Homecoming Edition 2019 (Part 2)

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October 24, 2019

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BELIEVE IT OR NOT, HOMECOMING ISN’T OBSOLETE Paige Lawler

For The Pitt News As we make our way through homecoming season, Pitt students may recall their own high school homecomings, complete with pep rallies, dances and the quintessential homecoming football game. While some of these traditions hold true in college — take, for example, the annual homecoming football game — there is a noticeable difference between high school and college homecomings.

This difference can be fairly disillusioning to those students hoping for a formal dance or a University-wide spirit week. The absence of events typical of high school homecoming may leave students wondering exactly what the point of homecoming is in college. Apart from the window paintings in various campus buildings, homecoming spirit seems hard to come by. However, students should not be too quick to write off homecoming as a pointless or boring tradition.

Homecoming is a valuable tradition for college campuses because of the school spirit it promotes and the sense of unity and community it inspires on campus. Additionally, it provides alumni with an opportunity to revisit their alma mater and reminisce about their college years with the current student body.

Homecoming has roots in the early 1900s, when it was invented by either Baylor University, the University of Illinois or the University of Missouri. Though there is no definite consensus on which school truly originated the tradition, Missouri is typically credited with the first homecoming celebration. This original homecoming was held in 1911 when Missouri’s director of athletics, Chester Brewer, invited alumni to “come home” for a football game against their rival team. The game — which resulted in a tie — reportedly drew 10,000 alumni and fans back to their alma mater and was followed by a massive celebration with a pep rally, a bonfire and a parade.

Homecoming at Pitt doesn’t reach back quite as far as it does at Missouri — Pitt’s first homecoming was in 1928. However, the tradition is still alive and well. Pitt’s tra-

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Pitt has a Homecoming laser light and fireworks show every year for students and alumni.

Knox Coulter contributing editor ditions have evolved from simple “smoking parties” — held in fraternity houses during the advent of Pitt’s homecoming — into the more elaborate celebration we have today, complete with alumni reunions, festivities before the football game and the annual light show and fireworks at the Cathedral of Learning.

This light show is actually an incredible testament to the importance of homecoming and its ability to draw people together.

The show, held annually on the Friday preceding homecoming, draws a massive crowd to the Cathedral lawn and surrounding area as lasers dance in time to music and fireworks are shot off of the darkened Cathedral. It replaced Pitt’s homecoming parade in 1990, after the Pitt Program Council decided that there wasn’t enough space in Oakland to house flatbed trucks for students to make parade floats on, and it was too complicated to shut down the streets in Oakland for the parade to proceed through the neighborhood.

The evolution of Pitt’s homecoming celebrations over the years demonstrates the relevance of homecoming itself — if home-

coming as an event were truly obsolete, it would not continue to exist and adapt with the times. However, this is not the case.

Once popular traditions such as keg rolling races and including live animals in the homecoming parade have made way for the traditions we have today, demonstrating homecoming’s ability to change to suit the current student body and the surrounding community.

Homecoming is also a worthwhile and memorable event for alumni as it gives them an occasion to revisit campus revel in the nostalgia of their glory days. Considering that alumni spent four or more years on campus as well as thousands upon thousands of tuition dollars, it makes sense that they would want to find a chance to “come home” and see how Pitt has changed since their graduation.

Alumni also have a myriad of events to attend during this time of year, with numerous events hosted by the Pitt Alumni Association and the African-American Alumni Council as well as other on-campus organizations who seek to welcome alumni back to Pitt and encourage them to recon-

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nect with their history here. This year, the schedule includes several class reunions, luncheons and the creation of a time capsule by the AAAC. With the increased presence of alumni on campus comes numerous opportunities for current students to make connections and learn more about the generations that came before them. Homecoming provides an opportunity for students to network with visiting alumni who were members of the same societies or clubs and have now moved into the professional world. This is an opportunity that is bypassed by those who choose not to participate — or at least look into — homecoming events. In both cases, the coming together of current students and alumni fosters school spirit, which in turn creates solidarity and unity.

This sense of unity is vital to today’s society, especially considering the lengths people go to in order to identify with any given group. Homecoming is an opportunity for the student body to look past these differences and simply embrace being Pitt students, past and present.

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Blue and Gold, pg. 14 tive for some, like Rachel Stackiewicz, a junior communications major and member of the Women’s Choral Ensemble. She said the prize was what drew her to the event because she wanted to raise money for her organization’s trip abroad.

