Pitt looking downright offensive

It was exactly what Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt wanted to see.

After four weeks of watching… It was exactly what Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt wanted to see.

After four weeks of watching his offense struggle, the Panthers finally began to click.

Maybe it just needed a few more fans.

In front of a crowd of 7,549, Pitt football ended spring drills Saturday night with the annual Blue-Gold game at Heinz Field. Using a system with offensive and defensive scoring, the Pitt offense defeated the defense, 60-25.

Wannstedt said he was happy with what the Panthers did with the ball – especially after the offensive line struggled so badly in the past weeks.

“Our offensive line performed better than they have all spring,” Wannstedt said. “I thought our guys were pretty focused.”

Right from the start, the first-team offense displayed that focus with quarterback Bill Stull behind center. Stull completed his first six passes to five different receivers before tailback LeSean McCoy pounded his way into the end zone for a touchdown.

Stull, who ran the first-team offense all spring, finished the game 7 for 10 for 56 yards.

“We went out there made a couple of plays,” Stull said. “We used that as momentum.”

But while Stull had success throwing the ball, it was backup tailback Shariff Harris who took over the game.

Harris tallied a game-high 65 yards on nine carries. The redshirt freshman-to-be also scored on a 15-yard touchdown run where he started by running up the middle, then pulled a spin move to the left and cut up the sideline for the score.

Last week in practice, Wannstedt said Harris and sophomore-to-be Kevin Collier were battling for the third running back position. Collier finished with 12 yards on five attempts.

“No positions were definitely solidified today,” Wannstedt said, “but I did like Shariff Harris.”

Although Pitt had success on the offensive side, the defense did make some plays, too.

After the opening drive, the first-team offense couldn’t get back in rhythm. Stull completed just one more pass and was sacked three times.

The defense came through with six sacks and one hurry. Defensive tackle Mick Williams, who won the Ed Conway Award for the most improved defensive player, came up with two of those sacks.

Still, the rest of the offense was strong.

Stull and Robb Houser were smooth with the center-to-quarterback exchange – something Pitt struggled with early on in the spring.

Houser, a transfer from Butte Community College in California, has been playing center with the first team since the second week.

Wannstedt said he was impressed with Dorin Dickerson, who moved to tight end after playing wide receiver and linebacker the past two years.

Dickerson, who pulled in three catches for 35 yards, said he’s finally feeling comfortable on the field – even though he’d never played the tight end position before in his career.

“[I’d] never put my hand in a three-point stance before,” Dickerson said. “[But] I have the confidence now. It feels good.”

Along with Dickerson, other players were making catches as well.

Sophomore-to-be Maurice Williams led all receivers with seven catches for 105 yards. Late in the second quarter, Williams snuck between the defense’s zone in the left side of the end zone and caught a strike from quarterback Kevan Smith.

Smith, who has been splitting time with Pat Bostick on the second-team offense, finished the game 5 for 10 for 48 yards and a touchdown. Bostick, who earned the starting job last year after Stull injured his thumb and Smith struggled as the starter, led all quarterbacks with 105 yards on 11-of-15 passing.

Junior college transfer Greg Cross also got in the mix, completing 2 of 5 passes for 42 yards. But Cross used his legs to make his impact on the game.

On one possession, Cross and the offense were backed up and facing third-down-and-22. Cross dropped back, rolled to the right and took off, slicing through the defense en route to a 29-yard gain.

Wannstedt said he was happy with the way all of the quarterbacks played. “I thought that we did a good job of protecting the ball,” he said. “[They] made good decisions.”

Wannstedt added that with the depth and differences at the quarterback position, he’s not completely sure what the depth chart will look like once training camp begins.

Still, he said he’s more comfortable with the position than he was last year and he doesn’t mind having to choose between four players.

“We can’t practice them all [when training camp starts],” Wannstedt said. “[But] it’s a nice problem to have.”