Football: Pitt quarterbacks adjusting to new offensive system

When Todd Graham took over as Pitt’s newest head football coach in January, it became clear… When Todd Graham took over as Pitt’s newest head football coach in January, it became clear that the team would undergo a change in offensive philosophy.

Being the leader of a team as a quarterback and knowing what every offensive player on the field is supposed to be doing at all times is hard enough, but having to re-learn an entirely new offense presents a whole different challenge in itself this spring for the Panther quarterbacks.

Now, with the first two weeks of the team’s spring practice behind it, the quarterbacks are beginning to get a feel for the new system.

“It’s coming along. To be out there on the field and actually go through it, it’s totally different than sitting down in a meeting room because you don’t quite understand the tempo at which it’s going to be moving,” lasts season’s starting quarterback Tino Sunseri said. “But we feel like we’ve been getting better each and every day.”

With former backup quarterback Pat Bostick deciding to leave the team to focus on graduate school, Sunseri, redshirt freshmen Mark Myers and Anthony Gonzalez along with redshirt sophomore and former safety Kolby Gray will continue to adapt to the new offense.

Gray was initially moved to quarterback to start the spring, but the coaching staff changed his position once again to safety. But it is very possible that he will return to the offensive side of the ball when training camp begins in August.

Gray could return to quarterback in the summer, but Graham thought that with four people at the position, it would be impossible to give all four quarterbacks enough snaps in the spring.

“We have had a couple of guys have some minor nagging injuries, so Gray will do whatever it takes for the team,” Graham said. “He will still represent the role of quarterback, but we can only have three in that position right now.”

The change in offensive philosophy has switched from a slower and more deliberate pace under former coach Dave Wannstedt to an up-tempo style that relies on the quarterback to make quick reads and decisions on the run.

Sunseri ­— who started every game last season while throwing for 2,572 yards along with 16 touchdowns and nine interceptions —has taken the most snaps by far as the starter r this spring, but it’s clear that the two redshirt freshmen, Myers and Gonzalez, have made improvements.

Myers stood out under the former coaching staff as the prototypical quarterback in its pro-style offense that puts less emphasis on signal callers having to be mobile and more on quick play-action passes with two backs in the backfield.

Myers has impressed the new coaching staff with his arm strength and sheer physical ability so far this spring.

“The guy can spin it with the best of them,” quarterbacks coach Tony Dodge said. “I’m really pleased with him. He’s a lot more athletic than most big guys. He does some things with his feet that I didn’t think he would be able to do. The speed of the game for Mark is continuously starting to slow down [as he learns the offense].”

The change in offensive philosophy has been a big change for Myers, but he’s beginning to adapt well to it.

“I feel like it’s a lot different from a pro-style offense, but I’m getting used to it and I’m starting to love it,” Myers said. “I feel like I’m going to fit in pretty well.”

Gonzalez appears to remain the outsider for the quarterback position, but his athleticism has raised some eyebrows early on this spring.

“We think he’s a guy who is very athletic,” Dodge said. “He has improved, as much as any of them, in a four-day window as far as his footwork and accuracy throwing the football.”

Sunseri’s experience continues to be the sticking point, and it will take a lot of work from Myers or Gonzalez to unseat 2010’s starter.

“Tino Sunseri has the intensity level that it is going to take,” Dodge said. “I think that Tino took his 13 games of experience and put it on the field.”

Graham knows that this decision will carry a lot of weight. He finds the quarterback position of the utmost value to a football team, but especially so in his offense that relies so heavily on the quarterback.

“All three of them are now watching extra film and competing to get better,” Graham said. “The quarterback position is a lot like the head coach position. You will either get praised or critiqued pretty hard. You are the face of the program. For our system, the best players in the end will be on the field.”