“Somebody in Women’s Choral Ensemble sent us a picture of it to raise money for our trip to Spain if we win the contest … and I just love to paint, and so it’s a great time to raise money for everyone who’s going,” she said.

Multiple student organizations took part in the contest, which had a significant impact on Paint the Town’s numbers — Profy said that participation in Paint the Town this year almost doubled from last year’s.

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“It really did work, and the student organizations really seemed to like it,” he said. “Obviously they won’t all win but they really seemed to enjoy the event.”

Profy and Casey planned Paint the Town 2019 a month out. They started with going into businesses and asking for their participation.

This year, however, Profy and Casey encountered something surprising — businesses were approaching them first, asking to take part in Paint The Town.

This year, 31 businesses participated, including new participants like Yoga U, Milkshake Factory and the Swanson School of Engineering.

“We had a lot of them actually reach out to us, the Residence Inn on University Place actually said ‘Hey I know you mentioned we could do this a couple of years ago, are we still good to do that?’” she said.

In addition to local businesses, Profy said there were many Pitt-affiliated buildings, such as academic buildings, that expressed enthusiasm for the event.

“The School of Nursing, the English Language Institute, Information Sciences Building those are some of the new ones,” he said. “This year was kind of more interesting because we had more people reach out to us.”

With Pitt’s new athletic branding this year, these new buildings had a chance to make even more of a statement. The SAA was given stencils of the new Pitt Panther logo and of the Cathedral of Learning, which are painted on windows in the new, brighter shades of blue and yellow compared to the old navy and gold colors. Profy said with this makeover, the windows look more striking than usual and serve an innovative way to welcome back alumni.

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“They look really great and it’s just a cool way to introduce the new Panther logo to the alumni when they come back,” he said.

Overall, Profy and Casey said they hope students enjoyed the event and take from it a sense of Pitt pride. Paint the Town may seem like a small aspect of Pitt’s Homecoming, but Profy said for many underclassmen it’s one of the only ways for them to feel involved in the festivities of the week, and he hopes that next year their numbers only continue to rise.

“I feel like the underclassman body doesn’t really engage with it that much,” he said. “So I just encourage everyone next year to participate more with the event because it’s a really fun and simple way to get ready and excited about homecoming.”

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VOTE THE PIGEONS FOR HOMECOMING

COURT

Allison Dantinne

Senior Staff Columnist

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Homecoming season has returned.

Despite the utter lack of concern over this most absentminded and inconsequential of seasons, it’s apparently in full swing. We’ve all encountered visits from various homecoming court candidates — pleading their cases for sponsorship to any and all organizations currently on Pitt’s campus and describing their virtues and intended projects in exceptionally unexciting detail.

Are you bored yet, dear reader? Exhausted by a season which should have no bearing on your life? Tired of a season pretending it is just as, if not more, important than midterms season?

Then consider voting for a candidate whose promise is to continue having absolutely no bearing on your life — a candidate that may not even qualify as a candidate. A candidate who isn’t even a person, because after your last group project in PSYCH 0010 recitation, the idea of people has become highly disappointing — and the rest of psychology cannot convince you otherwise.

Consider voting for The Pigeons on the Corner of Fifth and Bouquet, Where Those Benches and That Grass Are. You all know that spot and those pigeons, of course.

The Pigeons, by their catchiest and most convenient title — as they do run on a platform of convenience and unobtrusiveness to the student body throughout the homecoming season — are a sta-

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ple of the Pitt community. As far as I’m concerned, The Pigeons are third only to Roc and the abandoned, half-eaten donut outlined in Market’s health inspection report in terms of what makes Pitt — well, Pitt.

Whenever I walk past them, standing proudly on that girl’s outspread and pigeon-inviting arms, I feel at home.

Whenever I attempt to walk past them only to find one of them standing directly in front of me, staring at me with its beady little pigeon eyes before eventually moving as I’m about to sidestep it, I feel at home.

There is nothing more traditional than experiencing a sidewalk stand-off with a pigeon, a bird stubborn in constitution and small in stature. It’s an experience I’m sure every Pitt student since the University’s founding in 1787 has experienced. There is no building, no sports team, no hot dog shop more pervasive than The Pigeons. Sure, they are not the same pigeons from hundreds of years ago, as pigeons tend to live only six years in the wild, but the continuing spirit of The Pigeons emphasizes their dedication to tradition. There is nothing more traditional than a pigeon encounter and The Pigeons are here to promote reverence for this tradition and ensure that it lives on, one uncomfortable stop on Fifth at a time.

