When Youngstown State opens their season Saturday at Pittsburgh, Isaac Bennett (above) should see plenty of playing time for the Panthers.  The Panthers big horse, senior Ray Graham, is questionable, opening the door for Bennett to get some quality chances.  He relishes the opportunity as much as the Penguins relish the chance to play a quality school in a beautiful setting, Heinz Field.

Pitt is a program undergoing a major transition, a new head coach, which means a whole new system.  Paul Chryst and Eric Wolford coached together at the University of Illinois.  Wolford thinks Chryst is a good fit for the Panthers and was very respectful in his comments about his peer.

“Coach Chryst had tremendous success at Wisconsin.  He was at Illinois while I was there.  He was a great hire for the University of Pittsburgh and I think he will do a great job there”, said Wolford.

Wolford knows that even if Graham does not see much game action, Pitt has other weapons that could do damage.

“You jump into the Pitt backfield, and you have a stable of running backs as good as anyone in the Top-25.  Graham, Bennett, and Shell are all very talented backs.”

Bennett (above) is a 5’11” 205lb. sophomore who runs hard.  As a true freshman, Bennett racked up 237 rushing yards on 58 carries with two touchdowns.  He was initially slated to be redshirted, but when Graham went down for the season, Bennett was forced into action.  He shared his views about facing Youngstown State this Saturday via telephone.

“We are looking at this game like any other game.  We do not see it as a small school versus a big school game“, said Bennett.  “We know that Youngstown State is fast on defense and I will be curious as to whether or not I can break one against that speed.”

On his new coach, Bennett remarked “Coach Chryst has been fun.  He has two sides and can be real serious, but has a sense of humor that allows us to have fun too.  He is very down to Earth.”

When asked whether or not the big school should destroy the small school in one of these games, Bennett was politically correct with his answer.

“It is going to be a lot of fun in front of a big crowd”, said the running back.  “I don’t have any prediction and we have not been able to exploit any big weakness in their [YSU’s] defense.  They look good against the run and we know how fast they are.  We look forward to the challenge.”