Published: August 11, 2007 11:53 pm      

Jones looks to trim down

PITTSBURGH — When Wayne Jones showed up at Pitt he was badly in need of an appointment with strength and conditioning coach Buddy Morris.

Jones, a 6-foot-2, 315-pound defensive tackle from Bishop McCort, was expected to take a grayshirt this fall – pay his own way to school – and then join the Panthers football team in the spring as a scholarship player. But after another recruit transferred, Jones was put on scholarship immediately and began working out with Morris extensively.

“He’s pushing through it right now, and the most encouraging thing is that he’s not missing any runs,” Pitt defensive line coach Greg Gattuso said. “He’s working hard, and he’s dropping weight. It’s exactly what we want out of him.

“I personally believe we have the best conditioning coaches in the country, and if Wayne listens to them and keeps working hard he’s going to be a heck of football player as a 300-pounder in a year or two.

“He’s talented, and he can move pretty well,” Gattuso added. “But he was just too heavy. We don’t want big, heavy tackles in our program. We want them to be strong and quick, and you can’t move if you’re too heavy.”

Jones is the third Johnstown-area football player to join Wannstedt at Pitt, and a fourth could show up next season if Greater Johnstown High School cornerback Antwuan Reed, a verbal commitment, signs in February. Pitt junior LaRod Stephens-Howling, also from Johnstown, was Pitt’s starting tailback the past two seasons and former Trojans’ teammate Scott Corson is a redshirt freshman center.

This gives the Panthers a nice little pipeline to the Johnstown area.

“The coaches up there do an excellent job, and there’s good football players up there,” Pitt head coach Dave Wannstedt said. “I think we have strong Pitt connections, too, and it’s not that far away. We have a branch campus up there, too, so we have a lot of things going for us with Johnstown.”

Former assistant coach Curtis Bray recruited Stephens-Howling, while veteran coach and administrator Bob Junko pulled in Corson. Now, Gattuso is handling Pitt’s recruiting efforts in Johnstown area.

“It’s worked out pretty well for us so far, and they play some good football out that way,” Gattuso said. “So, I’m sure we’ll keep looking in that area.”

Jones isn’t likely to make an impact on Pitt’s defensive line this season, but he’s glad that he is with the team right away and didn’t have to wait until the spring to join the Panthers.

“It’s been a new experience, and it’s definitely different from high school,” Jones said. “The pace is a lot faster, and there’s a lot more players, better competition, but I think I’ve transitioned all right. It was just something new for me, and I just had to get into the flow of things. But I’m getting there.

“Even though I was getting into the mind-set that I wouldn’t be with the team until the spring, I’m happy to be here. They told me a couple weeks back that they were going to bring me in for the fall camp, and I got on board with it. So, here I am. And it’s a lot better for me to be here now, I think.”

Jones noted that the transition from high school ball, where he dominated primarily because of his size and athleticism, to college was the biggest difference that he had to overcome.

“You definitely have to be a lot stronger and a lot quicker,” Jones said. “So, I’m a little overweight right now, and I have to bring it down. But fall camp has helped me out with that, and that’s my main focus right now.

“I have to get in better shape and get my weight down to be able to run out there and be as strong and as quick as everybody else on the field. I’m only a freshman coming in here, so I still have some time.”