Freshman’s game management improves

Pitt head coach Dave Wannstedt said his team needed to make smart passing plays on Saturday… Pitt head coach Dave Wannstedt said his team needed to make smart passing plays on Saturday against Syracuse to improve to 4-5 in 2007.

In what should be the last game in which Pitt is favored this season, freshman quarterback Pat Bostick did exactly that.

He managed Pitt’s 20-17 win over Syracuse with bold confidence and coolness.

Bostick’s biggest error, a lofted bomb into a Cover 2 defense that was intercepted, was canceled out by off-setting penalties.

The freshman showed adept footwork in the pocket, avoiding pressure on several occasions before drilling an open receiver.

Bostick finished 21 of 30, throwing for 153 yards and one touchdown.

The score and statistics certainly don’t imply that Bostick was much of a factor – it helped that record-setting sensation LeSean McCoy manned the backfield and stole the show – but in this case, the numbers lie.

In his first few games under center for Pitt, Bostick favored his check-down receivers, swinging more passes in the flat than anywhere else.

At times, Bostick’s passes, which always have some arc to them, seemingly take forever to reach his receivers.

The ball floats toward the open player, allowing defenders time to close down the real estate around the receiver.

He was visibly rattled at Virginia, where Pitt lost, 44-14, but he has grown stronger each week since.

All the criticism of his style aside, Bostick has matured quicker than expected.

His “floated” passes are finding more open receivers. His check-down options are still there, but Bostick doesn’t immediately look to them.

In the second quarter on Saturday, Bostick’s pocket pushed into the backfield.

With some space in front of him, the soft-spoken quarterback stepped toward the line of scrimmage, set his feet and delivered a flawless touchdown pass to Turner in the front right corner of the end zone.

The score gave Pitt a 10-3 lead, and it was also a microcosm of Bostick’s coming of age.

Like Wannstedt said last week at a press conference, Bostick is mentally “farther along than any other freshman quarterback in the country.”

He knew he had the right receiver open in Turner, and he had a chance to catch him in the end zone, so he threw it there. Simple enough.

His football IQ earned him high recruiting praise while he played with Manheim Township in Lancaster, Pa.

Coaches knew he wasn’t a scrambler, didn’t have the strongest arm and wasn’t going to flip a 70-yard missile to a streaking receiver on any given Saturday.

What coaches did know, however, is that Bostick understands the game.

He has a feel for the position he plays.

He will make smart passes. He will avoid pressure by sliding around in the pocket.

He will find the open receiver, even if it means a short gain.

Most of all, he has confidence in his receivers.

He will throw to someone if they are open, but he won’t force it. He can win games that way.

That’s what made Bostick so attractive to college recruiters.

The foundation for a smart and balanced quarterback has always been there.

It’s come to life in the past few games, fully manifesting itself on Saturday.

He relied on his best weapon, record-setting freshman tailback LeSean McCoy, who took 31 carries for 140 yards and a touchdown.

It helps that McCoy is one of Bostick’s closest friends.

It helps that McCoy, whose cut backs and shimmying have sent countless linebackers to the trainer’s table this year, is a freshman, too.

He can grow with Bostick.

Turner, Bostick’s No. 1-receiving target on Saturday, and solid slot receiver Cedric McGee are redshirt sophomores.

Star receiver Derek Kinder will return next season after recovering from a season-ending ACL tear.

Tight end Nate Byham and emerging talent T.J. Porter are sophomores.

All that talent has to make Wannstedt comfortable.

With a strong-willed and intelligent quarterback already producing, Pitt has the tools to form a potent offense in the very near future.

Just imagine what he will be capable of as a sophomore and beyond.