http://www.realfootball365.com Pittsburgh Panthers Football News, scores, analysis and discussion. College Football News. en-us info@realfootball365.com Copyright (C) 2005-2008 www.realfootball365.com http://www.realfootball365.com/articles/pittsburgh/13183 http://www.realfootball365.com/articles/pittsburgh/13183 This week, it was announced that Pitt running back LeSean McCoy had been named one of 15 semifinalists for the Maxwell Trophy. Why not take that a step further? LeSean McCoy on the short list for the Heisman? Why not? Certainly, no one who saw McCoy's performance against Notre Dame in last Saturday's 36-33 Pitt victory would argue. It wasn't just that McCoy rushed for a career-high 169 yards --... writersbridge@hotmail.com (Darrell Laurant) Pittsburgh Panthers 2008-11-06T05:50:16-05:00 http://www.realfootball365.com/articles/pittsburgh/13037 http://www.realfootball365.com/articles/pittsburgh/13037 The Pitt Panthers always figured Jonathan Baldwin would prove a great wide receiver in the long run. Well, the long runs have started already. "Because he's so big," Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt told Blue-Gold-News.com after Baldwin's breakout performance in an upset of South Florida, "they have a tendency to underestimate how fast he is." That was obvious against the Bulls. Besides a 50-yard... writersbridge@hotmail.com (Darrell Laurant) Pittsburgh Panthers 2008-10-23T05:20:41-05:00 http://www.realfootball365.com/articles/pittsburgh/12498 http://www.realfootball365.com/articles/pittsburgh/12498 What a difference one game can make. For most of last season, the Pitt football team wallowed in mediocrity, cycling through quarterbacks like Madonna using up boyfriends -- three different starters by the end of a 5-7 season. The defense was inconsistent. The fans were grumpy. And with good reason. After starting out 2-0, Dave Wannstedt's team lost four in a row to Michigan State,... writersbridge@hotmail.com (Darrell Laurant) Pittsburgh Panthers 2008-08-28T18:22:00-05:00 http://www.realfootball365.com/articles/pittsburgh/12428 http://www.realfootball365.com/articles/pittsburgh/12428 It turns out that Pitt's 2008 recruiting class wasn't just good on paper. The Panthers reeled in a five-star recruit (Jonathan Baldwin) and a quintet of four stars, all from Pennsylvania, and four of them are making strong cases for avoiding a red shirt this season. Baldwin has been spectacular at times in practice, pulling off a succession of acrobatic catches. True, he still needs to master... writersbridge@hotmail.com (Darrell Laurant) Pittsburgh Panthers 2008-08-22T05:38:01-05:00 http://www.realfootball365.com/articles/pittsburgh/12427 http://www.realfootball365.com/articles/pittsburgh/12427 Let's see, now -- where was he? When last seen on a football field, Bill Stull was going 14-of-20 through the air for 177 yards and leading his Pitt Panthers to a season-opening victory over Eastern Michigan. Then, in the third quarter, the 6-foot-3, 220-pounder broke the thumb on his throwing hand. It doesn't sound like that big a deal, but it never healed well enough for Stull to grip a... writersbridge@hotmail.com (Darrell Laurant) Pittsburgh Panthers 2008-08-22T01:55:00-05:00 http://www.realfootball365.com/articles/pittsburgh/12363 http://www.realfootball365.com/articles/pittsburgh/12363 What a shame. It would have been lots of fun to watch Pitt freshman Cameron Saddler play football this fall. That's not to be, though, because the speedy and exuberant wide receiver tore his ACL during a punt return drill on Tuesday and will redshirt this season after undergoing an MRI. He might have been redshirted anyway, but that would have been counter to the buzz that was building. It's... writersbridge@hotmail.com (Darrell Laurant) Pittsburgh Panthers 2008-08-14T18:21:01-05:00 http://www.realfootball365.com/articles/pittsburgh/12345 http://www.realfootball365.com/articles/pittsburgh/12345 Some guys have all the luck. And then, there's Doug Fulmer. The Pitt defensive end, projected to be a starter this season, tore the ACL in his left knee during spring drills and will require surgery that will probably put him out for the year. This comes after surgery on his right knee after spring drills in 2007 and a broken ankle that sidelined him after four games in 2006, after he had... writersbridge@hotmail.com (Darrell Laurant) Pittsburgh Panthers 2008-08-13T12:15:00-05:00 http://www.realfootball365.com/articles/pittsburgh/11963 http://www.realfootball365.com/articles/pittsburgh/11963 Because of NCAA rules, Pitt football coach Dave Wannstedt couldn't attend the