Here is a new edition of our Sunday Podcasts discussing the last article, Spring drills and the Golf outing scheduled for June 9th…

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2nd Annual POV Golf Outing!!

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We are starting to finalize the details for the 2nd annual POV Golf Outing. Here are the particulars as they stand right now so placehilders into calanders please and let’s have another great day… and it really was one of the most fun times I’ve had in years…

Location: Champion Lakes Golf Course in Western PA near Latrobe. (15 hotels located within 17 miles of the course)

Date: Saturday, June 9th

Time: 1st tee time is 11am

 Cost: $89 (includes golf, cart and a sit down dinner after the round is completed).

The POV Golf Committee (really just Erie Express) asks that you get him your fees by May 19th – I’ll do an article on this with more details later this week.  It was a blast last year and should be better this year also.

I am trying to arrange a tour of the Southside football facilities if possible – and will keep you all informed on that also.

Michaelangelo holds a degree in Travel Writing from the University of Pittsburgh. He was a former staff writer for InPittsburgh Newsweekly, and currently resides near Atlanta, Georgia. He has been a Pitt fan since 1997 after he witnessed Pitt upset #22 Miami on Thursday night at Pitt Stadium.

179 thoughts on “POV’s View From the Endzone Podcast: 4/8/18”

  4. Caught a few passes out of the backfield as well.

    For next week’s scrimmage, do they take turns picking players to create the teams?

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  5. stats for pre-season scrimmages are to be taken with a grain of salt. You have no idea who may not have see n much playing time due to a nagging injury or, you know what this guy can do so let’s give his backup more snaps (which I suspect for Idowu.). You also don’t know who played vs 1st team and who played more versus backups … as well as who played with the 1st unit and who played more with the backups, etc

    I do suspect there was a lot blitzing and the OL had its issues in picking them up

    wwb

    Liked by 1 person

    1. one more caveat … I’m sure the whistle may have been blown when a defender got close to a QB which may have inflated the sacks numbers

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  6. Reed, sorry to mention baseball here, but the pirates won again. One thing I never understood about them is why they don’t have a giant pirate ship in the river outside the stadium during their games. It’s the perfect stadium for it and the kids who go there would love to see a giant pirate ship with its giant flags waving in the wind.

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    1. I’d love to see Pitt have some panthers in a Colosseum like place outside Heinz…a pit to throw our enemies into before and after the game. That would be some good entertainment. To watch a Hoopie fight a panther with a corncob or a Pedo fight one with a marshmallow. 🙂

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    2. there was actually a lot of talk of a Pirate ship being erected right beyond the rightfield grandstand, but there was some public opposition …. including, and get this, the curator of the Andy Warhol museum thought it would look really tacky! One of the most hypocritical opinions ever IMO (I assume a large billboard of Campbell soup cans or the cover of ‘Sticky Fingers’ would have been acceptable)

      my guess is that Andy would have loved it. wwb

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  7. If I’m interpreting those stats correctly then we have:

    Total plays – 94
    Pass plays – 50, with 11 sacks
    Running plays – 44 with 7 TFL.

    So lots of breakdowns by the blockers. A sack every 5 pass attempts; a TFL about every 6 running plays.

    I’m guessing a combo of the Oline struggling, players not picking up blitzes, and an overall more aggressive defense (which I think we’re going to see from the new DC…)

    Go Pitt.

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  8. 28, yes the captains pick the teams on Wednesday

    M&M, no sugar coating 11 sacks unless Max is back

    KP throwing for 17-22 is pretty good

    Are 11 sacks totally bad?

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    1. That would be the ultimate glass half full glass half empty issue there isn’t it Ike. 11 sacks shows some speed from the linebackers and probably from the defensive ends…

      But then again 11 sacks shows that they’re getting in there pretty easily.

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      1. Yeah u can look at it two ways. I probably join the half empty side here. The offense just has question marks everywhere except for qb. Running back should be decent but without holes and a downfield threat they could struggle as well.

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  9. Yes my big friend, I admit it, a little bit of a cat and mouse game? What’s happens if PITT gets 10 sacks second game of the year though? Look into my eye…..

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  11. So apparently I was wrong and the scrimmage did have a lot of first team offense vs first team defense, according to Narduzzi

    So that is good that the first team defensive line + LBs are aggressive and apparently getting off the snap well and using proper technique

    And bad that the first team OL is apparently not getting off the snap well and not using proper technique… or is just not talented enough physically for proper technique to have mattered much. And bad that the RBs aren’t doing well breaking tackles or making defenders who have busted into the backfield miss

    One silver lining is that Kenny the gambler the midnight wind Pickett apparently still has good pocket sense and the legs to make that sense useful. Silver lining in the sense that maybe he’ll be able to escape a Tino or Savage level pounding and might be able to take the edge off the aggressiveness of opposing defenses by scrambling for nice gains on broken plays. Not a very big silver lining but still better than none I guess?

    Or hell maybe the defense really will be that damn good and Pitt will win a bunch of 14-10 games?

