the field will have to account for shortcomings that may occur from that. That’s not a jab at the Mario-sized height of Avonte Maddox or is….
True freshman, sophomores, and the underclassmen redshirt players will be the focal points of the Panthers if we wish to contend for the ACC Coastal championship early and then sustain the contention for the course of the season.
Now, back to the position losses; who just steps up – but who really breaks through and relishes the bright lights more than the others? There’s a pair of players on either side of the ball that deserve our attention more than the rest, at least as far as having breakout years are concerned.
The offense has a plethora of potential for this category. The most widely known players for this are transfer quarterback Max Browne, receiver Maurice Ffrench and perhaps Maurice Ffrench’s wide receiver mate, SO Aaron Mathews. All have that potential, but of those I think we are missing two players who I fully believe will breakout at their positions for the Narduzzi-led Panthers.
Get to know this name as you may have forgotten it over the last nearly two seasons; rsSO Chris Clark. The transfer tight end from UCLA could highly diversify the overall scope of the offense. He will join Browne as the second offensive starter to make the move from the state of California.
Why Clark? Easy.
Every new quarterback likes to find a security blanket. Despite Quadree Henderson and the coaching staff working to expand the speedster’s game as a receiver, Clark will be the Jason Witten of a new offensive build for 2017. A redshirt sophomore, Clark’s size, standing at 6’6” and tipping the scale at 260, with his deceptive overall speed will be crucial for Browne to expand his passing targets and open the box over the middle. Doing so will allow then Qadree Ollison to run more freely through the first layer of defense, into the LBs and hopefully beyond.
Pitt is coming off a season where we used one tight end, and one tight-end only, despite what the roster classifications might suggest. Scott Orndoff was a lone producer with 35 receptions, 579 yards, a handful of touchdowns and a lone century-mark game in yards. It’ll take more this season from that position to even out the other losses sustained and with a new quarterback under center.
Along with Clark, it is important to mention rsSR and TE Matt Flanagan who arrives in Oakland as a transfer from Rutgers. He will be a main cog in spelling Clark without sacrificing size and or too much skill with his hands.
Since being the nation’s highest rated tight-end coming out of high school in Connecticut in 2015, it’s important for Clark and the Panthers both that he becomes entrenched in the offense early – but most importantly, often.
My second breakout player this fall may not be a bold prediction, but I fully expect SO Chawntez Moss to take the next step in becoming a feature back behind Ollison. How can he be a feature back on the second level of the depth chart? Think back to how James Conner found the main stage as a freshman behind Isaac Bennett. Not the main star, but you understood how good he was by the third quarter mark in the season. Moss has that potential.
A season ago, Moss surprised many on his way to finding daylight in a defense on more than one occasion. Chawntez racked up 227 yards on 42 carries which would get him a first down on every two carries. That’s before his injury and I can only assume he would have continued his run. How does Darrin Hall fit into the equation, well, I’m not sure that he will. Just a hunch.
Being able to utilize Moss on counters, the occasional sweep and using his athleticism will only improve the offense’s ability to capitalize on the handful of carries by Henderson each game. If he proves he can be healthy and improve, even just slightly, the ground game should not suffer a production decline from 2016.
Let’s flip the proverbial page to the defense. The only good thing about a shoddy output of overall production on that side of the ball – the new talent that will fit in. While I hold out for a ton of hope that the secondary will provide some bright spots, I fully believe the two breakout players on the defense will come in the first two levels of the defense.
Let’s start on the defensive line. As a sleeper choice, or someone who people may often forget about, is rsSR DE Allen Edwards. A JUCO product of a season ago, Edwards developed into a player in 2016 that was able to find the field, if even in a supportive role. Edwards was still productive in his 11 games that he found the field.
Although he wasn’t a constant presence in the backfield, he was still disruptive enough to make a name and a case for himself in 2017 as a redshirt senior. It doesn’t help being overshadowed by Ejuan Price on the edge.
