J.J. Horne made an impression at the Cowboys at the tryout.

J.J. Horne, who earned Pitt’s Special Teams MVP honor this past season, has signed with the Dallas Cowboys as a free agent.

Horne, a four-year letterman, started all 11 games at the weakside linebacker in 2005. He was the team’s third-leading tackler with 52 stops and also had 4.5 tackles for losses, one sack, two interceptions and a fumble recovery.

He joins tight end Erik Gill as one of two Pitt rookies to sign free agent deals with the Cowboys this year.

If Horne and Gill make the team, that will make the Cowboys a team with 4 Panthers. OT Rob Petitti and FB Lousaka Polite are already on the team.

Andy Katz notes that there is a proliferation of tournaments for 2006 in light of the NCAA rule change.

The eradication of the 2-in-4 rule, limiting teams to two exempted events in a four-year period, has spawned all sorts of tournaments at various campus sites. Basketball Travelers is organizing a slew of them. Some, though, still are searching for teams.

Fresno State needs two teams to join it and UC Irvine; Old Dominion is hosting a four-team event but needs one more team to go along with Clemson and Monmouth; UNLV is hosting a four-team event and has Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Norfolk State but is looking for one more.

What if a team hosted a tournament and no one came? Well, BYU is hosting one of these four-team deals but doesn’t have anyone signed up yet.

No excuse for Pitt not to go to a non-con tournament this year.

Mike DeCourcy looks at the list of early entrants for the NBA draft and divides them into 4 categories: Studs, Realists, Fools and Dreamers.

Qualifications: Borderline first-round ability that could blossom with the right NBA team; curiosity about draft prospects and how to improve; wisdom to protect NCAA eligibility.

Examples: C Aaron Gray, Pittsburgh; PG Mustafa Shakur, Arizona; PG Jordan Farmar, UCLA; SG Shannon Brown, Michigan State.

Those who enter the draft as juniors — or, in Farmar’s case, as a sophomore likely to play only one more college season — are risking little to gain a lot. It’s possible one or two could surge into an advantageous first-round position. From the 2004 draft, Nevada’s Kirk Snyder and Saint Joseph’s Delonte West are excellent examples.

But most guys in this category are likely to wind up back in college in 2006-07, and they’ll probably be better for having tested their worth. The draft process can be educational — it demonstrates to players some flaws in their games and possibly ways to address them. It also can be humbling.

Carl Krauser was a better teammate and leader at Pittsburgh as a senior after a tough run through the draft entry process last spring. It could work that way for Shakur next season.

This was obvious the Realist category.

New NCAA Rules will go into effect for 2006-07. No tights or “compression leggings” will be permitted. A fashion trend that needed to be snuffed quickly.

Also going out of style, calling time out while in mid flight trying to keep a ball from going out of bounds.

ESPN Sportscenter’s “Sunday Conversation” for May 14 will be with Coach Jamie Dixon.

The Big 33 game, such as it is at this point, looks to be changing dance partners.

Big 33 game officials have been told that Ohio wants to remain Pennsylvania’s opponent in the annual high school all-star football game.

However, Big 33 executive director Mickey Minnich said his organization will not decide on an opponent for the 2007 game until it meets with the Pennsylvania State Football Coaches Association on June 24 in Altoona.

Minnich recently met with the Maryland Football Coaches Association and said Maryland is eager resume a Big 33 series that ran from 1985 through 1992.

The Ohio Football Coaches Association’s executive committee voted unanimously to continue taking part in the Big 33 game. However, Minnich previously criticized Ohio’s selection process for the game after its coaches decided to pick the top 44 players for their own North-South game before choosing the Big 33 team.

Ohio coaches have agreed to alter the selection process for future games. However, Minnich had already initiated contact with other state associations, including Maryland, New Jersey, Virginia and Michigan.

Not to mention the Big 33 game is doing what it can to keep interest in a dying event. Changing opponents is a decent short-term option.

Last year, the seeming dominos of big recruits hit in June. It is mid-May and it is underway. Jared Williams made his verbal to Pitt. Williams is a City League player at both Running Back and

Cornerback.
“I’ve gone to camp [at Pitt] the last few years, and they started showing real interest in me last year,” Williams said. “I didn’t think they were going to offer, but they did.”

Pitt was the only school to offer a scholarship so far, but other Division I colleges were showing interest. The Panthers recruited him as a cornerback.

“He’s a speed burner and very, very explosive,” said Perry coach Bill Gallagher. “Plus, he has a real nose for the ball.”

Not yet ranked, Scout.com does mention that he may be the best player from the Pittsburgh City League. Pitt has been the only team to offer at this point but he had interest from Penn State, Syracuse and WVU. Rivals.com also lists some interest from BC, Michigan, Ohio St. and Iowa. ESPN.com/Scouts, Inc. also lists FSU, Miami and Virginia. None of the recruiting sites have any actual evaluations on him.

His parents were a major factor in his early commitment.

Williams is the first Perry player to pick the Panthers since quarterback Rod Rutherford and receiver-cornerback Robb Butler signed with former coach Walt Harris in 1998. Williams said his parents, Irving and Janet, pushed him toward Pitt.

“They wanted me to stay home,” Williams said. “My family meant more than anything.”

Pittsburgh Sports Report, listed Williams as the 19th best overall player in Pennsylvania.

19. JARED WILLIAMS, CB: Perry Traditional Academy (Pittsburgh) – Williams is the total package at cornerback at a muscular 5’9 1/2″ and 190 pounds, with top level speed and athleticism. He is also an excellent return man with game-breaking ability. Pittsburgh was the first to offer and is the current leader, but Ohio State, Iowa, Virginia, Michigan, and Virginia Tech are just some of the big programs involved.

Pitt got him early and he gets to stay local.

“Coach Wannstedt sat me down and said that they want me to play at Pitt,” said Williams after receiving his offer. It looks like the Pitt coaches got what they wanted.

Looks like the period before Memorial Day could be quite busy.