Pitt looks to restore winning tradition behind star RB McCoy

Running back LeSean McCoy eclipsed 100 yards rushing seven times as a freshman last season season. Damian Strohmeyer/SI Stewart Mandel's Mailbag Submit a question or an opinion to Stewart. Name: Email: Hometown: Question: SEND Follow Stewart Mandel on Twitter

PITTSBURGH -- There were more than 100 players roaming the Pitt Panthers' practice field last Wednesday, yet one jersey, No. 25, was rarely out of sight.

When the first-team offense was on the field, No. 25 was usually the one taking a handoff, bursting through the line of scrimmage and freeing himself from the pack with an eye-popping spin move.

When the backups came in, No. 25 morphed into the team's loudest, most exuberant cheerleader, waving a towel, letting out a whoop and demonstratively signaling every first down.

No. 25 is LeSean "Shady" McCoy, a preseason All-America tailback whose path to prominence closely mirrors that of the Pitt program for which he's quickly become the indisputable face.

Last fall, the once heavily decorated recruit, who largely fell off the national map following a year of prep-school purgatory, set a Big East rookie record with a 1,328 rushing yards and broke Pitt legend Tony Dorsett's school record for touchdowns by a freshman with 14. His 110.7 yards per game eclipsed all freshmen nationally, including Georgia star Knowshon Moreno.

"I never imagined I'd have so much success so fast," said the Harrisburg, Pa., native. "Honestly, I just wanted to help the team out [as a freshman] -- special teams, taking the load off [incumbent] LaRod [Stephens-Howling] a little bit. I never expected to be the starting running back or getting the records that I got."

Despite such immediate success (including a 172-yard outing at Michigan State in just his third game), McCoy spent most of the season flying under the radar while the Panthers struggled through their third straight non-winning season -- that is, until the final night of the regular season. A national primetime audience watched as McCoy ground out 148 yards on 38 carries and Pitt's fifth-ranked defense, led by All-America LB Scott McKillop, held West Virginia's normally prolific offense to 183 yards in a 13-9 upset of the second-ranked Mountaineers.

While the Panthers finished just 5-7, their stock -- much like that of their star runner -- soared rapidly over the offseason. They checked in at 25th in the AP's preseason poll released over the weekend, one of just two teams in the poll that won fewer than nine games last season (the other: 7-6 Alabama).

The excitement surrounding Pitt's program has never been higher in coach Dave Wannstedt's four seasons -- and the former Panthers offensive lineman is not shying away from it.

"I know the West Virginia game stirred up a lot of interest, and that's fine, but there's more to it than that," said the former Chicago Bears and Miami Dolphins head coach. "We've got one of the top backs around, one of the top defenses in the country. It's not just me standing up there saying we expect to be good -- there are some legitimate reasons for people to be excited."

There is also no shortage of reasons for people to be skeptical. Wannstedt's reputation in the pros was that of a mediocre head coach (he went 82-86 in 11 seasons), and his three-year college record of 16-19 has been more of the same. While last season's team was talented enough to knock off both West Virginia and 10-3 Cincinnati, it also got blown out by Virginia, Connecticut and USF and lost to Navy and Louisville.

Close followers of the program, however, know well the rough hand Wannstedt was dealt upon taking over three years ago -- and just how far he's gone to improve it.

Walt Harris' unspoken lame-duck status throughout 2004 (administrators intentionally delayed extending his contract, and the coach wound up bolting for Stanford despite winning a surprise Big East championship) severely impacted the Panthers' recruiting classes of '04 and '05. Four of Pitt's highest-ranked commitments -- including recent Penn State QB Anthony Morelli and standout Wake Forest CB Alphonso Smith -- defected on Signing Day '04, and only a handful of signees from those two classes became significant contributors.

Over the past three years, however, Wannstedt has dramatically elevated the program's talent level, at least on paper. His three full classes have all been ranked in the top 25 by either Rivals.com or Scout.com, a feat no other Big East program can claim. McCoy is one of seven former U.S. Army All-Americans signed in those classes. Joked one program insider: "We didn't even know what an Army All-American was before Dave got here."