Get familiar with this name – rsSO LB Saleem Brightwell. He is possibly the easiest choice for me and at one of the most important positions on the entire defense. At linebacker last year, in a supportive role like Edwards, he was stellar. Yes, you can think back to Death Valley when he flipped the game with his hands and legs with a crucial interception in a high-pressure situation.
Overall, Brightwell was a stat sheet stuffer. In 12 games in 2016, he accumulated two sacks, an interception, 26 tackles and two passes defensed among other statistics. The largest acquisition of Brightwell’s was the trust of linebacker’s coach Rob Harley, coordinator Josh Conklin and Pat Narduzzi himself. That trust will pay huge dividends in showing the maturity to absorb the responsibilities of his position.
The greatest caveat of each player is the competency of game-speed play and their developments from the season(s) before. If each has improved, there is no reason why Clark, Moss, Edwards and Brightwell can’t be the spotlighted breakout players for the Panthers in 2016.
Notes: A bit more info on Chris:
If you remember Chris’ blog, Pitt Nation Sports, 
was somewhat short-lived but very, very well written and well-researched. But as anyone who owns, writes and edits a blog by themselves knows it is almost a full-time gig. So just like myself and Chas Rich he felt he needed to step back and would be better served to concentrate on school and a sports writing career (he writes about most professional sports…)
Here is a great video of Chris sharing his opinion regarding Dave Wannstedt in his last year at the helm as our headcoach in 2010. It was filmed during that 35-10 loss to WVU. Man after my own heart.
Chris may have been the only sober, or not falling down drunk, Pitt fan that day…
So let’s give young Mr. Louge a grand POV welcome and let him know that his impeccable timing has saved your Pitt football sanity.
As I said in an earlier comment we sure will be having Pitt POV tailgate parties at every home game this season. They will be as much fun as you can handle. Plan on attending them before and after the games. I’m almost sure they will be the best one around – although my friend Partying Panther will be hard to beat for that title.
pittpov.com 
Welcome Chris. It is not hard to see that you are an avid and knowledgeable Pitt fan, and will be very well received here. Heck, I agree with almost everything you wrote so far.
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Thank you for the kind words, I look forward to continuing on alongside Reed! Although, I feel the agreeing may fall off as we continue, but that’s when the strongest conversation begins.
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There will not be a POV Roundtable Call-In show tonight. It has been put on hold until Fall camp starts…
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Reed,
Thanks for the heads up, now I have time to work on my tan for when the round table resumes!
:>)
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That video is awesome.
Really knowing all the excitement going into 2010-11 — Ranked 15 to start the season… Larry Fitzgerald tweeting how he thought Pitt could win the National Championship, and that being a story on prime-time Sportscenter getting Pitt attention — Pitt being all hyped up in a Super-Down Big East (West Virginia, Cincinatti hahaha “The Big East HEAVY-HITTERS” , all were way-down).
Then….that game-one loss to Utah was just SO FLACCID. SO WEAK…..AND DID I MENTION SO FLACCID. I remember preseason, in happier times (before my naivity to life was destroyed by this clown) –being totally open to this new QB, and hoping he would have a much stronger arm and be a more athletic, bigger playmaker than the game-manager Bill Stull — maybe this new QB is gonna put Pitt on the Map and lead us to a BCS victory!. But……TINO.
The at-home, Ruthless Prison-Beatdowns administered to Wannstedt’s team by a medicore Miami squad and a bad West Virginia team were on National TV, and to-boot he was so weird about it. He got all defensive and differed all blame it was strange.
Then, what just snapped the Camel’s Back ….at UCONN for the “Big East Title” and a BCS berth essentially. Pitt goes up to play pitiful UCONN on a Thursday night, prime-time ESPN game in their dinky-little stadium….whole game was awful and sad — both teams deserved to lose.
That’s why I love Pat Narduzzi bringing in Reinforcements with vigor —- these Transfers need to keep coming in to keep the program strong.
side-note: I’m not gonna lie — I jumped on here and got hype about Kamonte Carter pretty much the instant I saw he was going to be so featured on “Last Chance U”…. As the show went on, I was kinda thinking I shoulda waited to watch the whole series before I got too hype about him haha — man, and he’s still not enrolled so???? …..
