COLLEGE FOOTBALL QBs Palko, Stull strong in Pitt's spring game

Bill Stull, a Youngstown-area native, was 11-for-16 for 183 yards and two TDs.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- The scoreboard was turned off, as Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt probably wished it had been for a lot of the Panthers' games last season.
The fan turnout was light, only a couple of thousand spectators spread out in 65,500-seat Heinz Field -- or about one-tenth the crowd Penn State expects for its spring game next weekend.
The running game was almost invisible, even on a day the offense ran 115 plays, or far more than it will get in any game next fall. The No. 1 running back, LaRod Stephens-Howling, was limited to 18 yards on 10 carries and no runner gained more than 46 yards.
The offensive line is a work in progress, as was evidenced by the unproductive running game and the defense's 12 sacks, half of them by senior defensive lineman Charles Sallet.
And Sallet, even with his six sacks, said he could have played better -- "I should have had three or four more," he said.
"He made a lot of plays up front," Wannstedt said.
Pleased with showing
For all of the visible problems with a team that began last season in the Top 25 and ended it with a 5-6 record and no bowl game appearance, Wannstedt and quarterback Tyler Palko said they were pleased not only with the Panthers' Blue-Gold scrimmage Saturday but the entire spring practice.
Wannstedt felt his best players got even better, and Palko liked the absence of turnovers and mistakes.
"We're not where we need to be but we're moving forward," Palko said.
"I told these guys [the linemen], give me a couple of seconds and our group will get open. I think they're starting to understand what they're supposed to do. There have been maybe one or two mental errors by the first group in practice. That's a long way from us not even being able to get a ball off in practice last spring."
Palko was 17-for-27 for 172 yards and a touchdown against the No. 1 defense and backup Bill Stull was 11-of-16 for 183 yards and two scores. Freshman wide receiver Oderick Turner made three catches for 97 yards and a touchdown and sophomore Marcel Pestano caught three passes for 44 yards and another score.
Stull was born in Newton Falls and also lived in Canfield and Poland before his family moved to Mount Lebanon from Poland midway through sixth grade at McKinley Elementary.
Turnaround from 2005
It was a turnaround from last year's spring game, when freshman running back Rashad Jennings had a big game with 119 yards rushing and looked to be the power back Wannstedt wanted going in his first season as a college head coach.
But the 240-pound Jennings never settled in and transferred to Liberty University after the season ended.
"We've got a ways to go running the ball," Wannstedt said.
Wannstedt said key returning players such as Palko, linebackers H.B. Blades and Clint Session and wide receiver Derek Kinder had good camps.
Session, offensive lineman C.J. Davis and defensive back Kennard Cox were chosen as the most improved players.
"We were 5-6, so we'd better have changes," Palko said. "But everybody expects quick results, and it doesn't happen all the time the way you want it to be."