Football doesn't officially start for another month, but the fields at Pitt's South Side practice facility have not lacked any action thanks to the Panthers' summer camps.

The biggest camp was the 7-on-7 passing camp for high school teams June 26-27.

After the first day of preliminary games, the teams competed in a double-elimination tournament to win their brackets. Thomas Jefferson, Montour, Woodland Hills and Perry high school, of Ohio, each won their respective brackets.

Coaches and players were thrilled to win the competition, but said it was more about having fun and bonding than dominating other teams.

"It's just a good environment with all these teams and Pitt coaches out here," said Lou Cerro, head coach at Montour. "But no one is winning or losing jobs out here."

This was second consecutive year that Montour has been a winner at Pitt's 7-on-7 camp.

Woodland Hills head coach George Novak was pleased with the way his team performed over the weekend as well.

"It gets them in the right mode," he said, referring to the upcoming regular season. "But it's all in fun."

Pitt has been hosting 7-on-7 passing camps since head coach Dave Wannstedt arrived, but only in the past three years have they become this competitive.

School's such as T.C. Williams from Virginia -- the same T.C. Williams high school portrayed in the movie "Remember the Titans" -- competed for the second year but fell short in the final round to Montour.

Pitt also held the Little Panther football camp on that Thursday and Friday. More than 100 children from ages 6 to 11 got a chance to play and perform various drills with Panthers coaches at the Pitt football facilities at the UPMC Sports Performance Complex.

Current and former players were also involved with the youth camp, including D.J. Dinkins, backup tight end for the Super Bowl-winning New Orleans Saints and a former Panther.

"I think it's great that these boys can come out and just run around and have fun," Dinkins said. "Through all the publicity and hype that football gets, it's still just a game."

Scott McKillop, a more recent Pitt alumnus, also made an appearance at the camp. McKillop is now a reserve/special teams linebacker with the San Francisco 49ers.

"I think it's awesome," he said of the camp. "Anytime you can start kids at a young age and get them exposed to football, and show them how fun it is, when they get older they'll be a step ahead of other kids."

McKillop knows a lot about having a step up on competition. A big reason he was drafted by the 49ers was his reputation for being a hustler on defense.

Chris LaSala, Pitt's assistant athletic director, and the rest of his staff were happy with both camps and the effect they had on the participants.

"Camps were a huge success, from the little guys to the older guys," LaSala said.

Wannstedt also liked the community impact of the camps.

"When these young kids leave here with a Pitt T-shirt and they go home wearing it around the neighborhood, that's selling the university," he said.

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