But 6’6”, 260 pound RS Senior Tight End Matt Flanagan is gonna be a huge contributor, and he’s a legit genius with I believe almost a 4.0 from Rutgers, so that’s good! 🙂 lol
Just imagine going into this year without a Chris Clarke at Tight End, no Dewayne Hendrix to play Defensive End, and then no Max Browne (regardless if he plays to his potential or not) at QB to at least give Pitt Talent and Experience at the most important position??!
Even at Alabama, Nick Saban brings in transfers every year too and those guys often end up playing major roles for them out of Community College and transfers from other programs.
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Chris – meet The Dark Knight…
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The Dark Knight himself, it is truly my pleasure..
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Good stuff Chris, looking forward to more articles from you. I would like to hear what you think about the incoming freshmen’s chances of having an immediate impact. Other than Ford and Butler who have been covered.
I imagine Narduzzi will maintain his media blackout during fall practice. Maybe you can find a leaker.
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Welcome to the POV Chris. After reading your article you may have more debates with Reed than anyone else. 🙂 He’s a big Ollison fan as you might know.
Myself, I think the coaches like Hall a lot and he will get carries earlier on and if he can manipulate himself and the ball down the field he could very well be the featured back by mid-season. I still think it will be running back by committee though.
Clarke may be a good pick as I think Browne is a game manager type QB at least in the early part of the season.
I will majorly disappointed if Wirginis doesn’t see the field almost all the time. Now there is a guy who stuffed the stat sheet during little playing time..
Well welcome again Chris you’ve come at a good time with Reed so busy being trained and all. No not house trained he got that down a few years ago…… ike
H2P!
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I believe the Hank Stram quote involves “matriculating the ball down the field”. Not that it makes any more sense….
Chris didn’t state that Moss will replace Ollison. He said he would be a breakout player behind Ollison and assume a more dominant role as the season wears on. I am with Reed. I don’t understand the staff’s perception and use of Ollison. Ollison was an ACC Offensive Rookie of the Year (Whitehead was defensive ROY) two years ago when he ran for 1120 yards and 11 TDs with 5.3 ypc. Moss ran for 227 yards and 1 TD last season with 5.4 ypc. It’s also interesting to see folks embrace Moss as a home run threat. Moss had one run last year longer than 20 yards and it didn’t go for a TD. That’s playing in the supposedly full bore Canada offense. Ollison had 6 runs of 20 yards or more in 2015 and I believe scored on every one in the supposedly plodding Chaney offense.
It does seem though that Chris is on board with what I’ve come to see as seemingly unbridled optimism surrounding players who have played little (Hendrix and Browne) and proven little and players who haven’t played at all (Clark).
Like everyone, I’m excited for the season to arrive and see how it all plays out.
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Here is a PSN piece on new OL transfer Hodges:
http://pittsburghsportsnow.com/2017/07/25/hodges-talks-transferring-pitt/
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Chris, I’ve also been beating the Allen Edwards drum for a couple seasons now. Guess I just like to root for the down troddened lowly 2 star JC recruits. Maybe not a breakout player, but Edwards will prove to be a serviceable starter at DE this season I predict.
So Chris, I see the beginning of a long Pitt friendship developing into the future.
H2P.
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I am with you on Edwards!
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Great addition. Pressure reduced. Maybe balance achieved.
Chris, well written and argued. I too have interest in opinions on incoming freshmen. Unless red shirred another running back may force themselves onto the field this fall.
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Thank you for the welcome! I will certainly take the freshmen suggestion down as a note.
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Chris a very nice write up. Just don’t be too surprised if none of our 3 RB’s are not on the field for too long before one of our two 4 star incoming freshman take over.
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Welcome aboard Chris… good article and insights into the game regarding TEs and their contribution… We haven’t touched on that position much with no game experience at PITT for the OC and the 2 top prospects…You have stoked my expectations … Dr Tom I want a piece of that Penn State bet!!
Ike.. Reed..Lastrow …do we need a tailgating committee.. let me know .. Ike get my email from Reed
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That blowhard penn state fan never private messaged me to set up an escrow account for a “significant” wager. Imagine that, $$ talks, BS walks.
