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Clearfield graduate Andrew Janocko receives scholarship at Pitt
Thursday, September 03, 2009
By Jaclyn Yingling Sports Editor
When Clearfield graduate Andrew Janocko got called into Pitt head football coach Dave Wannstedt's office recently, he wasn't exactly sure what he was going to hear.
Turns out it was nothing but good news for the redshirt sophomore quarterback at Pitt.
"Coach pulled me into his office and he said, ‘We want to give you a scholarship,' " Janocko said. "He told me I've done a lot for the team and they didn't want me to worry about paying for school."
Janocko is listed as the team's fourth quarterback on the depth chart, but is the Panthers' full-time holder.
The scholarship came as a surprise to Janocko, who accepted a spot on the Pitt squad as a preferred walk-on in 2007.
"I was really surprised about it," he said. "I didn't know going in what the meeting was even about.
"It feels really good being able to say I'm on scholarship. It's a culmination of one of my goals here at Pitt. I just want to go out there and help the team any way I can."
After hearing the good news, Janocko said the first thing Coach Wannstedt wanted him to do was call his parents, Tim and Trina, to tell them.
"We were getting ready to have a team meeting, but Coach said to go and call my parents and let them know what was going on," said Janocko. "He said I could just sneak back into the meeting once I was done talking to them."
When Janocko called his parents in Clearfield and told them the good news, they were extremely happy.
"My mom was elated," said Janocko. "And my dad was really happy for me."
One of the reasons his parents were so excited was because Janocko had turned down scholarship offers from other schools because he really wanted to go to Pitt.
"It's a pretty special time for us," said Janocko's dad. "Trina was really emotional about it. We took a little bit of a chance going there. Andrew turned down some scholarships to go to Pitt. That's where he wanted to go, and that was where he was happy."
Janocko wasn't the only happy player this week. Two other walk-ons also were put on scholarship, including kicker Dan Hutchins.
"From a non-game topic, we try to encourage walk-ons to join our program whenever we can," said Coach Wannstedt on Tuesday during his weekly press conference. "They are a very important part of the success that we have here. They are important to every college football program. We don't get a lot of them, but we've had our share of walk-on players here who have become contributors.
"Austin Ransom last year is the first one that comes to mind. We probably have three or four players that are deserving of scholarships. Any time that we have the opportunity to help out a kid that has contributed to the team, we do so.
"We have put Dan Hutchins, our kicker, on scholarship. We've also put Andrew Janocko, who was our holder last year and a back-up quarterback, and who will hold again this year, on scholarship. That's a real positive thing for those kids, and for our program. A lot of schools talk about rewarding these young players who walk on. It's easier said than done."
Wannstedt says it's important to give scholarships to players such as Janocko, who have made an impact on the team.
"You wish you had more, because we do have a couple of kids who have been with us for a couple of years who are very deserving," he said.
"These kids work as hard as the scholarship players. They are trying to find ways to make ends meet financially. Any chance you get to help out that burden is a good thing."
The Panthers open their season on Saturday at home against Youngstown State. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at Heinz Field.
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