recent Big 33 All-Star game in Hershey, Pa. Instead, he sat at the Kenny Chesney concert at Heinz Field and received a constant stream of text messages from the site. They were very encouraging. For openers, there was Central Catholic QB Tino Sunseri, a Pitt signee, who threw touchdown passes to fellow Panther... writersbridge@hotmail.com (Darrell Laurant) Pittsburgh Panthers 2008-07-10T15:12:00-05:00 http://www.realfootball365.com/articles/pittsburgh/11846 http://www.realfootball365.com/articles/pittsburgh/11846 The Pitt Panthers were justifiably proud of their 2008 recruiting class, led by prep All-America wide receiver Jonathan Baldwin from nearby Aliquippa -- but as of mid-June, the 2009 effort seemed dead in the water. As Big East rivals Rutgers and South Florida were gobbling up future players, Pitt's list was stuck at two. No longer. At the end of June, Dave Wannstedt and his staff coaxed verbal... writersbridge@hotmail.com (Darrell Laurant) Pittsburgh Panthers 2008-07-01T16:11:00-05:00 http://www.realfootball365.com/articles/pittsburgh/11503 http://www.realfootball365.com/articles/pittsburgh/11503 To paraphrase Tom Petty, it's good to be Cory King. The 6-foot-5, 315-pound lineman from Lakeview High School in Stoneboro, Pa., became the University of Pittsburgh's first verbal commitment for the 2009 football season, and in the process proved a piece of sage advice for coaches who run summer camps: Be nice to those eighth and ninth graders, because you never know what they'll become.... writersbridge@hotmail.com (Darrell Laurant) Pittsburgh Panthers 2008-06-05T22:55:00-05:00 http://www.realfootball365.com/articles/pittsburgh/11502 http://www.realfootball365.com/articles/pittsburgh/11502 Now you see him, now you don't. That's what they said about Maurice "Mo" Williams on the football field. Unfortunately for the Pitt program, that phrase has taken on another meaning. The 6-foot-1, 190-pound speedster out of Erie became the second high-profile Big East wide receiver named Williams to have his football eligibility yanked because of grades this week, following in the departing... writersbridge@hotmail.com (Darrell Laurant) Pittsburgh Panthers 2008-06-05T22:32:00-05:00 http://www.realfootball365.com/articles/pittsburgh/11180 http://www.realfootball365.com/articles/pittsburgh/11180 In the battle for Jeff Otah's football future, it was the NFL Scouting Combine versus YouTube. And at this point, it's pretty clear who won. Otah, a two-year starter at offensive tackle for the University of Pittsburgh, looked sluggish and slow at both the combine and Pitt's pro day. His 40 times were poor, even for a lineman. His mobility was suspect. And, like the heroes of that 1970s TV show,... writersbridge@hotmail.com (Darrell Laurant) Pittsburgh Panthers 2008-05-12T04:31:00-05:00 http://www.realfootball365.com/articles/pittsburgh/10776 http://www.realfootball365.com/articles/pittsburgh/10776 No pressure, LeSean McCoy. As a first-year player last season, the Pitt running back rushed for 1,328 yards (his 110 yards a game average was tops among freshmen nationally), scored 90 points and 16 rushing touchdowns. The last two numbers were new Pitt records, gently nudging the fabled Tony Dorsett off the books. Dorsett obviously didn't take it personally, though, because he'll be at Pitt on... writersbridge@hotmail.com (Darrell Laurant) Pittsburgh Panthers 2008-03-29T21:37:00-05:00 http://www.realfootball365.com/articles/pittsburgh/10773 http://www.realfootball365.com/articles/pittsburgh/10773 Spring football is a time for trying out new players, or old players in new positions. For offensive line coaches, it's also a window of opportunity to build comaraderie and continuity on their unit. Not Pitt's Tony Wise, however. As he begins his new job with the task of rebuilding an O Wi-line minus three 2007 starters (including NFL Combine invitees Jeff Otah and Mike McGlynn), a number of... writersbridge@hotmail.com (Darrell Laurant) Pittsburgh Panthers 2008-03-29T15:38:00-05:00 http://www.realfootball365.com/articles/pittsburgh/10407 http://www.realfootball365.com/articles/pittsburgh/10407 (First in a series on Big East 2008 recruiting classes.) If Dave Wannstedt and his staff keep recruiting like this, one of two things are going to happen -- they'll either start winning, or they'll get fired. The 2008 crop of 19 Panthers was Wannstedt's third consecutive strong class, all of which have been ranked in the top 25 by at least one of the major scouting services. And while this is... writersbridge@hotmail.com (Darrell Laurant) Pittsburgh Panthers 2008-02-11T04:36:49-05:00