McKillop, Pitt thrive in tough water

Saturday’s game against Navy marked the first time Pitt traveled to Annapolis, Md., since 1987,… Saturday’s game against Navy marked the first time Pitt traveled to Annapolis, Md., since 1987, thus making it the first time any of the Pitt players got to experience all of Navy’s pre-game ceremonies. Before each home game, all of the Cadets march their companies into the stadium, covering the entire field before the national anthem, which was followed on Saturday with a flyover by two Airborne Warning And Control airplanes, the large propeller planes with radar discs on top of the hull. Also, across the facade inside Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium are the names of prominent past military battles, like Okinawa, Iwo Jima and Pearl Harbor. It can be a bit distracting, even for a guy like Scott McKillop. ‘I really try not to concentrate on the environment,’ said McKillop. ‘But you know after the game I took a minute to sit back and relax. It’s a top-of-the-line atmosphere. ‘Being able to play at the Naval Academy, it’s something I’ll cherish for the rest of my life. It’s hard to stay focused when you come in. You see all the battles that were fought and just everything that goes with this place. Coming off before the first quarter they had the flyover. It’s hard not to get distracted. ‘ Something else about Navy even threw LeSean McCoy off. ‘You know, Coach [Dave Wannstedt] played here, and he was telling us stories about the stuff that can be a distraction ‘mdash; the flyover and the fans,’ said McCoy. ‘It was different because the fans were so nice to us. We’re not used to that.’ McCoy chasing Dorsett As often as McCoy shrugs off the comparisons of him to Tony Dorsett, his play continues to refresh them.’ ‘ ‘ When Pitt played at Navy in 1976, Tony Dorsett rushed for 180 yards ‘not;’not;’mdash; then an NCAA single-game record. Wannstedt made sure McCoy knew about it in the days before the game. ‘We talked about that in the team meeting on Thursday night ‘mdash; that Tony broke the record,’ said Wannstedt. ‘But [McCoy] was aware of that, and that was neat.’ McCoy, despite having a chest cold, fell 24 yards short of Dorsett’s mark with 156 yards rushing. ‘It’s pretty cool, but I don’t look into it that much,’ said McCoy. ‘Coach reminded me all week that he broke the record here. But that’s Mr. Dorsett ‘mdash; a great college back. It’s great to know that he’s from my college, and it’s great to represent him and Pittsburgh.’ No redshirt for Bostick Many thought the Pitt staff would try to redshirt sophomore quarterback Pat Bostick this season, preserving a year of eligibility for him while Bill Stull, a redshirt junior, directs the offense. That would give Bostick two years to be the possible starting quarterback after Stull graduates. But all that was squashed, at least for this season, when Bostick came in late in the fourth quarter of the game to take three snaps that basically ran out the clock. Under NCAA rules, any player who has played one play during a season, and has not suffered a season-ending injury, is ineligible for a redshirt that season. Wannstedt stuck by the decision to play Bostick and burn a possible redshirt for this year. ‘We’re trying to win, and he’s our backup quarterback right now,’ said Wannstedt. ‘And if something happens to Billy he’s got to go in to play, and we wanted to get him some playing time.’ When later asked whether or not he and the staff wanted to preserve a year of eligibility for Bostick, who started nine games last year after Stull was out for the season with an injury, Wannstedt replied, ‘No.’