Today’s must-read/read-it-all comes from Matt Hayes at the Sporting News.

They had this big announcement last month at the University of Pittsburgh. The school was embracing the name Pitt once again. After years of doing everything possible to avoid that oh-so-perfect nickname and reinvent an identity, it was time to return to — and learn from — the past. All part of the metamorphosis, you know.

A few months earlier, the school had hired tough guy coach/alum Dave Wannstedt, whose first declaration was to embrace those Western Pennsylvania, steel-town, butt-kicking roots with a sense of urgency.

Of course, Tyler Palko beat him to it by about six weeks. With one f-bomb.

Enjoy.

How about a non-answer from a Beano Cook chat?

Trace – Saginaw, MI: Beano – Right off the bat this year, Irish vs. Panthers…2 NFL Coaches against each other. Weis beat him last season before DW resigned, can he do it again against the “Shane Falco” attack?

Beano Cook: It is an intriguing opener but remember this, Pitsburgh has about three players that Notre Dame was interested in and Tyler Palko was sought as a defense back. That’s like Tony Dorsett being looked at on defense out of high school. There is no comparison coming out of high school. Weis will turn this around quickly. The Steelers had no idea to stop New Engalnd’s offense when Weis ran the offense. That says a lot. The Irish open with four of their first five on the road, then USC in South Bend.

And then later in the chat he said ND would win at least 8, down from his usual 9.

From Bruce Feldman’s ESPN College Football Blog:

This week’s list is about experimentation, and the spring’s 10 best position switches. Just a caveat: this is nothing scientific, and we’re only focusing on major shifts, not offensive guards becoming O-tackles or outside linebackers shifting inside.
…
8. Darrell Strong, Pittsburgh, QB/WR to TE: A huge target, the 6-5, 245-pound soph showed great ball skills and the ability to make acrobatic catches in traffic. Expect the Panthers to throw more this fall and Strong looks like a real weapon.

By throw more, I think he means to the Tight End.

One of the few Pitt recruits from the 2005 class to lose his scholarship offer lands with a new team.

Louisiana Tech has added another player to its 2005 football recruiting class with a verbal commitment from receiver/safety Shawn Simmons of New Brunswick (N.J.) High School.

Simmons originally committed to the University of Pittsburgh and coach Walt Harris. However, new Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt withdrew the scholarship offer because of his SAT score.
…
The 6-2, 185-pounder, who caught 20 passes for 500 yards and seven touchdowns last season, drew the interest of Tech when Pete Carmichael was hired as receivers’ coach. Carmichael was the receivers’ coach at Pitt under Walt Harris and was familiar with Simmons.

“(Carmichael) got hired by Louisiana Tech and he mentioned my name,” Simmons said. “They gave me a call, I made a visit and I made my decision.”

Simmons said Rutgers also made a push, but he decided to go to Tech.

Rutgers. Louisiana Tech. Tough call. Yeah, Rutgers is a sleeping giant in college athletics.

Finally former Pitt Tackle, Bill Maas has a new endorsement deal.

Pittsburgh-based Innovative Designs (OTCBB:IVDN) makes hunting apparel, golf apparel, jackets, swimwear, wind shirts and sleeping bags using an insulated fabric called Eliote.

Mr. Maas, a Pro Bowl nose tackle for the Kansas City Chiefs and Green Bay Packers from 1983-94 who is now an analyst on NFL broadcasts for FOX, will be used in advertisements for the “Bill Maas Hunting Line.”

In a statement, the avid outsdoorsman said he had tried all sorts of hunting apparel. “I can guarantee you that (Innovative Designs) gear hunting apparel is the warmest, lightest and the most comfortable you will ever wear,” he said.

Look for it somewhere.

The Dave Wannstedt “Eastern Pennsylvania Tour ’05” is actually wrapping up today. Yesterday, one of his stops was at Northern Lehigh.

