Pitt Panthers Training Camp Report

Field Goals:
1. Connor Lee 1 – 4
2. Dan Hutchins 2 – 3
3. Kevin Harper 1 – 1

I was told tonight Kevin Harper kicked a 63 yard field goal in high school and holds the record for the longest field goal in Ohio histor.All three kickers were solid on kickoffs and on average their kicks reached the 10 yard line.

LaRod Stephens – Howling and Aundre Wright remain the teams #1 kick returners

Chris Burns was the primary kick returner with the second team

The 7 on 7’s saw a lot of checkdowns from Bill Stull, Pat Bostick and Kevan Smith.Stull didn’t have a great practice. He made a lot of completions but he wasn’t hitting his receivers in stride.

Pat Bostick worked primarily with the second team. Jonathan Baldwin was the go to guy on the outside and Bostick made a nice throw on a fade route that Baldwin should have caught. Bostick put the ball in a position where only Baldwin could make a play on it.

I liked what I saw from Kevin Smith today. Smith made a perfect throw to Baldwin on a fade route but Baldwin was ruled out of bounds. Smith has the best arm of any quarterback on Pitt’s roster. He was accurate today and was getting rid of the ball early. Smith played less than 10 games at quarterback in high school due to injuries and if he can put it all together he could be a solid quarterback.

In the 1 on 1’s Jabaal Sheard made Joe Thomas look like a turn stile again.

Guard C.J. Davis was impressive in the 1 on 1’s

Tony Tucker stood out to me tonight. Tucker has excellent speed on the outside and the team plans to use him in pass rushing downs.

Lucas Nix has good technique. He’s going to be starting at some point this season.

Don’t expect to see Bill Stull take to many chances this season. He loves to use his checkdowns. Stull did thread the needle in the teams’ 2 minute drill and made a perfect strike to Oderick Turner for a touchdown. It was the only time during the teams 7 on 7’s or 11 on 11’s that Stull threw a ball over 15 yards.

Dorin Dickerson worked exclusively with the first team. Nate Byham worked with the second team.

Jonathan Baldwin was a bit inconsistent today. Made some nice grabs but also had a few drops. He’s going to have a major impact in the redzone and I was impressed with the way he runs the fade route.

Mike Shanahan was Kevan Smith’s go –to – guy tonight. Shanahan will be redshirted this season but he’s going to be a solid player. He runs excellent routes for a freshman and has good awareness to find soft spots in the defense.

Chris Burns ran with the third team

Pat Bostick struggled in the 11 on 11’s. He was tentative and there was one instance where Bostick would have been sacked on three straight plays if it was a live situation. During that series head coach Dave Wannstedt appeared frustrated and yelled “Sack, Sack, Sack”.

What has been a growing theme in camp is Bostick holds onto the ball way too long and he just looks confused at times.