BleacherCoaches.com

Now that it's official that Shady McCoy's going pro... my beloved panthers are going to have a lot of work ahead of them in order to compete next year. In addition to Shady leaving early; Bill Stull is just awful, CJ Davis (the best o-lineman) is graduating, McKillop is graduating, and I'm pretty sure Connor Lee is graduating...

I'm not sure what Pitt's gonna do to fill every hole, but I'm ready for the Chris Burns / Jonathan Baldwin / Tino Sunseri era of Pitt football...

I'm also hoping for more big things out of Greg Romeus at D-End next year...

Any other Panther fans have any thoughts on what Pitt needs to happen in order for a successful outing next year?

play army, notre dame, and syracuse a lot

I'm not going to say what I was going to say to Walter because I don't want to turn this into a Pitt/PSU thread. (Penn State plays ND and Cuse pretty darn often also!)

How disappointing is it that LeSean is leaving? With out him you can basically take 3-4 wins of the schedule. What is Pitt left with at running back, Collier? Then you have the great Bill Stull at QB. I was truely looking forward to next year with McCoy leading the way to a BCS game but now I will be happy with a bowl game.

Pitt always seems to pick up a good core of running backs though. I know Chris Burns is a pretty good RB. If not this year or the next, Pitts running game will be back to where it was with the McCoy Stephens-Howling tandem.

Also, Stephens-Howling is done too right? And is Reed playing RB or DB?

How disappointing is it that LeSean is leaving? With out him you can basically take 3-4 wins of the schedule. What is Pitt left with at running back, Collier? Then you have the great Bill Stull at QB. I was truely looking forward to next year with McCoy leading the way to a BCS game but now I will be happy with a bowl game.

And you guys say WE have rose colored glasses?!

BCS game? Based on what? Pitt it losing a lot more than McCoy, Cube. And you guys are pressing the panic button with Stull. That will be an open competition next season, trust me. They have too much firepower at WR to under-utilize it with McCoy gone. Pitt is also bringing in another QB with this class, and I haven't seen film on him, but there's at least HOPE. He can't be any worse than Stull.

Is Bostick even on the team?

I don't believe in Bostick what so ever. He looks like he has zero athletic ability out there and he has shown poor decision making. However, he was just a kid out there last year and didn't get much of a shot this year so maybe he will improve over time. I don't know why on earth they didn't redshirt him this year because it was obvious that Stull is Wannstedt's 'boi'.

Someone mentioned Tino Sunseri. I remember being impressed with him at PCC back when he was a Louisville commit and I couldn't believe he slipped through Pitt's hands, but he ended up here. There is no way he could be any worse than Stull. I would like to see Wannstedt open up a full on QB competition, anyones to win, but knowing him he will come out and support Stull from day 1 and name him the starter.

TAE, my BCS dream was based on all the key kogs in offense back for another year and I expected the defense to be more than adequate. But now there are a lot of question marks on offense. We do have some talent at receiver but who is going to throw it to them. Baldwin has some improving to do as well. Basically all he did last year was go deep. He needs to fine tune his route running and ball skills if he wants to make more of an impact. When Fitzgerald was a freshman all they had to do was put it in the air and he was coming down with it. Baldwin doesn't seem to have that great of ball skills, even though he always has a great height and leaping advantage.

At this point, 7-6 in 2009 would be a victory.

The Pitt staff is very high on Tino Sunseri. They would not have burned Bostick's redshirt this year if they were not.

I think you will see either Bostick or Sunseri leading the Panthers next year. Bostick may not be pretty, but he wins.

At the running back position, you will see Collier, Burns, and Harris splitting carries. Pitt has a verbal from a top back from New Jersey, Raymond Graham. He could be in the mix next season.

From what I have read, the Pitt quarterback job is completely open going into the Spring.

Let me start by saying that I do not intend for this to start in a war.

How do you Pitt fans think the way Bostick has been utilized at Pitt will influence their
ability to land another top QB recruit from PA in the future?

I raise this question because I look and see how Penn State has "developed"
other top PA QB recruits like Morelli and Devlin over the past 4-5 years
and have wondered the same question about my Alma Mater.