PITTSBURGH - A half dozen NFL scouts watched the University of Pittsburgh practice Thursday, but Coach Walt Harris - frustrated by what he called a lack of toughness by some injured players - didn't believe his team merited the attention.

"The difference between pain and injury is a lot different when you get older, so my job is to get these guys to grow up faster," Harris said. More than 10 players have missed practice with injuries in recent days, making an already young team even thinner and more inexperienced.

"That's the advantage of having older players, while the younger guys don't know what toughness really means," Harris said. "You can't get better when you're in the tub or when you're in the whirlpool."

The Panthers' injury list hit double figures shortly after full contact drills began this week. Several projected starters like sophomore wideout Greg Lee, nose tackle Vince Crochunis (knee), strong safety Tyrone Gilliard (hamstring) and middle linebacker Clint Session (headache) have missed practice. The school does not make injured players available for interviews.

The result has been more young players getting critical practice time, and even several walk-ons filling starting roles in camp.

"You'd think some of the scholarship guys would wake up," Harris said. "We don't care who it is, though, we want the best player that is available. Some of those scholarship guys need to wake up or they ought to transfer, if that's the way it's going to be."

Harris also questioned the definition of pain for younger players.

"They've got to want to play, and their teammates have got to motivate them," Harris said. "I just know that there's a big difference between pain and injury, and there's a big difference between being a (young guy) and an older guy."