Reader, you may believe, either by the content of this piece or its labeling as “satire,” that The Pigeons are not a viaSee Pigeons on page 19

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Eli Savage contributing editor

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Pigeons, pg. 18 ble, serious pitch for homecoming court.

However, as the rats of the sky, The Pigeons take their job of providing 1v1 standoffs with students very seriously, and will approach their homecoming responsibilities with the same earnest and hard working attitude with which they approach all other endeavors.

Lastly, The Pigeons stand for joy.

Yes, they’re typically seen as sad, gray creatures who have little regard for the people walking around them. Yes, they

swarm anyone who chooses to sit on any of the benches overlooking the small patch of green space offset from Fifth.

Yes, the quad is now technically green space. But I’m simply not going to honor three patches of grass, new pavement and some tables as “green space,” especially when so little of it is green. And yes, The Pigeons do not immediately appear as kind or even as a valuable member of the Pitt community.

But isn’t that the point of their joy?

The Pigeons are unassuming spots of brightness. Their constant presence is

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reassuring as you walk to class in the morning. The way they look at you as though they’re just seeing that you’re a person for the very first time is affirming after an all-nighter, when I’m not even sure I’m a person anymore. And sometimes, there is a beauty when the sun shines just so against the feathers of a pigeon, revealing a lovely purple and green shift to their feathers. There is light in the most unexpected of places.

The Pigeons are home. The Pigeons are The University of Pittsburgh. The Pigeons for Homecoming.

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Pitt campus additions alumni should check out Grace McGinness Staff Columnist

As we raise our glasses and cheer for Homecoming this weekend, we should consider who may be returning to this campus and what exactly they are returning to. For my entire undergraduate stay here at Pitt, there has been some construction project or other rumbling away somewhere on campus, and at the start of every academic year it feels like I’m discovering it all over again. Let’s see what Pitt decided to shake up in recent years.

1) Quad Green Space Don’t be surprised if you’re met with plastic barricades if you try to turn into Schenley Quad off of Fifth — there’s no longer a metered parking lot in the center. Nature now reigns supreme there with a new student green space, including patches of grass and multiple tables, chairs and benches. Students can often be seen enjoying the new hangout space to just lounge around outside, to hold outdoor meetings at all times of the day or to eat ice cream from the new Millie’s Homemade Ice Cream location, which opened this past September in the University Store.

2) Hillman Fourth Floor Remember not to cheer too loudly, but the silent top floor of our campus’ main library has returned after months of construction last summer. New and improved as a stressed student’s haven with outlets nearly every three feet, this floor has comfortable rolling chairs and privacy dividers to hide you away from the judgment of others when you’re not doing the work you’re supposed to. Just make sure not to look up and burn your eyes out from the 20,000-watt fluorescent lights. The redesign of the top floor is just the beginning. The third has recently been closed off for a similar redesign until spring 2020 as part of a five-year renovation plan for the whole library, which is expected to be completed in 2022 — which means even more outlets.

3) Philippine Nationality Room After a 20-year campaign, the Philippines room has finally been inducted as one of Pitt’s Nationality Rooms. Its construction was a dramatic saga of setback after setback that has finally concluded in victory and a beautiful classroom. The ceiling is decorated with

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paintings of symbols of Philippine folklore such as flowers, fish and dragons, and traditional Filipino artwork hangs on the walls.

Spots for Nationality Rooms are in low supply, with only four designated rooms remaining, but it is heartwarming to see this project of hard work and struggle managed to make it through.

4) Pitt Global Hub Posvar is in the middle of a complete metamorphosis, with a slow introduction of new lecture halls and study spaces. One of the most recent additions, The Global Hub, is located in a small corner by the massive building’s Bigelow entrance. The Hub is a sleek student lounge fitted with glamourous study rooms closed off by ornate curtains, a swing chair — amongst other comfortable seating — and a huge touch screen dedicated to helping students explore their study abroad options with Pitt. Students and faculty can rent out the space to host their events, and staff of the Pitt Global Hub often offer workshops to help students tailor their international experiences toward their future careers.