    I don’t buy the argument that Millin isn’t good because the Kent State OL overall was terrible, from the 2017 Kent State games I’ve watched (vs. Clemson, vs. Louisville, vs. Marshall, vs. Akron) he was by far the best guy on their line last year and was not getting abused over and over again. I think he’ll be serviceable at worst. My main worry is at LG and RG… there just does not seem to be anyone for those two positions that shouldn’t be worried about, unless they switch to Bookser back but then RT becomes a position to worry about even more… and Bookser, at least 2017 Bookser, also is/was not a player not to worry about. If 2016 Bookser could make a reappearance in 2018 I’d feel a hell of a lot better

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  12. A few possibilities with the scrimmage.

    Depending on who you have penciled in as a starter it looks like there were 4 sacks by the starting defense?

    I doubt that O-Line is the starting unit first game.

    McKee had a good day and we hear lots of good things about him this spring.

    Keep an eye on the Medure kid. I have liked him for awhile.

    Reading between the lines of the scrimmage could take someone all night.

    I’d really like to make it to the POV golf outing. Maybe a little incentive for those interested in meeting me and all the great POVer’s explaining to me how wrong I am all the time. 🙂 ike

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  13. Ollison wasn’t playing? Sacks are actually getting the QB down. Slippery athletic QB’s have escaped Pitt would-be sackers in the past. Can this be the year that Pitt defenders actually put the QB down at first crack, especially the PSU and Syracuse athletic QB’s?

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    1. Evidently Ollison has been hurt/banged up and has been sitting out of practice. Narduzzi mentioned this around practice number 9.

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  14. Just to add to Reed’s one comment on the podcast. Reed and I are very good friends and go back away and I can say we both take liberties at times when countering each others views. Trust me, all in good faith as we have a same mind of thought as what is more important in life. Watching a PITT game and having no one to talk to about it would leave me feeling very empty inside. We are all on message boards and blogs like the POV for a simple reason. We all love PITT football. For anyone to think I do not have the utmost respect for the man needs corrected as I know how much he pours himself for the good of all men and women. He’s a way better man than me. ike

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  15. for some reason, I don’t remember this … it’s Bill Fralic eliminating Jimbo Covert in Wrestlemania II

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  16. The “antis” at 93.7 The Fan are at it again … but at least it’s not anti-Pitt this time. It was golf.

    Yesterday, Filliponi focused only on Tiger, without pointing out the obvious … that it was the media that built him up so much. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a bi story and he draws the ratings … but it didn’t matter to me one way or another, I just want to see a competitive tourney.

    Which leads into this morning where the morning show is saying that there was no drama yesterday and they were board; There were many good story lines especially with Spieth’s charge, Rory’s fold and Fowler putting on the pressure. But the fact is that the very last putt yesterday mattered … what more can you ask for?

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    1. It was a great Masters from start to finish. The best man won under. Huge pressure. Stopped listening to the fan years ago. Great that Tiger is playing but golf is a young man’s game and the current crop is by far the best and deepest. Guys have had streaks but no one holds the top spot for long. We will never see a player as dominant as Tiger for a while if ever. He may win again, but not likely because of the competition.

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  18. Reed thanks for another great podcast. I had to chuckle a bit as at the beginning of the podcast you apologize because you have to keep it short today, then go into a great riff on Pitt FB for 46 minutes. You really have a knack for this!

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  19. Raining hard here and 45 degrees, probable rain check from the International World Tour today.

    Regarding the sacks and TFL’s, hope that the defense is that good. For the offense, that many breakdowns stops drives and loses games. They need to get a whole lot better.

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  20. Something to note on the scrimmage Saturday was that with all the talk of Paris Ford’s interceptions and the defensive backs playing so well there wasn’t one interception in the scrimmage which is 11 on 11 players for 60 minutes or so.

    That, again, is glass half full / half empty…

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    1. Any idea who J. Scarton is? He threw the longest pass, one completion for 26 yards, yet doesn’t show up on the roster. And, he wears a defensive linemen’s number at #92… Secret weapon…

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  22. –Yeah, but both Pickett and Town completed their passes at a percentage in the high 70s…

    –Be great of McKee comes on at LB – wonder if he was playing for Idowu? Can’t have too much speed…

    –And on the subject of “star” players – I think Dane Jackson and Idowu will play like stars this season. And Paris has a chance. And I’ll throw in Wirginis – provided Wirginis gets thru June and July okay. 🙂

    –Disappointed to see that our buffalo-sized TEs only had one catch each. We need Reeves to be a receiving threat…

    Go Pitt.

    Liked by 1 person

  23. Narduzzi mentioned about McKee this spring that the light bulb went on. So his future must be bright…

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  24. Glass half full …. no long pass completed because of ferocious pass rush (or is that glass half empty/)

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  25. Watching the Masters highlights again. Spieth, Fowler, and Reed with amazing rounds. Rory the only one that didn’t have it. One for the ages.

    The Fan are idiots.

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  26. Pitt is lowering the price of tickets and membership fees for Men’s Bball. The press release says it is because of the tax law changes but I can’t help but believe it is a convenient excuse. Bottom line is that this is a good thing and a way to lure back those that departed given the recent debacle.

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    1. The tax reform is a big issue for colleges. The impact on donations is national news. Many schools are adjusting for it.

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    1. Saloons should be off limits for these guys too…. Too easy to get into trouble in those dog days of July.

      Go Pitt.

