Kevan Smith is an avid fisherman.

He enjoys pulling smallmouth bass from the Clarion River and recently hauled in a 40-inch snook from the waters off Sanibel Island, Fla.

This fall, Smith plans to fish for an even bigger prize; he will be out to land the starting quarterback job for the Pitt Panthers. Now, that would be quite a catch.

A Seneca Valley High School graduate, Smith was redshirted last season, his freshman year at Pitt. But in August, he will be in a battle with Bill Stull, a Seton-LaSalle High School graduate, and heralded incoming freshman Pat Bostick for the job left open by the graduation of Tyler Palko.

Coming off spring drills, Smith is second on the depth chart behind Stull. But the competition won't get hot and heavy until camp when the highly touted Bostick is in the mix.

Smith is in a good position to win the starting quarterback job because he doesn't have any extra heat on him. Stull has pressure because he is No. 1 on the depth chart.

Bostick, a Manheim Township High School graduate, has pressure because he is viewed as the golden boy and a guy who can step in as a freshman.

"I don't have any of that," Smith said. "I've always believed that hard work pays off and I'm staying positive. I'm only worrying about what I can do."

Even though he didn't see any game action last season, Smith learned a great deal. He was in uniform for every contest, just in case something happened to Palko and Stull. He learned the game plan just as if he was going to play and took the test coach Dave Wannstedt gives the quarterbacks before every game.

"It was an invaluable learning experience," Smith said. "Plus, I learned a great deal from Tyler [Palko], just watching the way he went about things.

"I studied hard for games because, when you think about it, I was only two plays away from having to go in."

The redshirt year also allowed Smith, who is 6-foot-3, to get stronger and quicker. He weighed 210 pounds at the start of last summer and is now close to 230.

"I put on weight and I'm sleeker," he said. "I'm quicker on my feet than I've ever been. I always wanted to see what would happen if I just concentrated on one sport.

"In high school, I played baseball and that always cut into my training for football. I've been working on my strength with Buddy [Morris, Pitt's strength and conditioning coach] and I've been pleased with the results."

In Pitt's spring game at Heinz Field in April, Smith completed 11 of 22 passes for 113 yards with two interceptions and two fumbles. Stull was 8 of 18 for 89 yards with an interception and a fumble. Neither distinguished themselves, which is why the quarterback derby is still wide open.

It should be pointed out, however, that despite intrasquad scrimmages, the spring game was the first live action for Smith in a year and a half. He was admittedly a little nervous playing at Heinz Field.

"That was the first time I played in that kind of setting and it took me a little while," Smith said. "I played at a Quad-A high school in front of some big crowds, but never anything like that."

He is also feeling better about running Pitt's offense after spring drills. He remembers being bombarded with information in training camp last fall.

"They would put in 15 to 20 plays each day so that by the fifth day you had 100 plays you had to know," he said. "That's the nice thing about the summer. We do some seven-on-seven stuff so you can get things down, and I spend as much time as I can watching film, learning as much as I can."

The fact Wannstedt wants to make Pitt a run-first, pass-second offense doesn't bother Smith. He sees himself as a game manager and a leader.

"I talk to coach all the time and he tells me that he believes in me," Smith said. "The key is to make the right decisions. That means if things look cloudy down field that I've got to look at one of the running backs or shorter routes.

"I don't think coach expects any of us to do the things Tyler did because we haven't been around as long as he was. He wants us to focus more on being smart and doing the little things that lead to success."

Smith has never considered himself a rah-rah guy in the huddle. He is more a leader by example, but he isn't afraid to speak up.

"A lot of it is knowing that when you are in the huddle, everybody is backing you up 110 percent," he said.

So far, Smith's summer has gone extremely well. He was part of the security force at the Kenny Chesney concert at Heinz Field last week and stationed right by the stage. Smith is a big fan of country and western music, so the job had great perks.

And this past week he worked for a caterer at the U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club. He has also been taking a class at Pitt and working out.

"I had a test the other day," he said. "I'm not a fan of taking tests in the summer, but it's something you have to do."

His biggest test of the summer, however, will come in less than two months at training camp.