5) Center for Creativity Located on the basement floor of the University Store, the Center for Creativity offers a relaxing environment for students to explore their artistic side. The space may be small and a bit removed from everything, but there is a surprising amount of tools and equipment packed away down there for students to use however they wish. Drum kits, pianos, typewriters, whiteboards, scrap paper, wool, knitting needles, paintbrushes, canvases and even a kiln for ceramics are all a part of this space.

The Center for Creativity is just begging students to go wild. I may not get a degree from this school, but I will be walking away with a turquoise-glazed clay coffee mug.

6) Forbes Street Market Three years ago, the delicious, cheap luxury that was the 7-Eleven under Bruce Hall was cruelly bought out and shut down. It remained a gutted shell for awhile until Forbes Street Market rose from the ashes last year like a gleaming, powerful phoenix sent to save the student body from busing to grocery stores in

other neighborhoods. The store offers many more produce options for students, and there is even a deli counter for sliced meats and cheese or a little sandwich for the road. The extra space has allowed Pitt to expand its inventory to students and meet our needs for delicious boxes of chocolate chip cookies.

7) Crosswalk Over this past summer a crosswalk was constructed to finally connect the front doors of David Lawerence Hall to the other

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side of Forbes Avenue. For generations students were hellbent on crossing right at that bend in the road to get to dorms, the WPU or the University Store from Lawrence. You know, that dangerous one where oncoming cars would have no idea whether the coast was clear or a stampede of students had decided to play red rover across the street.

Now, students can still jaywalk when the light takes forever to change and cross with the right-of-way when it finally does.

Shruti Talekar staff illustrator

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TENNIS TRANSFERS FIND NEW HOMES AFTER PITT Trent Leonard Sports Editor

It’s now been more than nine months since Pitt Athletics Director Heather Lyke announced that the women’s varsity tennis program would be discontinued. The fallout from that decision was rough for anyone involved with the program. But perhaps no one felt the sting of its effect more than the Panthers’ three underclassmen.

Like the rest of the team, then-sophomores Claudia Bartolome and Cami Moreno and then-first-year Mariona Perez Noguera had to quickly deal with the shock of their program being cancelled. Though there had been rumblings that Pitt tennis could be in jeopardy, the players were still

blindsided by the news.

“I mean, we heard some things, about the program and everything,” Bartolome said. “But we didn’t expect it at all. I thought maybe in a couple years, after I graduate. It was sudden. And also, our season was about to start, you know? We didn’t expect it at all.”

The timing of the announcement came on Jan. 10, with the team’s season starting shortly after on Jan. 18. The players were left with a brief one-week window to grieve and cope on the fly.

“I didn’t want to think about it,” Moreno said. “So I basically took one or two weeks off where I didn’t think about anything.”

Pitt’s four seniors were at least able to

Pitt Athletic Director Heather Lyke announced the women’s varsity tennis program would be discontinued about nine months ago.TPN File Photo play out their final season, earn a degree from the University of Pittsburgh and move on with their respective lives. Bartolome, Moreno and Perez Noguera were presented with a different set of challenges.

“We had to … focus on the matches, even though we didn’t have reasons to win because the program was being cut,” Moreno said. “And at the same time we had to talk with coaches about our transferring, so

that was really hard.”

Pitt did its due diligence in offering to honor the three underclassmen’s scholarships. But all three ultimately came to school to play tennis. Being international students — Perez Noguera and Bartolome from Spain and Moreno from Argentina — they also came to the United States in general to pursue tennis.

See Tennis on page 22

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October 24, 2019

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Tennis, pg. 21 “It was like — I don’t want to leave, but if I want to keep playing tennis I need to transfer,” Bartolome said.

It’s not uncommon for Division I athletes to transfer schools. This is true for women’s tennis in particular — in 2018, the sport saw a student transfer rate of 13.0%, second only to beach volleyball. But nearly all of those athletes transfer under their own free will, typically due to frustration with playing time, rather than being forced out by a program facing extinction.

“It’s one thing if you want to transfer because you are not good,” Bartolome said.

“But it’s another thing when you have to transfer.”

If there was any factor that made Pitt’s underclassmen hesitate to move forward with the transfer process, it was the relationships and connections they’d made on campus. Most sports teams are close, but having only seven players on the women’s tennis team gave them an especially tight bond.