As Tyler Tkach maneuvered his way through honors trigonometry, Dave Wannstedt was down the hall explaining his mission to recruit in eastern Pennsylvania.

Historically for Pitt football, that has been about as difficult as honors trigonometry. Wannstedt aims to change course.

“Before we travel any distance or leave the state, we better make sure we do a great job of evaluating all the players here,” the Panthers’ new head coach said Wednesday. “In my mind, if we have a decision to make, and things are close between a local player or someone out of state, we’re going to take the local player. That’s how you establish that Pittsburgh pride.”
…
On Wednesday, Wannstedt and offensive line coach Paul Dunn stopped by Northern Lehigh, where Tkach — a junior who has received a full-scholarship offer from Wannstedt — was otherwise busy.

Though NCAA rules prevented Wannstedt from speaking with Tyler personally — May is considered an “evaluation period” — they didn’t restrict him from making the symbolic personal appearance.

“When head coaches step onto the campus of a small school, they’re making a statement,” said Jim Tkach, Tyler’s dad and Northern Lehigh’s head football coach. “What they told us is, they feel it’s important to make a move into eastern Pennsylvania. The football is that good in the Lehigh Valley that they’re going to come in here and take on some of the traditional powers.”

That’s convenient. Can’t speak to the player, but you can talk to the coach, who also just happens to be his dad.

On Wednesday, for instance, Wannstedt left Northern Lehigh to make three more high-school visits — including one to North Penn — before attending an alumni function in Philadelphia. “Meet Coach Wannstedt Night” was expected to draw about 200 boosters to the first gathering of its kind in Philadelphia in a decade.

“I’m very comfortable recruiting in the state of Pennsylvania,” Wannstedt said. “For the most part, the people are hard-working, blue-collar people. I think they know that I’m sincere and I can appreciate what people in this part of the country deal with on a daily basis.”

Tyler Tkach is a player who fits that model. A 6-4, 230-pound tight end/defensive end, Tkach has received offers from North Carolina State and Georgia Tech as well as Pitt. Wannstedt has been very active personally in Tkach’s recruiting.

“We were kind of shocked and happy,” Jim Tkach said. “I just think it says [Wannstedt] is not going to automatically say that this is Penn State territory.”

First gathering in Philly in 10 years? Unbelievable. That goes back to Majors, version 2.0. No wonder finding Pitt gear in Eastern PA seems to be an exercise in futility.

As for Tyler Tkach. He is ranked #24 on Pantherlair.com‘s top-50 in Pennsylvania for 2006. Scout.com shows a lot of interest in him from schools.

It should come as no surprise that despite the individual honor that is election to the College Football Hall of Fame, an offensive lineman deflects it more to his team.

“Look at the talent off that squad,” May said. “Look at the potential we had and what happened afterward. We had 21 guys who went on to play in the USFL or NFL. We felt we should have had an opportunity to win a national championship not only my senior year but my junior year as well. When we get together and golf during the summer, we still talk about it. We’re still bitter.”

Coach Jackie Sherrill once remarked of that team: “That was the best football team ever assembled, talent-wise. … Never, ever, has a team produced that many great players.”

May was not only part of one of Pitt’s best teams ever, he was part of a recruiting class that all other Pitt recruiting classes are compared.

“The people who worked so hard around me at the University of Pittsburgh, family and friends, this is all for them,” May said. “I will cherish this for the rest of my life.”

May was a member of what is arguably the greatest recruiting class in Pitt history. The players who arrived in ’77 — including May, Hugh Green, Ricky Jackson, Russ Grimm and Greg Meisner — notched a four-year mark of 39-8-1 and three top-10 final rankings.

In 1980, May’s senior season, the Panthers went 11-1 and finished No. 2 in the polls.

“We had such great teams,” May said. “To join three other players in the College Hall of Fame who I played with (Green, Marino and Jim Covert), is truly an honor.”

The official induction takes place in December.