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  29. Your welcome Rocky

    BigB making a BIG appearance. Where you been Big Guy?

    Wirginis set to make the all ACC team this year…. (if he doesn’t go to tailgates)

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  30. Pat Narduzzi@CoachDuzzPittFB
    Spring Game Saturday April 14th. 75 degrees and Sunny. See you at Heinz!!!

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  32. Heather strikes again – even arranges for some decent weather for the spring game!

    Go Heather!
    Go Pitt!

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  33. Tiger dominated golf for 15 years. But then again, who did he have to beat. Take away Phill and either ageing guys like Faldo, Strange, Price ect. Today’s players are so much deeper and competitive that not sure Tiger in his prime wins close to what he did.

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    1. I agree that today’s players are deeper and better, but that’s not Tiger’s fault. He was still very dominant … even being the titleholder of all 4 majors at one time (2000-01) Nobody has ever done that.

      I do believe that there is way too much focus on Tiger now …. Reed, Johnson, Thomas, Day, Fowler, Spieth, McIlroy, (and a handful more) are very capable of of great things on the golf course. Els, Mikkelsen, Furick, Goosen, Singh,Harrington and Cink were some of the very talented group when Tiger was in his prime, but overall the current group was better ….. maybe in part because of the hig standard Tiger set

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      1. between the -97 Masters and ’08 US Open, Tiger won 14 of 45 majors he participated in — 31%. That is outstanding in any era.

        Jack won 18 of 92 (’62-’86) — 20%. (although his final win in “86 Masters was when he was 46 and really skewed the numbers)

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        1. An 11 year sample for Woods and a 24 year sample for Nicklaus. Not necessarily comparing dimples to dimples. If you would say that Woods has won 14 of 71 for a 19.7% win rate from first championship to last major tournament, that would be more realistic. Both are excellent percentages although the 19.7% rate seems more like a tino sunseri statistic when it is 3rd and two and he runs for one and goes out of bounds instead of putting his head down and picking up the yard.

          Does Pitt have a hockey team? Gearing up for Pens because they win!

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          1. that’s why I wrote that Jack’s last major win really skewed the numbers since his previous majors win (17th) was 6 years earlier …. approx. 24 majors was played in between.

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  35. I don’t think I’m going too far out on the limb here by predicting that Pickett will be the first pick in the draft Wednesday for the Spring game.

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  37. I think Pitt still has a club ice hockey team, Ike. They have awesome Pitt script jerseys in the retro colors. Pitt also has a club field hockey team, which my son was on during his days at Pitt.

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  38. Right on Mark…AWESOME unis for the hockey team. Worth a Google search. The women’s team has script Pitt but the navy and Vegas gold look.

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  40. Pitt needs to have Capel at the Spring Game. Front and center. Perfect opportunity to generate more excitement among the fans for the hoops team.

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    1. he’s presiding over the coin toss and then presumably will either stay on the sideline or go mingle with the panther clubbers

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    1. Iek:

      Tentative MissingWlat weekend itinerary: Thursday night dinner at Goo’s Cafe in Mt. Pleasant or Hotel Loyal in Latrobe. Golf Friday at course TBD. Tessaros in Bloomfield for Friday dinner. Attend Pens-Flyers Friday night. Fran and Friends POV tailgate Saturday morning. Spring Game. Saturday night: Rivers Casino. Sunday: exhausted.

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  45. Reed – nice podcast. Two Freshmen arrived on campus early that I know of –

    WR Shocky and OL Kradel. Two future stars IMO.

    We will miss you at the tailgate and game.

    Understand why you will be absent.

    H2P!

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  46. Normally I’d select the best olineman for my first pick, but since the d isn’t allowed to hit to qb, Pickett is a great choice.

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  47. The smart captain would take the best backup player first, he will play the longest…

    btw Wlat, great steaks at Goo’s I’ve heard.

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  49. The article on Charlie Partridge above sheds some excellent light on why Heather is doing so well. Why? Because she herself was, in fact, a coach (volleyball)!
    Hence, she understands how a coach thinks and how the players think, which is a HUGE advantage over a guy like slimmy Steve P. – who was always only an Administrator.

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  50. Ike, Wlat, I’very lived in Westmoreland County for over 30 years and I’believe never been to Goo’s or Hotel Loyal. Our favorite dining spot in Mt. Pleasant is the Filling Station . I’ll have to check them out.

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  51. Capel may not be at the spring game because he has to recruit his butt off. Although Terrell Brown just indicated he is returning, I was hoping that a few others would have done the same already.

    But I preached patience a couple of weeks ago during the coach search, and I guess the same would apply here.

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    1. Hopefully Ellison and Luther announce soon that they’re staying. I assume Peace is staying, so if Ellisoin and Luther stay we’d have the following in the rotation: Davis, JW-F, Stevenson, Ellison, Luther, Brown, Peace. Seems like Carr is a goner, so Capel is going to have to find a couple of guards in the spring period.

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      1. you would think both Luther and Ellison would stay since both have limited eligibility, unless there is some exemption here that I’m not aware of …. or they choose to play in D2/3 or NAIA (I guess).

        They have a JUCO guard Kingsley who was committed … not sure how good he is or if he plans to stay, but he is a body

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  53. Brown staying I like. He will make a nice back-up for Zion for one year and then be ready for his jr to start and have an impact.

