Jonathan Baldwin may be the best wideout in the Big East, but are Pitt's receivers the best in the conference:
When the Panthers are not handing off to speedster running back Dion Lewis, they will be passing to the 6-foot-5, 225-pound Jon Baldwin at wide receiver. Baldwin leads a unit that has potential, but lacks real experience. Baldwin is a genuine threat downfield, and defenses doubling him will take some of the pressure off the new guys. Last year Baldwin averaged almost twenty yards per catch. Two new guys on campus are expected to make an immediate impact catching the ball for Pitt. Drew Carswell and Salath Williams should be two of the best freshmen receivers in the nation.
Best freshmen receivers in the nation? I don't know about that. Isn't it a bit much to say two of the nation's best will land on the same team...espeially when we're talking about freshmen? And I was surprised to not see any mention of Todd Thomas who I don't expect to redshirt.
Meanwhile, looking ahead to the season, ESPN.com's Brian Bennett pulls out what he believes is Pitt's key stretch:
Key stretch: at Connecticut (Nov. 11), at South Florida (Nov. 20), West Virginia (Nov. 26), at Cincinnati (Dec. 4).
Considering that span is more than half of the Big East season, I'll narrow it down a bit. For Pitt, it will come down to the two final games - vs. West Virginia and at Cincinnati. The Panthers start off the conference season fairly lightly and even a loss to UCONN or South Florida alone won't be enough to derail their championship hopes. However, wins against their final two opponents might be needed.
More Big Ten talk? Eh, I'm not going there. I will say this, though. I'm mildly disappointed that there hasn't been more talk about Big East expansion lately. That's not to say the conference is done discussing the possibility. I'm sure it's just happening between closed doors. Still, I hope the Big East is aggressively coming up with options because this expansion thing ain't going away in the long run.
NBE has a pretty short look at the upcoming Big East women's basketball season and doesn't see big things for Pitt.
And I normally don't discuss recruiting misses, but here's a mention on one only because the kid was local. He chose Virginia over several schools including Pitt.