Hi I'm a Pitt fan as you guys can probably tell from my screen name. Anyway I just wanted to give you guys some info on our team and was hoping to learn more about utah. First of everybody knows about dion lewis who ran for just shy of 1800 yards last year and his last 5 games had at least 130 yards including against north carolina who had one of the top d-lines and defense in the country and had 8 guys in the box to try and stop him. Behind dion we have ray graham who is a smaller back that is faster than dion and arguably has more 1 on 1 moves and was named the most improved player on offense for the team this spring. Our recievers are Jonathon Baldwin who just has freakish workout stats. He has a 40+ vertical, legit 4.4 speed and is 6-5 220 lbs. Baldwin will almost certainly require a double team or at the very least help over the top from a safety. He racked up 1,100 yards last year and is average 22 yds per catch. Opposite Baldwin is Mike Shannahan, who while not as fast as Baldwin, is also 6-5 and excellent at running routes. He loves to go into the middle of the feild and make the tough catch and is great at jump balls as he is a former basketball player and times his jumps very well. Our slot receiver will likely rotate between Cameron saddler, our smallest receiver at 5-7, but is very shifty and has great acceleration and devin street, a redshirt freshman who is 6-3 and from reports last year in practice and so far this year appears to be a great deep threat. Our receiving corps is inexperienced behind baldwin but there are probably not more than a handful of teams with more size and talent at the position. Our TE group will be new this year, but also has size. Mike Cruz is our starting TE, he's a do it all guy with good size, 6-5 250, who is said to have the surest hands on the team. Behind him there is a battle for the second TE, but neither guy is noteworthy for receiving, both are excellent blockers who are likely to stay in and protect the qb if they are out there. Our o-line is returning two starters at the tackle postions, one guy, Jason Pinkston, is an All-American candidate and was recently ranked 40th in rivals top 100 college players. Our other returning starter is Lucas Nix and is a first team all big east type guy who is very solid in run and pass. Chris Jacobson just recently was named the starter at LG, he is a former 5 star all-american high school recruit who from all reports has been very solid. The other two positions, C and RG, are question marks and are starters have yet to be named. At center Alex Carabin seems to be the leading candidate, he's a walk on fifth year senior who is said to be solid run-blocking but his pass blocking leaves something to be desired. At RG we have two big guys who are talented but have missed assignments in practice so far. Greg Gaskins looks to be the leading candidate there and is probably the most worrisome position on our team. At qb we have Tino Sunseri. Tino is a smaller qb listed at 6-2 but is definately closer to 6 foot. He is a qb that figures to rollout alot. He doesn't have blazing speed but is a mobile qb who can get a few yards if things break down. He has a stronger arm and better deep ball than our starter last year Bill Stull, but doesn't diagnose his reads as quickly.
On defense I feel like most utes fans know or have heard about Greg Romeous. He's one of our DE's and is a consensus first round pick in all mock drafts for next year. He drew double teams in nearly every game last year and still managed 8 sacks. He's a huge guy, 6-6 270, with great speed. Opposite Romeous is Jabaal Sheard, who is 6-5 260, and faster than Romeous. He is a projected 2nd or 3rd rounder for this upcoming year and is very solid in run defense and getting to the qb. There is alot of depth behind these two guys that will give them occasional breathers. Our defensive tackles are Chas Alexich and Myles Caragein who are replacing the two starters from last year but saw significant time last year and played very well. There is no drop off in play at this position expected this year. Behind these guys we have 4 linebackers that will see significant time. Max Gruder is our best tackler and is likely to be an all big east first or second team guy this year. Our MLB is Dan Mason, a former 5 star recruit entering his second year. He is an incredible talent who is still learning, but will make plays that just wow you several times a game. He is excellent is coverage for a linebacker and a good pass rusher. Our other linebacker position will likely see a rotation between greg williams and tristan roberts. Williams is our most physically gifted linebacker, very fast 4.5 type speed, but seems lost out there alot, while Roberts is slower but very solid in postioning and schemes. Our secondary is odd, on one hand Jared Holley and Dom Decicco are our starting safties, both of who are excellent against the run and Holley is great against the pass while decicco is more than servicable against the pass. Cornerback is where we will see concern. Our definite starting cornerback that'll draw the top receiver is Antwuan Reed a redshirt freshman that appears to be our best cornerback since darelle revis (Definately not near as good though...sigh) and is a blanket coverage corner who will hold his man in check most games. Our other spot we are not so fortunate, it is a battle between ricky gary, a small redshirt senior that plays aggressive but gets beat very often, and a true freshman K'Wuan Williams, who has been impressive from all reports and is a playmaker, but has also made mistakes and allowed easy scores in camp so far. This is where we'll be vulnerable. Our nickelback will be switched between Andrew Taglienetti and Jason Hendrix, both of who are safties and talented, playmaking guys. In Andrews case, he'd likely be the started over Holley, but was injured and out for the season last year.
