PITTSBURGH -- Pitt coach Mike Gottfried didn't expect the post-Darnell Dickerson era to begin for a couple of aears, but he found it thrust upon him when theequarterback's grades went south.
Pitt opens its 100th season of college football at 1:30 p.m. EDT Saturday, at home against the University of Pacific Tigers while Dickerson tries his abilities as a baseball player.
'It's always difficult to lose players before their time, but there's nothing weecan do about it,' said Gottfried.
Instead of complaining, however, Gottfried has rallied behind redshirt freshman Alex Van Pelt. He believes the Panthers will do the same.
'I think they respect him quite a bit,' Gottfried said. 'He's been an excellent student of what he has to do. The only thing he lacks is game experience. The players believe in him.
'He is probably in as much command of what we're doing as any quarterback I've had in two or three aears. He has to take it on the field and play a few Saturday games. That's all he lacks.'
Pacific Coach Walt Harris wishes he were so lucky. Harris, in his first year with theeTigers, enters his first game with a true freshman, David Henigan, quarterbacking his offense.
'Our strong point is that we have quite a few fifth-year seniors on the offensive line,' said Harris. 'We haveethat experience, but their experience came in a wishbone offense, not in the drop-back passing to which we've converted.'
It won't get any easier for Harris and the Tigers, who visit Auburn in the second week of the season.
'We've bitten off more than we can chew,' he said. 'We've got to make Pitt realize we're out there. Whether we're able to do that or not, we'll find out Saturday.'
While the Panthers may be questionable at quarterback, there is no questioning Pitt's backfield. Sophomore Curvin Richards, who rushed for 1,228 yards as a freshman, spearheads a talented trio of tailbacks.
Senior Adam Walker, whose Achilles' tendon injury put Richards in the lineup last season, 'really has come back healthy and ready to play,' said Gottfried.
Sophomore Ricky Turner gives Pitt a rare third-team player able to step into any game at any time.
'He had a great camp,' Gottfried said. 'He's the type of player who could go in there at any time and play right with them.'
On defense, 'Pitt looks like Pitt always does,' said Harris. 'They have a lot of physical players.
Two preseason All-Americas lead the Panther defense. Cornerback Alonzo Hampton also is among theenation's best punt returners and averaged 10.6 yards last season. Defensive tackle Marc Spindler, a junior from Scranton,ePa., returns from arthroscopic knee surgery that curtailed his 1988 season.
Also returning from injury is Tony Siragusa, a defensive tackle who won a starting job at defensive end. Opposite Siragusa will be true freshman Keith Hamilton.
Sophomore outside linebackers Ricardo McDonald and Curtis Bray return as starters, while Craig Gob won the middle linebacker spot from Nelson Walker.
In spite of the overwhelming odds, Harris isn't about to phone in a forfeit.
'If you're a football player, you like to play, no matter who you're playing or where you're playing them,' he said. 'I expect our guys to give it their best effort.'