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  54. I thought Brown was the most critical player to keep.

    Luther can transfer without penalty if he graduated.

    Not sure on Ellison….he already sat out a year and with the coaching change he may be able to go without penalty. I would like Pitt to keep Eillison, Luther and Carr. Besides that, don’t really care.

    Capel will get a PG this class.

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    1. yea, you’re right about Luther and he may well want to be part of really good program who may desire someone with his experience.

      ike, I have a hard time thinking Williamson would decommit from Duke to come to Pitt. But then again, Duke has 3 other 5-stars already committed .. 2 of them about the same height as him.

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      1. Glad you caught that wwb as I definitely had my tongue in cheek. Still have a one in one million chance though.

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      2. Yeah…a one-and-done guy would not be very smart to come to Pitt right now. Maybe a good player who wants to stick around 3 years or so.

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  55. I hate to see Carr go, he can drive to the hoop better than most of our previous point guards,. Think he has the most upside on the team. If he goes can Capel find a better guy this year?

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    1. I agree …. a lot of people here are down on him because of his decision making … but he was a natural freshman playing with a lot other natural freshmen. I look at his athleticism and shooting stroke, and see more potential than anyone else on the team.

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  56. Well, my take is very different for our B.B. roster.
    Stallings went out a year ago and found whoever he could to fill out a roster and come play for Pitt. We all concluded he was not a good coach and needed to go ASAP.
    I honestly believe and trust that Capel could do the same thing much better than Stalkings. After all, we seem to be forgetting that we were the JOKE of the ACC and ALL of Power 5 basketball. So to me, if all of last years team leaves ( which I’m not saying I hope they all do) I personally believe we would still be better. It has nothing to do with how hard our kids played (which they certainly did). It simply comes down to overall talent IMHO and I say:
    Capel > Stallings.

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    1. Stallings had a whole year …most of the good players are already signed. You can’t expect much for this upcoming class. Right now, I believe there are only 4 scholarship players that are committed next year.

      There were glimpses of talent — and they didn’t have the advantage of playing with veteran players as most others do, or playing with 4/5 stars as Kentucky and Duke have.

      I would be happy to get 7 returnees from last year plus whatever Capel is able to bring in. While this coming year will promises to be another downer, I do think we will get improvement as the year progress, with a handful of ACC wins.

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  57. UNC inadvertently released nest years MBB ACC schedule mix and it appears Pitt will be getting a little break:

    Home/Away: Louisville, Clemson, Syracuse, NC State
    Away: BC, GT, Miami, UVa, Wake
    Home: Duke, UNC, FSU, ND, VT

    still not easy

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  58. Marcus Carr was better at driving to the hoop than Knight, Krauser, Fields, Wanamaker, Woodall and Artis? I’d say that Carr is better than Robinson at finishing once around the hoop but no better at driving there.

    By my reckoning Carr had the following cumulative line in 19 ACC games last season:

    59 of 179 from the field (33%)
    17 of 69 from 3 (25%)
    76 assists
    49 turnovers
    52 rebounds
    11 steals

    Carr was a poor on ball defender and played the most minutes for a team that finished 0-19 in conference.

    There should be no dread of the potential loss of Marcus Carr.

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  59. As a freshman, he was better than most of those guys getting to the hoop, playing with a worse cast of characters and no coaching. He shouldn’t have been required/ allowed to shoot so much. Most of those guys played sparingly as freshmen.

    Liked by 1 person

  61. Holding for the last shot when Pitt had scored only 7 pts against Louisville in the first half was a dumb move.

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  62. Back to FB – current PG tweet

    Brian Batko@BrianBatko
    Bit of a new look for Pitt’s O-line in practice this morning with Alex Bookser at left tackle, Connor Dintino at left guard, Mike Herndon at RG and Bryce Hargrove at RT. That’s about as experienced as they can be at this point in the year.

    again, everything this time a year must be taken with a grain of salt. But it also enhances the feeling of how unsettled the OL is

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  63. Still being patient and hopeful that Capel signs some servicesble players for next year, but the team as currently constituted may have to forfeit games or pull the best they can find on intra-mural teams. With an injury or 2.

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  64. Seems Carr’s turnovers aren’t that bad for a freshman. Look at some other Pitt PGs. Most I had to choose SO year because their FR minutes were limited. Knights were not listed. I couldn’t find breakdown for conference play for the older players. I used Artis senior year.

    Turnovers entire season:

    Carr 88 in 32 games, 2.8 per game, 2.4 in conference games
    Brandon Knight 95 in 31 games (SO), 3.1 per
    Krauser 96 in 32 games (SO), 3.0 per game
    Fields 70 in 37 games (SO), 1.9 per game
    Artis 83 in 32 games (SR), 2.6 per game, 2.7 in conference games

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  65. Like an above comment. Carr shouldn’t have been playing 30 minutes a game with four other freshmen most of the time.

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  66. Matt Galambos@Galambos47
    14 hours ago
    Pittsburgh better be ready for #58 this season. This dude is the real deal

    (he’s talking about Wirginis)

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  67. Hoping that the best combination of offensive lineman is found sooner rather than later.

