I haven’t taken a look at how many scholarships Pitt has to offer this season. I suspect it will be a bit lower than last year. It gets a little confusing with gray-shirts and early enrollments. Bostick if he does do early enrollment as planned, I think counts as a scholarship from the previous season. Of course Pitt probably had a couple open slots with the transfers of Terrell Allen and Rob Agnone that took place after this past signing period.
With Pat Bostick committing to Pitt that means no more QBs will be recruited for this class — other than perhaps a hybrid athlete/QB for conversion to another position. It means a position Pitt won’t have to allocate any more spots for scholarships. I expect that Pitt will be especially focused on finding linemen for both sides. Not exactly a revelation or anything new, but worth mentioning.
Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt rolled the dice by making Pat Bostick the lone quarterback target in a 2007 class loaded with talent at the position.
The gamble paid off Friday when Bostick, a junior at Manheim Township in Lancaster, announced at a news conference his verbal commitment to Pitt. The news came with a bonus, as Bostick revealed plans to graduate in December and enroll in January to participate in spring drills with the Panthers.
“They’ve been recruiting me since last summer,” Bostick said. “They told me I was their No. 1 guy. I was very humbled by that. It was a no-brainer.”
Well, it didn’t seem like that big a gamble to go after the best QB in the state and who showed obvious interest in Pitt with the number of trips he kept making to Pittsburgh.
[Brief tangent, because it’s been bugging me for a couple days. As the aforementioned article notes that Bostick verballing to Pitt was all but a given; and word had been leaking for over a week before the announcement. The ESPN.com/Scouts, Inc. recruiting blog for whatever reason, earlier in the week pretended not to know a thing.
Talked with QB Pat Bostick (Lancaster-Manheim Twp., Pa.), and he said he will be holding a press conference Friday at 9:30 a.m. ET to announce the school to which he will verbally commit.
Bostick will choose between Pittsburgh, Louisville, Georgia and N.C. State.
I’ve been trying to figure out if they were really that unaware (which would also mean not being aware of the multiple reports that Coach Wannstedt would be visiting Bostick the day before) or purposefully pretending not to know to keep the interest and attention of other fans. ]
The story also talks about a couple top receiver prospects who now have more interest.
Scout.com recruiting analyst Bob Lichtenfels believes Bostick’s decision could influence the decision of two of the state’s top receivers, Toney Clemons of Valley and Nick Sukay of Greesnburg Central Catholic.
“You’re talking about a franchise quarterback,” Lichtenfels said. “Bostick, to me, is clear-cut the No. 1 player in the state. You’re going to see an effect with Pat like you saw with Dorin (Dickerson) last year. Those kids gravitate toward each other. Receivers like to play with big-time quarterbacks, and Bostick is a big-time quarterback recruit.”
Clemons and Sukay were each on the receiving end of Bostick’s passes at the Scout.com combine and the Elite College Combine in Randolph, N.J., last week.
“I thought it was good to hear, great for Pitt. It will definitely open up my eyes,” Sukay said. “I’m still pretty wide open, but it definitely raises my interest in them.”
Added Clemons: “To tell the truth, it can sway any receiver’s decision, because Pitt likes to air it out, and Bostick can air it out. He’s fundamentally sound, willing to learn, has dead-on accuracy and can make everybody around him better. He makes an impact on you immediately. I think highly of him. He’s a great player.”
I’m not expecting these kids to make their decisions that quickly, though, there is still a long time until February.
Back to Bostick, it seems he fell in love not just with Pitt but the city itself.
Over the past few years, Bostick has been to Pitt for passing camps, games and practices.
“Pitt’s been my favorite since day one,” Bostick said. “I love the city of Pittsburgh. It has great people, blue-collar type of people who are hard-working with great character. Plus, the football is great. Western Pennsylvania is a hotbed for football and Pitt’s a great program. Overall, it’s just a great situation and a good opportunity for me.”
Although Bostick is impressed with the NFL backgrounds of Wannstedt and Pitt offensive coordinator Matt Cavanaugh, he said that wasn’t a big factor in his decision.
“That played a role, but not as big as people think,” Bostick said. “They’re just good guys, like everyone else from Pittsburgh.”
Definitely someone who really likes the area as well.