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I look at Holtz and Orndoff being incredibly successful in their times at Pitt, but I think Pitt is in much better hands now with Clark, Hannagan, Reeves(if he stays at TE), Sear and Carrigan. Some position changes will happen, but the position is a bright spot when considering the future.
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Welcome aboard Chief.
Outside of Clarke (who is not a surprise), I don’t see any of those players making a large contribution. Brightwell played well but he had some huge guys up front who funneled the ball carriers to him. If I was going to pick a breakout player….I would go with Jaryd Jones-Smith. Injuries have hurt him but he is a very good and smart ball player. His isze makes him an NFL calibre prospect alone.
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…….and Chris,
WELCOME!
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Thank you, so very kindly!
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Saw on the ESPN ACC blog in an article about how good ACC defensive lines are that Pitt actually ranked in the top 10 nationally in sacks per game last year… makes me wanna upgrade the woof on the DBs to a triple woof. At least.
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I’m surprised everyone is excited for true freshman running backs when we have an existing 1100 yard guy on the roster already…
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Reed, None of the 3 returning running backs have all the qualities of a star IMO. Speed, strength and shiftiness are what I’m looking for. I believe our Fla. RB recruit has a real possibility of showing all of those qualities given the chance. The real question in my mind is whether any of the two incoming backs will be given the opportunity to showcase their talents.
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The next tackle i see QO break will be the first
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There are 7 minutes of them.
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I counted 11, none of which were close to being Conneresque. I thought he looked faster than I remembered him but really, what I saw was a great line and fullback and not a 1000 yard rusher.
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The thing with running backs is that really talented HS players can get on the field and make an impact early. Talent trumps experience at that position except for them maturing in the finer techniques of blocking in the backfield to protect your QB.
Both Sibley & Davis just might be that something special kind of kid. This takes nothing away from your boy QO, he’s my pick for a 1,000 yard RB for Pitt this year, but it’s a long season and running backs get beat up so easily. I wouldn’t be surprised if we just might need to dip into our true freshman ranks for some RB help if the injury bug infects the RB corps this year.
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(hope this works)
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Reed, I agree with you that PITT has good depth at the running back position and if the coaches decide upon Ollison, then I trust in them. I’m just not so sure they do believe in him but we shall see. I would like to see the true freshmen save their red-shirts.
They all will get their chance though, I’m sure of that. Meaning Ollison, Moss and Hall, with Georgie at fullback….
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I remember the Hank Stram quote well. Something like Ok boy lets “matriculate” the ball down field. I had that remembrance in mind when I mention manipulate.
Hank was real piece of work but boy did have some innovative ideas. A true pioneer he was, especially on offense. He changed the way teams huddled up and the O-Lineman would stand-up to hide the backfield formation. Thanks for bringing him up Barvo. ……….. ike
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Deep – nice catch on the top 10 in sacks! But the thing I felt about the DL was that if we didn’t have a sack, the QB didn’t ever seem to be hurried. Don’t know if you can dig up a “Hurrys” stat, or if they even have that stat, but I’d love to see where we finished there.
I know the DBs had their problems last year, but I never felt they got enough help from the guys up front.
I’m excited this year about the passing D (glass is half full!) Due mainly to the wonderful uptick in team speed I think we’ll see. Sure, the youngsters may go to the wrong places, but you gotta admit that they’ll get there a lot faster!!
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Don’t discount the young bloods stature either. You just can’t coach up a 5’10” player to play at six feet. That isn’t just a two inch difference either, since a six foot player has longer arms as well so the reach of taller DBs is more like a 3 or 4 inch difference over the DB shorties that we graduated from last year.
That makes a huge difference when passes are being dropped over short DBs heads for big gains. We’ve got a stable of these guys in the pipeline now. Even more so of an advantage when guys like Miller at 6’3″ is out there & in the correct position. Trade a big gainer reception for the bad guys with an INT for the good guys when a lanky DB like him goes up to fight for the ball and all of a sudden a game changing play has occurred. That is how close Pitt is to having a nine win season this year, IMO.
