Pitt players standing out at Big 33 practices
Panther-Lair.com contributor Ryan Snyder was in Hershey Wednesday afternoon to watch about three hours of practice for the Big 33 Football Classic, which will be played Saturday. With the addition of Therran Coleman, who was put on the roster Monday, Pitt has seven prospects playing in Saturday’s game, which is by far the most of any other school:
#7 - DB Therran Coleman
#11 - WR Aaron Mathews
#12 - DT Rashad Wheeler
#23 - CB Damar Hamlin
#24 - CB Bricen Garner
#59 - OL Jimmy Morrissey
#77 - OL Brandon Ford
One thing to note about Wednesday’s afternoon practice is that the coaches wanted to give the guys a bit of a break after five straight practices at full speed, so most of the practice was ran at half-speed.
But whether it was full-speed or half-speed, the Pitt players stood out, according to Pennsylvania head coach Mike Matta from Downingtown East.
“I’ve been so impressed with all of the Pitt guys on our squad this week," Matta said. "I’ve gotten to know Coach (Josh) Conklin pretty well because he recruits our school at Downingtown East, so I reached out to him (Tuesday). I told him that, not only are all of your kids great players, but they’re all great kids. I was just so impressed with his kids after the first few days that I had to email him and let him know that. You can see that Pitt is doing things the right way.”
Matta went on to add, “All of their guys have been working hard and are always right there, paying attention when we need them. There are a few in this group that have shown that they could become leaders when they get to Pitt. I just can’t speak highly enough about what I’ve seen from the Pitt recruits this week. They make up most of our core players.”
Here are more observations from Snyder (along with some quotes from Matta) on the Pitt players:
FS Bricen Garner and CB Damar Hamiln
Unfortunately, Hamlin suffered a minor injury before Wednesday’s practice, so I wasn’t able to see him really workout. I know it’s a minor injury; I believe he just rolled his ankle - I was told that by one of the assistants, but not Hamlin directly, so don’t hold me to that. He did participate in some of the walk-throughs and will be fine for Saturday; the staff just didn’t want to push him since this is an all-star game.
With Hamlin out, though, that did allow me to focus on Garner during defensive sessions and I quickly picked up on why Matta was so impressed with his maturity and football IQ. Playing free safety, he was consistently helping out all the other DBs, mainly when it comes to different shifts and checks at the line of scrimmage. I even watched one coach tell him to stop calling out all the checks just so the other guys would stop relying on him. After talking to two assistants, they gave the impression that Garner and Hamlin are running the show in PA’s defensive backfield.
Matta on Garner and Hamlin:
“Damar has been great. He’s a quiet guy that just lets his play do the talking for him. Obviously, he gets a lot of attention, which is deserved, but Bricen has also been excellent for us. We have some pretty good receivers and we’ve struggled completing the ball at times throughout the week. It’s not because the offense isn’t working hard, put it that way. We feel really good about both Damar and Bricen.
“Both of the Pitt DBs have been really top-notch. Both have been very physical at the line of scrimmage and their man-to-man coverage has been very good. What’s stood out to me the most though is just their work ethic and their understanding of the game. It’s been really clear to me this week why both were such important parts in Pittsburgh Central Catholic winning the state championship. It’s kind of funny because we have a few clowns out here. Don’t get me wrong, we’re out here to have fun this week, but when it comes time to get serious, those Pittsburgh Central Catholic guys know when it’s time to get down to business. Every single one of them lets their play do the talking for them. Whenever we need them then, they’re always right there running in from the sideline. That hasn’t been the case with some of these guys, so from a coaching perspective, you love seeing that.”
WR - Aaron Mathews
Mathews ran with the first team throughout practice and from what I saw, it looks like he’ll be Pennsylvania’s number-one receiver on the majority of pass plays. Like Garner, Mathews was consistently praised by the staff during position drills. He did have a few drops during that session, but it’s important to stress that PA’s biggest weaknesses is at quarterback. Both QBs were inconsistent throughout the day, but Mathews did a great job at adjusting his routes. Also, he always high points the ball, which is something that every good receiver understands.
Mike Matta on Aaron Mathews:
“Aaron has been solid for us all week. He’s been working hard and is another guy that doesn’t say much, but when it’s time to get serious, he’s right there and knows when to turn it on. He’ll definitely be a guy that we look to get the ball to as much as we can. He’s one of the best route runners we have. Like I mentioned, it’s been tough for us to consistently complete passes against Damar and Bricen, but that’s great for Aaron and his development. I think going up against those two all week is going to really help him on Saturday night.”