    I would imagine that’s a difficult unit to get quality work together in the off season.

    Coaches need to get the correct group playing together as much as possible before the first game.

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  68. Wwb, I think that home game vs “UNC” should be Pitt. There are 14 opponents in ACC BB. 4 home and away, plus 10 one game. I think each team plays all 14 opponents each year. Could be wrong.

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    1. directly from theACC.com

      Pitt
      Home/Road: Clemson, Louisville, NC State, Syracuse
      Home: Duke, Florida State, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Virginia Tech
      Road: Boston College, Georgia Tech, Miami, Virginia, Wake Forest

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  69. Barvo…Carr appeared to play better down the stretch. I don’t recall a Pitt PG since 2000 or farther that was as good as he is getting to the basket. Towards the end of the season he was also making more shots when he got there…I hope he stays because he showed some flashes of special play this year.

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    1. I don’t remember any Pitt players going to hoop towards the end of the season except for Wilson-Frame.

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  70. Does anyone have a feel for how good Ellison is? Some reports said he was the best player on the team as far as practice goes. After siting out a year he can play somewhere immediately. Would he be a good keeper for Capel?

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  71. I prefer Carr stays but if he goes, Capel will find a replacement at guard. I do think Capel will need time to develop the program and some thinking there is a quick fix may be in for a longer wait here. But keeping a good nucleus returning and adding what he can at least can bring fans back into the building which is the goal here.

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  72. Regarding Carr, like most here, I hope he stays but think he’ll leave. Barvo’s stats are worthy of consideration, but good job by NRS by providing context with stats from other rookie PG’s (though in fairness Artis wasn’t a pg, he just had to play the position due to the roster). Really though, the most astute point regarding Carr goes to Ike, who pointed out that not only did Carr start as a freshman, but he was surrounded by freshmen on the floor at the same time; and don’t forget, Pitt was running an offense that basically involved throwing the ball around the perimeter until the first open guy had room to chuck up a 3. Frankly, all things considered, Carr accounted for himself quite well, though I agree with Barvo that his on ball defense was poor. Assuming he leaves, getting a reliable PG onto this roster will be critical to next year’s team. I’d put my money on Capel to find another PG, but who knows…

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  73. What happened to Dontavius Butler-Jenkins at WR? As a true FR last year, there was talk he was going to make an impact and then he got hurt and was out the year. No talk of him that I’ve heard this year. It appears he’s still on the roster.

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    1. JJ – been wondering about Butler Jenkins and Michael Smith.

      Had high hopes for them, especially Smith, but no stats in the scrimmage…

      Sounds like Street might be making some progress though.

      Go Pitt.

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  74. Reading between the lines it looks like Hall caught the trick play pass from Scarton?

    I really believe that Que W can will play in the NFL if he can keep his head out of his ass. ike

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  75. Narduzzi post-practice interview today
    https://pittsburgh.rivals.com/news/narduzzi-on-the-ol-the-offense-and-more

    includes the following discussing last Saturday’s scrimmage:

    The offense won but it looked like the defense created some havoc in the backfield.

    Narduzzi: Yeah, they did. Again, I have the whistle, so I’m blowing whistles – the defense will complain if I don’t. If I don’t blow the whistle quicker, then the defense gets mad, saying that they’re getting a little closer to the quarterback and I don’t want them getting too close to either one of the quarterbacks at this point. There will be some scrambles, for sure. And today you go out and there aren’t any sacks at all; the quarterbacks were pretty clean. I’m not worried about that at all. Our pass protection right now looks like it’s better than last year’s, even with the guys we have.

    once again, not be taken too seriously but kind of positive

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  76. Well if we can pass protect Pickett will execute either from in or out of the pocket IMHO. Again I say we will challenge the 2016 offensive point scoring numbers if Pickett stays upright the entire season.

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  77. Why do we always play Lou and Cuse home and home every year in BB?

    Also NCST next year. Should be a rotation thing for everyone.

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  78. Brian Batko@BrianBatko
    Pitt tackle Alex Bookser on Dewayne Hendrix and Rashad Weaver: “Dewayne and Weav have been awesome … It’s gonna be hard throughout the season to find a pair of D-ends who are as good, and I would be extremely surprised if they were better than the two guys we have on the end.”

    Liked by 1 person

  79. I sure hope Brian Batko’s quote of Bookser just doesn’t mean that Bookser is too slow to stop those guys! :>)

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  80. the spring game will pit Team Harris vs Team Majors …. and both will call a play that they draw up in their own

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  81. wwb,
    So if a guy doesn’t totally agree with you that person is called a name, “half empty”.
    I thought name calling was beneath you, but I guess not.

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  82. Johnny Majors and Walt Harris — my two favorite Pitt coaches!

    Walt’s play will have Tipton put a double move on Paris Ford with a deep pass for a TD. 🙂

    Johnny will run a power sweep with the pitch to Tony D., er I mean to Hall, with Herndon and Dintino leading him around the end and downfield… 🙂

    Go Pitt.

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  83. Always liked Walt. And Johnny is on the Pitt Rushmore of coaches. Will Walt call a swinging gate formation?

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  85. I think wbb’s half empty referred to glass half full etc
    On whether Bookser is good enough to play tackle. Not name calling.