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Savannah…there has to be hope for our DBs..hey didn’t Terrish Webb (the Tino Sunseri of DBs) get a chance with the Steelers?
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Oops – please excuse my bad manners. Welcome to the site, Chris. Nice article; great conclusions. Look forward to your thinking and writing!
Reed – please make some time for Reed as you “Scale back” – if, indeed you are!!
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Big B… I’m open to a tailgate committee. Hitting the beach Saturday. Be back in a week if you’re in town Reed. Would love to meet again.
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Pretty sure Webb is still with the Steelers for open of camp tomorrow. Go figure?
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wwb..just saw the Kam Carter tweet you posted on the last thread….I concur !!!
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Lastrow..enjoy the beach..I am heading home to Apollo tomorrow evening to visit my mom and play in a golf tournament at the Spring Church Links…Let’s try to hook up via email next week. I bought a flagpole and will have another POV flag for away games…
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rhyno527 @ 1:49pm
I’ll gladly wager that it would be impossible for Q Ollison to rush for 1100 yards in 1 season and never break a SINGLE tackle – REALLY????
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QO may have had 1100 yards as a freshman but let’s not forget that Canada and Narduzzi chose not to use him for the most part in 2016. He’s fairly strong but I think it was Narduzzi that said he’d like to see QO be able to gain more yardage after contact. Translation, in my book not very effective after getting hit.
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Some Tino pro highlights… we’ve come a long way baby!
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Should have anticipated this happening when I tried to play the video above. The tape started off OK but as soon as the first defensive lineman broke through Tino’s O line, into the backfield it froze! Just like Tino.
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hahahahahaha!!! The best part was his arrogance in the interview. And the fumbles….
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I refuse to believe that Tino Sunseri and Highlights can co-exist in the same line of text.
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BigB, I will get your email off Reed first chance but here is mine in case any of you guys feel the need to get in touch with me. ike210@comcast.net .. Everyone else seems to have it..
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Thanks Ike .. mine is bblystone12@gmail.com
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BigB,
WOW, I had flashback after flashback watching your Tino video. No doubt I will also be having nightmares for weeks to come!!!! He really was that bad. Thx for sharing big guy.
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We haven’t had to watch that kind of crap for several years… We have actually been a blessed bunch… Some of you remember those seasons in the early 70s… The foundation has been laid for bigger and better things… On a shoestring budget compared with big-time D1 football… Just think if the BOT was all in
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BigB – Tino must be one tough dude, as many times as he got hit and sacked in that short video.
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jrn,
Reed just stuck in a QO video in the middle of our comments. Check it out.
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Well, the reason they didn’t run Ollison that much last year had more to do with Conner than anything else. Conner had 216 carries – the other three around 100.
You guys make it sound like he was sitting on the bench the whole time he had only nine carries less than Moss and only three carries less than Hall, plus he was dinged up a bit in the beginning of the year also, so it’s not like he was completely forgotten.
Is it only at Pitt that we can take a guy that had 1100 yds, a 5.3 yards per carry average and 11 touchdowns and say he should be benched.
In 2015 QO had a TD every 19 carries, Moss 1 every 42 last year and Hall had none.
QO is a nice blend of power and speed… Something neither Moss or Hall can say.
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Reed – my take is this – if QO doesn’t start the YSU game, the player who starts better have a 100 yard rushing day or I’ll be greatly disappointed.
I’m looking forward to QO running over the Penguins again – maybe this time he runs for 200 yards in the 1st half and rests after halftime so he has fresh legs for creepy valley the following week.
Welcome Chris –
HTP!
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Erie I’d be willing to bet that Moss starts before QO on opening day. Perhaps an outstanding pre season practice by QO will change that scenario around. But right now I’d say all 3 returners will get their chance against YSU with Moss first up.
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That TS video is hard to watch…
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Maybe some of you will be more understanding of Tino’s situation. How would he have done with last year’s line in front of him? I wonder if there is a way to compare Pitt’s QBs over the years if they had last year’s OL.
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Welcome, Chris!
