Well, it's over.

The first season of the Dave Wannstedt era is in the books. While it was disappointing in the win-loss department, they've laid a solid foundation to build on. Players now know what's expected of them, the system is in place and last night's game showed where the program needs to go to become the Big East heavyweight Wannstedt wants them to be.

I've said it numerous times and I'll say it again -- Rich Rodriguez inherited a talented team in 2001 with a lot of returning starters and a lot of optimism, then went out in his first year and laid an egg to the tune of 3-8. He made some offseason adjustments in his approach and in some of the things he tried to do, he recruited well, and he continued teaching the things he believes in and the result has been a team that has improved steadily every year. And think about it -- his first full recruiting class is his senior class this year, which shows how important it is to get off to a good start in recruiting. And he did so coming off a 3-8 season, so I don't think the Panthers record this first year is much of a factor. Kids are smart enough to know that the transition year can sometimes be tough because of all the adjustments that have to be made.

I think the West Virginia model is a good one, as well, because it is clearly evident that Rodriguez has always looked for and recruited speed and last night it showed because it looked like they were about three steps faster at just about every position than the Panthers. Wannstedt's philosophy has always been to stockpile speed and that's what he's attempting to do. And one thing I've been very impressed with about Wannstedt is this -- when it comes to recruiting, he is a workaholic and he loves it more than anything else he does. One coach told me Wannstedt is the most competitive recruiter he's ever been around. He's all about text messaging, e-mailing, writing letters and getting out on the road to meet people. That's the first step toward rebuilding a program and contrary to popular belief, this program needed some rebuilding when he arrived. That much is evident when you take a close look at the so-called talent that was left behind.

The second step is being able to coach and develop that talent. There are a lot of coaches who are great recruiters -- and I'm fairly confident Wannstedt fits in that category -- but getting players is only half the equation. I think there will be some offseason adjustments made by Wannstedt -- he's already said as much -- now that he has a very good idea of what he is up against and what it is going to take to win.

As for the Backyard Brawl, what more can be said? The defensive line got absolutely dominated and was not even a factor and the offense once again self0-destructed. The offense failed miserably, not because of bad play calling, not because of a bad game plan and not because West Virginia's defense was dominant. The offense failed because players did not make plays when there were clearly plays to be made. That starts with Tyler Palko, who didn't hit receivers consistently enough and who didn't put any pressure on the defense with his legs by running out of trouble. Erik Gill fumbled...again. LaRod Stephens-Howling fumbled. Rashad Jennings dropped what would have been a big gainer and a first down at a critical time. Joe DelSardo dropped a crucial pass. Charles Spencer got a procedure penalty which helped kill a drive. They missed a field goal and couldn't even get off an extra point? and on and on and on. It was a frustrating night for Pitt.

As for postseason accolades, I'd say the team's most valuable player has been H.B. Blades, its best player has been Darrelle Revis and its most improved player from start to finish was Charles Spencer. If I were voting on who should make the All Big East teams (first or second), I'd say Spencer, Revis, Josh Cummings, Josh Lay, Greg Lee and H.B. Blades all deserve to be first team guys but really, that's about it. I know Lee has dropped a lot of passes, but he's still the best receiver the league has to offer and he has had a big year statistically.

I will have one more Pitt Q&A next Friday and stop until mid-to-late January when recruiting season heats up. So keep all the great questions coming.

Q: I have read your comments about Pitt not coming around until 2007. If that's the case, who will be the quarterback? Have they recruited any?

Angela Bumar
Latrobe, Pa.

