Training camp report: One final scrimmage
The Pitt coaches brought training camp 2012 to a close Wednesday afternoon with a final live, full-contact scrimmage on the outdoor fields at the team's practice facilities in the South Side. The Panthers will transition into game preparation on Thursday, so Wednesday afternoon was the unofficial end of camp for the coaches and players.
To commemorate the change-over, the coaches held a scrimmage that lasted about 108 plays (including special teams). A full drive-by-drive breakdown of the the scrimmage will follow, but here were the major points:
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- Ray Graham worked in live full-contact drills for the first time this summer. Graham carried the ball six times, but his first four carries came with him wearing a blue jersey, meaning he was not off-limits to the defense. The defensive players didn't necessarily pull up when they were close to him, but they weren't trying to hit him low either.
Graham rushed for 15 yards on his six carries, including a four-yard touchdown run on the first drive.
- For the first time since Monday morning, quarterback Chad Voytik was not the star of the practice. Actually, Voytik struggled a bit; by my count he completed only 5-of-14 pass attempts and seemed to have trouble finding the open receiver. Part of that may be due to the coverage, but overall Voytik did not look at comfortable on Wednesday as he did the last two days.
- Trey Anderson worked in live drills for the first time since last week. He attempted four passes, one of which resulted in a 48-yard completion.
- The offense broke several big plays, with three passes of 40 yards or more. Two of those three came from long runs after the catch, but that was a considerable change from the first two scrimmages, when the offense didn't really pick up yardage in big chunks.
- The defense was pretty stout, but it didn't force any turnovers.
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