Sunseri would have been fine had Wannstedt not been fired and was coached by the OC that people loved. Tino had a solid senior season and played in that terrible offense under Graham as a junior.
Tino was what he was. Why some fans expected more from him is beyond me. It’s just fans wanting a huge fix from their team.
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BigB – was that Tino’s highlight film??
I notice he’s a little slow afoot, and not much of an arm. Other than that, not too bad. Has he had any offers yet? Or is he just a sophomore?
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Reed, you may like Ollison, but there is a reason he has some question marks around him. He seems to be a bit on the lazy side. Unless he has changed his work ethic this summer, maybe at last showing some maturity, I see him getting passed over by Moss, even Hall, or one of the incoming RBs.
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Its attitude with Olli. Thats why hes in the doghouse. He is Pitts best back when his head is screwed on straight. Moss has the most potential though.
I think Vegas has it right…7 wins. Some luck and maybe 8-9. A bad break, then a Chryst like year.
But I do think Pitt will be in every game this year.
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Welcome Chris!
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There is still one more grad transfer that needs added, the former Michigan State linebacker, Jon Reschke.
His incident has surely blown over and the kid should be allowed to finish his career elsewhere. Why not under his former defensive coordinator? He’d help a unit that needs it.
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Austin – I couldn’t agree more. This LB unit is young and needs another veteran to compliment Wirginis.
In all my searches this morning, I could not find that he landed at any other school yet.
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Welcome to the POV Chris.
Was there any other defense who faced more passing downs than ours did last year? Could be part of the reason we made the top 10 in sacks.
Agree with Reed, if Ollison has matured, he can be one heck of a back.
Very similar run style to Conner, and needed to learn to block last year. He’s been placed into a position where he has an chance to really make a name for himself this year.
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Thank you for the kind welcome! I remember back to the spring game in 2015 when Ollison was the best player on the field in terms of production, it was extremely promising. If Ollison was humbled and developed under the coaches preferences in the meantime, he’s a top 5 back in the ACC. IF, IF, IF.
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I’ve said all along that Ollison did not ride the bench last year. He played more snaps than Hall and Moss combined. He just didn’t get the carries like when he was a freshman. That’s the strange part of it all, he’s blocking was considered suspect but he did more blocking than running.
I agree Mr Austin_TX. Bring on Reschke. . ike
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Reed.. love it when you can jump in with us butt-heads and chat…be one of us who you helped create… good to have Chris to give our creator a respite…its like sitting at the bar with you Reed- let the beers and bull flow!
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Chris.. love your video WTF moment… the POV is becoming a beast.. I see Chris getting an Oscar nomination for best short video and Reed a Pulitzer for his future writings (Can’t imagine what brother can produce when his tank is loaded with hi octane)
What a great for the POVert Nation…
Sanandaj and Ike- we need a mission statement..
Beautiful sunset in coastal NC.. celebrating life with Dark n Stormies.. if you couldn’t tell…
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The video took 7 years to mature into a viral beast. I credit Dave Wannstedt, the culture of the game and some extra-curricular fun prior to the game.
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Savannah( autocorrect made you Indian)
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Austin__TX you are certainly right about Reschke. Pitt NEEDS LBs. It’s just that simple. I’ve written on these pages before that they are not getting sufficient LB help this recruiting year, and even if they bring in a few good ones in 2019, it will be 2020/21 before they can contribute. They need a couple of JCs and/or grad transfers.
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Welcome Chris and thanks for helping to sustain the POV. I’m with Reed in pulling for QO to have a comeback season and hope he can, as he seems to have been very mature about “waiting his turn” after JC’s departure.
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BigB, we may have to enlighten our POV brethren about Dark and Stormies at the North Carolina tailgate!
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After seeing the Ollison video above it got me thinking. Pitt is returning some good O-linemen, has three skill players coming back who scored 10-plus touchdowns last year, a former ACC Offensive Rookie of the Year in Ollison, a transfer tight end in Clark who ranked No. 1 at that position nationally and the same for Browne. Throw in Moss, Hall, the two incoming backs and this team has some weapons.
