Football: Panthers undertake tough training regiment

The season might be more than two months away, but you can still find the Pitt football team… The season might be more than two months away, but you can still find the Pitt football team hard at work.

That is, if you wake up early enough.

The team gathers at its South Side facility four days per week at 6:45 a.m. to work on improving its strength and conditioning over the summer.

Mondays and Thursdays consist of some 7-on-7 drills led by the quarterbacks, followed by speed drills and lifting.

Tuesdays and Fridays are all about running and improving endurance, and according to the players, no drill has been harder than running the dreaded Flagstaff Hill in Schenley Park for the first several Fridays.

“The hill is the rough one because it’s not that you’re out of breath — it’s just that your legs go into meltdown,” senior guard Chris Jacobson said.

Now that the hill runs are over, the team does a workout called “one minute-two minute” every Friday.

In that drill, players have to run anywhere from 230 to 315 yards, depending on their position, in less than a minute and then get a two-minute break before repeating it.

Because of NCAA regulations, position coaches can’t be present at these offseason workouts, leaving strength and conditioning coach Buddy Morris in charge of preparing the team for training camp in August.

“I really think he’s preparing us for the season,” senior receiver Greg Cross said. “In the fourth quarter and overtime, when we’re well conditioned, we won’t think about being tired. We’ll just go out and play and perform.”

Cross — who is coming off spring workouts in which he was named the team’s most improved offensive player. Heand Jacobson have been two of the most impressive players this summer.

“I’m in there to work hard because that’s what coach always says gives us an edge,” Jacobson said.

Cross said there were too many guys to list who have been impressive so far this summer, but he also said players coming off injuries, like safeties Dom DeCicco and Andrew Taglianetti, look strong.

Two other players who have reportedly look good and are poised to step into starting roles this year are cornerback Antwuan Reed — the spring’s most improved defensive player — and receiver Mike Shanahan.

“Mike is my guy,” Cross said. “Mike helped me out quite a bit, and he’s been working hard.”

These workouts are also a good time for the older players to lead some of the the young players by example — something the veterans said helped them a few years ago.

“You want to lead them the right way, like I had with John Malecki. I looked up to him and Robb Houser and Joe Thomas,” Jacobson said. “You need that on a team.”