I might if I actually cared enough to read it. Get this series over already so we can deal with relevant games.
Pitt fans say the darndest things
- Thread starter mikemauti42
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I might if I actually cared enough to read it. Get this series over already so we can deal with relevant games.
Mack will probably be Top 10 overall in the 2019 draft when he comes out early after nearly doubling his current 310 career receiving yards during the 2018 campaign. Had the 3rd most receiving yards on Indiana's 5-7 team last year, which is almost unheard of.
Some of the individual game stats are mind-boggling. 111 yards against FCS Charleston Southern. 14 yards vs Ohio State. 4 yards vs PSU. Looking at what might have been, if he'd had receptions against Michigan or Wisconsin it could have been 20 receiving yards combined against the four ranked teams that Indiana played last year. Maybe even more than 20. Wow, 1st round indeed.
I'm not ripping on the kid, because he's moved east to get closer to home and found a squad that he can help out. Good for him. And I know you're just messing around saying he's on track for the draft. Good luck to him either way, he seems like a fine kid.
Your team isn't very good and it's going to be a brutal blowout in September in front of a 50/50 PSU/Pitt crowd at the Steelers' home field. Brutal.
It will be so good once we slaughter them on Sept 8th, and we all Move On. They won't bother us next year, because that game will be even worse.
Thing is, nobody really knows what kind of ceiling Mack has.
Throughout off-season workouts, Mack has been nearly unanimously viewed as the best receiver on the roster.
The immediate addition of Mack has a huge impact on the depth chart. It will be very surprising if Mack doesn’t move immediately into Pitt’s starting lineup.
Other options for regular playing time include Shocky Jacques-Louis, Dontavius Butler-Jenkins, Maurice Ffrench, Tre Tipton, Aaron Mathews and Rafael Araujo-Lopes.
Last season at Indiana, Mack started eight games and caught 23 passes for 310 yards and three touchdowns. Against Purdue, Mack had seven catches for 132 yards and a touchdown.
Of Pitt’s returning wide receivers, only Araujo-Lopes had more yards and none had as mnay touchdown.
So the kid had 132 yards against Purdue. 111 yards against Charleston Southern and 67 yards the rest of the year? That sounds like the textbook definition of a go to guy.
It's possible that Mack is both the best receiver Pitt has, and still quite average. In fact, this is likely. Let's be honest, stud football players do not transfer to Pitt willingly.
This is probably right. WR is Pitt's weakest roster position and Mack will significantly improve it, giving Pickett a decent receiver to throw to. He is a godsend to them. On another team, he wouldn't move the needle much.
Narduzzi constantly has to bring in transfers to fill the holes his lousy recruiting has created. Their starting TE and LT are also transfers.
So you are saying he's the smartest kid in dummy school.
Receiver looked thin coming into this year.
Now it looks like a strength.
Lopes will be a stud.
Entering the season, one of the biggest question marks on Pitt’s offensive depth chart were the wide receivers.
The position has players with potential but as the saying goes, potential just means you haven’t done anything yet.
As it stands, there’s only one player on the roster that has proven on-field production and that’s senior Rafael Araujo-Lopes.
Coming into the 2017 season, he only had 3 career catches but after getting an opportunity, Araujo-Lopes turned into a reliable target for the Pitt quarterbacks. Araujo-Lopes’ best game of the season came against Syracuse when he caught 7 passes for 100 yards.
ARAUJO-LOPES LAST 2 SEASONS:
2016: 3 catches, 36 yards, 12 yds/catch, 0 TD
2017: 43 catches, 531 yards, 12.3 yds/catch, 2 TD
Something very encouraging is the comfort level that’s developed between Araujo-Lopes and Kenny Pickett and how the two are on the same page after working very hard together in the offseason.
“It’s just been day in and day out of us working and communicating together,” said Araujo-Lopes. “I had to figure out where he wants me, he had to figure out where I want the ball. Since January, we’ve been working diligently trying to build our chemistry. I feel that right now we’re in a comfortable place where it can be like that.”
The fact that aside from Araujo-Lopes, this group of Pitt wide receivers has only 59 combined catches between them (Maurice Ffrench 25, Aaron Mathews 22, Tre Tipton 12, Dontavius Butler-Jenkins 0, Shocky Jacques-Louis 0, Michael Smith 0, Darian Street 0, Cameron O’Neil 0) has been a talking point among the fans and media, but Araujo-Lopes believes the room is better than people think.
