Pitt's offensive line hasn't been very good this season nor has it played with any consistency.

But that's not the case for senior starting left tackle Jeff Otah, who has been both consistent and played well all season.

Just don't ask him to speak highly of his performances because Otah won't do it.

He said he believes the offensive line is a unit -- five as one -- and if the unit is struggling then no individual player can be having that great a season.

---

Tomorrow

• Game: Cincinnati (6-1) vs. Pitt (2-4), noon.
• Where: Heinz Field
• TV: WTAE

---

"I'm doing a pretty good job, but I have room for improvement. I have [to] stay with my blocks longer and try to get my guy on the ground more to keep him out of the play," said Otah, who is 6 feet 6, 340 pounds. "My goal is to help my team win, so from that standpoint, I have to step [up] my game a lot. There is always room for improvement for our team until we start winning.

"As a unit, we all need to step up because we are the backbone of the team, we are the most experienced group and we must perform well to give this team a chance to win every week."

While Otah won't talk about how well he has played, those around him will.

"Jeff Otah is having an absolutely great year," Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt said. "He is really working hard and he is doing everything he can do to help us win. The thing that is neat about Jeff is that every week brings something new for him because of his inexperience playing football. I mean, every week something will come up that [offensive line coach] Paul Dunn will have to explain to him because he's seeing it for the first time, and that's unusual for seniors, but Jeff just hasn't played a lot of football.

"The only negative I see with Jeff is that I wish we had him for another couple of years because obviously it would help us, but it would help him, too."

It might seem strange for a coach speak of a senior and a player who is in his second season as a starter as being inexperienced. But it applies in Otah's case -- though, he clearly has been a fast learner.

He didn't start playing until he was a senior in high school. Before that, he was a standout in basketball. But when it became apparent he wasn't going to be heavily recruited, he gave football a try.

His size helped him get noticed in football, and he spent the next two seasons learning the basics at Valley Forge Military Academy's junior college. By the time he had finished his sophomore season, he was one of the top junior college tackles in the country and had offers from Oklahoma, South Carolina, West Virginia and Maryland.

Pitt also was in the mix, and the Panthers' immediate need for a left tackle might have helped sway Otah. Other factors were Wannstedt's background in the NFL and Pitt's relative proximity to Otah's home in New Castle, Del.

A couple weeks ago, Otah played an outstanding game against Virginia -- one of the few bright spots in a 44-14 loss -- as he got the better of All-American defensive lineman Chris Long almost every time they went head to head. Then last week, he dominated every player he matched up against in the 48-45 loss to Navy.

Still, if you ask Otah, he didn't play well enough in either game and that's something he is working to correct tomorrow when the Panthers (2-4, 0-1 in the Big East) play host to No. 23 Cincinnati (6-1, 0-1) .

"I obviously didn't play well enough against Virginia because we didn't win," Otah said. "I know there were at least a couple of plays that, had I blocked better, we could have probably scored off of, so I have to get better. I guess you could say I was just OK, but I know I could have played a lot better because the only thing that matters is if the team wins."