“The first time I came to the United States, the idea was to stay at Pittsburgh for

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the rest of the four years there. So like, you meet people,” Moreno said. “For example, our team was really close, like we actually were a family. So, it was kind of tough to think that you weren’t going to be with them anymore.”

And so, each played through their final season at Pitt while simultaneously moving forward with the transfer process. The program’s impending demise wasn’t exactly a source of positive motivation, and the season went about as expected under the circumstances — a 4-18 record, down from 7-16 the previous year.

Each underclassmen did find a new home — Bartolome is in the midst of a productive fall season at SMU, while Moreno is also settling in well at South Alabama.

Perez Noguera, who could not be reached for comment, now plays for the University of Louisiana.

Aside from the strenuous process of starting over at a new school, Bartolome expressed gratitude that SMU has more amenities for its tennis program. At Pitt, the team lacked an on-campus facility and had to commute 30 minutes to play in Wexford.

“Here [at SMU], for example, we have

facilities that are on campus, and they’re amazing,” Bartolome said. “Many people go to the courts to play. And also, they care.

They care more.”

The precarious situation of Pitt tennis’ remaining three underclassmen inevitably fell under the tough intersection of business and humanity. It’s true that the team had struggled, going 1-69 in the extremely competitive ACC after joining the conference in 2013. In her announcement, Lyke said it was unfair for the athletes to continue on in a program that lacked the proper resources.

“We have a responsibility to provide our student athletes with the finest opportunities to compete and achieve at the highest levels,” she said. “That, unfortunately, has not been the case with our women’s tennis program. Our analysis concluded this is a hard but necessary decision to ensure the best student athlete opportunities for growth and success in the future.”

Lyke’s announcements came after announcing in November 2018 that she didn’t plan to eliminate any programs with the introduction of women’s lacrosse. Many players past and present felt that Lyke cut tennis without first putting in the effort to revive it.

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2017 graduate Audrey Ann Blakely voiced this opinion in an interview last spring.

“They didn’t try a coaching change, they didn’t try building a facility, even a small minimum facility to have courts on campus,” she said. “Their first thing they did — as far as we can see, and we don’t know much more than the general public, unfortunately — is that they just went and cut the entire program.”

When asked if it would’ve handled the termination process differently if given the chance, Pitt athletics declined to comment on the subject but added that “our former tennis student athletes have a standing invitation within the athletics department, and our various offices will always work to be the best possible resource for them in their current or future pursuits.”

Now, Bartolome, Moreno and Perez Noguera have found opportunities elsewhere with greater support behind them, though it came at the interruption of a residential, academic and social scene they had become familiar with.

“The hardest part was to leave the people you met there,” Moreno said. “Because tennis, I can play tennis everywhere. But people are kind of a different thing.”

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Johnson, McGowens pilot Pitt’s budding ballers Stephen Thompson Assistant Sports Editor

After the first official practice of the 201920 season in early October, sophomore guard Trey McGowens sighed heavily and pursed his lips, mulling the words over in his mouth, before carefully describing his sometimes sensational — but all too often disappointing — first year as a Panther.

“It was full of a lot of ups and downs,” McGowens said. “Just a lot of learning … learning how to deal with the ups and how to deal when things aren’t going as well.”

McGowens will put those lessons to the test on Oct. 30, when the Panthers take the floor at the Petersen Events Center for the first time this season in an exhibition game against Slippery Rock. But there are still questions that need to be answered before an opening night clash with Florida State on Nov. 6, left over from last year’s performance.

No one player could have embodied the first year of head coach Jeff Capel’s tenure better than McGowens himself. McGowens averaged 11.6 points per game a season ago, but that figure alone does not tell the full story.

His scoring average was inflated by multiple 30+ point outings, but similarly hindered by 16 sub-10-point performances as well.

Simply put, when McGowens and the Panthers were on, they could compete with just about any team in the country. But for every cheeky win edged out by tough defense and grit, there were loses plagued by a sluggish offense and mind-numbing mistakes.

Pitt men’s basketball finished with a final record of 14-19 last year, a far cry from the Jamie Dixon-era dominance of this millennium’s infancy, but nonetheless a sign of steady

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improvement. Then, the offseason brought in a mix of skilled, versatile first-years and seasoned veteran transfers.