Zeise: What I said is that while Pitt will be improved next year, that the Panthers will have more talent next year, they will be extremely young and extremely inexperienced. Therefore it is not really fair to expect anything more than improvement -- say seven wins -- next year because it is hard consistently to win when you are relying on so many freshmen, regardless of how good they are. Therefore the 2007 season is the first year that the hiring of Dave Wannstedt should be judged based on high expectations. That being said, I think that it will be a very competitive situation for the job. Bill Stull is obviously going to be the favorite because he'll have two years as the back-up. The Panthers have two quarterbacks, Kevan Smith from Seneca Valley, who has a lot of talent but his team was bad so he didn't get much attention, and Dexter Davidson from Coconut Creek Florida. And here is the wild card: They are still in hot pursuit of Thaddeus Lewis, who is from Miami and he's coming to Pitt to visit, I believe next weekend. He appears to be very interested in Pitt and if he commits, he'll certainly be a force to be reckoned with because he's the prototypical quarterback for the new age of college football -- fast and athletic, can run and pass and hurt teams in a lot of ways. If they can land him, he'd give the Panthers offense a lot more of what they need -- athleticism and speed. If you look at college football, those kinds of quarterbacks are becoming the norm. You look at what Pat White does for WVU and what Michael Robinson does for Penn State as both a runner and a passer and it is easy to see why so many teams are signing those kinds of dual-threat players.

Q: Other than Elijah Fields, are there any other local players that Pitt is interested in? Desmond Brentley seems like a talented player, or is he headed for the MAC?

Steve Tuffy
Greensburg

Zeise: Well, obviously Fields is on their radar and very high on their list. Trinity has a tight end/offensive lineman named Andy Miller who Pitt has offered and would love to land in order to fill out their offensive line for the future. Brentley, the Perry quarterback, is an underrated player who Pitt coaches really like but won't likely get an offer if Lewis comes to Pitt. If Lewis does not come to Pitt, then I could easily see them turning their attention to Brentley and offering him a scholarship. He's a very good player and has a great arm but right now his only offers are Temple and Akron. Another Perry kid, wide receiver Aundre Wright, is under the radar of a lot of teams as well, but Pitt is starting to take a long hard look at him because he's fast and athletic and has great moves and great feet. He runs the 40 in the 4.3-4.4 range and he averages about 30 yards per catch. He still has some academic issues to clear up and if he does that, I think he'll have some more offers.

Q: What should fans look for from the Panthers for spring and heading into next season as far as position battles go?

Christian Ehehalt
Pittsburgh

Zeise: Boy I could write about five or six pages on this subject, but I won't. I'll try and keep it simple. The spring will be exciting, but not nearly as exciting as the fall when all the freshmen arrive. That's when the real position battles will begin. That's when we'll have a good chance to see what the roster is all about. But I would expect some moves to be made in the spring with the arrival of the freshmen in mind. I think some of the moves you could anticipate are C.J. Davis to center, Shane Murray to safety, Rashad Jennings to fullback and a whole lot of shuffling along both lines. There will also be a battle between Conor Lee and David Abdul at kicker and some stiff competition at linebacker, safety and corner because of graduation. One thing that is good news for the Panthers is they aren't losing a whole lot to graduation. Losing Lay, Cummings and Charles Spencer will hurt because they are talented, had great years and are at positions where the Panthers aren't loaded -- but other than those three in particular, the Panthers have younger, more talented guys to step into the holes that will be left behind. I think Lee and Abdul are both talented enough that the Panthers kicking game will be fine, but they need some freshmen to step in and step up at corner and tackle.

Q: Will the Panthers use two running backs next year or will Rashad Jennings and LaRod Stephens-Howling have to compete for the job? And what position will Dorin Dickerson and Aaron Smith play?

Jared Campbell
Murrysville

Zeise: Well, if you ask me to handicap it right now, I'd say Kevin Collier will be the leading candidate to win the starting job provided he remains committed to Pitt, which I think he will. I don't blame a kid for looking into his hometown school -- Syracuse -- because I'm sure the pressure for him to go there is enormous. That being said, he is scheduled to visit Pitt next weekend and thus the coaching staff will have a chance to answer his questions and his mom's questions and ease their minds about the decision. This is a classic example of why I'm not a big fan of the way things are done in college football -- I don't like early commitments because I think kids are limiting their opportunity (in exchange for the security of having a scholarship waiting for them). I also think it opens things up to the dirty side of recruiting because kids who are committed are sometimes pursued harder by the competition. I'd like to see an early signing period, just like basketball, to eliminate a lot of the silliness that goes on with regards to recruiting.