“We have guys that can play. This is a very competitive, very focused group and a very talented group. We might not get talked about and hyped up by people but we don’t care about that. When Saturdays come around, we’ll show people.”
“Our receivers are motivated in practice because they know that every rep you get counts. Guys are taking it personal that every time they get on the field, they need to show something and make something happen. That’s kind of been the mentality throughout camp” said Araujo-Lopes.
With all the youth at wide receiver and the fact he’s the only senior, Araujo-Lopes has made it a point to lead by example and also talk to some of his teammates when needed.
“What I’ve been trying to talk to the young guys about is worry about what you can control,” said Araujo-Lopes. “Sometime you get flustered by things that are going on, the media, the coaches yelling at you, maybe a quarterback throws a bad ball, don’t worry about any of that. Worry about what you can control. Know your assignment, do your job, catch the ball when it’s thrown to you.”
Like most people, Araujo-Lopes has noticed the play of freshman Shocky Jacques-Louis and there’s one thing that really stands out to him about this special talent.
“He is a competitor. Shocky will compete. That’s how it is back in Florida so he kinds of reminds me of guys back home. He just loves to compete and doing everything right from the moment he’s stepped on campus. He’s definitely going to help us.”
This is the final season at Pitt for Araujo-Lopes who’s trying to enjoy every moment and is hoping their the surprise team in the ACC.
“In everything I do, I’m just trying to make sure I give everything I have, just trying to exhaust every opportunity that I have left. I do feel a sense of urgency because this is it. This has gone by quick but I’ve enjoyed everything and have no regrets.”
Now it looks like a strength.
Lopes will be a stud.
Entering the season, one of the biggest question marks on Pitt’s offensive depth chart were the wide receivers.
The position has players with potential but as the saying goes, potential just means you haven’t done anything yet.
As it stands, there’s only one player on the roster that has proven on-field production and that’s senior Rafael Araujo-Lopes.
Coming into the 2017 season, he only had 3 career catches but after getting an opportunity, Araujo-Lopes turned into a reliable target for the Pitt quarterbacks. Araujo-Lopes’ best game of the season came against Syracuse when he caught 7 passes for 100 yards.
ARAUJO-LOPES LAST 2 SEASONS:
2016: 3 catches, 36 yards, 12 yds/catch, 0 TD
2017: 43 catches, 531 yards, 12.3 yds/catch, 2 TD
Something very encouraging is the comfort level that’s developed between Araujo-Lopes and Kenny Pickett and how the two are on the same page after working very hard together in the offseason.
“It’s just been day in and day out of us working and communicating together,” said Araujo-Lopes. “I had to figure out where he wants me, he had to figure out where I want the ball. Since January, we’ve been working diligently trying to build our chemistry. I feel that right now we’re in a comfortable place where it can be like that.”
The fact that aside from Araujo-Lopes, this group of Pitt wide receivers has only 59 combined catches between them (Maurice Ffrench 25, Aaron Mathews 22, Tre Tipton 12, Dontavius Butler-Jenkins 0, Shocky Jacques-Louis 0, Michael Smith 0, Darian Street 0, Cameron O’Neil 0) has been a talking point among the fans and media, but Araujo-Lopes believes the room is better than people think.
“We have guys that can play. This is a very competitive, very focused group and a very talented group. We might not get talked about and hyped up by people but we don’t care about that. When Saturdays come around, we’ll show people.”
“Our receivers are motivated in practice because they know that every rep you get counts. Guys are taking it personal that every time they get on the field, they need to show something and make something happen. That’s kind of been the mentality throughout camp” said Araujo-Lopes.
With all the youth at wide receiver and the fact he’s the only senior, Araujo-Lopes has made it a point to lead by example and also talk to some of his teammates when needed.
“What I’ve been trying to talk to the young guys about is worry about what you can control,” said Araujo-Lopes. “Sometime you get flustered by things that are going on, the media, the coaches yelling at you, maybe a quarterback throws a bad ball, don’t worry about any of that. Worry about what you can control. Know your assignment, do your job, catch the ball when it’s thrown to you.”
Like most people, Araujo-Lopes has noticed the play of freshman Shocky Jacques-Louis and there’s one thing that really stands out to him about this special talent.
“He is a competitor. Shocky will compete. That’s how it is back in Florida so he kinds of reminds me of guys back home. He just loves to compete and doing everything right from the moment he’s stepped on campus. He’s definitely going to help us.”
This is the final season at Pitt for Araujo-Lopes who’s trying to enjoy every moment and is hoping their the surprise team in the ACC.