Enter Capel’s second recruiting class — first-year wings Gerald Drumgoole and Justin Champagnie, transfers Ryan Murphy and Eric Hamilton plus a host of other fresh-faced Panthers join the roster to bolster the glaring needs this team has.

Unfortunately, along with all of the hope comes hype and heightened expectations for a team that refuses to hide their confidence.

A skim of the roster would indicate that the Panthers have filled many of the holes that plagued last year’s squad. But games aren’t won on paper, and NCAA Tournament bids — an explicit goal of this year’s Panthers — aren’t handed out in October.

And there are questions to address before the Panthers play a game of consequence and begin their pursuit of that goal.

Pitt fans, first and foremost, can rest comfortably knowing that the starting backcourt is set. McGowens will be joined by fellow sophomore guard and 2019 ACC All-Freshman honoree Xavier Johnson. Johnson requires no introduction after exploding onto the scene as one of the ACC’s most promising young stars.

Johnson and McGowens have their weaknesses, particularly turnovers and efficiency, but both of the players indicated in their opening press conference that a summer of work has prepared them for the offensive burdens they will be trusted with.

“I met with Coach Capel after the season on what I need be better in,” Johnson said at a press conference following the team’s first practice in October. “And one main thing was shooting and my assist-to-turnover ratio.”

Both Johnson and McGowens are tremen-

dous athletes who can score in bunches, but for a majority of last season, the duo was Pitt’s sole offensive threat and would be easily suffocated when opposing defenses clogged driving lanes.

That is where a rebuilt group of Panthers big men will have to step in. Now there are no Jahlil Okafors or Marvin Bagley IIIs manning the front line for Pitt, but there are a variety of skill sets that Capel can mix and match to his needs.

Senior Kene Chukwuka and first-year Karim Coulibaly will provide a more hardnosed approach. They both can rebound and play solid defense. While their offensive skills are relatively unspectacular, particularly for Chukwuka, who has failed to present much of a threat in his first three years at Pitt, both will benefit from the playmaking abilities of Johnson, McGowens and company.

And when Pitt looks for a more potent inside attack on offense, Capel will turn to junior forward Terrell Brown and graduate transfer forward Eric Hamilton. Hamilton and Brown both have extended experience at the Division I level and have shown varying levels of scoring ability around the basket.

Even though Hamilton’s counting numbers don’t stand out, his efficiency does. The 6-foot-9 transfer from UNC Greensboro averaged only 6.3 points per game last season, but shot 59% from the field in 16.3 minutes per game.

Similarly, Brown showed flashes of polish and grace on the offensive end. Against Syracuse this past February, Brown posted a season-high 16 points on 8-13 shooting, which he achieved through a mix of beautiful alley-oops and confident post moves. But the seminal question for Brown is whether or

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not he can improve his motor and play with the kind of energy that made him not just a consistent threat to score, but also one of the ACC’s best shot-blockers.

In addition to bigs who can occupy opposing defenders, Capel and his staff made sure to improve on the lack of efficient shooting his team experienced. They did just that in adding transfer guard Ryan Murphy, a marksman who comes to Pitt by way of Charlotte, where he shot an even 40% from distance last season.

That’s no small feat, but Murphy acknowledged during an October press conference that he won’t have to choose between padding his own stats and helping the team win. ”Well it’s obvious [Johnson] and [McGowens] are amazing with the ball in their hands,” Murphy said. “If I’m making shots that just frees them up even more because guys can’t help. And just even the threat of me being on the court, guys have to cheat a little more.”

Murphy will undoubtedly aid floor spacing and free up wings like Drumgoole and Champagnie, plus sophomore forward Au’Diese Toney to create offense of their own.

Murphy will also be asked to share the ballhandling duties with McGowens and Johnson when one of the primary players needs a rest.

This year’s installment of Panthers basketball will be faster, more skilled and ultimately better than they were a season ago. Improved depth and experience will help them inch further and further out of the ACC’s basement. It won’t happen immediately, but, according to Murphy, his teammates are eager to validate the hype.

“We got something to prove, as a team,” Murphy said. “The rankings came out and we put it right in our group chat and guys are excited for the first game.”

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PANTHERS IN THE PROS: OLD AND NEW CARRY FOOTBALL LEGACY TO NFL

Dominic Campbell Staff Writer

While Pitt football is struggling to gain national recognition, the program is still producing NFL players at a frequency and quality that rivals some of the nation’s top programs.

