All the bumps, bruises and grinding days of Pitt football camp are over. All the talk of potential and what could-be no longer is relevant. Saturday is the Panthers' opener at Heinz Field against Bowling Green. At the start of camp, we pegged these five storylines as the major issues facing the Panthers heading into camp. Now that it is over, here's an update on those six days before the team's opener. Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt is excited about his team, which comes out of camp ranked No. 25 in the AP poll.

Camp offered some good news and bad news for the offensive line. First, the good. Starting center Robb Houser, a junior-college transfer, clearly has been better than was expected, and he'll be an upgrade over the previous few centers. Also, right guard John Malecki, moved from defensive tackle in the spring, has had an excellent camp and solidified his position. And after a slow start and a little bit of tough love from coaches, left tackle Jason Pinkston finished camp strong and appears poised to become the dominant player coaches believe he can be. Right tackle , however, is currently manned by junior Joe Thomas, who has struggled with consistency and is facing a stiff challenge from true freshman Lucas Nix.

Last season, Bill Stull injured his thumb in the first game and did not return. The Panthers' quarterback play suffered because of it. After surgery and a long rehabilitation process, Stull returned in the spring and has again won the starting quarterback job. Now, after a full training camp, there is no doubt Stull's thumb is 100 percent, and it should not be an issue this season. He can grip the ball and make all the passes. He even took a few hits on it in camp. He is ready to go, and that's good news for Pitt as he was the best quarterback in camp and gives the Panthers the best chance to win.

Coaches worked hard to find a balance between getting McCoy enough live work to prepare him for the pounding he'll take this season while still being smart and keeping him healthy. Early in camp, McCoy got the bulk of the work. But it was clear that once he had his legs under him and was in game condition, his workload was tapered to where he had a few carries in the final scrimmage last Wednesday. McCoy is healthy, more mature, and a much more complete back than he was last year. One other good thing to come from resting McCoy is that the other tailbacks got plenty of work.

Quarterback Greg Cross, one of the best athletes on the team, was recruited to run the Panthers' Wildcat package -- an offense similar to the spread offense which utilizes a mobile quarterback who has an option to run or pass -- but did not do much to develop it in camp. The Panthers installed a few packages to try to take advantage of Cross's skill, but it is clearly a work in progress. Cross likely will have some role in the offense, but how much is unknown.

Paul Rhoads was the defensive coordinator from 2000 through last season, then he left to take a similar job at Auburn. Wannstedt hired Phil Bennett, formerly the head coach at SMU, mainly because his philosophies are similar to those of Rhoads. Two things are clear about Bennett -- his defense will be a little more aggressive than Rhoads' were and, as a result, they could force more turnovers. Bennett made forcing turnovers a point of emphasis during training camp, often making it clear to defensive backs that just batting down passes was not good enough, they needed to come up with interceptions. The defense has been advertised as one of the best in the nation, and nothing it did in preseason camp would suggest it won't be very good.