Pitt Preview 2014

[Coach]

What do you expect? Who will start in key spots? Game of the year? Most important guy you haven't heard of yet?

You guys know how previews go! I want to do some reading without buying a magazine. I look forward to what you guys have to say!

[Crimson's Ghost]

I guess I'm kind of the residential Pitt fan, aren't I?

QB - Chad Voytik is the man, and well - the only man. Pitt's QB depth really took a hit when they kicked Tra Chapman out of school, and now they are reduced to Voytik, former walk-on Trey Anderson, and true freshmen Adam Bertke. Voytik was once a four star, had some good offers out of HS including Tennessee, Ole Miss, and Penn State. He's a little guy, so I'm expecting him to be a good running threat. He played in the bowl game and made some big plays. He's talented, and Chryst is a good QB coach overall. Still, a big concerning position.

RB - Pitt is loaded here, and I expect to be a more run oriented team this year with the graduation of Savage. James Conner is a beast and should get the bulk of the carries. Isaac Bennett is a senior that has had plenty of experience and is reliable. Pitt fans are giddy with excitement about Chris James also. He's a four star true freshmen from Chicago and many think he can make an impact. He's actually a bit of a youtube sensation for his workouts, check it out sometime. Pitt also has a good Fullback in Jaymar Parrish.

WR - Tyler Boyd is as good of a receiver in the ACC, and one of the better ones in the country. His stats may take a hit without Savage though, but they'll get him the ball as much as possible. Manasseh Garner has switched from TE to here and is expected to win the job opposite Boyd. Adonis Jennings is a true freshmen that may see some playing time.

TE - Pitt has two good ones with JP Holtz and Scott Orndoff. Holtz will play on Sundays, and Orndoff is the better receiver of the two and he could be a big part of the offense.

OL - Pitt has 5 guys back with starting experience. Matt Rotheram and TJ Clemmings could get looks in the later rounds of the draft if they play well. Artie Rowell is on the Rimington watch list for Centers. Dorian Johnson is in his second year, added some weight and strength. The Left Tackle, Adam Bisnowaty, was a disappointment last year and could be the weak link. They have some 6'8" 330 redshirt from Philly that may get a look. Plus they brought in the top two lineman from Pennsylvania, Mike Grimm and Alex Bookser. So in other words, Chryst added size and skill and depth since he took over the job.

DL - This is a real concerning spot. Khaynin Mosley-Smith and Darryl Render will both be juniors and both have seen a good amount of playing time, but they aren't anywhere close to Aaron Donald and Tyrone Ezell. Defensive End took a hit as they did not welcome back Bryan Murphy (2 year starter) to the team, and Ejuan Price just injured his pectoral and is out for the year. Shakir Soto is the big name here, Pitt fans are really high on him. He's a big 6'4" 270 pound sophomore from Scranton.

LB - Pitt has both outside spots back, Todd Thomas and Anthony Gonzalez. Both guys are athletic, and fit in with the ACC. Both have some pro potential, still need to work on their games this year to be a real serious threat to be drafted. They are turning to a sophomore, Matt Galambos, to play in the middle.

CB - Lafayette Pitts was a huge disappointment last year after a very good freshmen season. Trenton Coles from Clairton will get the other job, he has tons of potential.

S - Ray Vinopal went from a goat early in a season, to one of the team's best players. He had two picks against Notre Dame and forced a fumble, and Pitt simply doesn't win that game without him. Terrish Webb, another Clairton kid, should get the other spot.

K - Chris Blewitt was a good as a freshmen, despite his awful last name for a kicker.


Best Offensive Player - Tyler Boyd
Best Defensive Player - Todd Thomas
Offensive breakout player - Chad Voytik
Defensive breakout player - Terrish Webb
Game of the Year - October 16 Virginia Tech Thursday prime time game on ESPN.
Trap Game - Week 2 at Boston College. Early conference game could be tough.


Projection - Pitt should be able to break the 3 straight 6-6 regular season finishes. They have a favorable schedule, 8 starters back on offense, and some promising young players. In fact, Pitt has a very good sophomore class all around, and a lot is expected of them. Depth has finally started to build up, and Chryst is getting them where they need to be. My guess is 8-4, but 7-5 is possible. I do think they are going to do a little better than the 6-6.

