Published: August 17, 2008 12:23 am      

Area stars find familiar faces at Pitt

PITTSBURGH — It’s becoming a rite of passage at Pitt football camp: The older guys from Johnstown show around a younger teammate from the Flood City.

This season, it’s tripled in size.

Senior LaRod Stephens-Howling, redshirt sophomore Scott Corson and redshirt freshman Wayne Jones can provide some comfort and stability for Bishop McCort graduate Mike Cruz, Greater Johnstown alumnus Antwuan Reed and Richland grad Marco Pecora as each goes through his first season with the Panthers, who are ranked 25th in The Associated Press preseason poll released Saturday.

“It’s definitely fun to have someone you know here,” said Jones, who is in his first season as a mentor. “I was excited to hear that they were all coming down to Pitt. We’re all working hard toward the same goal.”

That would be getting the Panthers back on track – none of the local players has experienced a winning season at Pitt – and developing individually.

“When you come in, you have a lot of questions about camp and school,” said Jones, who is going through a transition of his own, switching to center this season.

Corson is in a similar situation, as he is playing defense for the first time at the collegiate level, but he still has time to help the newest members of the program learn the ropes.

“That’s exciting,” he said of having three more local players on the roster. “More guys keep coming. (I try to help out) with all of them. When I got myself ineligible, that’s a hard hole to get out of. I got my grades together and I’m trying to show them the importance of that.”

Stephens-Howling is a three-year letterman and has a huge edge in experience over the other local players. He puts that to good use, although he serves as a leader for more than just the area student-athletes, as evidenced by his inclusion on the cover of Pitt’s media guide.

“That’s just one of the things I do,” Stephens-Howling said of helping the younger players. “I just try to come here and handle business.”

Pecora, a 5-foot-10, 180-pound defensive back, was one of the state’s most prolific passers while at Richland, but he’ll be on the other side of the ball as a recruited walk-on at Pitt.

Like Pecora, Reed was an offensive star in high school – he ran for 4,276 yards in his career – but will be a defensive back for the Panthers. The 5-10, 180-pounder was one of the top-rated cornerbacks in the state last year.

At 6-5, 270 pounds, Cruz has the size to play tight end, but he could have trouble finding the field early, as the Panthers are deep at the position. Starter Nate Byham was named to the list for the John Mackey award, which goes to the nation’s top collegiate tight end, and backup John Pelusi has already earned two letters. Dorin Dickerson was also switched to the position to take advantage of his athleticism.

Early on, it was evident that the three young players were adapting to their new environment by strengthening their ties to the past. Cruz and Jones ribbed Stephens-Howling and Reed about Bishop McCort’s recent successes against Greater Johnstown, while Reed tried to convince Pecora that he had beaten Richland’s star wrestler in a match during their younger days.

It’s too early to tell if they’ll have another local player to join their inner circle next year, but Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt is certainly happy with what he’s found in Johnstown so far.

“We believe they play very good football up there. If LaRod was the image and type we could get there, we’d take two a year,” Wannstedt said. “Sometimes it goes in cycles. Johnstown’s got a lot of talent and some great Pitt people there. All of those reasons help when recruiting.”