Dan Mason Out for the Season; Pitt Shakes up O-Line

Yesterday, it became official: Pitt LB Dan Mason's season just went from bad to worse.

Mason, who was disciplined by Dave Wannstedt for his involvement in the Jason Douglas incident last week, was eventually permitted by his coach to play in the blowout loss against the Miami Hurricanes on Thursday. In hindsight, Mason probably should have stayed on the sidelines, because he ended up with a dislocated right knee cap and torn ligaments on an ugly injury sustained in the third quarter.

The good news is that Mason, a sophomore, is eligible for a medical redshirt. The bad news is that he'll miss the rest of the season and remained in the hospital as of Monday. 

Wannstedt said yesterday that redshirt freshman LB Shane Gordon will replace Mason in the Pitt lineup. It's one of a few roster moves being made in light of the team's 1-2 start. 

RG Greg Gaskins has been benched in favor of RT Lucas Nix; 6'7", 305-pound junior Jordan Gibbs will take Nix's spot at RT. Gibbs will be making his first college start on Saturday against Florida International on a Pitt line that will look like this: LT Jason Pinkston, LG Chris Jacobson, C Alex Karabin, RG Lucas Nix, and RT Jordan Gibbs. 

Gibbs is described as a "mean-spirited, mauling blocker" and is being counted on to help the team's struggling rushing attack. To that point, RB Dion Lewis, who ran for 1,799 yards last season, is averaging 3.0 yards per carry, the worst of any Big East runner with at least 140 rushing yards.

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