“In everything I do, I’m just trying to make sure I give everything I have, just trying to exhaust every opportunity that I have left. I do feel a sense of urgency because this is it. This has gone by quick but I’ve enjoyed everything and have no regrets.”
What cracks me up is for years, Pitt fans like to brag about how much more talent there is in the ACC versus the B10. Yet, here you have a kid in Mack that was a true freshmen on a team that is usually in the bottom half of the B10 standings and he comes to Pitt and is an instant starter. So much for the “ACC has more talent than the B10” theory.
Zero returning WR star potential, but a mediocre transfer and the normal development of a few low level recruits have turned the position into a team strength? What does that say about the rest of the roster positions?
Shocky Jacques Louis is another 1st round pro selection who runs a 4.3 and will create real problems for the slow PSU CBs.
The Panthers beat out some notable names in the chase for Jacques-Louis. The Fort Myers, Florida, native had offers from some of the nations top football programs, including Michigan, Georgia, Ohio State, Oregon and Central Florida.
“All of the places I went to visit, different colleges and stuff, they talked about national championships, but there was nothing different about them,” Jacques-Louis said. “Coming to Pitt, everything’s just different and diverse, and I love the people here. Everybody’s nice.”
Jacques-Louis’ recruiting path included many changes. He committed to the University of Kentucky, led by head coach Mark Stoops, in April 2017. But, he decommitted from the Wildcats in June, before committing to the University of Tennessee in August. The Volunteers head coach Butch Jones was fired Nov. 12, and Jacques-Louis decommitted again.
“Decommitting is hard, period,” Jacques-Louis said. “You’re committing to someone, and it’s like you’re playing with their feelings, and I’m not like that. That was real hard, but at the end of the day, you’ve got to make the choice that’s right for you, because you’re spending the next four years of your life there. I feel like Pittsburgh was the right place for me.”
One of Pitt’s five midyear enrollees in the new recruiting class, Jacques-Louis has gotten a head start on and off the field. He has found an interest in criminology and plans on majoring in it.
“I enrolled early so I could get ahead in my education, start on workouts and dive into the playbook,” Jacques-Louis said. “I wanted to get used to college life, so I wouldn’t have to come in at a regular time and be scattered everywhere trying to go to classes. Now that I’m getting used to it, right now I feel like I’ll be comfortable when it’s time to start the season.”
Jacques-Louis has high expectations for himself and the team during his time at Pitt.
“I’m looking forward to breaking the receiving records and I’m looking forward to an ACC championship,” he said.
Jacques-Louis’ early start may also help him get used to the drastic change in weather. Fort Myers’ average low temperature in January was 52 degrees, while it was 18 degrees in Pittsburgh according to wunderground.com.
“It’s been real cold,” Jacques-Louis said. “They said it’s the coldest it’s been in a long time. You know, I wouldn’t know, but it’s the coldest I’ve ever been in my life, but It’s easy to get used to once you start putting on layers, you know, I haven’t really been worried about it.”
Jacques-Louis tweeted in January that he wants to accomplish just as much off the field as on the field at Pitt. He has wasted no time making his impact felt in the community — along with 10 other Panthers, he participated in the Dollar Energy Fund’s Cool Down for Warmth Campaign, where they raised awareness and donations for Pittsburgh residents who struggle to pay for heat during the harsh winter.
“It went great,” Jacques-Louis said. “It was a nice opportunity to get out and help people, also to encourage people to be a part of something.”
Jacques-Louis will be joining a young Pitt wide receiving core that lost two key contributors last year: Jester Weah to graduation and Quadree Henderson to the NFL draft. He and Alabama native and fellow recruit Cameron O’Neil will join a receiving depth chart with four rising sophomores and only two seniors.
The Panthers beat out some notable names in the chase for Jacques-Louis. The Fort Myers, Florida, native had offers from some of the nations top football programs, including Michigan, Georgia, Ohio State, Oregon and Central Florida.
“All of the places I went to visit, different colleges and stuff, they talked about national championships, but there was nothing different about them,” Jacques-Louis said. “Coming to Pitt, everything’s just different and diverse, and I love the people here. Everybody’s nice.”
Jacques-Louis’ recruiting path included many changes. He committed to the University of Kentucky, led by head coach Mark Stoops, in April 2017. But, he decommitted from the Wildcats in June, before committing to the University of Tennessee in August. The Volunteers head coach Butch Jones was fired Nov. 12, and Jacques-Louis decommitted again.
