Graham: Sunseri Is Pitt's Starter
PITTSBURGH (93-7 The FAN) — Pitt head coach Todd Graham made it clear Monday afternoon on his weekly teleconference that Tino Sunseri is the team's starting quarterback.
Graham chose to switch between Sunseri and freshman Trey Anderson Saturday against Utah. Neither was very effective, as the two combined for 9-of-30 passing, 50 yards and two interceptions.
Questions arose after the game if Pitt now had a quarterback controversy, which Graham failed to directly address in his post-game press conference. Monday, however, he clarified the situation.
"We have obviously had inconsistent play at that position and that has caused me to make some decisions I wouldn't normally make," Graham said. "Tino, by far and away, has the biggest grasp of what we are doing offensively and we've got to get it out of him. Switching the quarterbacks has caused more distraction than it has positive.
"The idea was to get a spark and I think Trey has a great future, but he just got here in August and his knowledge and understanding is just not at a point where he can play every down. I think that has been a distraction, so our focus is, 'Let's get it out of Tino,' because switching quarterbacks really hurt us in our last game.
"It is our job as coaches to get it out of Tino and that's what we intend to do."
Graham did say, though, that he'll have a package of plays that Anderson may run in the future. He also suggested there may be more of a wildcat package moving forward as well.
Pitt has the weekend off and will play UConn at 8 p.m. next Wednesday night at Heinz Field. It can be heard on 93-7 The Fan starting with Jon Burton's pre-game show three hours before kickoff.
