Trick play sparks Pitt in victory

Dave Wannstedt was confused.

His team was leading The Citadel 21-6 with just more than two… Dave Wannstedt was confused.

His team was leading The Citadel 21-6 with just more than two minutes left in the second quarter and driving for a touchdown, when something caught his eye.

“I saw a pair of gloves on the ground and I thought to myself, ‘Who the hell left their gloves on the ground?'” Wannstedt said. “It was Darrell.”

It wasn’t by mistake that tight end Darrell Strong left his receiver gloves on the field between plays. He can throw the ball better that way.

The gloves rested on the ground when quarterback Tyler Palko snapped the ball. He looked left and threw to Strong behind the line of scrimmage. Strong, a quarterback-turned-tight end, re-gripped the ball and delivered a 30-yard pass to running back LaRod Stephens-Howling in the right corner of the end zone for the score.

“That was a play we’d been working on for a couple weeks,” Wannstedt said.

“I’m glad we finally brought it out,” Stephens-Howling said. “From the gate, though, I saw gloves being thrown around so I didn’t think it was going to work but it worked out for us. He threw a great pass.”

Strong was a little more critical of his throw than his receiver, but nonetheless it was something the junior had been waiting to do for a long time.

“[I’d been waiting] about three years now,” Strong said, referring to running the play. “I think it wasn’t my best pass, but a lot of the players said it was a good pass.”

It was good enough for the touchdown, which happened to be Strong’s first touchdown pass of his career. Considering he was recruited to play quarterback for the Panthers but was moved to tight end early in his career, Strong felt good getting to throw the ball again.

“I came here as a quarterback so my passion is still at quarterback,” Strong said. “I definitely enjoyed it.”

Strong knows he enjoyed throwing. Wannstedt knows as well. As a matter of fact, almost the entire Pitt team knows Strong likes throwing more than catching.

“Darrell’s happy for the next three weeks,” Wannstedt said. “He’s happier throwing one than catching one.”

“He’ll brag about this for a week,” Stephens-Howling said.

Strong can be extra happy, because the play almost went awry. Even though the Panthers had been working on it in practice, the play call caught Strong by surprise.

“[Wannstedt] called the personnel and I didn’t know it was a pass, so I had to take off my gloves in the huddle,” Strong said. “After we broke the huddle, I saw my gloves on the ground, so I was like, ‘[The Citadel] probably saw me throw my gloves on the ground.'”

“I was even trying to listen on the sidelines to see what they were going to call but they didn’t recognize it,” Strong said of the Bulldogs’ defense.

That’s not all that could have gone wrong with the gadget play. As Stephens-Howling mentioned, Strong hadn’t been so confident in hitting his primary target in practice.

“At practice one time he said he misjudged my speed,” Stephens-Howling said. “But he got it there.”

Even if The Citadel did recognize the play, they didn’t stop it. Strong delivered a strike and Pitt went up 28-6. As Stephens-Howling mentioned, that was an important part of the game despite the already-sizable Panther lead.

“I believe we were stopped before that series, so we needed to get back on the board and set the pace of the game,” Stephens-Howling said.

The Panthers set that pace and ran away with the game, 51-6. Even though the pass was something that had been a long time coming for Strong, the victory, and his contribution to it, was the only thing that mattered.

“I didn’t have any catches today, so as long as I did something to contribute, that’s all that really matters,” Strong said.

Whether or not the Panthers will make a habit of calling trick plays like Strong’s, Stephens-Howling doesn’t know.

“We’ll have to see,” the running back said.

Wannstedt mentioned he was happy with what he saw in the play today, but didn’t comment on the frequency of such calls in the future.

He may want to keep opposing defenses confused — without any loose gloves on the field, though.