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Pitt's Paul Chryst said Pitt 'needed' James Conner's 36 carries Friday night
Boston College couldn't stop Pitt RB James Conner on Friday night, so the Panthers kept giving Conner the ball.
Conner had 36 carries for 214 yards in Pitt's 30-20 win. If this was football 20 years ago, a statline of 36 carries may not make any people bat an eye. However, now that workloads are being monitored more than ever and running back rotations are a big part of football, Conner's carry volume against BC will probably end up being one of the most intense for a running back all year.
On Tuesday, Pitt coach Paul Chryst didn't seem worried about Conner's reps, though Friday's game isn't likely a situation he wants to re-enact every week in 2014.
“I’m not worried about how much he wants it, as much as what we need and if he’s doing something with it," Chryst said. "I’ve worked with [RB coach John Settle] and I’ve worked with a lot of backs. We feel like we’ve got a pretty good gauge for workloads. We needed it, and [Conner] was rolling pretty good. I thought it was alright."
Chryst as a pretty good track record with running backs. When he was Oregon State's offensive coordinator, he coached Steven Jackson. At Wisconsin as the Badgers' OC, he had Montee Ball, John Clay, P.J. Hill and James White among others. Those names alone are an impressive list of college running backs and Conner, a sophomore, has the potential to put his name up alongside them.
So there has to be a formula Chryst follows, right? He credited Settle, his RB coach at Wisconsin from 2006-2010.
“I think a lot of it ends up being the understanding of what we’re doing. I think backs grow when they start understanding defenses. First knowing our scheme and what we’re trying to do, ‘This is your aiming point. This is who you’re reading.’ And then, I think, it also comes with experience, too. ‘This is how teams are defending that scheme.’ And you do have to be careful, and you never want to over-coach a back, but that doesn’t mean there’s not a lot of coaching that can go on. I think that’s where I feel really fortunate with [Coach Settle] because he’s been in those shoes, and he’s also coached a lot of those great ones."
Conner will have to build off his performance against Boston College without C Artie Rowell. Rowell, a redshirt junior, started Pitt's first two games of the year after starting all 13 games last season. However, he suffered a knee injury against BC and he's out for the season. After Rowell went out, he was replaced by Gabe Roberts.
“[Roberts] had size and enough talent to recruit him, and I think he fits this group. Now he’s got an opportunity. He had an opportunity Friday night. He’s still young. He’s got to continue to grow. But we were glad when we signed him, we’re glad that we’ve got him right now, and he’s got an opportunity to step up. He’s got to take advantage of that.”
For more Pitt news visit PantherLair.com.
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