Over the years, the Panthers have produced several Pro Football Hall of Famers including Mike Ditka, Tony Dorsett and Dan Marino. In fact, Pitt — with its eight Hall of Famers — is tied for fourth best of any school in the country. But Pitt’s NFL legacy doesn’t exist solely in the past. This season, there are still former Panthers performing at the top of their game, others that are steady in their positions and yet more just starting to take off.

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Holding the title of best former Pitt player currently active is Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald, who left Pitt for the NFL in 2014. The two-time reigning Defensive Player of the Year has seen a decrease in sack and tackle totals so far this year, but don’t let the stats fool you.

Donald has been double-teamed by blockers more than anyone else in the league, 71% of the time.

Recently, Donald also moved up to third place on the Rams’ All-Time sack list after his fourth of the season in a 37-10 win over the Falcons last Sunday. The ultimate goal for Donald this year will be a victorious return to the Superbowl after falling 13-3 to the New England Patriots last year.

Following close behind is long-time

Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald signs autographs during the first day of training camp in Irvine, California, on July 29.

Wally Skalij, Los Angeles Times, TNS veteran wide receiver for the Arizona Cardinals, Larry Fitzgerald, who withdrew from Pitt in 2004 to pursue an NFL career.

Fitzgerald has benefited from the play of rookie quarterback, first overall draft pick and Heisman winner Kyler Murray. He has recorded five catches or more in all five games he’s played in this season, proving that he is still a threat at the age of 36.

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In the fourth game of the season, Fitzgerald continued to cement his status as one of the best wide receivers ever, passing Hall of Fame tight end Tony Gonzalez with his 1,326th reception, reaching second in the NFL’s all-time record books.

Despite being one of the few players See Pros on page 26

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Pros, pg. 25 to reach the 10,000-yard rushing mark, six-time Pro-Bowl running back LeSean McCoy, who left Pitt after his sophomore year in 2009, hasn’t enjoyed the same kind of success of his youth, despite reuniting with his former head coach Andy Reid in Kansas City. As a Chief, McCoy has seen limited touches, with 12 carries last week, counting for the most he’s gotten in a single game all year. This is mainly due to the high caliber quarterback play of 2018 MVP Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City.

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Still, “Shady” McCoy is the Chiefs leading rusher this season. After Mahomes suffered an ankle injury this past Sunday that could sideline him for three to six weeks, McCoy will have to step up and play like he did as a Philadelphia Eagle or a Buffalo Bill.

Sticking in the backfield, Tennessee Titans running back Dion Lewis left Pitt in 2011 after two outstanding seasons. But these days, he has seen little action after a solid season in 2018 as Derrick Henry’s backup, rushing for 517 yards. His role has been reduced through the first seven

games to just 17 rushes for 57 yards, as he becomes less and less used in the Titans system.

But as the older backs are phased out, the next generation of Pitt in the NFL rises. Pittsburgh Steelers running back James Conner is the most well known of the latest generation of Pitt stars to make the NFL, but has struggled to follow up his Pro Bowl campaign after departing from Pitt after his junior season in 2017.

Conner had a less-than-ideal start to this season after a Pro Bowl season last year. He rushed 74 times for 235 yards

October 24, 2019

through his first six games. That averages out to about 39.2 yards a game, much lower than his 74.8 last season.

Conner’s AFC North rival, Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tyler Boyd, has had to suffer through an even worse year than Conner after leaving a year earlier than him in 2016. Boyd has been one of the most targeted receivers in the NFL, especially with the injury to star wide receiver A.J. Green. With those targets, Boyd has failed to perform — his 73 targets being only 45 catches for 471 yards. But Boyd may not deserve the entirety of the blame for his performance with Andy Dalton as his quarterback.

Cornerback K’Waun Williams, a 2014 graduate of Pitt and current corner for the San Francisco 49ers, has been a consistent player this year for the NFC West frontrunner. Entering last week’s game against Washington, Williams was ranked the No. 9 cornerback in the league this year by Pro Football Focus pass coverage grades.

He has also collected two interceptions, the most in a season of his career, he has only allowed 50% of passes thrown his way to be completed and his opponents’ quarterbacks are only posting an average passer rating of 51.5. In a 9-0 win over the Washington Redskins, he made three tackles and only allowed 16 yards receiving on five targets.

