April 10, 2008

The Real McCoy

April 10, 2008

Olin Buchanan
Rivals.com College Football Senior Writer

Not only is Pittsburgh tailback LeSean McCoy impressive on the ground, he's also impressively grounded.

It would be so easy for a tailback who rushed for 1,328 yards as a true freshman on an offense without an effective passing alternative to proclaim his own greatness. Yet McCoy isn't ready to accept that adjective even though he's already drawing some comparisons to Pitt legend Tony Dorsett, who rushed for 1,686 yards as a freshman in 1973.

Pitt's sports information department has released a chart comparing the players' freshman stats, but McCoy acknowledged there's really no comparison. "It's kind of cool for that comparison, but I can't compare with him," he's said. "He's a Hall-of-Famer, so that's crazy. He's a great player."

McCoy appears well on the way to becoming one, though. Last season, he had seven 100-yard games despite facing defenses with eight-man fronts and little regard for Pitt's passing game, which ranked 104th nationally.

This season, he expects to be better.

"Some games I look back on and I could have made better reads," he said. "It's hard to learn as you're playing. Now I'm older. As far as reading blocks, it all comes down to playing much faster and knowing what you're doing."

Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt agrees that knowledge is power.

"He left a lot of long runs on the field," Wannstedt said. "When he learns our offense better and defenses better, he'll have greater anticipation of what to do.

"But he has to improve on pass blocking and catching the ball. He has a lot of work to do."

Even though Pitt's passing game figures to improve with quarterback Bill Stull and wide receiver Derek Kinder returning from injuries, Wannstedt says he's planning to increase McCoy's workload.

Wannstedt worked with Emmitt Smith and Ricky Williams in the NFL, and learned about letting a running back be a workhorse.

"I kid (McCoy) that when I was with the Dolphins, Ricky Williams led the NFL in touches, and when I was in Dallas, Emmitt Smith led in touches," Wannstedt said. "I remember like yesterday we beat Buffalo and Ricky Williams carried 11 straight times to clinch a win. I tell LeSean I'm not afraid to hand the ball off."

And McCoy isn't afraid to pursue greatness running with it.

-- OLIN BUCHANAN