With the Pitt Panthers football team about to kick the 2014 season off against Delaware on Saturday, a lot has to go right for Paul Chryst’s team to avoid another 6-6 campaign and a trip to the Little Caesar’s Bowl or the usual BBVA Compass Bowl.
The Panthers have a favorable schedule, with no Florida State or Clemson, to do some damage in their second season in the ACC, but for everything to go according to plan and Pitt to be playing in a better bowl game at season’s end, there are five major keys to the season.
Let’s take a look.
5. Someone Steps Up at CB
Redshirt junior Lafayette Pitts is solid on side, but someone has to step up and do the job on the other side.
Cornerback is one position the Panthers are pretty thin at and the transfer of Trenton Coles, along with the suspension of Titus Howard and the loss of Jahmahl Pardner, who left the team during spring drills, the Panthers are paper thin at the position.
Wisconsin transfer Reggie Mitchell will get the first crack as a starter on Saturday, but between Mitchell, Ryan Lewis and freshman Avonte Maddox, a couple of these guys are going to have to step and become above average corners or teams will pick Pitt apart.
Keep in mind there’s no Aaron Donald around to terrorize quarterbacks any longer with makes the corners jobs even tougher.
4. Todd Thomas steps up as the leader of the defense
Speaking of no Donald, the Pitt defense can’t replace him.
There’s simply no way, but they are going to have to try.
The problem is that it isn’t only Donald they have to replace, but also gone are Bryan Murphy (6.5 sacks), Tyrone Ezell, Shane Gordon, Ejuan Price, Jason Hendricks and K’Waun Williams.
Junior Darryl Render will be the man occupy Donald’s old position at defensive tackle and has looked good so far, but someone needs to step up and be a leader and a big playmaker of the defense.
That man is linebacker Todd Thomas.
After recording 72 tackles in 2013, Thomas is ready to assume the role as Pitt’s best defensive player.
Pitt’s linebacking core has the chance to be surprisingly good with Anthony Gonzalez and sophomore Matt Galambos also in the mix, but how good the Pitt defense is in 2014 could depend on how good Thomas is.
3. Tyler Boyd and other Pitt youngsters continues to become stars
After a freshman campaign in which he caught 85 passes for 1,174 yards and seven touchdowns, many can’t wait to see what Boyd has planned for an encore as a freshman.
He is one of the most talented players in the ACC and the entire nation so you know teams will be game planning to stop him. If Boyd continues to amaze week to week, the Pitt offense could be very good.
Someone will have to step up opposite Boyd now that Devin Street is no longer around, just to take the attention away from the sophomore. But consider that with Street out of action the final two weeks of last season, Boyd had 17 catches for 271 yards.
If Manasseh Garner can fill Street’s old role, the Pitt offense will have weapons.
It’s not just Boyd other teams have to worry about as young running back James Conner and quarterback Chad Voytik will be counted onto do big things.
If Pitt’s bowl win against Bowling Green is any indication, where Voytik, Conner and Boyd all played major roles in Pitt’s come from behind victory, the future could be very bright starting this season.
Throw tight ends J.P. Holtz and Scott Orndoff into the mix and the Pitt offense could turn out to be pretty productive.
2. Chad Voytik lives up to the hype
Since the day he committed to Pitt, there has been a lot of hype surrounding the Panthers quarterback of the future.
Well that future is finally here.
Now the question becomes whether or not Voytik can live up to the hype.
He showed glimpses during the bowl win last season. Voytik showed he can produce under pressure in the bowl game, playing the entire second half and leading the Panthers to the winning drive in the final minutes.
At only 6’1″, Voytik wouldn’t be the first undersized quarterback Paul Chryst went to battle with. Russell Wilson thrived under Chryst’s watch at Wisconsin in 2011 and while I won’t make that comparison just yet, Pitt fans will be thrilled if Voytik turns out to be half as good as Wilson in Chryst’s system.
The Panthers have a guy who can make plays with both his arm and his legs and should be a very exciting player to watch.
Voytik will make mistakes as all young quarterbacks do. The key will be for the Panthers to not have to force Voytik to win games all by himself.
Keep this in mind. In Tino Sunseri’s three years as a Pitt starter, he never once won a game in which Pitt trailed at any point. Voytik did that in his first extended playing time of his career.
There’s a lot to be excited about in terms of the quarterback position. The kid just has to go out there and make plays.
1. Pitt’s offense line becomes better
Unfortunately Voytik can’t do that if the Pitt offensive line isn’t better.
Pitt’s offensive line allowed 43 sacks in 2013, which was fifth worst among Division I-A teams. That is something that Voytik’s mobility should help cut down on. So should an offensive line that returns four starters.
Coaches can’t say enough good things about redshirt senior right tackle T.J. Clemmings, who was playing his first season on offense last year after switching from defensive end. He has impressed so much that Clemmings was voted a team captain.
Adam Bisnowaty returns at left tackle after his season was cut short last year by a back injury. Throw in the highly thought of Dorian Johnson at left guard and that side of the line has a chance to be very good.
Artie Rowell will start at center and Matt Rotheram will be back at right guard. It would be nice to see all five guys start the entire year and see how far they can come as a unit.
But one thing is clear and that this Pitt football team may be only as good as that five man unit allows them to be and it is fair to say that the offensive line is Pitt’s biggest key to turning in a successful 2014 campaign.
Photo Credit: USA Today Sports