    Moving from guard to tackle is a big deal and not easy.

    While Bookser’s opinion of the ends may be a good thing, how would he really know?

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  86. Yes
    Both
    Slide right against UConn
    And swinging gate against A&M

    Majors might go wishbone. Some option and running formation

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  87. A thought to ponder but don’t wait to long. Who will PITT name as this years spring practice Ed Conway award winners?

    Mine as they usually go to the older players.

    Offense—— Darrin Hall
    Defense—– Dewayne Hendrix

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  88. I don’t recall the 2016 game let alone situation but there was a linebacker blitz by Wirginis in which he dove with abandon at the punter or QB and made a tremendously athletic play. It was stunning. I’m sure there’s any number of you POVers who remember it. I could not believe the display of athleticism. If that’s the player then we got one athletic hard hitting middle linebacker. And if he has brains, man o man.

    Like

  89. Mark Schlabach@Mark_Schlabach

    Federal prosecutors in New York on Tuesday added additional criminal counts to the indictment against Adidas executive James Gatto, alleging he provided cash payments to former players at Kansas, Louisville, Miami and NC State. The payments to the… http://www.espn.com/espn/now?nowId=21-40019274-4 …

    wwb

    Like

  91. If QW is all that, how come he has had little impact so far?

    I hope he is great but will wait till he does something.

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  92. Yep K, Wirginis is a freak. btw, I did read where Q knows the D and where to line up the players. His football intelligence is not what’s in question.

    EE, great pick with Dintino. Herndon as well.

    Like

  93. gc, I just think he has the given talent. It’s more of a projection than anything else. Of course when a football player throws his body around like he does, it lends itself to injuries. That with his common sense in question that we all hope has been straightened out, you have a potentially very good MLB. ike

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    1. Ike, it just troubles me that if he has all that talent, why no results. He is a fifth year senior who has not started a game.

      It seems quite a leap to say that he will play in the NFL.

      I hope it happens for him and he has a great year.

      But so far it does not add up, and injuries are not enough of an explanation.

      Like

  94. Brighrwell wasn’t big enough to play MLB last season, IMHO.

    Was always impressed by Wirginis running down on kickoffs and coming in on third downs. The guy makes plays. Galambos knew the oppositions formations better – and Galambos, to the surprise of many, did get a pretty good look by them Stillers…

    Most improved award guesses:
    Defense — Wirginis/Weaver
    Offense — Pickett/Dintino

    Go Pitt.

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  95. Wirginis hasn’t shown much because 2017 was supposed to be his year but then he got suspended and hurt. If he had played I think he would have made us feel very good about MLB this year. With limited playing time because Galambos, Wirginis still made several huge sacks in 2016. He had the look of a playmaker and still does, he should be challenging Idowu for #1 in tackles etc. this fall.

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  96. Most improved Weaver on D and Pickett on the O.—Another walk on from Bucknell and Franklin Regional at DB. Second team Patriot League last season. With Pitt’s current talent at DB today I’m assuming special teams might well the place he can contribute if called on.—And Narduzzi is calling the OL much better at pass blocking today than last year. Hope he does so after we are play the PSU game this year.

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  97. PSN calling for the possibility of Cabel of bringing on his brother Jason as a Pitt assistant BB coach. I’m hoping that the reason behind that is not a fall back to none of the others mentioned not being interested in the job.

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    1. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Kevin Sutton is retained as asst coach. He has ties to the Capel family, attended Caprel’s presser, knows the current players, and has much experience within the ACC footprint. And the only other possibilities that I heard was Knight and now Capel’s brother.

      But then again, you never know what’s going on behind the scenes.

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    2. Come on, obviously Pitt isn’t thought of poorly if they hired Capel. Why go to negative thoughts immediately?

      In his last interview he said he was close to hiring. He said he wanted to spend some time at Pitt before offering, which makes sense. Candidates are going to have question he has to be able to answer. This isn’t his first rodeo.

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  98. The OLine got numerous praises from the coaches yesterday. HCPN said the OLine is better today then the OLine during last season – and the much maligned grad transfer LT Stefano Millin is not even on campus yet.

    Dintino and Herndon getting a few kudos yesterday as well.

    Also heard Shockey of The Ffrench Connection won’t be practicing until the end of the summer – injury, grades, other?

    See yinz at the Spring Game –

    H2P!

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  99. Story in this morning’s Tribune Review featuring Narduzzi touting the Offensive Line. Seriously? The O-Line will be one of the weakest links on this year’s team.

    Seen enough of the Walk-On Morrisey at Center to know the Kid is extremely CHALLENGED in terms of build and ability to even play at the D-1 Level.

    Sometimes Narduzzi’s unabashed BRAGGADOCIOUS-ness is a little scary.

    Like

    1. Spring means nothing. He is trying to build confidence.

      Morrisey was a first year starter last year and held his own. Can’t say the same for Officer and some of the other OL. He will be better this year.

      Liked by 1 person

  100. Hi POVers,

    I kinda hemmed all night about even asking about this here…but hey maybe since it is at the end of a few days old post no one will chop my head off if I say something untoward!

