Football: Former walk-on Karabin now starting center

Ever since walking on to Pitt for a redshirt year in 2006, Alex Karabin has been fighting to… Ever since walking on to Pitt for a redshirt year in 2006, Alex Karabin has been fighting to prove that he can be a starting center.

He’s had the competition for the starting job paraded in front of him season after season, but now, as a redshirt senior, he’s finally getting his chance to start.

“It was a little frustrating,” Karabin said. “It was more motivational. You just want to always show that you’re getting better, keep working at it and hopefully, eventually, at one point nobody can beat you out.”

Coach Dave Wannstedt has preached that players who pay their dues will be rewarded, and this year he was able to grant three scholarships to players who originally walked onto the team — quarterback Andrew Janocko, free safety Pat Costello and Karabin.

Offensive line coach Tony Wise sees these scholarships as a vital part of encouraging walk-ons to commit to the team.

“It’s a reward for these guys. Young men realize that ‘Alex did this, and I can do the same things to earn a scholarship,’” he said.

Karabin insists that it’s the starting job that really matters to him. He’s quick to point out that nothing has changed, but he admits that being a walk-on involved some unique struggles.

“It’s an underdog mentality, knowing that you have to go out there and fight every day, stay healthy and do your job,” he said. “You have to know your stuff the first time through instead of the second time through — just because you might not get another chance to show you know it after that.”

But Karabin kept on getting chances, due in large part to having earned the coaching staff’s respect. For instance, Wannstedt lauds Karabin for his intelligence.

“He’s a smart player, one of the smartest on our team,” Wannstedt said. “His playing experience will be the only thing that we’ll have to get caught up on. As far as identifying things and making calls, he’s really good. That’s probably what gives him a little bit of an edge.”

Wise has always admired Karabin’s personality and knowledge of the game, stating that he has different strengths than previous starting center Robb Houser.

“He doesn’t have as much range as Robb Houser did, but he’s powerful at the point of attack. He’s extremely tough,” he said.

“Tough” is exactly what Karabin had to be to get his starting role and scholarship. He’s gone through four years of long, grueling practices at Pitt in order to achieve both of those goals.

But now he must meet the challenges of establishing himself and helping the entire offensive line prove their mettle. Jason Pinkston and Lucas Nix return at tackle, yet the interior features three new starters: guards Chris Jacobson and Greg Gaskins, as well as Karabin.

The first tour of duty for this new line was a struggle.

Pitt running back Dion Lewis, considered by many to be a serious candidate for the Heisman Trophy, managed only 75 rushing yards on 25 carries, in part due to the line’s inability to create the sort of holes that it did last year. Lewis couldn’t muster much on the ground against New Hampshire, either.

Yet, the line did pave the way for Ray Graham’s first 100-yard rushing output of his career last week against the Wildcats.

Wise notes a need for improvement, but thinks that defenses focusing on Lewis and Graham will make the offensive line’s job much harder than it was last year.

“Dion is a marked man. Every time we go out there, it’s going to be difficult. [Defenses] are going to make sure that Dion does not do what he did last year,” he said. “The guys understand that responsibility.”