Special teams we should be solid at kick and punt coverage and we have a solid kicker. As for kick returners, Ray graham is our biggest threat and I am unsure who the other guy back will be. Punt returns have been rotated and a main return guy is not yet clear. Our kicker and punter both have good legs.
Also worth noting is that Pitt takes very few penalties. I beleive this will be a great game and the team with the fewest turnovers will win. I look forward to hearing about your team!!! Good luck guys
On defense I feel like most utes fans know or have heard about Greg Romeous. He's one of our DE's and is a consensus first round pick in all mock drafts for next year. He drew double teams in nearly every game last year and still managed 8 sacks. He's a huge guy, 6-6 270, with great speed. Opposite Romeous is Jabaal Sheard, who is 6-5 260, and faster than Romeous. He is a projected 2nd or 3rd rounder for this upcoming year and is very solid in run defense and getting to the qb. There is alot of depth behind these two guys that will give them occasional breathers. Our defensive tackles are Chas Alexich and Myles Caragein who are replacing the two starters from last year but saw significant time last year and played very well. There is no drop off in play at this position expected this year. Behind these guys we have 4 linebackers that will see significant time. Max Gruder is our best tackler and is likely to be an all big east first or second team guy this year. Our MLB is Dan Mason, a former 5 star recruit entering his second year. He is an incredible talent who is still learning, but will make plays that just wow you several times a game. He is excellent is coverage for a linebacker and a good pass rusher. Our other linebacker position will likely see a rotation between greg williams and tristan roberts. Williams is our most physically gifted linebacker, very fast 4.5 type speed, but seems lost out there alot, while Roberts is slower but very solid in postioning and schemes. Our secondary is odd, on one hand Jared Holley and Dom Decicco are our starting safties, both of who are excellent against the run and Holley is great against the pass while decicco is more than servicable against the pass. Cornerback is where we will see concern. Our definite starting cornerback that'll draw the top receiver is Antwuan Reed a redshirt freshman that appears to be our best cornerback since darelle revis (Definately not near as good though...sigh) and is a blanket coverage corner who will hold his man in check most games. Our other spot we are not so fortunate, it is a battle between ricky gary, a small redshirt senior that plays aggressive but gets beat very often, and a true freshman K'Wuan Williams, who has been impressive from all reports and is a playmaker, but has also made mistakes and allowed easy scores in camp so far. This is where we'll be vulnerable. Our nickelback will be switched between Andrew Taglienetti and Jason Hendrix, both of who are safties and talented, playmaking guys. In Andrews case, he'd likely be the started over Holley, but was injured and out for the season last year.
Special teams we should be solid at kick and punt coverage and we have a solid kicker. As for kick returners, Ray graham is our biggest threat and I am unsure who the other guy back will be. Punt returns have been rotated and a main return guy is not yet clear. Our kicker and punter both have good legs.
Also worth noting is that Pitt takes very few penalties. I beleive this will be a great game and the team with the fewest turnovers will win. I look forward to hearing about your team!!! Good luck guys