    Paterno on HBO. Watched it last night. Almost surprised POVerts or Blatherers have not brought it up (though I totally may have missed it I don’t get to every posting). I cannot say I am a high-knowledge guy in the details of the case. But I thought it was very well done. As a lifelong Pitt fan and alum, I appreciated that they showed PSU fans not really grasping, and blindly just supporting Paterno, I appreciated the last scene very much as well…great ending. I think it was relatively honest. But I don’t know…some may think it did not do enough, but I think it was pretty well done, showing pretty openly the coverups, missed opportunities, and blind focus on football above everything else.

    Like

    1. I watched it and thought it was good, but it really didn’t show anything that I already didn’t know. But, I can see where someone like you who is not very familiar with all of the details would really like it, and find it very enlightening.

      I thought the most provocative scene was when Joe went out in his front yard and start telling the crowd to pray for all of the victims but the crowd just continued to chant his name. I don’t know if that is the way it actually went down but I do know that while following the story when it was happening, my impression of the Centre County inbreds was. that they could have cared less about the many victims … all they cared about was PSU football. And that impression was shared by much of the national media.

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  101. While I have expressed concern for the On-line for some time, I find it encouraging that Narduzzi is talking them up. Like Wirginis, Dintino and Herndon are fifth year seniors who have underperformed, but we’re highly touted. They are big strong guys and maybe it is their time. I think they both started as defenders. They both at least should be decent road graders.
    The major concern is the tackles and pass protection. Not as concerned about Morrissey, with a year’s experience and weight training, he should be better.

    They have the summer to work as a unit. Hopefully the combination of Million, Brown, and Bookser can get the job done at tackle.

    We need a couple of the young guys to provide depth and be ready fo next year.

    Like

  102. Looking back at the media reports during coaching search, you can’t trust a thing the write. It was all speculation and complete BS. The only thing that was true was Pitt offering Hurley. The other hundred articles stating sources were false.

    Like

  103. I watched it also and thought that as a movie it was well done. No new info was revealed except maybe that one line at the very end when the caller to the journalist said that he told Paterno back in ’74 he was abused by JS.

    Am in PGH now and will be at the team meeting room for the draft and to talk with some people, will write something to night or tomorrow morning.

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  104. I watched the Paterno movie. It was well done. Much of it was made up family interaction. Still kills me that McQuery didn’t beat the crap out of Sandusky when he saw him with a kid. Bizarre. Most of us would have kicked his ass and dragged him into the parking lot naked and called the cops.

    Like

  106. Pitt Spring Football, Day 13
    April 10, 2018

    Post-Practice Interview Session Videos & Coach Pat Narduzzi Transcript

    VIDEOS

    Head Coach Pat Narduzzi

    Offensive Coordinator Shawn Watson

    Special Teams Coordinator/RBs Coach Andre Powell

    QB Kenny Pickett

    OL Alex Bookser

    DL Dewayne Hendrix

    DL Amir Watts

    COACH PAT NARDUZZI TRANSCRIPT

    Opening comments:

    “Today was an okay day at practice. I think winding down, practice number 13, we tried to get them cranked up. I feel that some guys went through the motions. That was probably our last hard work day. Thursday we will come out in shorts and then the spring game on Saturday, but solid, solid scrimmage on Saturday. I was really happy with both sides of the ball. It wasn’t fantastic on either sides of the ball; offense obviously won the scrimmage. I think we had five penalties the whole game with ACC officials here, so penalties were down and it was solid. We didn’t walk away saying ‘we are weak here, we are strong here,’ so we will find out Saturday.”

    On the offense winning the two-minute drill in Saturday’s scrimmage:

    “We did another what we call four-minute-and-two-minute drill. The two offense tried to run the clock out, didn’t run it all out, so then the one offense had to go out in a two-minute situation. You didn’t know how much time was going to be left as coaches, so it was a great drill and they marched it down the field and scored a touchdown. It was impressive and probably the first time that our offense really moved the ball on our defense in a two-minute drill, which is not easy, so that is great progress there.”

    On the offense really coming together:

    “You have to get into a rhythm and just put everything together and that takes time. I thought the defense was a little bit ahead of them with the pressure they bring on third downs. They do some good stuff that is a little bit different, so they have a lot to pick up.”

    On the defense wreaking havoc in the scrimmage:

    “Yeah they did, and I have the whistle; I’m calling it and blowing the whistle. The defense will complain if I don’t. If I don’t blow the whistle quicker, then the defense gets mad and say that they can get closer to the quarterback, and I don’t want them to get too close to either one of our quarterbacks at this point. There will be some scrambles for sure. Today, there were not many sacks at all and the quarterbacks were clean. Our pass protection now looks like it is better than last year, even with the guys we had. We’ve been impressed with protection. They’re doing a nice job.”

    On the stability of the offense:

    “Offensively, I think we averaged four yards per carry, which is how you lose a game defensively. They didn’t turn the ball over at all. There was zero turnovers—no fumbles, no interceptions. Anytime you do that, you’re going to win the scrimmage on offense if you don’t turn it over. It’s hard to score on defense when you don’t get turnovers.”

