Aaron Donald admits that things weren't too pretty when Pittsburgh first began spring practice earlier this month.

"We were all over the place," the sophomore defensive lineman said. "We weren't used to the speed."

That's exactly what Todd Graham predicted. The new Panthers coach is installing a no-huddle, "high-octane" offense that rarely pauses. It was a bit of a shock to the system for a team used to Dave Wannstedt's pro-style approach.

"We might be moving about 130 miles per hour out there," running back Ray Graham said. "It's very different -- fast-paced, very high tempo. You've got to have energy when you're out there. You can't be moping around."

After the first few practices, Pitt players say they're starting to get used to playing at the pace Todd Graham wants. The hardest part was moving that fast and still remembering all the new plays.

"During team periods, you can see we know what we need to know now," Ray Graham said. "We're moving a lot faster and moving more fluidly. As the days go on, we're getting much better at it."

The pace is initiated by the offense, but that means the defense has to play just as quickly, without huddling up. The defense lines up and gets its instructions from the sideline. Donald said the practice tempo should help, since the Panthers will see few Big East offenses that play this way.

"Our offense is moving so fast, we'll already be built to that," he said. "We're just speed, speed, speed."

And as the spring goes on, Pitt hopes to get up to speed in its new style of play.