Two down in Pitt two-a-days: Saddler the latest

By Darrell Laurant  |   Thursday, August 14, 2008  |  Comments( 1 )

Pittsburgh Panthers
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What a shame. It would have been lots of fun to watch Pitt freshman Cameron Saddler play football this fall.

That's not to be, though, because the speedy and exuberant wide receiver tore his ACL during a punt return drill on Tuesday and will redshirt this season after undergoing an MRI.

He might have been redshirted anyway, but that would have been counter to the buzz that was building. It's hard to ignore a kid who averaged 36 yards a kickoff return as a high school senior, or who managed to rush for 1,700 yards and 31 touchdowns for a strong Pennsylvania high school program (Gateway High in the Pittsburgh suburb of Monroeville) despite measuring 5-foot-7 and 165 pounds. Plus, the chatty Saddler has never been shy about speaking his mind, including chastising several of his soon-to-be teammates for not participating in the Big 33 All-Star game (Saddler did play, and caught a long touchdown pass in Pennsylvania's victory over Ohio).

Saddler had looked good in preseason drills, dazzling onlookers and potential tacklers with his 4.4 speed. His is the second season-ending knee injury to emerge from coach Dave Wannstedt's rugged regimen of two-a-day practices (projected defensive end starter Doug Fulmer went down with an ACL tear earlier in the week), but Wannstedt told Kevin Gorman of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that he felt testing his players was necessary.

"Everybody is beat up," he said. "If you let your mind control your body, you have a tendency to be soft, and don't become the best you can be."

Saddler would probably have been used primarily on special teams this fall (he somehow blocked nine kicks in high school and is all over YouTube with clips of his eye-popping returns), and the Panthers have a lot of other players to fill what might have been his role.

Still, it would have been fun.
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