Sunday, September 2nd, 2007 by Adam Wagner
Earlier Than Expected
Coming off of a methodical 27-3 win over Eastern Michigan, Pitt announced today that quarterback Bill Stull would be out indefinitely with a torn ligament in the thumb of his throwing hand. The injury potentially signifies the beginning of the Pat Bostick area at Heinz Field and, quite frankly, nothing could be better for the Pitt program.
Bostick, along with “Shady” McCoy, and Ricky Gary (starting corner yesterday with an interception) represent immediate returns on the one element of college football that Dave Wannstedt seems capable of understanding: recruiting. With the 21st-ranked recruiting class in the nation in 2006 and the 26th-ranked class in 2007, Pitt fans keep hearing about how great their teams are going to be very soon. (This is also the one area where Pitt seems able to keep up with the hated Penn State.) They have not, however, seen any proof of this as the team has not gone to a bowl in either one of Wannstedt’s two seasons despite the presence of veteran quarterback Tyler Palko, first-round pick Darrelle Revis, fourth-round pick Clint Sessions, and H.B. Blades (who will see playing time).
Wannstedt must be on something of a hot seat, as he has not shown an ability to actually coach on any level, be it the NFL or college. Now he must either succeed or fail with “his” guys. The McCoys and the Bosticks are the future of this program, elite skill players from outside the Western Pennsylvania area that the coach discussed “building a fence around” when he was hired, a goal that he has pretty much succeeded in with some big schools (Michigan, WVU, Penn State) encroaching on a semi-regular basis.
The program has players to be excited about and now it is time to see results from those players. Stull’s injury expedites the process and may end up saving the program, at least until the next coach is hired and the recruiting cycle picks up again.
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