“Decommitting is hard, period,” Jacques-Louis said. “You’re committing to someone, and it’s like you’re playing with their feelings, and I’m not like that. That was real hard, but at the end of the day, you’ve got to make the choice that’s right for you, because you’re spending the next four years of your life there. I feel like Pittsburgh was the right place for me.”
One of Pitt’s five midyear enrollees in the new recruiting class, Jacques-Louis has gotten a head start on and off the field. He has found an interest in criminology and plans on majoring in it.
“I enrolled early so I could get ahead in my education, start on workouts and dive into the playbook,” Jacques-Louis said. “I wanted to get used to college life, so I wouldn’t have to come in at a regular time and be scattered everywhere trying to go to classes. Now that I’m getting used to it, right now I feel like I’ll be comfortable when it’s time to start the season.”
Jacques-Louis has high expectations for himself and the team during his time at Pitt.
“I’m looking forward to breaking the receiving records and I’m looking forward to an ACC championship,” he said.
Jacques-Louis’ early start may also help him get used to the drastic change in weather. Fort Myers’ average low temperature in January was 52 degrees, while it was 18 degrees in Pittsburgh according to wunderground.com.
“It’s been real cold,” Jacques-Louis said. “They said it’s the coldest it’s been in a long time. You know, I wouldn’t know, but it’s the coldest I’ve ever been in my life, but It’s easy to get used to once you start putting on layers, you know, I haven’t really been worried about it.”
Jacques-Louis tweeted in January that he wants to accomplish just as much off the field as on the field at Pitt. He has wasted no time making his impact felt in the community — along with 10 other Panthers, he participated in the Dollar Energy Fund’s Cool Down for Warmth Campaign, where they raised awareness and donations for Pittsburgh residents who struggle to pay for heat during the harsh winter.
“It went great,” Jacques-Louis said. “It was a nice opportunity to get out and help people, also to encourage people to be a part of something.”
Jacques-Louis will be joining a young Pitt wide receiving core that lost two key contributors last year: Jester Weah to graduation and Quadree Henderson to the NFL draft. He and Alabama native and fellow recruit Cameron O’Neil will join a receiving depth chart with four rising sophomores and only two seniors.
Baghdad Bob is down on his knees facing Pittsburgh.....even he can’t begin to believe the spin all these Pitt delusional lurkers are spitting out!
If Pitt’s wide receivers think that our cornerbacks are slow, then they’re in for a very rude awakening.
Dude just stop. You’re making us look bad
Someone needs to send a note to the NFL that they should just move the draft to Pittsburgh, since all of the Panthers are getting drafted in the first round.
Hahaha, I'll bite on this latest troll. It's fun.
Agreed, this 3-star true freshman ATH/WR, composite ranked as the #88 WR in the 2018 recruiting cycle and the #83 recruit out of Florida, is going to absolutely burn PSU loaded backfield that is littered with blue-chip recruits with years of training and game experience at the major D1 level. Playing against future NFL wide receiver talent on teams like Ohio State, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Washington has in no way prepared them to deal with the raw talent of this fresh face at a solid mid-major power like Pitt.
Given that Pitt's elite OL is likely to give future all-world QB Pickett as many as 30-40 seconds per play to comfortably sit in the pocket while Jaques-Louis zigs and zags all over the field until he's sitting alone in the end zone while PSU's exhausted secondary wanders around the field looking for their cleats that flew off while trying to keep up with the speedy youngster, it's likely that he'll have over 200 of Pitt's 600 receiving yards in the first half. It'll be special to see.
It might also happen that he's a non-factor on offense while PSU rolls up an impressive early lead and coasts to victory with the 2nd and 3rd string racking up style points, sacks, and turnovers against an overmatched Pitt squad. Which will continue to burn clock as quickly as possible with shovel passes and runs up the gut despite being down by multiple scores. Anything to avoid giving up 60 in Prime Time in front of a 50/50 PSU/Pitt crowd at the Steelers's home field.
It'll almost certainly be one or the other. But which scenario will play out? Guess we'll find out in a few weeks.
Word is that when the Steelers's and Panther's are practicing at the same time.....its hard to see what squad has the most talent.
The Steelers suck that bad?Word is that when the Steelers's and Panther's are practicing at the same time.....its hard to see what squad has the most talent.
Bold piece 1.) Top football programs doesnt include UM, Oregon or UCF
2.)So wait, Pitt wasn't talking about national championships on his visit? Hell they probably claimed anotehr one as soon as he came for his visit.
