The Sports Monitor

Heralded running back Rushel Shell wanted to leave Pitt in the spring. So coach Paul Chryst let him go. Shell supposedly was going to enroll at UCLA, but it didn't happen. Last week, Shell wanted to return to Pitt. Chryst said no. Great move. I'm stunned that there are people saying Chryst should allow Shell back. Some are saying give him a second chance. Hey, if Shell wanted to enroll at Pitt, he's free. He has no right to be on the football team, however. What Chryst did will help more in the long run than the Panthers might experience in any hurt this fall. I applaud Chryst. There are other options for Shell close to Pittsburgh. West Virginia immediately comes to mind.

Is it possible that Rushel Shell is not the next Tony Dorsett? It seems that there was a lot pressure on Shell to take the Pitt Panthers to the national championship like Dorsett. Shell rushed for 641 yards as a freshman last year, averaging 4.5 yards per carry. That's pretty darn good. Is it irreplaceable? I guess we'll now never know what Shell would do after he announced he's transferring. With all the buzz around Shell, I expected more from him, especially that 79-yard effort in the BBVA Compass Bowl on 25 carries in a loss to Ole Miss. Maybe that's why he's leaving. Maybe he wants to carve out his own path somewhere else. Who knows? I'm not convinced it's a huge blow to the team. There are other running backs on the roster. Maybe an incoming freshman, McDowell's James Conner, for example, can fill the roll in Paul Chryst's offense. Conner rushed for 1,680 yards on 155 carries (10.8 per carry average). It's disappoint ne...