If there is one thing Raymond Kirkley and Jawan Walker understand, it's the disparity between being Pitt's starting tailback and its backup.
While they have a combined 20 starts between them, Kirkley and Walker know all too well what it's like to spend the majority of a game on the sidelines.
"Substituting and starting is a big difference," Walker said. "You've got to be in condition. That's the main thing."
Pitt coach Walt Harris already has laid out one condition in their battle for the starting job: He's not interested in having Kirkley and Walker sharing duties. Harris would prefer to see a clear-cut winner emerge.
"I'd like to see one step up to the front and prove he's the best," Harris said. "I don't think a running back-by-committee is the way we want to go."
The Panthers are looking for a replacement for Brandon Miree, who rushed for 573 yards and six touchdowns last season despite missing six games with a stress fracture. Harris believes Kirkley and Walker are worthy candidates and likes that they have previous experience as starters.
"Brandon Miree was an outstanding player, but we're excited with what we see out of Ray Kirkley and Jawan Walker," Harris said. "Brandon brought a style of running that these two guys need to work on. These two guys might be better athletes than Brandon, and they're both faster."
Walker appears to be the frontrunner, but Kirkley isn't about to concede the starting job at this point.
"I'm always up for a challenge," said Kirkley, who took a redshirt last season. "We've both been there and both got it done."
Walker, a 5-foot-10, 215-pounder from Erie, rushed for 407 yards and three touchdowns on 107 carries last season, when he started six games. He made his first career start against Texas A&M, running for a season-high 87 yards on 20 carries.
His best performance, however, came in a reserve role. Against Boston College, Walker became the first Panthers player to run, catch and throw for touchdowns in one game when he scored on a 3-yard run and a 47-yard catch, then threw a 35-yard halfback option pass to Larry Fitzgerald.
"I just try to do everything to the best of my abilities," Walker said. "I try to be well-rounded."
The 5-10, 225-pound Kirkley started 10 games as a true freshman in 2001, rushing for a team-high 645 yards. He made four starts the next season before being supplanted by Miree, in part because of Kirkley's difficulty to grasp the blocking schemes in the Panthers' pass protection.
"When I got here, I had problems with my protections," said Kirkley, who blamed it partly on his wrists, which later required surgery. "It's a big transition from high school to college. You come in and you're used to blocking, but you've got to block with technique. In high school, you're not concentrating on that."
It hasn't helped that the tailbacks that they have had a new position coach each of the past three years, going from Shawn Simms to Dino Babers to Wayne Moses. Or that there will be an onus on the running game after the exits of All-Big East quarterback Rod Rutherford and All-American receiver Fitzgerald.
"The running game should always help out the passing game," Kirkley said. "If we're going to be the primary source of offense, it's added pressure. We've got to step up."
Kirkley and Walker know that the Panthers will be watching closely to see which one steps up first.
"Anybody can win the starting job," Walker said. "It's out there to get."
| Two for tailback |
Pitt juniors Raymond Kirkley and Jawan Walker, who are vying for the tailback job, have 20 starts between them. Here is a look at their career statistics:
Player - G/GS - Att. - Yds - Avg. - TDs
Kirkley - 18/14 - 200 - 797 - 4.0 - 4
Walker - 15/6 - 113 - 422 - 3.7 - 3
