Paul Chryst will walk the sidelines as a first-time head coach when his Pitt Panthers take on Youngstown State at Heinz Field this Saturday night.
The former Wisconsin offensive coordinator said he's glad to make the transition from the booth to the field, but he's more concerned with Pitt's performance in its season opener. Chryst said he's trying to execute the game with as few mistakes as possible.
"Certainly, in early ball games, [we're] trying to avoid the things that hurt you and cost you," said Chryst. "Penalties and turnovers, those types of things -- special teams -- those will be, I think, even more important this week."
Chryst has listed senior running back Ray Graham as a starter for this Saturday's matchup, however, the coach said it would still be a game time decision, since Graham has been recovering from an ACL tear sustained last October.
"Ray has gotten a lot more confident, probably from being able to do more things, so that part's been really good," said Chryst. "We're still going to kind of see how it goes this week."
Either way, Chryst said Pitt's sturdy corps of backup running backs would see action as well -- including Rushel Shell, the all-time WPIAL rushing leader.
"Right now, we're planning on him playing," said Chryst, in a conference call Monday. "Him, Isaac Bennett, [and Malcolm] Crockett had a good camp, so I think that right now, I can see a few running backs playing."
Chryst called Youngstown State a "very good opponent," noting that the Penguins were the only team to defeat Football Championship Subdivision winner North Dakota State last season.
