University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Coach Wannstedt Reflects on Day 1 of Training Camp
8/8/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 8, 2006
Dave Wannstedt
Training
August 8, 2006
On the opening day of practice:
Splitting the team up like this and having almost two [practices], it's almost like an NFL practice from the standpoint that we've got about 50 guys in the morning and 50 in the afternoon. It did accomplish what we had hoped from the standpoint that every kid out here got a lot of work. No one's going back to their dorm room tonight and making the case of "Boy I wish I would have had more of an opportunity."
I liked what we did today. We mixed the ball around good. We've got a better feel for what we can do running-wise. We have to run the football. There's a lot of different ways to do it. We're looking at some options there as we go through camp.
On position switches:
We moved Lowell Robinson to wide receiver (from the secondary). He looked very good on special teams. Obviously he was an All-American kick and punt returner (in junior college). But he looked real good doing all of the special teams stuff so we moved him to wideout and he made some plays today. And we moved Elijah Fields to safety (from receiver). Elijah's going to be a heck of a player. It's just going to be a matter of getting him some work. Those two personnel moves were done late last night. The kids didn't have much notice to get ready, but we've got plenty of time.
On freshmen Jason Pinkston and Aaron Smith:
[Jason] Pinkston and Aaron Smith, there are still [NCAA] Clearinghouse issues they're working through. I was optimistic that both of them would have been here this afternoon. Every school has got two or three guys that they're dealing with. They're trying to get through the paperwork, and that's where we're at right now. Hopefully something will happen tonight and they'll be here tomorrow.
On the athleticism and speed of Pitt's young defensive linemen:
We're a little bit faster than we were. McKenzie Mathews and those guys all can run. We've got some athletes over there. It's just a shame we're pressuring them so much as freshmen, but it is what it is. We are what we are.
On the difference in the players' acclimation to the system this year as opposed to 2005:
Last year was last year. Let's just focus in on today and moving forward. The guys came out here today and worked. It was the first day. Obviously there were too many balls on the ground. As we got tired this morning with a few of the older guys, a couple of guys jumped offside and some of those sloppy things that as we get more conditioned, as we get a little more tougher mentally, we'll eliminate those things.
On the decision to switch
Number one, Lowell is a lot more mature. I think in our receiver group right now, we've got a lot of young kids in there. He adds some maturity to that group. Number two, he has a great chance to be our punt and kickoff return guy. I thought the more times he's handling the football in a practice, it'd be better and give him more confidence in that respect. I looked at Elijah and said, "Is it tomorrow? Is it next year?" Elijah's going to be a great player for us, but where can we put Elijah where he's going to be a two-, three-, four-year starter for us? I just think that at safety there's a greater opportunity for him. It was a little combination of both.
On his impressions of those players at their new positions:
They were at a disadvantage because they woke up this morning at 5:30 and we told them, "You're a receiver, and you're a DB." That probably was a little tough on them, but they did fine. They'll get better every practice. We'll move [Lowell Robinson] up to that first group of receivers in the morning and give him a chance there and maybe move Elijah up.
On freshman running back Kevin Collier:
Kevin was okay. It's tough as a running back when you don't have pads on. This is a big thing with running backs coming out of a running offense. Kevin Collier last year, Conredge Collins, a lot of these guys have not had a lot of passes thrown to them. In high school, and in programs they've come from, they've had their success running the ball. Probably the biggest thing right now for Kevin won't be his football and his run skills. It's going to be catching the ball which is probably where we'll need to spend a lot of time.
On defensive tackles Mick Williams and Gus Mustakas:
[They bring] speed, speed, speed. Both of them were linebackers at one time and now they're nose guards. They're both not very tall, but they're explosive and they're quick. I liked what I saw for one day. I almost hate to make comments about linemen until we get the pads on. But those guys worked today, and they deserve to be recognized.