Two more defensive Pitt alums who have seen limited playing time this season are Indianapolis Colts defensive end Jabaal Sheard, who left Pitt in 2011, and Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Avonte Maddox, a 2017 graduate from Pitt.

Sheard missed the first three games of the season due to a knee injury, but in his last three games, he has a total of nine tackles and 1.5 sacks. Maddox was healthy at the beginning of the season, but a big collision in week four against the Green Bay Packers has kept him sidelined.

In just his second season, Minnesota Vikings offensive tackle Brian O’Neill, who left in 2016 for the NFL draft, has still not given up a sack and is helping an offensive line that is a big part of the recent three game winning streak that has the Vikings at 5-2.

The older generation of Pitt greats, like McCoy and Fitzgerald, are reaching the twilight of their careers. Now it’s on the next generation of stars like Boyd, Conner and Donald to carry the torch until their successors arrive.

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For Rent North Oakland Starting at $775.00.

Studio, 1 , and 2 bed­room. 3 Min walk to Pitt! 1, 2 and 4 bed­room units also avail­able in North Oak­land.

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Newly remod­eled and new carpet. Two person max. Call 412‑608‑8581.

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notices

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SNOW REMOVAL For winter 2019‑2020.

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Two business days prior by 3pm | Email: advertising@pittnews.com | Phone: 412.648.7978

FOR RELEASE OCTOBER 24, 2019

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Lewis

Commerical real es­tate office looking to hire Executive Assis­tant. Must be com­puter literate.

412‑281‑2700 Part Time Banquet Servers needed at The PRIORY HO­TEL. Starting rate of $11 an hour. If inter­ested please email zach@ priory.com or call 412‑224‑6306.

1X

(Each Additional Word: $0.10)

Deadline:

10/24/19

• NORTH OAKLAND • SOUTH OAKLAND • SHADYSIDE • SQUIRREL HILL • SOUTHSIDE • NORTHSIDE • BLOOMFIELD • ROOMMATES • OTHER

Employment

The Pitt news crossword

I N D E X

Rentals & Sublet

October 24, 2019

ACROSS 1 Dermatology issue 5 Sources of foreign aid?

12 Learned 14 Sacagawea’s people 16 Aquarium growth 17 “Are we done here?”

19 Rio neighborhood of song 21 “Me Talk Pretty One Day” writer David 22 Takes turns?

24 Coarse cloth 25 When an early voyage may start 28 Metal giant 31 “Tsk tsk” 33 Harsh cry 37 Light touch 38 Chocolate treat 40 Letter before sigma 41 __ song 43 “Might be able to help” 45 “... let’s play two!” ballplayer Banks 47 Set of chromosomes 48 Avalanche 51 Din 53 Traveling tot’s spot 56 Sounded indignant 60 “Not hungry, but not not hungry either” 62 Of service 63 A-ha hit that won six MTV Video Music Awards 64 Assisted through difficulty, with “over” 65 Macy’s logo feature 66 Bottomless buffet acronym spelled out by the ends of 17-, 31-, 43- and 60-Across DOWN 1 Tazo choice 2 App with many pans 3 “Star Wars,” for one

10/24/19

By Christopher Adams

4 Classic Pontiac 5 Malay or Mongol 6 Stammering syllables 7 Kettles and kitties 8 Second AfricanAmerican inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame 9 “There was no other choice” 10 Disintegrate, as old wood 11 Drum kit item 13 Area that’s hard to find while surfing?

15 “A Jew Today” writer Wiesel 18 Trip letters 20 Study on the side 23 Pouring instruction 25 Well of Souls threats in “Raiders of the Lost Ark” 26 Soften 27 Info 29 Actress Anderson 30 Bringing up to speed

Wednesday’s Puzzle Solved

©2019 Tribune Content Agency, LLC

32 Formal “It wasn’t me” 34 With the bow, in music 35 “Pow!” relative 36 Fried Dixie bread 39 Just makes 42 Kimono sash ornament 44 Subject of Newton’s first law 46 Nearly fell

10/24/19

48 Poli __ 49 Agreement 50 Like a cheering crowd 52 JusSimple juicer maker 54 Foofaraws 55 Camping gear 57 Orderly 58 Power co. output 59 “__ Dinah”: Frankie Avalon hit 61 Doc’s org.

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pittnews.com

October 24, 2019

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