It is no secret that Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt prefers his offense to pound the ball with a ground attack. A lot. For the last couple of years, Pitt has had great success with that approach thanks to LeSean McCoy. The tailback has rushed for over 2,800 yards the last two seasons. Those yards came on close to 600 carries. Given the load he has carried at Pitt, and the tread life on running backs, it was something of a surprise when McCoy announced he was coming back for another year at Pitt. Granted, the announcement came in late November with two games and a bowl game still to be played, so there was some skepticism.
Now, after a favorable report from the NFL Draft advisory board, and nearly a week of angst-ing over the choice, McCoy has decided to go pro.
While McCoy is only a sophomore, he has been out of high school for three years, and is eligible for the NFL Draft. He spent three semesters at a prep school (he left his high school midway through to attend prep school). In his senior season of high school he suffered a major leg fracture that ended his season and had many of the schools recruiting him back off.
The departure of McCoy creates a huge hole in the offense. The backup running back was a senior, so the spot is wide open. It is expected to be a competition between redshirt sophomore Shariff Harris who had 12 carries for 21 yards this past season and highly-regarded redshirt freshman Chris Burns.
Regardless, the Panthers have lost their best player on offense along with the graduation of the best linebacker in the Big East and one of the most reliable kickers.
