It might have been the worst-kept secret in Pittsburgh sports, but yesterday it finally became official -- junior Bill Stull was named Pitt's starting quarterback.

Stull was locked in a competition with redshirt freshman Kevan Smith and freshman Pat Bostick, but he pulled ahead early in camp and never was seriously challenged. Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt had been hesitant to name him the starter, although he never gave any indication that either of the two players behind him were making a push.

Yesterday, however, after the final scrimmage of camp, Wannstedt named him the starter for the opener Sept. 1 against Eastern Michigan.

"It is pretty obvious Billy Stull is our starter at quarterback, he's performed the best," Wannstedt said.

"Right now, he's the most confident in what we are doing, he has the most confidence of this football team, he has the most confidence of the coaching staff. So Billy will be the starter, and Kevan Smith and Pat Bostick will continue to work and they'll improve and, if need be, they will be ready."

Stull said the announcement was not that shocking because he has taken almost all the snaps with the first team since training camp began.

"Now all the hard work has paid off, and I've reached my goal of finally becoming the starter, but it doesn't stop here. I just need to keep working and getting better individually and as a team, we need to get better. Always a little something in the back of your head, but you have to put that on the back burner and go out and play your butt off, so it feels good. I feel like all the hard work has paid off."

Uneventful scrimmage

The end of camp was, in a word, anti-climatic.

The Panthers were scheduled to hold a scrimmage yesterday afternoon and did, but most key players were either held out or placed in the non-contact portion of the scrimmage.

"We made an adjustment with our schedule," Wannstedt said. "We decided that with the starters, we'd not tackle to the ground, and the reason is real simple. We're beat up right now in certain key positions.

"The guys like LaRod Stephens-Howling, LeSean McCoy and Conredge Collins, they've had plenty of carries where they've been knocked to the ground, and we felt like we could get full speed work with the interior and, at the same time, not do live tackling.

"We also were able to have a 30-play scrimmage with the freshmen, and that was good because they needed it."

Healthy, but hurting

Camp began on a tough note with the loss of Derek Kinder (torn anterior cruciate ligament), but the Panthers have made it through relatively unscathed. Pitt also lost freshman lineman Chris Jacobson to a knee injury Saturday but he was a likely candidate for a redshirt.

Still, Pitt needs some of its starting linemen such as tackles Jeff Otah (hamstring) and Jason Pinkston (shoulder) and guard Joe Thomas (shoulder) to get healthy in a hurry. The same goes for senior defensive end Chris McKillop (elbow, hamstring).

"Our line is at a disadvantage right now," Wannstedt said.

Quick hits

Although the scrimmage yesterday was not as eventful as the first two, there were some highlights. The best two plays were a 30-yard touchdown pass from Bostick to freshman Maurice Williams, who made an acrobatic catch despite tight coverage, and a diving, one-handed touchdown reception by senior tight end Darrell Strong. ... Bostick finished the scrimmage 3 of 7 for 53 yards and a touchdown pass while Smith was 2 for 4 for 15 yards and an interception. ... Although Wannstedt did not name Adam Gunn the starter at strongside linebacker ahead of Dorin Dickerson, he made it pretty clear it is now Gunn's job to lose. "I think that Adam Gunn and Scott McKillop have been our two most consistent, without a doubt."