Why am I reading seven wins tops? There should be the kind of hype like the 2010 team had, which it didn’t deserve. This 2017 Pitt team deserves more.
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Agreed – every time I would comment about the weapons you mentioned, I’d be accused of being too optimistic.
Don’t forget Whitehead and Ffrench as dual threat weapons on D & O.
One more grad transfer needed on D and this team could catch lightning in a bottle, which should have happened last year.
Let the Pursuit begin –
HTP!
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Returning some good lineman??? Yes but are we returning a good offensive line? The Texas transfer tells me we not so sure about Jones-Smith returning to is freshman form when he started several games. O’Neil may not play to last years level coming off his injury. Dintino at center is a question mark at best. And our backups are very inexperienced.
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There are linemen with experience returning. I cannot call it a question mark. Some teams dare to dream having a potential starting five with JJ-S, Officer, Dintino, Bookser and O’Neil along with a kid like Hodges’s falling into the fray unexpectedly.
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Let’s go with Reschke and Carter so they can play by game 2. Running back will sort itself out we will be ok. All the pre season Football annuals have Pitt at 7-5. Lets hope its better as beating expectations is always good. Talked to Notre Dame fan who observed he gets 1 ND game a year in and always buys a game Pin as a souvenier. He said he was disappointed when he attended Pitt ND no game pins were sold. Pitt AD, another moneymaker unused that other D1 schools all use? Apparently our Texas transfer was in large part due to our new OC Watson who he has a lot of respect for.Right on! Lets go August and camp.Welcome to Chris our new contributor .H2P
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I’ve never seen a season with so many question marks, but at the same time with so much potential from new but untested players. If these guys all come through, Duzz could be getting ACC coach of the year with a 10 win season, when all of the pundits were calling for 7-5. I think that the low rankings and win counts by pundits are arrived at by looking at a few statistics such as last year’s wins and number or returning players. Chris, it is great to have you as a contributor!
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Welcome Chris. I think Coach Duzz is big on SPEED — and I think that Moss is faster than
Ollison.
On Edwards, remember that he made a big-time defensive stop on that crucial 3rd down against Clemson. He was textbook the way he strung the okay out and then she’d his blocker. Be great if he could consistently play as well as he looks, because he sure looks the part.
I’m hoping that Wirginis kills it in the middle so that Brightwell can stay on the outside (I think Brightwell is not big enough to consistently play in the middle).
Go Pitt!
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He wastextbook the way he strung the PLAY out and then SHED his blocker…
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How’s this list for our front 14 on defense?
DE. 8 Hendrix, Dewayne RS JR/TR 96 Edwards, Allen RS SR
NT 66 Herndon, Mike RS JR 10 Camp, Keyshon RS FR
DT 34 Watts, Amir SO 93 Roy, Shane RS JR
DE 92 Blair, Rori SR 40 Folston Jr., James RS JR
MONEY 39 Brightwell, Saleem RS SO 25 Zeise, Elijah RS JR
MIKE 58 Wirginis, Quintin SR 36 Pine, Chase RS FR
STAR 23 Idowu, Oluwaseun RS JR 28 McKee, Anthony RS SO
This list doesn’t include NT Cam Carter, DT Rashad Wheeler, DE DE’s Pugh, Alexander and Jones.
And let us not forget the D-line’s new leader, Charlie Partridge. He’ll rotate the lineman like a hockey line – fresh legs, fresh lungs and fresh minds.
The LB unit needs a little more depth – one more unit or these pups better be in great shape.
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Welcome Chris!!
I was surprised to note that there has not been one mention of Weah. From HS football in Wisconsin to the NFL . Speed and power and I firmly believe that his butterfingers days will stay in the past.
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Isnore, I listed Weah as my irreplaceable player on offense in the last thread!
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On Twitter, I have been very outspoken in support of Weah. Last year was his breakout, now we look for consistency and how he builds on last season. You have to admit that his growth from 2014-present is immense. Zero confidence to a preseason Biletnikoff Award mention(large list, but impressive). He bought in despite the departure of Chryst, waited his turn and reaped the benefits in his first real chance.
