Spring football recap and more
All three local Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams, West Virginia, Pitt and Penn State, had their spring games Saturday, so let鈥檚 review.
WVU adjusting to Brown?
The Mountaineers just concluded their first spring camp under new head coach Neal Brown, and there is a positive vibe coming out of Morgantown.
There is a quarterback derby going on at WVU, and time will tell who takes snaps come the season opener. Austin Kendall, who transferred from Oklahoma, Jack Allison and Trey Lowe all threw touchdowns in the Gold-Blue game.
Brown had hoped to name a starter by the end of camp, but he is not ready to do so.
鈥淲e have a pecking order (after the game), but I鈥檓 not going to commit myself to (naming a starter),鈥� he said.
WVU will have to get its running game in order by the start of the season as the Mountaineers totaled just 64 yards on 49 carries, good for only 1.3 yards per carry.
Brown and his staff will hit the ground running with fully implementing its new style come fall camp, but until then, WVU fans will hope that the team continues to work hard in its off-season program to prepare for its first season under Brown.
Pitt improving
Pitt held a draft so its spring game wasn鈥檛 the typical first team against second team look.
Longtime Pitt fan Brian Skokowski was at the game.
鈥淭he offenses struggled, but I think some of that was that the defense is legitimately pretty good,鈥� he said. 鈥淥verall, it wasn鈥檛 a bad day out and it looks like the offense is willing to actually throw the ball downfield, so that was encouraging.鈥�
One disadvantage of splitting the teams via draft was that first team members were on different teams.
鈥淭he offensive line is thin,鈥� Skokowski said. 鈥淗aving them split showed how much work is ahead.鈥�
Penn State developing depth
After a second straight year of the Nittany Lions losing a lot of players to the NFL Draft, they are looking to build depth in several key places.
The coaching staff is working hard to develop depth on the defensive line and in the secondary and on offense, the line is going to be key.
Some of the young players showed promise for Penn State and time will tell if they are able to crack the rotation. One position that is stacked is running back.
Sophomore Ricky Slade is the leader right now to start, but look for several running backs to get carries early in the season and don鈥檛 be surprised if true freshman Noah Cain doesn鈥檛 end up starting by the middle of conference play.
PS Fayette teams have local flavor
Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus has three sports teams participating in the spring, and each has a major local flavor.
The baseball team has 15 players from within an hour of campus, the softball squad has 12 and the track & field team has 20 of its 21 team members from within an hour away.
Penn State Fayette Athletic Director Lou Zadecky spoke about the importance of having so many local student-athletes.
鈥淚t is vital for us to have so many of our student-athletes from the area,鈥� he said. 鈥淥ur athletic department as a whole continues to grow and it is because of the number of local high school graduates who are looking to continue their academic and athletic careers here.
鈥淲e hope to continue to have solid local numbers while getting more student-athletes from outside the area.鈥�
Yantko progressing
Sophia Yantko, a sophomore javelin thrower at the Ohio University Track & Field, has picked up from where she left off last season.
The Belle Vernon graduate took second at the Cherry Blossom Invitational last week with throw of 36.68 meters (120-4).
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