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The 2013 Pitt football training camp is officially over. We still have over a week until the first game, but these upcoming practices will be just that - normal practices. The Florida State prep work will officially begin, and practices will be run more like midseason and look less like training camp.
The big news lately is the running backs. Isaac Bennett has not practiced on a full scale level in quite some time, but he continues to take it slow. Bennett's injury has led to the emergence of James Conner. The young running back has been impressing lately, but Thursday's practice gave everyone a scare. Pitt does not need both of their top backs to be injured against the Seminoles, but Conner seems to think everything is OK.
Shoulder is good!
— James Conner (@jconner__) August 22, 2013
Earlier in the week, we predicted offensive and defensive depth charts, and the Post-Gazette's Sam Werner did the same today in his practice recap. For the most part, everything seemed to match up. He did split up the tight ends and H-backs. He also feels Anthony Gonzalez is closer to locking down the one linebacker position, but thinks Todd Thomas will work his way onto the field at some point.
The next week will have a few minor tinkerings with the lineup, but the main focus will be on Florida State, and rightfully so. The Seminoles were recently ranked preseason #11 by the AP, and it naturally makes Pitt a heavy underdog in the Labor Day opener.
As an aside, Ed Tinker and Chris Blewitt were wearing boots per the Trib's Jerry DiPaola, so we'll see where that goes.