OL - Brandon Ford and Jimmy Morrissey
I didn’t know much about center Jimmy Morrissey heading into Wednesday, but I was very impressed by the time I left. Again, the practice wasn’t very physical, so I didn’t get to watch his foot skills and hand placement as much as I normally would, but it was his leadership that caught my eye the most. Whenever one of the guards or tackles were a bit confused, they always went to Morrissey. You could tell that he’s very detail-oriented and understands the importance of being prepared, even for a game like this.
As for Ford, I believe he’s going to play left guard, but I did see him line up at right guard at times, so the staff may still be working that out. Since he’s new to the guard position, he’s still working on his pull blocking in rushing situations, but that’ll come with time. As Matta explained below, this week will probably benefit Ford more than anyone else in Pitt’s class. Having all of these practices against top competition will give him a feel for what he needs to work on at guard before enrolling at Pitt.
Mike Matta on Brandon Ford and Jimmy Morrissey:
“I’ve really enjoyed working with Jimmy this week. He’s such a bright kid and has been a leader for us up front all week. As soon as he gets to the line of scrimmage, he’s calling out the checks and making sure everyone up front understands what he’s saying. That’s so important at center. Brandon Ford is a big and physical guy. He’s trying to learn a new position this week, playing guard, which is where I believe he’ll play at Pitt. That’s great for him. I think that this experience is going to really help Brandon as he makes that adjustment to the interior. So, to have him here this week, going up against top defensive lineman in the state, I know that this experience is only going to help him. I’ve already seen his progression at that position in just a few days. Not to mention, he’s just a big dude that loves to get physical. You love that in your offensive lineman. That guy can block out the sun. He’s a real tough guy that isn’t afraid to throw his body around.”
DT Rashad Wheeler
I wasn’t able to really evaluate Wheeler much, since the defensive linemen just did some basic walk-throughs during their positional drills. Then, during the team session, they shied away from contact following five straight practices in pads. With that said, Matta probably praised Wheeler more than any other Pitt prospect when we caught up.
Mike Matta on Rashad Wheeler:
“Out of all of these Pitt guys, I’ve been most impressed with Rashad Wheeler. He’s a kid I really like. I’ve watched him over the past year and I think so highly of him. Like the other Pittsburgh Central Catholic guys, he knows what hard work is. He knows when it’s time to get to work.
"Physically, he’s been great. He’s consistently getting pressure. Even when he’s double-teamed, he knows how to clutter things up and clear space for the linebackers. Some guys kind of just give up when they know they have two lineman on them, but Rashad understands that and makes sure that he opens up the gap to allow the linebacker to fill it. That’s something that many at his position, at this age, don’t always understand. Also, his hands have been great. Another thing is that, when he speaks up with the rest of the guys, they listen. Over the past few days, everyone has seen what he’s capable of. He’s won over all of his teammates this week. When he speaks, people listen.”
CB Therran Coleman
As mentioned above, Coleman was a late addition to the squad. For the most part, I saw him working out with the second-team most of the day, but that’s not because of talent or anything like that. I think he’s just mainly trying to catch up on the different reads. According to Matta, physically, Coleman jumped right into the fire and has performed well. Athletically, I think it’s pretty clear that Coleman and Hamlin are PA’s top two corners, so it’ll be interesting to see where he stands come Saturday evening. As long as he catches up to everyone, Coleman should get a ton of playing time.
Mike Matta on Therran Coleman:
“He’s a great player. Coleman joined us late, so he’s had a lot more to catch up on compared to some of the other guys, but it was clear from the first practice that he belongs in a game like this. He’s always flying around and hustling. You can tell that he really cares about the opportunity he’s been given, because as soon as he got out here, he wasn’t messing around. He’s always running sideline-to-sideline and giving it everything he has. Sometimes, when you add guys late to games like this, you wonder if they belong. That’s definitely not the case with Coleman.”
TV Schedule
The Big 33 website is linked below. That'll have a stream for those that don't have a local station broadcasting the game. I listed the five television stations that will be carrying the game below. In Pittsburgh, the game will begin airing one hour late, at 8 PM.
TV info:
WNUV The CW Baltimore (Channel 54)
Airing: Live, Saturday, June 18th 7p-10p
Baltimore, MD
WLYH The CW 15 (Channel 15)
Airing: TBD
Harrisburg, PA
WPNT My Pittsburgh TV (Channel 22)
Airing: Saturday, June 25th 8p-11p
Pittsburgh, PA
WQMY My TV WQMY (Channel 53)
Airing: Live, Saturday, June 18th 7p-10p
Wilkes-Barre, PA
WJAC Me TV (Channel 6.2)
Airing: Live, Saturday, June 18th 7p-10p
Johnstown/Altoona, PA