I can’t write here what I thought when Bill Stull doubled over and grabbed his hand Saturday… I can’t write here what I thought when Bill Stull doubled over and grabbed his hand Saturday – inappropriate for print.

By the way he reacted, visibly in serious pain as he immediately jogged off the field to have a trainer escort him through the visitor’s tunnel and out of sight, I thought it was going to be a while before he ran back out as Pitt’s quarterback.

The verdict on Stull isn’t condemning, but it’s not soothing, either. He’s out four to six weeks after having surgery Monday to repair the ligament in his right thumb – on his throwing hand.

It’s a shame, too. Stull waited patiently for two years, watching Tyler Palko do the job everyone knew he’d inherit once Palko graduated.

And on his first day Stull got the job done well. Very well. He was 14 for 20 for 177 yards and a touchdown. Not bad for a guy who, in his first collegiate start, threw more passes than he did all last year.

But for now Stull is out of the picture. Pitt has two quarterbacks to choose from – redshirt freshman Kevan Smith, who replaced Stull for the last 20 minutes in Saturday’s game, or true freshman Pat Bostick who, in case you didn’t hear, missed the first week of training camp because of personal issues.

Who will start this week against Grambling? It’s a question even head coach Dave Wannstedt can’t answer until after this week’s practices.

Actually, there are a lot of questions surrounding Pitt now