Tag: Discipline

POV Roundtable Call-in; May 24th, 2017

 

Speaking of Todd Sibley – Rivals.com has an excellent series going with some of the incoming freshman who will be arriving on the Southside in August.  This one is about our (semi-) transfer from OSU’s class of 2017.

Here are two quotes from that article – one is rather funny and the second is very serious.  Here is the first:

What was the craziest thing a coach said to you?

“I don’t know if this is crazy or not, but it’s coach Harbaugh. He said that I looked just like Frank Gore. I still don’t know how I feel about that [laughter]. He said I looked like Frank Gore and I didn’t know what to say after he said that. It’s just that my friends had told me previously that I look like Frank Gore and I run like Frank Gore. When he told me that, I instantly told my friends ‘Yo, you won’t believe what he just told me.’”

Well, Gore is 5’9″ and 217 – Sibley is 5′ 10″ and 211 so there is a similarity there.  let’s hope this is the case because with him and A. J. Davis I think we have a bright future at RB.

And this next issue is one we talk about a lot on The POV. I have written before and maintain that what the recruits and their parents (and grandparents in some cases) weigh just as heavily, if not more in some cases, are the positives of a university external to the football program when deciding on a school…

What shocked you most in the process?

“I guess how serious it is. For a young kid, it’s something that you’re not really used to. You don’t really understand the value of the decision you’re going to make – I didn’t really understand the value of it. You know, this is where you’re going to spend the next three to four years at and possibly where you find your wife at and develop into a man and achieve your dream, so this is a really tough decision. Once it sets in for all of the kids, they’ll understand it too.”

Many times I have spoken to current and alumni players and their parents and have been impressed with how level-headed their decision to come to Pitt was – focusing on the off-field and external issues from football.

Players may dream about the NFL and some have a better shot at it going in, but the majority of them realize that Pitt is going to be the school where they grow from an 18-year-old into mature into a young man.  That getting ready ‘for the rest of their lives‘ is paramount in a lot of cases.

I’ll have another article tomorrow then I’ll do a Sunday Podcast  but will take a longer break afterward for a family vacation.

2017’s RBs; Upgrade, Downgrade or Draw

(This is the second of a longer series looking at our individual positions that need to be re-filled in 2017 and whether we will meet the PRODUCTION we had in those positions. We will not factor in true freshman at this point as we have no idea what they can and cannot do).

Much like in 2016 when we were faced with the prospect of having to put out a passing game without Tyler Boyd, we are revisiting that situation with this season’s loss of James Conner at running back.

At the risk of being unpopular (again) I’ll say this.  As I wrote many times during last year’s offseason that we wouldn’t miss Boyd much at all – and I took major heat, some of it from the more mainstream media, for saying that I’ll repeat that thought for this year’s running backs.

We won’t miss James Conner’s 2016 production as much as fans think. I love Conner, have had great personal conversations with him and feel that as a human being he’s one of the finest men I have ever met – and that is saying a lot given my professional career. Pitt and his peer players will miss his wonderful human traits and his friendship no doubt. Those are the intangibles James Conner brought to the Pitt football program and will continue to bring to any organization he is affiliated with for the rest of his life.

Unlike Tyler Boyd’s leaving, Conner’s departure is going to cost us big time in the leadership and role model areas. 

I truly wish he’d have stayed at Pitt for his 4th year of eligibility but understand completely why he declared – and what a grand decision that was given the relatively high round in which he was picked and by the Steelers to boot. Pittsburgh fans will have a lot more time to watch Conner play football I’m sure, just not in a Panther uniform.

But as a running back on our team last year, and the production he had out on the field, he’s replaceable and it will most likely be by committee.  Again I’m speaking of what he did out on the field production wise.

We’ll make up for Conner’s statistical production, especially rushing yards and TDs by this year’s batch of RBs, although his 20 TDs all told last season won’t be met by one player, that’s (maybe) for sure. Continue reading “2017’s RBs; Upgrade, Downgrade or Draw” →

POV Sunday Podcast: Feb 19th

Yesterday we talked a little about the 1st Glory Years in semi-modern Pitt football.  I had a blast researching and writing that.  Part 2 will be posted tomorrow and Part 3 on Tuesday or Wednesday.

In the podcast I read off of some interesting internet sites – one that I used regularly for statistical info.

This is the web-page for all the Pitt to NFL info I discussed.

This is the Congrove Computer Rankings (CCR128) that I referenced.  It is one of the more accurate ones I could find.

That prep school I couldn’t remember is Milford Academy in New Berlin, NY.  We had Aundre’ Wright, LeSean McCoy, Mark Gubiliato, KK Mosley-Smith, Jevonte’ Pitts, Todd Thomas, and lately Calvin Hamilton is on our roster.

When I say it is a football factory take a look at this list of scholarships gained to D1  & D2 schools.

Continue reading “POV Sunday Podcast: Feb 19th” →

Discipline; What Is It Exactly ?

I was wool gathering yesterday afternoon right after I put the Sunday podcast up.  I started thinking about why fans like what they like, what they dislike and /or are ambivalent to issues surrounding the Pitt football program.

It seems we are all different in our approach to what we want and expect out of the program.  I know what I expect and I haven’t been shy of stating it. I’ve been called old-fashioned or references made to my military background as having influence over my opinions – and that has to be true in a sense especially when discussing disciplinary issues.

But what have we seen transpire over the last decade or so that has had us discussing this topic?  After all Pitt went from pretty horrid in that department to almost pristine. Is it the recruiting ? Yes in some ways.  Is it the leadership we have had in place over the last five years? Most certainly.

Paul Chryst and Pat Narduzzi have done a remarkable job in setting tough but reasonable standards and then holding the young men responsible if they don’t meet them.

Continue reading “Discipline; What Is It Exactly ?” →