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Reed: Ollison’s stats from his Freshman year do not lie. However it seems pretty apparent that he got himself into a doghouse with the coaching staff at some point. I do seem to recall that he was out of shape and/or lazy at one point in either spring drills or fall camp. The good news is that he has lots of guys pushing him, so if he doesn’t produce, he’ll be riding pine.
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@Big B…hi Bernie. You’re coming in to Apollo and I’m off to the Outer Banks…haha. I enjoy the Links @ Spring Church. I will await an email from you next week. lokarfr@gmail.com.
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Chris, I see Reed has the same criterion as his mentor Chas Rich had for bringing in guest columnists — you must be a Wanny hater.
IMO while Wanny is certainly no Nick Saban, until another Pitt coach in the post ’76-’82 era that can …
1) reach double–digits in wins for the season
2) produce a higher winning total in a 3-year run
3) finish the season ranked higher than 15th (and 8th during the season), and
4) produce 3 of the highest attendance years in Pitt FB history
….. maybe the Wanny haters should keep their mouths shut.
Yes, I know … too conservative, poor gameday coach, etc, etc. … but bottom line is W-Ls and attendance.
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and he did it while being the lowest paid coach and with at or near the bottom recruiting budget in the conference.
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Amen!
Four more years of Wanny Ball and Pitt would have avoided the embarrassing 6-6 records. What Dave did was a miracle with his pitiful recruiting budget provided by two idiots. A school like Pitt that wants to avoid the College Football Arms Race, it should have been happy having a coach who loved his school, his job and actually giving the program a face the rest of the nation knows.
The 2010 team was weak because the prior couple years the area produced some poor local talent. An upswing was coming, especially with offensive linemen in the area and the state, and defensive backs in WPA, something Wanny struggled to recruit but could have taken advantage of for once. Not to mention Dave gladly would have raided Penn State for some players to fill some holes.
Four more years of Wanny Ball was all we needed and for once the dullards of Pitt would have looked decent for the first time since the early 1980s having two head coaches over an 18-year span.
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BTW, HCPN is on the Fan right now for one hour — 7 to 8 am. I missed the first half
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Chas welcome aboard. Reed enjoy your reprieve and you are appreciated.
WWB totally agree with your comments on Wanny. If could do that on a shoe string I often wonder what could have been had been given some money to work with.
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I meant Chris welcome aboard.
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For the oldsters.. There is a book out about The Decade bar., one of the best places to hear good music back in the ’70s:
http://www.pittsburghmagazine.com/Pittsburgh-Magazine/August-2017/Undercover-The-Decade-is-a-Wonderful-Pittsburgh-Time-Capsule/
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Check the T-shirt on the left of Stevie Ray Vaughan’s 1st album (back side)
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Do you guys even realize the glorious problem that us Pitt fans are debating on this thread?
Who is going to grab the glory at the RB position? Our Freshman ACC player of the year in 2015, Ollison, or maybe one of the other two experienced backs, Hall or Moss get their chance to earn more accolades. But who knows, maybe one of our 4Star 2017 RB recruits comes into fall camp and raises eyebrows enough to burn a Redshirt. What a nice dilemma to have.
And of course that doesn’t even account for the production from guys like Henderson, Aston, Whitehead & Ffrench utilizing a playbook full of jet sweeps & counter plays to keep a defense guessing.
We’ve got ourselves football team gentlemen.
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First piece of business – Welcome aboard Chris. Glad to have you aboard the Pitt engine of change. Okay, that was a bit aspirational, but you get the point. A lot of great points made on here. Have you posted on here under a different name? Would be good to know.
Second, thanks Reed for not folding the tent.
Third, just returned from the Farmers High School & Dairy College after a week there. Wow, I will collect my thoughts and give a synopsis shortly,
Last, with regard to sacks last year, the best statistic to measure success is the sack per pass attempt against. There isn’t one, but I proposed that last year after all the pass attempts against and so many people saying how great our pass rush was. My sense is that it really wasn’t given the number of attempts against but I haven’t completed an analysis on that. Again welcome Chris.
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