Hard hits aplenty in first scrimmage

The Pitt football team had its first live scrimmage of the spring on Saturday. Considering the… The Pitt football team had its first live scrimmage of the spring on Saturday. Considering the heavy hitting that took place, it was apparent that a lot of players were eager to get on the field.

New offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti has made it clear that effectively running the football is essential for the Panthers’ success. With that being said, it isn’t surprising that the most heated battle of Saturday’s scrimmage was between the defensive front seven and Pitt’s running back corps.

At first, it appeared like the running backs were going to have their way. While running against a defense that was missing Greg Romeus, Jabaal Sheard, Gus Mustakas, Shane Murray and Adam Gunn, the young group of tailbacks found success early.

Behind Dion Lewis, Chris Burns and Shariff Harris, the Panther offense seemed to be dictating the pace of the scrimmage. Then, a thunderous hit by weak-side linebacker Max Gruder on Kevin Collier woke up the defense.

‘It was a stretch read, I made a play in the backfield,’ said Gruder, a redshirt sophomore. ‘After that, I fed off the energy. [The defense] played pretty well together after that play and for the rest of the practice.’

Gruder’s hit was followed up by a handful of tackles in the backfield and an increased amount of pressure on the quarterbacks. For Gruder, the competition between the linebackers and the offensive backfield is something he enjoys.

‘We’re all good friends, but once you step on the field you’ve got to turn that switch,’ said Gruder. It gets pretty competitive.’

The guys running the football didn’t seem to mind the contact. After practice, Burns said that he looked forward to the physical nature of the scrimmage.

‘We’ve been practicing for two weeks against each other, and we’ve been going hard but not in a live scrimmage,’ said Burns. ‘So, this shows who can hit, who can play and who still needs to work on some things.’

Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt was pleased with the offense’s ability to gain steady yardage on the ground and by the defense’s resolve to limit big plays.

‘[Harris] made some yards. Burns and [Lewis] made some guys miss. I thought we did a good job running the ball,’ said Wannstedt.

At the end of the day, the only glaring error by the defense was its failure to defend a long touchdown pass from Bill Stull to receiver Jonathan Baldwin.

‘Defensively we gave up one big play on a pass play to Baldwin, which we shouldn’t have, but overall I thought the defense was solid,’ said Wannstedt.

All three suitors for the starting quarterback job had their moments. Stull made a couple of nice connections with Baldwin, redshirt freshman Tino Sunseri made some quick decisions under pressure, and Pat Bostick made an inch-perfect pass to Mike Shanahan that set up a Lewis touchdown.

However, there wasn’t a quarterback who was particularly dominant and, while Stull is taking all of his snaps with the first team, Bostick and Sunseri appear to be getting a fair look in practice.

One thing that was different for the quarterbacks was the addition of a live rush from the defense. For the first time this spring, the defense had the opportunity to lay a hit on the quarterback, regardless of whether he left the pocket.

‘I thought all three quarterbacks did a nice job of making some throws under pressure,’ said Wannstedt. ‘We had everything live today, and I think that makes a difference when they know that [the defense is] coming after them for real.’

According to Cignetti, the chief concern of the spring is to establish the foundation of his new offense.

‘As we get to know each other better, we’ll adapt more,’ said Cignetti. ‘What I’m trying to do right now is implement an offense [through] a methodical installation process.’

That process will continue until Pitt ends its spring practices with the annual Blue-Gold game at Heinz Field on April 11. Until then, Burns believes that Saturday’s scrimmage shows how far the Panthers have come and where they still need to go.

‘[The scrimmage] shows everyone’s weak spots, where we need to improve and where we need to get better.’ said Burns. ‘I’m sure everyone saw that today, we’ve got some things to work on, but we’ve also progressed.’

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