Thursday, January 8, 2009

Bye Bye Shady?


No more than a couple days after we heard yet again that the beloved star tailback for our Pitt Panthers LeSean McCoy would be back for his junior season, it is now looking like Shady may in fact, be turning pro after all, the Post-Gazette is reporting.

The second most productive running back to ever don the Pitt uniform, McCoy will be following in the footsteps of recent NFL studs Larry Fitzgerald and Darrelle Revis and NFL dud Greg Lee in turning pro early from Pitt in the last few years. Obviously McCoy falls nicely in line with the latter two and not with Lee.

In that story, it is even reported that McCoy apparently talked to Larry Fitz about the decision, which makes sense considering Fitz was in an almost identical spot when he was here. An unbelievably talented third-year sophomore who had done nothing but dominate in his time at Pitt, but really couldn't have reached much greater heights on the field, and its questionable as to whether or not the team they'd be returning to would be worth it to them.

Of course, assuming this is true and that McCoy is turning pro, it's a tough pill to swallow for Pitt fans everywhere. We are losing out on a fantastic running back and a very rare talent. We've been lucky to have two superstars like Larry Fitz and Shady in this decade. And while it definitely dims the outlook for our 2009 Panthers season, I don't think any true Pitt fan can fault this kid for coming out early. He figures to be a first round pick, and at absolute worst an early second rounder, which means serious cash. And to be honest, I don't know if he's going to be able to get any better in a Pitt uniform. He may take a year or two to develop into the star back at the NFL level I think he can be, but there is little doubt in my mind that he can be a 1000 yard rusher and a home run threat for an NFL team. So good luck Shady and if you've played your last game at Pitt, thanks for the memories, and if not, then I'm looking forward to next season's Pitt squad more than any team since I've been following the school.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's definitely a sad day to see LeSean go. I hear Wanny is going to talk with him today, but I will definitely miss the guy a lot. This certainly dims our outlook for next season, but Shady needs to do what's best for him and I understand that.

Ryan said...

Well now it's sounding like Shady may not have made his mind up just yet. Not sure I really buy that, but apparently he's going to take the weekend to think it over. Keep an eye on this.