3. Criminology due to Bookser situation I suppose....
Nice try at logic on the Lair. Only problem they have with trying to even give away the upper deck tickets to create a better atmosphere for the non-PSU games is that 25K of their 50K season tickets were purchased by PSU alums who throw away the other game tickets. So those tickets are not available to be resold to pitt fans or someone that wants to attend a pitt game. So the only way they could execute this dream is to sell individual tickets to PSU fans for their next PSU game. Oh wait, there is not a next PSU pitt home game!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Pitt Attendance/Atmosphere continues to hurt recruiting 4/5 star recruits
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Pitt Attendance/Atmosphere continues to hurt recruiting 4/5 star recruits
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Panther AlWalk-on
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NewI saw Heather Lyke's recent comment about selling 50,000 season tickets. Sadly, I've seen this same statement two years ago when Scott Barnes looked like an utter fool "SEASON TICKET RECORD" while Heinz looked like a yellow morgue the rest of the season even after the signature PSU win everyone was looking for. I'm obviously pro on campus vs off campus however then again who is building a new off campus state of the art facilities or moving off campus to a pro stadium these days? The answer is nobody and why Heinz doesn't work. USF and Temple are the latest schools playing in pro stadiums looking to move to an on campus stadium. Regardless of the situation, I want to see improvement with Pitt football and it appears to me that athletics keeps doing the same thing over and over again regardless of the leadership whether its Pederson, Barnes and now Lyke when it comes to Heinz Field.
The reason Pitt wants to play Penn State so badly is because it helps ticket sales which I get however I have a major problem with how Pitt markets the rest of the schedule. I'm sure the Pitt/PSU atmosphere will be great and they will talk it up, but I'm realist and also a frustrated fan because when I see the same results/marketing plan year after year, I know nothing is being changed to fix the problem. The bottom line is we need a much better atmosphere at Heinz for the rest of the other games to attract 4/5 star recruits. Pitt puts out its marketing/promos a month before the season starts? Hello. Who does that? When MLB announces their schedule, the promo schedule comes with it. Pitt clearly has a ticket/atmosphere problem at Heinz vs other teams excluding PSU/ND/WVU and we saw how embarrassing it was all of last year even against a top 10 team in Oklahoma State. ESPN also exposed Heinz Field last year with Pitt and mocked it on college game day which is terrible for recruiting and you can bet that PSU, UM, ND, OSU (whom we compete with for 4/5 star players) use this to their advantage when it comes to negative recruiting. If I was recruiting a kid to come to my school over Pitt, I would absolutely be using this to my advantage because its legal/clean recruiting.
Pitt needs to sell all of the uppers for less attractive games or probably most games such as Albany for $1. Some might say this is crazy but isn't it better to have people in the building who are buying food, merchandise, etc. and might hopefully enjoy the experience and come back for another game or two. Everyone likes cheap tickets, food/drink specials so why not try it? I remember Buck night as a Pitt student back in the 90's and I'm not even a Pirates fan but I went. $1 tix and hot dogs was a great deal to me and it got people to go. How do you sell elite 4/5 star recruits when they see Heinz Field half empty and then go to UM/OSU/ND/PSU the week later for another visit packed with a great atmosphere. I'm sorry but its an impossible task for the coaching staff and I feel we aren't giving Duzz the tools he needs to really grow the program. Are you happy being 7-5 every year and playing in a stupid meaningless Tire Bowl? I'm not. If you go through the schedule for this season and what do you think our record will be? Yep, same results year after year. We do get a few top recruits each year whether its Ford, Hamlin, Whitehead, Boyd, etc. but if you want to compete for championships the formula shows you need 8 to 10 4/5 stars per class. OK, there will be a few cases where I'm wrong like a Wisconsin, but for the most part if you want to compete for ACC championships to potentially get a playoff shot, the entire Heinz strategy needs to change to help recruiting. If you don't want to change the plan, move back to campus so you can build your own 55K seat stadium in Panther hollow or on the OC lot where there is room for it so we can have on campus atmosphere like the schools we compete for elite players. I want to be also be VERY clear that there will always be 2 or 3 star players who turn out to be stars whether its Donald, Revis, etc. but the bottom line is the recruiting rankings don't lie. You can't rely on recruiting these high ceiling players who usually don't pan out otherwise Pitt would have a much better record. We need sure things like a Shady, Boyd, Whitehead, etc. who make a clear different in your program. There will be some 4/5 busts but if you recruit 8 to 10 per class you will be fine for the long run and build depth especially when key players get hurt which we don't have in certain positions.
