Pitt middle linebacker Scott McKillop knows the words generally used to describe him as a football player paint him as gritty and smart, a hard worker, too. He also knows that such complimentary terms are based, at least in part, on stereotypes related to race and his position.

And while he understands that, he believes people sell his athletic ability short and, because he is one of the best all-around athletes on the Panthers' football team, that bothers him.

"But I never hear people say I'm fast," said McKillop, rolling his eyes. "And that's the kind of stuff I use as inspiration to play faster and better, to show everyone that a stereotype is not always right and to show I can play just as fast as anyone.

"I'm sure there is going to be some worry initially there about my speed, but I hopefully can go out and prove a lot of people wrong."

McKillop, a 6-foot-2, 245-pound redshirt junior from Kiski Area High School, laughed as he talked about the time his older brother, Chris, a senior defensive end, tried to convince their teammates that Scott, then a freshman, was an excellent sprinter in high school.

None of them believed it.

"Not many people know that I ran the 100-meter dash in high school," Scott McKillop said. "And then, when Chris was telling them I ran the 100 in 10.9 seconds, nobody believed it, and I was always like 'Let's go race right now, I'll prove it.' Obviously, I was a little smaller back then, but I know I can still run."

In addition to running the sprints, he also threw the shot put and discus and was an excellent wrestler. He won two WPIAL wrestling titles and was the PIAA runner-up his senior season. He had a career record of 109-10, including a 79-2 record his last two seasons.

His 41-1 record in his junior year remains the winningest season by a Kiski wrestler.

He believes that such athletic excellence and versatility will help him fill the large hole left in the middle of the Panthers' defense by H.B. Blades' departure.

"This is Division I football. Everyone is fast, everyone is strong and everyone is a good athlete to some degree," McKillop said. "You don't survive if you aren't and I wouldn't be here if I wasn't a good athlete. H.B. was a tremendous player. He taught me a lot, and I admired him for the way he played this game. At the same time, I can't try [to] be him or compare myself to him because we're a different team and this is a different year."

Pitt defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads said one of McKillop's assets is that he is much faster than most people give him credit for being. He also said McKillop has made himself a better athlete and player through hard work and film study.

"Scott is always going to appear not quick enough, not fast enough, and I still don't know what it is -- perhaps a deceptive manner that he has about him -- but it just doesn't look like he is moving very fast," Rhoads explained.

"But he covers ground and a lot of it, both with his quickness and his speed. I think the area he has improved the most in his athleticism and that will serve him well.

"Whereas he covered ground before, he didn't always make the play once he got there. Now, he is to the point where he does make the play, where he doesn't miss a tackle, where he's been productive at the end of his assignment, and that's what you need out of that position."

Blades finished among the top five tackles in the NCAA the past two seasons and also led the Big East Conference.

But Pitt coaches aren't expecting that kind of production from McKillop. In fact, Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt is hopeful McKillop won't have nearly as many tackles as Blades did. That's because he believes Blades had to carry too much of the load the past two seasons. McKillop agrees.

"I think a key for me will be the fact that we will have a much improved defensive line in front of us as linebackers. We should have a lot more time to read and react and also they are going to be making as many plays as we are."

NOTES -- Pitt will hold a 100-play scrimmage this morning. Wannstedt said the scrimmage will involve more live special teams situations than the one Tuesday. ... The scrimmage, which is closed to the public, will mark the much-anticipated debut of freshman quarterback Pat Bostick. "Pat will scrimmage live tomorrow, so we'll get a little better feel for where he's at, both mentally and physically, with the offense when it's for real," Wannstedt said.