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February 8, 2007

Meet the Recruits, 2007 (Part 2)

Filed under: Football,Players,Recruiting — Chas @ 10:53 am

Well, Tony Tucker didn’t get more attention for signing, but two different papers recapping the ACC signees listed him as the “miss” or “one that got away” for Maryland and Virginia Tech.

Pictures of signing day at Milford Academy with LeSean McCoy and Aundre Wright.

Jabaal Sheard actually made Pitt sweat his LOI despite signing it.

Defensive end Jabaal Sheard probably had the most difficult time making his decision. At 11 a.m., he signed a letter-of-intent with Pittsburgh instead of Arizona. But Sheard refused to fax the paperwork immediately, waiting until nearly 4:30 p.m. before making it official.

“It was a tough decision,” Sheard said. “I wanted to think about it some more. I liked both schools, but it came down to my bond I had with the coaches [at Pittsburgh].”

Hey, once it gets sent there’s no going back (easily).

Greg Gaskins was part of a group from the York area signing LOIs.

Susquehannock’s Chaz Powell is headed to Penn State, while York High linemen Richard Muldrow and Greg Gaskins are going to Big East schools — Muldrow to Rutgers and Gaskins to Pitt.

Powell (6-2, 185) and Gaskins (6-4, 290) made their verbal commitments last summer, while Muldrow (6-8, 285) made his decision about a month ago.

Powell was a first-team Associated Press all-state selection as a defensive back in Class AAA, while Gaskins got a similar honor on the offensive line in Class AAAA. Both Gaskins and Muldrow are expected to play on the offensive line in college, while Powell is slated to play in the defensive back
field for the Nittany Lions.

Gaskins was a first-team all-league selection in Division I at offensive tackle, while Muldrow was a second-team Division I selection at offensive tackle.

Just about every recruiting class ranking had Pitt with the best class in the Big East. This one from Rivals.com.

Headliner: Running back LeSean McCoy is the every-down running back that Dave Wannstedt covets and needs in his offense. McCoy has excellent vision and great balance.

Sleeper: Tight end Jordan Gibbs has a huge frame. The 6-foot-7, 290 pounder has excellent feet that will likely make him a talented tackle in a few years.

Overview: After his second full year, Wannstedt has put together another impressive recruiting class. McCoy, the No. 9 prep player in the country, is the centerpiece. However, he’ll be surrounded by a lot of talent. Quarterback Pat Bostick and fellow running backsGreg Williams, Shariff Harris and Henry Hynoski will help add depth with McCoy[/db]. Players like Maurice Williams, Aundre Wright, Dom DeCicco and Kyle Hubbard should allow the Panthers to stretch the field in the future. On defense, the line got a major upgrade with defensive end Tony Tucker and tackle Tommie Duhart.

Bob Lichtenfels of Scout.com also does an article for the Johnstown paper.

Say what you want about the Pitt Panthers and their record during the past two seasons under Dave Wannstedt, but there’s no debating the man’s ability to recruit top athletes.

Today will mark Wannstedt’s third signing day and his second top-15 class in as many years.

Speaking of Mr. Lichtenfels, the Washington Post had a very good article about all the work and effort he puts into his job.





Meet the Recruits, 2007 (Part 2)…

Trackback by University Update 02.08.07 @ 12:01 pm

WOW- That Milford Academy head coach is one insanely happy guy.
I don’t know what to say about all the recruit business. It’s great that we got these guys- I just can’t wait to see how they come together, and how the guys from last year’s class have developed. It’s gonna be a long 6 months.

Comment by Dan 02.08.07 @ 1:16 pm

all this is great but our run defense still scares me to death.

Comment by Rex 02.08.07 @ 2:08 pm

I’m listening to Wannstedt’s 20 min long press conference as I type this, and feel even more secure about his ability as a Head Coach. He addressed the defensive line and stated that this will be the first year he’ll be able to field eight quality players (especially Tkach and Romeus who redshirted and Nick Williams & Hargrove are cleared to play ) into the D line rotation who can actually play well and not just bodies. That’s going a long way from where we were two years ago and last year.

I especially liked how DW addressed the loss of our three key seniors (Blades, Palko & Revis). Basically he is confident that kids will fill the void, and he’s not overly concerned because he knows the talent level of the kids behind those positions. He recalled the Ruben Brown story about shifting to O line – and said he had a talk with Pinkston about it – and how much better it will be to have him get a full spring/fall practice as an O lineman under his belt. I think Pinkston might do very well this season.

He also sounds really high on Wayne Jones and Greg Williams, and addresses how much McCoy has matured in two years since they first met, and he’s very confident that he’ll qualify.

And, again, he started out by addressing the character of the kids they targeted, and how strong academically they were – and takes the time to mention that’s what it takes for a successful program.

All in all, seeing NO defections, early signings (even for 2008), snatching some recruits from higher profile programs and how the staff addressed their specific needs makes me think that DW isn’t dreaming when he talks about how much fun it will be when we start winning 8-9 games a season.

Comment by Reed 02.08.07 @ 4:06 pm

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