Lastly, nobody gives a crap about the City of champions, Pitt practicing next to Ben/AB/Bell, playing at the same stadium at the Steelers, etc. We've seen tons of local 4/5 star players who I'm sure grew up diehard Steeler fans (not the Browns) and went elsewhere so that theory clearly doesn't work especially when the Steelers are also a national team. It's beyond frustrating when fans get upset and then strictly want to blame the coaches. Yes, you need good coaching but you need elite players to compete for championships otherwise you get the same results like we are seeing. Unlike the NFL, you can't pay free agents and don't get to draft better players based on having a poor record. That's why recruiting and atmosphere/marketing plays a vital role in Pitt's future success and we've done a terrible job in improving this process. H2P!
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They don't seem to get the fact it isn't the cost of the tickets that's keeping people away.
Even better, Tre Tipton will probably emerge the top Pitt receiver.
Another 4.3 guy, his speed rekindled old feelings.
“It's been awhile since I've been in pads,” said Tipton, who missed all of last season with a knee injury. “It was definitely a special moment for me. Getting a little bit physical, getting that feeling again, what it feels like to get hit and catch the ball, it was definitely fun.”
Coaches still are easing Tipton into workouts, receivers coach Kevin Sherman said, limiting his repetitions and live contact. But the morning practice was a mental refresher of sorts for an athlete who hasn't played a real football game in more than 15 months.
“Just reminding myself that this is what I like to do,” Tipton said. “This is what I love to do.”
The return of the 6-foot, 185-pound redshirt junior could bolster an unsettled position for Pitt, which lost wideouts Jester Weah and Quadree Henderson to the next level. Top receiving options back from last season are senior Rafael Araujo-Lopes (43 receptions), junior Maurice Ffrench (25), junior Aaron Mathews (16) and sophomore Ruben Flowers III (none).
In nine games in 2016, Tipton had 12 receptions for 142 yards and a touchdown and added 61 rushing yards on 11 carries.
“From a coaching standpoint, it's great to have him back out there,” Sherman said, “and our team really is looking forward to having him back out there because we need added depth in the spring. We're gradually easing him into reps. He's not doing everything live or anything like that. He's getting his stamina up and getting back to running full speed like he's used to doing. But he's getting better.
“I think where he is right now mentally, I like where he's at right now. Now we've just got to physically get him ready to go.”
A series of injuries limited Tipton to 13 games combined over the past three seasons, starting with a knee injury in 2015 and a collapsed lung in 2016. Tipton was poised for a key role in the offense last fall, but his season was wiped out entirely by a non-football knee injury in the summer.
The Apollo-Ridge graduate walked off the indoor practice field Thursday optimistic but insisting there's work ahead of him.
“Even they tell me they're surprised with how hard I'm able to go (at practice) with what I've been through,” Tipton said, “but honestly it's to the point where I expect a lot more out of myself.
“It's OK to say that you're injured and you're doing well (in your recovery), but when you're an athlete, you're born to compete. For me, I don't want to be average. I want to be better than I was the day before. Today I felt like I took a little step back, but I just want to keep climbing that ladder.”
The step back was clearing a mental hurdle.
“I've got to continue to remind myself: ‘I'm just going hard.' ” Tipton said. “You get little tweaks here and there … you've just got to keep going. I felt like I showed my strengths today. I proved to myself that I can continue to compete, even with a brace. So it's going to be good.”
Another 4.3 guy, his speed rekindled old feelings.
“It's been awhile since I've been in pads,” said Tipton, who missed all of last season with a knee injury. “It was definitely a special moment for me. Getting a little bit physical, getting that feeling again, what it feels like to get hit and catch the ball, it was definitely fun.”
Coaches still are easing Tipton into workouts, receivers coach Kevin Sherman said, limiting his repetitions and live contact. But the morning practice was a mental refresher of sorts for an athlete who hasn't played a real football game in more than 15 months.
“Just reminding myself that this is what I like to do,” Tipton said. “This is what I love to do.”
The return of the 6-foot, 185-pound redshirt junior could bolster an unsettled position for Pitt, which lost wideouts Jester Weah and Quadree Henderson to the next level. Top receiving options back from last season are senior Rafael Araujo-Lopes (43 receptions), junior Maurice Ffrench (25), junior Aaron Mathews (16) and sophomore Ruben Flowers III (none).
