PITTSBURGH - From Pete Gonzalez to Rod Rutherford to Tyler Palko, Pitt has produced a string of successful, efficient quarterbacks over the past decade. Even Matt Lytle, a starter in 1996 and 1998, enjoyed a brief stint in the NFL as a backup with the Carolina Panthers.
Each time a quarterback left, another proved ready to emerge. For instance, when Rutherford left as Pitt's fourth all-time leading passer, Palko stepped in and put up bigger numbers. The last time uncertainty at quarterback arose, David Priestley and John Turman went back-and-forth as starters. That was during the 1999 and 2000 seasons.
As Pitt prepares to open its third training camp today under head coach Dave Wannstedt at the UPMC Sports Performance Complex on PIttsburgh's South Side, junior Bill Stull resides atop the depth chart at quarterback.
His placement is anything but secure and the quarterback competition could be the hottest topic during Pitt's preseason.
"We came out of spring practice with Bill being the starter," Wannstedt said Monday as Pitt hosted its annual media day.
Stull, a junior and a Seton-La Salle graduate, is one of three quarterbacks vying for the starting position. With all of 20 career attempts, Stull has the most experience of the players vying for the starting spot. Redshirt freshman Kevan Smith, a Seneca Valley product and former baseball prospect, is big (6-3, 225) and may have the strongest arm of the group. Heralded freshman Pat Bostick, who threw for 7,259 yards at Manheim Township, was ranked the nation's No. 6 quarterback last year by scout.com and is the prized recruit of the 2007 class.
"The next four days will be great," Wannstedt said. "Pat Bostick will get an even number of reps compared to Kevan Smith and Bill Stull. It's wide open but (Stull) is the starter."
For now, the job is Stull's to lose and the first quarterback in WPIAL history to pass for 3,000 yards in one season knows it.
"I go back to what Coach Wannstedt said during the spring, 'Don't worry about the depth chart now, and you can only control what you need to do,'" Stull said. "I've just, really, been working my tail off and doing the best that I can."
Stull spent the past two seasons as Palko's understudy and owns some of the same attributes as his predecessor. Stull is very accurate - he's completed 14 of those 20 attempts and thrown two touchdowns - and he owns an exemplary prep background.
Plus, he's more familiar with offensive coordinator Matt Cavanaugh's system. And it's unlikely Stull would have backed out of his original commitment to Kentucky had he not felt he'd be Pitt's starter after Palko left.
"I've been waiting a while. I'm pretty excited," Stull said.
Smith impressed Pitt's staff a year ago as a member of the scout squad and he was selected Pitt's Offensive Prep Player of the Year.
Right now, he's Stull main competition.
"We're definitely pushing each other to a higher level in our ability because if there was no competition, we wouldn't have to worry about somebody being on our back or anything like that," Smith said. "I'm not worried about the position this year. I don't think we're going to have a quarterback issue."
The only issue may be playing time. Many believe that either Stull or Smith is simply keeping the position warm until Bostick is ready to take over.
Bostick, along with freshman running back LeSean McCoy, are two of the most highly recruited players Pitt's landed in recent years. Wannstedt plans to give Bostick ample practice time this week to see how quickly he's learned the offense.
If Stull and Smith struggle, Bostick could be the starter earlier than planned.
"There's always a lot of questions," Wannstedt said. "When you look at our football team, usually the identity of a team starts with the quarterback. That's the most visible position."