Jovenitti: Pitt players have advantage heading into NFL draft

This NFL lockout might not be so bad for Pitt players.

With eight home games on the upcoming… This NFL lockout might not be so bad for Pitt players.

With eight home games on the upcoming schedule for Todd Graham’s first year as head coach, his high-octane plan will have to sell lots of tickets and — using Graham’s favorite word — “fast.”

Without those pesky AFC Champion Steelers potentially taking all the football attention from Pittsburgh sports fans, Pitt might be able to tap into the money that Steelers fans won’t be spending this season.

The ongoing lockout continues to pit players against owners as they fight over players’ salaries and adding games to the schedule — making the possibility that no one will play next season all the more likely.

But the seven Pitt players entering this month’s NFL draft might have an advantage over other players during the lockout, thanks to two unlikely sources — those bothersome Steelers and former head coach Dave Wannstedt.

Drew Smith, who will represent former Pitt players Dom DeCicco, Henry Hynoski and Greg Romeus in the NFL draft and free agency market, said this lockout situation could wind up unfairly hurting undrafted players.

“There are priority free agents and regular free agents,” Smith said. “And I think a lot of the regular free agents are going to possibly never be able to play football again simply because they’re going to get lost in the shuffle of the lockout.”

But Pitt’s NFL ties could help some Panthers avoid getting lost in the shuffle.

At first, the fact that Pitt uses NFL facilities for practice and games might seem menial to potential recruits. After all, it’s probably not that much of an incentive for recruits to choose Pitt — a team that hasn’t won a national title since 1976 — over Ohio State, which is a team that doesn’t use NFL facilities but still regularly competes for a national championship.

Smith, however, sees a tangible benefit of sharing with the Steelers.

“There’s almost a sense of professionalism — like they’re kind of there already,” Smith said of Pitt’s players. “That’s not saying that they have an attitude or anything like that, but they see how the Steelers carry themselves, and they see how those players act, and they’re exposed to it.” “So I think that they have a better feel for what an NFL player is supposed to be and the work and the dedication and the attitude that’s supposed to go into it better than some of the other teams that aren’t exposed to it.”

So maybe it’s not so bad that the Steelers seem to steal Pitt’s thunder every fall.

Also, remember Wannstedt, that guy that fans were all so happy to see hit the road in December after another mediocre season?

Well, he truly cares for these players — anybody who saw his resignation press conference knows that. Nearly the entire team stood by his side as Wannstedt emotionally said goodbye.

Wannstedt coached for the Dallas Cowboys, Chicago Bears and Miami Dolphins before coming to Pitt, and he’s now the assistant head coach for the Buffalo Bills.

“With coach Wannstedt being there, he obviously had a pipeline to the NFL and did an outstanding job of helping guys maximize their potential and get to that next step — into the NFL,” Smith said.

Oh, and the fact that Pitt played a pro-style offense and defense probably won’t hurt the players looking for a job in the NFL.

So before we say good riddance to Wanny, maybe we should take some time to appreciate just how much he helped these Pitt players.