Getting to Know Tino

So Tino goes into the Fall as the starting quarterback. The bad news is you really don't want to enter a season in which you can win a conference with a new quarterback. The good news is that Tino should be at least serviceable and is being given the keys to something better than an El Camino.

He comes in with possibly the best running back in the country in Dion Lewis. Then mix in a dose of playmaking WR Jonathan Baldwin and a very good defense, and you can see he's stepping into a pretty good situation. I also feel a little better since Sunseri's been in the system for two years now. He's had some experience and should have an idea of what it takes to be successful at this point.

Athlon's Big East preview says Pitt will need to bank on Sunseri getting better as the season goes on to gear up for their final four-game stretch, which includes three road games.

Brian Bennett of ESPN.com blogging fame talks with Tino about the Spring. He also gushed about Tino's ability to throw a great ball when he was in town.

Is Tino going to face pressure from a fan base that wasn't even totally happy after Bill Stull put up incredible numbers last year? No doubt. Dave Curtis and Matt Hayes of the Sporting News think so as well and place Tino in their top ten of first-year QBs under the most pressure.

I don't know what it is, but I like this kid. Maybe it's the fact that he at least has something of a tough persona:

For most of his youth football career, Tino Sunseri eschewed the glory positions. Instead, he played offensive and defensive line and fullback.

"I always liked to hit people," he says.

Tino Sunseri has done the most work with the first team this spring and is expected to start this season.But he also had a stronger and better arm than anybody on his team, and in the middle of one game his coach tried him at quarterback. Sunseri tossed a couple of touchdown passes, the team won and his days in the trenches officially ended.

I also like the fact hat he can scramble, too, as evidenced by his 12-yard TD scramble in the Blue-Gold game.

Even his most glaring 'weakness' doesn't really seem like that much of an issue:

Although Sunseri can throw all the passes, has a strong arm, quick release and all the intangibles to be an excellent quarterback, the one question that seems to follow him is his height.

He is listed at 6 feet 2, but that seems to be a little bit of a stretch as he looks smaller when he is in the pocket.

Still, he has had very few passes deflected at the line of scrimmage and has been very good at finding or even creating passing lanes to throw the ball.

"I think that's funny [when people question his height] because I am actually a little bit taller than Drew Brees [of the New Orleans Saints, who is listed at 6-0]. I've looked that stat up plenty of times," Sunseri said, then he laughed. "If you look across our offensive line, they are all tall, and with those guys being so big I've been able to find the lanes in between them and also I've been able to throw over them because we've been taught high elbow and things of that nature.

"The bottom line is, that it isn't an issue because I've shown this spring I can make the throws and we won't see a taller offensive or defensive line than ours."

Are there going to be times when he has balls batted down at the line or doesn't have a clear line of sight? Sure. But I won't believe it's going to be a major problem until I see it. He mentioned Drew Brees and, well, Drew hasn't had that much of a problem.