In nine games in 2016, Tipton had 12 receptions for 142 yards and a touchdown and added 61 rushing yards on 11 carries.
“From a coaching standpoint, it's great to have him back out there,” Sherman said, “and our team really is looking forward to having him back out there because we need added depth in the spring. We're gradually easing him into reps. He's not doing everything live or anything like that. He's getting his stamina up and getting back to running full speed like he's used to doing. But he's getting better.
“I think where he is right now mentally, I like where he's at right now. Now we've just got to physically get him ready to go.”
A series of injuries limited Tipton to 13 games combined over the past three seasons, starting with a knee injury in 2015 and a collapsed lung in 2016. Tipton was poised for a key role in the offense last fall, but his season was wiped out entirely by a non-football knee injury in the summer.
The Apollo-Ridge graduate walked off the indoor practice field Thursday optimistic but insisting there's work ahead of him.
“Even they tell me they're surprised with how hard I'm able to go (at practice) with what I've been through,” Tipton said, “but honestly it's to the point where I expect a lot more out of myself.
“It's OK to say that you're injured and you're doing well (in your recovery), but when you're an athlete, you're born to compete. For me, I don't want to be average. I want to be better than I was the day before. Today I felt like I took a little step back, but I just want to keep climbing that ladder.”
The step back was clearing a mental hurdle.
“I've got to continue to remind myself: ‘I'm just going hard.' ” Tipton said. “You get little tweaks here and there … you've just got to keep going. I felt like I showed my strengths today. I proved to myself that I can continue to compete, even with a brace. So it's going to be good.”
I’ve got new terminology for the board. Because all of Pitt’s players run 4.3 40s, we should rename Southern speed “Pittsburgh Speed.” Or maybe Steel City Swiftness.
When will you learn about the ineptitude of our mods? Pitt people can post anything they want here. We, on the other hand, cannot post on the Lair even if one of our neighbors' relatives even breathed in a single molecule of carbon dioxide that was once near the body of a PSU fan or graduate.
The only thing that makes our mods move quickly is a political response that is in contradiction to their own beliefs. When that happens, they move at the speed of light.
I really enjoy the banter back and forth. I don’t understand why it’s not allowed on Pantherlair but they are very protective.
Now Golic and Lattners copy and paste is pointless and I don’t read them but banter is fun
Now Golic and Lattners copy and paste is pointless and I don’t read them but banter is fun
Don't forget about their MAC offensive lineman transfer that will also start for them on their mediocre ACC roster.
Quit using logic. It gives Pitt fans headaches. Then they get disoriented and start calling each other Nitter trolls.
pitt fans can talk themselves into almost anything in July and August which is what makes September, October, and November such a treat
Only Pitt can take a position where they have no talent and turn it into a strength in a couple weeks....amazing coaching.
Nice try at logic on the Lair. Only problem they have with trying to even give away the upper deck tickets to create a better atmosphere for the non-PSU games is that 25K of their 50K season tickets were purchased by PSU alums who throw away the other game tickets. So those tickets are not available to be resold to pitt fans or someone that wants to attend a pitt game. So the only way they could execute this dream is to sell individual tickets to PSU fans for their next PSU game. Oh wait, there is not next PSU pitt home game!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Pitt Attendance/Atmosphere continues to hurt recruiting 4/5 star recruits
Discussion in 'Football Board' started by Panther Al, Today at 7:23 AM.
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Panther AlWalk-on
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NewI saw Heather Lyke's recent comment about selling 50,000 season tickets. Sadly, I've seen this same statement two years ago when Scott Barnes looked like an utter fool "SEASON TICKET RECORD" while Heinz looked like a yellow morgue the rest of the season even after the signature PSU win everyone was looking for. I'm obviously pro on campus vs off campus however then again who is building a new off campus state of the art facilities or moving off campus to a pro stadium these days? The answer is nobody and why Heinz doesn't work. USF and Temple are the latest schools playing in pro stadiums looking to move to an on campus stadium. Regardless of the situation, I want to see improvement with Pitt football and it appears to me that athletics keeps doing the same thing over and over again regardless of the leadership whether its Pederson, Barnes and now Lyke when it comes to Heinz Field.