    On Alex Bookser finding out on who’s on his team for his draft strategy:

    “Yeah he’s ready to go. He asked me a few days ago, and I’m like, ‘hey, how about focusing on today’s practice?’ But he’s ready to go. It’s his turn. The seniors get to draft. We’ll draft the seniors out this afternoon, draft out the staff, name some head coaches within the staff. Then we got two honorary head coaches also that are coming back to town. Walt Harris will be here; he’ll be a head coach for one of the teams. And Johnny Majors is coming back. So he’ll be back for the spring game. He’s excited; he wants to know when he gets his meetings with the offense. He wants to put some plays in. He’s got one play that we’ll tweet out. He’s ready to go. We’re excited to have those two legends back here at Pitt for the spring game.”

    On the best spot for Alex Bookser:

    “Tackle. I don’t know if it’s going to be left tackle, right tackle. But we definitely need him as an offensive tackle. He’s doing a great job. Coach Borbely’s doing a great job coaching. I think he’s liking what’s going on right now.”

    On Connor Dintino’s progress:

    “Yeah, Dintino has been really solid in there. We got him playing center and we have him playing guard right now. He’s doing a great job and is very consistent in what we’re getting every day out of him.”

    On Connor Dintino and Mike Herndon solidifying the offensive line:

    “Both those guys are developing well and Jimmy Morrissey. So for the tackle spots, we need to find that second tackle besides Bookser and that third tackle. A lot of the young guys are competing for that, whether it’s Carter Warren or Gabe Houy; Tony Pilato is working at it. Then we’ve got Stefano [Millin] coming in, and we’re looking for big things out of him as well.”

    Like

  107. couple things:

    Watched the beginning of the paterno movie. Turned it off twice, I couldn’t get Pacino’s voice out of my head. Plus I know the ending, Joe Knew!

    If Wirginis would have played last year he would be done right now.

    Capel’s brother would be a great asst coach for his recruiting ties alone.

    Doesn’t look like Knight is coming home. It’s not good for anyone to hold grudges.

    I don’t understand why some are so upset that Morrissey started last year? Walk-on schmalk-on the kid has played football his entire life like all the other players and proved a good pick-up by the coaches.

    Too much is made of JC and walk-on players. Speaking of which, PITT has another JC O-Lineman visiting soon, Anthony Whigan. Now I know that name but from where?

    Still hoping to make it to the spring game but it’s looking more iffy right now. Let me be the first to complain about noon starts this year. Just kidding about the spring game but I do dislike them over-all.

    Question to ponder. Why is it when a coach praises a player or unit it’s called coach speak yet when he dams a part of the team with a critical analyses, it’s called honesty?

    Like

    1. ….and another thing. 🙂

      Grad transfers are a huge part of college football right now. Not saying I agree with the idea, but if you offer a football coach a 22 year old kid that has played and developed in a college program for four years, they are not going to pass him by.
      There is a fine line to walk with how many you take. It has to be in spots that lack veteran depth. You can say those positions lack depth because of bad recruiting which may be true. I don’t think middle of the pack teams like WVU, Pitt, etc. can ever recruit well enough where there is great depth at every spot.

      Like

    2. Ike, maybe you remember Anthony Whigan’s grandmother, Mrs. Whigan, a secretary with a big caboose who worked for a strange little man named Mr. Tudball.😀

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  108. I wouldn’t pencil in Herndon and Dintino just yet. Fall camp is a totally different animal. I expect one of the younger guy to take a Guard spot.

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  109. Back to the O-Line …. again, I share Reed’s skepticism since the only proven commodity is Bookser and Morrisey, to a lesser extent. That is not to say that it can’t develop into a better unit than last year as PN has indicated, but I have my doubts.

    I also know that a mobile QB and a stud RB can make any O-Line seem better. Wannstedt, who was a starting guard in ’73, has said how much the O-Line improved from 72 to 73.

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  110. I’ve heard Houy’s name twice now as standing out. Probably won’t make much impact this year but ??

    I agree the O-Line looks like it will be work in progress but as been said, a good QB and RB’s can help put a band-aid on to cover the warts.

    Like

  112. April 10, 2018. Pirates beat the Cubs, 8-5. Pitt beat Texas A & M in Sept. 2003, 37-26, re-broadcast on ESPN Classics. Great day, for me. Larry Fitzgerald was spectacular and so was Rod Rutherford. Walt Harris was great in making second half changes and being a great offensive coach. Announcers Mussberger and Danielson couldn’t praise Pitt enough. Great day.

    Like

    2. i watched that game at kyle field in college station…very cool place to watch a game. the a&m fans were very nice and very complimentary of Pitt. Fitz was unreal. Rutherford had a cannon for an arm.

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  114. Word is that Bookser beat Dintino in an arm wrestling match to get the first pick in the draft!

    Wouldn’t want to arm wrestle Bookser. 🙂

    Go Pitt.

    Like

  115. Gotta bring Johnny’s “shrine” to the spring game now…Predicting that Coach Majors wins on a trick play. What he called “Hully-Gully Football” haha. Love both those guys. When Walt was here my mom (in her 70’s) would always watch the team march to the stadium and Walt noticed she was there at every home game. He began walking over to her to give her a hug at every game. Her eyes would light up when she told the story. I ran into Walt at the Fiesta Bowl and introduced myself. He really got a kick out of that.

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  117. Yeah, that is a cool story Fran. Walked through gold parking lot last year with Johnny M and he look a little frail to me but he kept marching on

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