Delaware - W
@Boston College - W
@FIU - W
Iowa - L
Akron - W
@Virginia - W
Virginia Tech - W
Georgia Tech - L
Duke - W
@UNC - L
Syracuse - W
@ Miami - L

I'm guessing a trip to the Belk Bowl with an 8-4 record.

[abpk2903]

Thanks crimson. Great preview. As an outsider to Pitt's program, the biggest games of the year for Pitt is BC, FIU, UVA, Duke, and Syracuse. Pitt has really shot itself in the foot over the years with "silly" losses.

[Coach]

You should make the trip to Charlottesville! Great venue and experience. The students dress up for the games down there. I thought that was really cool

[Crimson's Ghost]

I've been to Charlottesville numerous times for baseball games. I think a football game there would be a blast. Almost all of the ACC venues and destinations are pretty attractive one way or another. I would love to do Boston College for the Friday game, and the Red Sox play that Saturday. That would be my first choice.


I probably won't do a road game this year for Pitt. I'm actually doing Ann Arbor for the Penn State - Michigan game.

[S Cube]

Nice job Crimson, love your work for Cardiac Hill also.

I agree with the 8-4 mark. I could easily see 7-5 or 9-3, but yeah 8-4 sounds good.

The biggest game for Pitt might be that week 2 game at BC. Pitt should win and be on there way to that 8-4 record, but a loss on the road could mean 6-6 or 7-5. I wouldn't necessarily call it a trap game, but very important for Pitt to take that next step.

The most important player in the roster is QB Chad Voytik. I have no doubts that he will be an excellent player, but if he gets hurt this season could go downhill quick. Backup Trey Anderson probably wouldn't start for some PSAC schools and Bertke isn't ready to contribute. This is probably a 5 win team without Voytik.

I think the breakout player will be freshman RB Chris James. I love what I've seen so far and I think his success will allow Pitt to use Conner more and more at DE.

[Crimson's Ghost]

I hope the days of meaningful Trey Anderson snaps are over. I mean credit to him, a Texas native recruited by Graham, to stick it out here for coming up on his 4th year. He was a heck of a High School player, but obviously has his limitations.

[KirkHerbstreit]

I believe the Delaware and Boston College games are critical for Pitt. Delaware is very capable of going into Heinze field and pulling off an upset. Delaware and Pitt have both done it before. I think typically Pitt would handle Boston College, however, the game is being played on a Friday night, sometimes that can be all the incentive a team needs.

If Chris James is the real deal, I think it would be wise to play Connor at DE. Connor played great against New Mexico and Bowling Green, Good against Duke and North Carolina, and was completely shut down by any team with a defense. He is not going to make you miss. If the hole is there, he will get yards, but he won't do much on his own.

http://espn.go.com/college-football/pla ... mes-conner

I will be surprised if Pitt does not win 7+ games this year with their schedule. I think the only thing that prevents it will be the 1st 2 games of the year.

[Crimson's Ghost]

Last year's offensive line had problems, and I think that was the biggest thing holding the running game back. The guards from 2012 switched to tackle, and tackles to guard, so I think it took everyone a while to get acclaimed. He was held down a good bit like you said, but he still managed 800 yards and 8 touchdowns in the 10 games he played, minus the VT game where he only carried it twice, so all of his stats came in 9 games. I think he did very well for a freshmen, especially for one that had some injury problems.

I personally am not to keen on the defensive end talk. I think he has the chance to rush for 1,000 yards this year if he's healthy and the line takes the step forward it is supposed to take. I don't think anyone quite knows the answer to the Conner to defense theory yet, that is something that will evolve with time. Conner enters Fall camp as #1 back on the depth chart, and Chris James hasn't taken any reps at all yet. The other thing, Pitt's two defensive ends are pretty much set, it's a matter of one of the back-ups filling a role as rush end.

I think a happy medium would be, that Conner, James, and Isaac Bennett all split carries. I think there is room and opportunity for the first back to carry it 170 times, second back 125, and third back about 100 times. In that case, you could use Conner on third downs to rush the QB without playing him too much and tiring him out for offense.


Delaware is a good FCS team, they have an experienced offense and they are a preseason top 20 team. Pitt just needs to take care of business. Boston College is definitely big as well. Road conference games against anyone are tough, and throw in the short week second game of the year factor, and it becomes very difficult.