But back to running backs. Collier will be the man if he comes, with Stephens-Howling being used in a variety of ways and still being a big part of the offense. Jennings I think will move to fullback with Conredge Collins and that foursome will handle the bulk of the work. If Collier doesn't come, then perhaps coaches take a long hard look at Dorin Dickerson playing tailback. If Collier comes, Dickerson and Smith will be receivers and Dickerson will also be used in a variety of other ways. I think that is one reason to be excited about next year -- the offense will have some more playmakers.

Q: I saw that Kevin Collier recently visited Syracuse. Is he still solid with Pitt?

Jeff Roberts
Dormont

Zeise: I touched on this a little in the previous question. Yes, he is still by all accounts a solid Pitt verbal and coaches are still expecting him to sign in February and compete for the starting tailbacks job. When you are a big, big time player and you are in a pocket of the country that doesn't produce an overwhelming amount of Division I talent that happens to be in the backyard of a Division I program, the pressure to stay home is enormous. I'm sure Collier and his family are getting reminded a lot, wherever they go, by fans, alumni, even people associated with the program, that Syracuse is the home team and he could be a hero by rescuing it. It is for that reason a lot of kids choose to go elsewhere. That program is a lot farther away from being competitive than most of the Big East fans want to believe. Most of the best players on that team are upperclassmen and Paul Pasqualoni did not recruit very well in his last few seasons so it is going to take a few years to reload. That's a lot of pressure to try and get out from under. Like I said before, I think Collier visits Pitt next weekend and the coaches will get a chance to put his mind at ease. If he ultimately chooses Syracuse, which I don't think he will based on conversations I've had, then Pitt will have nothing to be ashamed of because they lost out to something they have no control over -- geography. It certainly won't be playing time because coaches will give him every opportunity to compete for the starting job.

Q: Why would an experienced coach make inflammatory remarks right before a critical game?

Jim Fresh
Johnstown, Pa.

Zeise: Bulletin Board material is meaningless, regardless of how many people try and make it into something. Go look at the newspapers in Florida the week leading up to FSU-Florida or FSU-Miami or go look at the newspapers in the week leading up to the rivalry games in the SEC. It is nonstop trash talk and so-called bulletin board material but none of it makes a difference. Chad Johnson calls out just about every team and every corner he's about to face and he's doing fine. In fact, the only time we ever hear about bulletin board material is if the team that provides it loses. A Super Bowl rap video was supposedly the reason the Steelers lost to the Chargers in the AFC title game -- yet a few years earlier the Chicago Bears made a Super Bowl rap video and pounded every team into submission. The better team won, period. And they'd have won on any day this week in any stadium.

Q: Can someone explain why Pitt didn't take the penalty and have third-and-13 or, if they were going to decline it, go for it on fourth-and-3?

Omar Zohni
Cary, NC.

Zeise: Well, Walt had the slide at UConn, this one was clearly a brain cramp by Dave Wannstedt. His explanation for declining the penalty then punting was that he was trying to play field position. Obviously that didn't make a lot of sense from this standpoint -- he could have accepted the penalty and had a third down play and then punted if the Panthers didn't make it. What he did was essentially punt on third down and that is not a good thing. It made even less sense when you consider how poorly Adam Graessle has been punting the ball inside the 5. To me, there was no question that ball was destined to be a touchback which is why I thought you'd rather have the ball further back if you were going to punt it. To Wannstedt's credit he admitted he made a mistake, he made the wrong call and if he had to do it all over again he'd have gone for it. It was clearly a bad decision but I have to be honest, I saw very few bad decisions this year which makes me believe the coaching staff has a good idea of what to do on game day. There were very few games where I questioned game management decisions -- like when to go for it, when to punt, how to manage the clock -- etc., etc.