Defense dominates game

Dreary clouds cloaked Heinz Field. Winds blew into the stadium and twisted the flags in each… Dreary clouds cloaked Heinz Field. Winds blew into the stadium and twisted the flags in each direction while the most loyal Pitt football fans took in the first official look at the 2007 Pitt Panthers on Saturday.

The Blue-Gold game, the culmination of Pitt’s spring practices, drew a handful of fans to the North Shore. Watching from the east side of the stadium, spectators saw a skeleton of Pitt’s team. Fourteen returning players were held out because of injuries and 24 newcomers from head coach Dave Wannstedt’s prized recruiting class will fill out the roster in the fall.

The players returning from last year’s 6-6 team conducted drills and an offense vs. defense scrimmage. Wannstedt separated his squad into first and second teams, with the first team offense competing against the first team defense and second teams competing against one another.

“I thought it was a good spring practice,” Wannstedt said after the game. “The game today was indicative of the things we observed the last few weeks in practice.”

Wannstedt pointed to the successes of his sophomores-to-be as a sign of an improved team in the off-season.

“I like how the sophomore class is working,” Wannstedt said. “For us to get better as a team, they have to get going and keep improving.”

Here is a review of the team’s performance, based on position:

Quarterbacks: C-

Sophomore Bill Stull took the snaps for the first team offense. Stull completed eight of his 18 passing attempts for 89 yards and an interception. He almost had two more passes intercepted and fumbled once.

“I have to play better,” Stull said. “We certainly have a lot of work to do.”

Redshirt freshman Kevan Smith struggled. The 6-3 newcomer was 11-for-22 for 113 yards. He threw two interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown by defensive back Elijah Fields, and one touchdown.

Smith fumbled his first snap. His first interception came on a pass into zone coverage, where Fields moved to his left and collected the lofted pass and took it 53 yards to the house. Smith’s second pick was a perfect pass to Dorin Dickerson, hitting the freshman right between the numbers.

Dickerson moved from wide receiver to linebacker in the off-season.

“The fumbles came on exchanges – we can fix that,” Wannstedt said. “The interceptions we won’t tolerate. The only negative [of Saturday’s game] was the turnovers.”

Running backs: B

Sophomore LaRod Stephens-Howling had 81 yards on 13 carries, including three breakout runs. He was the highlight of the running-back corps.

Freshman Kevin Collier started for the offense’s second team and rushed for 54 yards on 12 carries. He fumbled once.

“I thought Kevin Collier did a nice job today,” Wannstedt said.

Sophomore Conredge Collins started at fullback for the first team and took a few carries. Offensive coordinator Matt Cavanaugh continued his use of Collins as the blocking back in Pitt’s shotgun formation.

But overall, the backs had trouble making any headway on any of their runs between the tackles. The biggest plays come when Stephens-Howling or Collier broke to the outside.

Wide receivers: A

In the opportunities they had, Pitt’s receivers did as well as they could. Returning starters Derek Kinder and Oderick Turner looked solid, and third receiver Marcel Pestano caught the game’s lone touchdown pass.

But the highlight of the receivers was T.J. Porter. The freshman, a much touted recruit coming into last season, caught four passes for 68 yards. He snatched the first completion of the day for a 21-yard gain across the middle.

“The wide receivers are a good group – they’ll make plays for us,” Wannstedt said. “That position is filled with competition. Nothing will be determined until training camp. I’m real excited about T.J. Porter.”

Offensive line: D

The running game struggled between the tackles, with Stephens-Howling needing to break most of his big runs outside and create missed tackles on his own. On one play, Collins ran hard into the back of his own confused lineman and was throttled to the turf.

There were several problems on the exchange from center to quarterback, resulting in two fumbles, and the quarterbacks rarely had enough time to find their receivers, who took very little time getting open.

“With the offensive line and offensive linemen, things work themselves out,” Wannstedt said. “Those guys are smart, and they’ll figure things out.”

Defensive line: A

The multi-talented line wreaked havoc on seemingly every play, needing little time to get to the quarterbacks.

Against the run, nothing crept through the line. The biggest run plays occurred when the ball carrier found the outside and turned the corner, accelerating north to south against the secondary and linebackers.

Wannstedt noticed his defensive line’s intensity.

“If a defensive line isn’t making plays, you got no chance,” Wannstedt said. “They were exactly where they needed to be. I thought Gus Mustakas played really well.”

Mustakas, a junior, had six tackles, three of which were for a loss, two sacks and a forced fumble. Wannstedt gave him the Ed Conway Award for being the team’s most improved defensive player of spring drills.

Redshirt freshman Greg Romeus impressed Wannstedt as well.

“Romeus is going to be good,” Wannstedt said. “I can see him in on third down making plays.”

Linebackers: B

Considering the graduation of both H.B. Blades and Clint Session, paired with Tommie Campbell’s dismissal from the team, the linebackers fared well. Dickerson’s new position seemed to fit him well, and junior Scott McKillop finished with a game-high 10 tackles.

“Our young linebackers all made some good plays,” Wannstedt said.

Defensive backs: A

Freshman safety Elijah Fields returned Smith’s errant pass for a touchdown and earned the high praise of Wannstedt.

“Elijah is an interesting, good player,” Wannstedt said. “He needs day-to-day consistency. The quicker he jumps on board, the sky’s the limit. He’s made a lot of progress.”

Wannstedt was confident that at both safety and cornerback, Pitt would be OK. He mentioned cornerback Aaron Berry as a star of the game.

“He’s going to be a real good player,” Wannstedt said.

Special teams: C

The place kicking was there. The punting was not. Graduated punter Adam Graessle’s absence was felt. Dave Brytus, a 6-4 redshirt junior, wobbled one nine-yard punt out of bounds.

Two of his other punts fell easily short of 30 yards. He did, however, show signs of quality kicking, lofting two for fair catches.

The return teams didn’t really get a chance to do much, as three punts sailed out of bounds and the only other two were fair caught. There were no kickoffs in the practice format.