The reason Pitt wants to play Penn State so badly is because it helps ticket sales which I get however I have a major problem with how Pitt markets the rest of the schedule. I'm sure the Pitt/PSU atmosphere will be great and they will talk it up, but I'm realist and also a frustrated fan because when I see the same results/marketing plan year after year, I know nothing is being changed to fix the problem. The bottom line is we need a much better atmosphere at Heinz for the rest of the other games to attract 4/5 star recruits. Pitt puts out its marketing/promos a month before the season starts? Hello. Who does that? When MLB announces their schedule, the promo schedule comes with it. Pitt clearly has a ticket/atmosphere problem at Heinz vs other teams excluding PSU/ND/WVU and we saw how embarrassing it was all of last year even against a top 10 team in Oklahoma State. ESPN also exposed Heinz Field last year with Pitt and mocked it on college game day which is terrible for recruiting and you can bet that PSU, UM, ND, OSU (whom we compete with for 4/5 star players) use this to their advantage when it comes to negative recruiting. If I was recruiting a kid to come to my school over Pitt, I would absolutely be using this to my advantage because its legal/clean recruiting.
Pitt needs to sell all of the uppers for less attractive games or probably most games such as Albany for $1. Some might say this is crazy but isn't it better to have people in the building who are buying food, merchandise, etc. and might hopefully enjoy the experience and come back for another game or two. Everyone likes cheap tickets, food/drink specials so why not try it? I remember Buck night as a Pitt student back in the 90's and I'm not even a Pirates fan but I went. $1 tix and hot dogs was a great deal to me and it got people to go. How do you sell elite 4/5 star recruits when they see Heinz Field half empty and then go to UM/OSU/ND/PSU the week later for another visit packed with a great atmosphere. I'm sorry but its an impossible task for the coaching staff and I feel we aren't giving Duzz the tools he needs to really grow the program. Are you happy being 7-5 every year and playing in a stupid meaningless Tire Bowl? I'm not. If you go through the schedule for this season and what do you think our record will be? Yep, same results year after year. We do get a few top recruits each year whether its Ford, Hamlin, Whitehead, Boyd, etc. but if you want to compete for championships the formula shows you need 8 to 10 4/5 stars per class. OK, there will be a few cases where I'm wrong like a Wisconsin, but for the most part if you want to compete for ACC championships to potentially get a playoff shot, the entire Heinz strategy needs to change to help recruiting. If you don't want to change the plan, move back to campus so you can build your own 55K seat stadium in Panther hollow or on the OC lot where there is room for it so we can have on campus atmosphere like the schools we compete for elite players. I want to be also be VERY clear that there will always be 2 or 3 star players who turn out to be stars whether its Donald, Revis, etc. but the bottom line is the recruiting rankings don't lie. You can't rely on recruiting these high ceiling players who usually don't pan out otherwise Pitt would have a much better record. We need sure things like a Shady, Boyd, Whitehead, etc. who make a clear different in your program. There will be some 4/5 busts but if you recruit 8 to 10 per class you will be fine for the long run and build depth especially when key players get hurt which we don't have in certain positions.
Lastly, nobody gives a crap about the City of champions, Pitt practicing next to Ben/AB/Bell, playing at the same stadium at the Steelers, etc. We've seen tons of local 4/5 star players who I'm sure grew up diehard Steeler fans (not the Browns) and went elsewhere so that theory clearly doesn't work especially when the Steelers are also a national team. It's beyond frustrating when fans get upset and then strictly want to blame the coaches. Yes, you need good coaching but you need elite players to compete for championships otherwise you get the same results like we are seeing. Unlike the NFL, you can't pay free agents and don't get to draft better players based on having a poor record. That's why recruiting and atmosphere/marketing plays a vital role in Pitt's future success and we've done a terrible job in improving this process. H2P!
1 Panther Al, Today at 7:23 AM
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PantherDDS, Schaef60, DiehardPanther and 1 other person like this.
You really think PSU fans bought 25,000 season tickets?
Cmon man, I try and be as realistic as possible when it comes to Pitt. I’m telling you like it is here. Pitt routinely sells about 35K+ in season tickets, then plus the student tickets of 10K which normally sell out. Tickets sold don’t always equal butts in seats, as I’m sure you know. So that’s why you see attendance at around 40K for each game.
For Penn State, Pitt season ticket holders were given the opportunity to buy more season tickets so they could give those to Pitt fans for the game on the 8th. This is switched up from 2016.
In reality, expect 50K+ from Pitt, and about 15-20K from PSU. Still a good turnout, but no where near what some on this board suggest.
On what planet does Pitt get 40k per game? You need an on campus stadium. It’s killed your program and turned even “realistic” fans into mental contortionists. There were 20k max at Oklahoma State and half of them were asleep. Can’t wait to stop subsidizing your failing program.
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