Pitt Preview and Season Outlook

Pitt opens their season tonight at Utah amongst a good bit of optimism and high expectations surrounding the team. Everyone knows about the star power the Panthers possess with Dion Lewis, Jon Baldwin, Greg Romeus, Jabaal Sheard and even Jason Pinkston at left tackle, but as a friend and non-Pitt fan said to me (and I am paraphrasing), “knowing nothing else what would you say about a team traveling cross-country in its first game with a new quarterback, a new middle-linebacker, three new starters on the interior offensive line, and two new starters on the defensive line and at corner playing a team that hasn’t lost at home since 2007?” Well, glad you asked, seems like a perfect way to preview the Panthers opener tonight and season in general. Let’s take a look at Pitt’s potential weaknesses starting with the least concerning moving towards the most concerning.

Middle-Linebacker – Dan Mason, from Penn Hills High School, takes over at MLB as a true sophomore and just oozes with talent. Yes, Mason may make a mistake with some over-aggressiveness typical of a young player, but he will more than make up for it with his play-making ability. Dave Wannstedt has been raving about this kid since the day he stepped on campus and we are about to find out why. Mason could turn out to be the best in a long line of recent Pitt MLBs that include NFL players H.B. Blades, Gerald Hayes and Scott McKillop.

Defensive Tackle – Myles Caragein and Chas Alecxih are the starters at DT and Caragein brings with him plenty of experience as he was the third man in the defensive tackle rotation last season and was very solid during his time on the field. True freshman Aaron Donald, also of Penn Hills, Tyler Tkach and Tyrone Ezell are all expected to contribute at some point during the season as part of the d-line rotation. I wouldn’t be too concerned about the d-tackles as Wannstedt and his staff have proven their ability to recruit and develop defensive lineman time and again. Besides, with the attention that the two defensive ends will garner, solid play is all that is needed from the tackle position.

Quarterback – Here is where some apprehension begins. Tino Sunseri takes over from Bill Stull who surprisingly put together a pretty fantastic senior campaign. The reason, however, that Stull was able to put together that season is the same reason I would not be too concerned with Sunseri: Pitt will not ask him to do more than he is capable of. Sunseri will be asked to handoff, use play-action, throw deep and in general, give his talented receivers a chance to make plays without turning the ball over. Knowing Sunseri’s background, I see no reason he cannot accomplish this. Anything more that he can give would be a bonus. Even if Sunseri were to go down, the Panthers will have veteran back-up Pat Bostick to turn to who brings many of the same qualities.

Cornerback – Now is where Pitt fans can genuinely be concerned. The Panthers will start senior Ricky Gary and junior Antwuan Reed at corner with the third corner spot ultimately going to true freshmen K’waun Williams, an unheralded 3-star recruit out of New Jersey. This development must have been a disappointment to the Pitt coaching staff who were probably counting on the development of talented juniors Buddy Jackson (Jackson is listed at the 3rd corner spot for now, but all indications are that Wiliams will assume this role) and Saheed Imoru. Yes, unheralded three star corner recruits have panned out in the past (anyone ever hear of Darrelle Revis?), but of the three corners expected to see most of the action, only Gary has extensive experience. Wannstedt’s defensive philosophy of dropping seven in coverage and applying pressure on the quarterback with his front four, plus Pitt's experience at the safety position, could allow the Panthers to somewhat hide this weakness on defense. One positive note is that the only team on the schedule that really appears able to exploit the Panthers' CBs is Miami, with their NFL-caliber WRs and Jacory Harris at QB. A herculean effort from Romeus and Sheard will be needed for that one.

Interior Offensive Line – The area that most concerns me for the Panthers is the interior offensive line that will have three new starters and practically no depth what-so-ever. The key to everything the Panthers want to do on an offense focused on the running game begins and ends up front. Left guard Chris Jacobson is talented, has some experience and will be fine but there are certainly questions about center Alex Karabin, a former walk-on, and right guard Greg Gaskins. The good news is that both players are veterans and that the Panthers should be able to give them plenty of help in the form of double-teams, traps and the like because of their talented tackles and fullback, Henry Hynoski. The bad news is that the Panthers line will be tested right from the start. The Utah defensive line is talented, experienced and is expected to anchor what is otherwise an inexperienced defense. If this unit is to become successful at all, they absolutely must stay healthy.

Pitt’s opening game in Utah tonight is interesting to me for a number of reasons. A win would put added emphasis on the Miami game in a few weeks and could very well send Pitt onto some bigger aspirations on the national stage. A loss would refocus the Panthers season back to a Big East championship, but at the same time would once again put doubt in people’s minds about the ability of this program to make the next big step.

I like the Panthers offensive line to hold up just enough for their skill guys to make some big plays against an inexperienced Utah back seven and for Pitt’s defensive ends to make life a bit miserable for Utah’s young quarterback Jordan Wynn. Pitt wins 27-20, sending the Panthers on their way to a 4-1 non-conference record followed by a 6-1 Big East championship season, landing the Panthers in a BCS Bowl Game for the first time since 2005, with a record of 10-2.