In something of a surprise, Pitt got a verbal from Ashton Gibbs out of Seton Hall Prep in NJ. The significance of the school is that it was also Brandin Knight’s high school.

“I’ve known Brandin since I was a little kid,” Gibbs said. “We’re connected through Seton Hall Prep and him being in Pittsburgh was a factor. Brandin did very well there and I want to follow in his footsteps.”

Gibbs, who took an unofficial visit to Pitt last fall, chose the Panthers over Seton Hall, Virginia and Virginia Tech. He was first recruited by former Pitt assistant Mike Rice, then by new assistant Tom Herrion once Rice accepted the head coaching position at Robert Morris.

Gibbs, who says his strong suits are his shooting ability and ballhandling, will sign his national letter of intent in the November signing period. He joins two other recruits in the 2008 recruiting class — point guard Travon Woodall and small forward Nasir Robinson.

Gibbs is a good guard. Both Scout.com and Rivals.com put him as a 3-star recruit. He makes the Rivals.com 150 at #145. Seton Hall, Virginia, VT and BC were schools that had offered. Seton Hall fans seem especially bothered by not getting Gibbs. There were other schools that were interested, but hadn’t offered like G-town, Maryland and Iowa.

Part of the issue was a perceived lack of progress in his junior year. He went into the season as one of the top NJ players, was selected for the Eddie Griffin Challenge and NY/NJ Hoops master Dick Weiss even noted him as a player to watch. Pitt seems to see enough to like about him and may see him as something of a steal.

The big underlying story, is that Pitt does not have any more scholarships available. And there is the ongoing recruit/pursuit of Eloy Vargas one of the top power forwards that Pitt was supposed to be the favorite to get. It’s unclear whether Pitt has given up on him (unlikely) or if there is something else. So to see Pitt fill that scholarship now and with a player who is not comparably ranked by recruiters causes something of a head-scratcher and probably some annoyance.
I’m going out on a limb here, to say that a transfer is coming. For all intents and purposes, Pitt has a super-sized freshman class with Gilbert Brown and Austin Wallace having been redshirted. That means 7 freshmen players competing for time. Sure a couple of this year’s true freshmen will be redshirted, but there is going to be some competition and playing time issues. Especially at the forward spots.

I actually haven’t been at my computer in nearly 48 hours. Daughter’s 5th birthday party this weekend, so between all the preparations and family coming to visit I haven’t had the time or energy. Just taking a little time right now before I go and zone out with some Scotch and the rest of the US Open.

Pitt got a verbal from Chris Hayden-Martin out of Greensburg Central Catholic. Scout.com either doesn’t have their rankings complete or doesn’t think much of a 6′ 1″ CB (1 star). Rivals.com puts him at 3-stars and has him as the #18 CB in the country, while PantherLair lists him as the #20 Pennsylvania prospect. Pittsburgh Sports Report/Keystone Recruiting has him as the #17 prospect in the state.

Given his height as a CB and the fact that he also had offers from Alabama and South Carolina, this seems like a great verbal.

Over this weekend was Pitt’s Prospects Camp.

Among the nearly 200 pre-registered players were wideout Jonathan Baldwin from Aliquippa, Pa. HS, wideout Quamaine Bryant from Pittsburgh’s Brashear HS, lineman R.J. Dill from Mechanicsburg, Pa.’s Trinity HS, lineman Harold Coates from Youngstown, Ohio’s Ursuline HS, defensive back Mike Jones from Harrisburg’s Bishop McDevitt HS, lineman Ryan Turnley from Hopewell, Pa. HS, and lineman Tyler Wilson from Southern Columbia, Pa. HS.

Another 200-plus athletes will report for Prospects Camp Day 2 Saturday, including Vaughn Carraway from Muhlenberg HS in Laureldale, Pa., Marcus Sales from Christian Brothers Academy in Syracuse, N.Y., and Averin Collier from Churchville-Chili SHS in Churchville, N.Y., as well as about 70 players that will fly in from Florida. Tight end Hubie Graham from West Scranton, Pa. HS was also in attendance Friday, hanging out with Pitt tight end Nate Byham, but he couldn’t work out due to right hand surgery.

According to the second day report, Vaughn Carraway was a no-show due to reported car troubles. His cousin and former Pitt Safety, Sam Bryant was at the camp to help. Many of the present Pitt players were at the camp (obviously) and some seem noticeably bigger.

Averin Collier spent the weekend with his big brother, Pitt sophomore running back Kevin Collier. The elder Collier appeared to be much more solid than the 5-11, 180 pounds he was listed at last fall. Another Pitt player who also was bulked up was safety Lowell Robinson. The senior said he was a solid 200 pounds, but his shoulders and chest looked much bigger. Robinson expected big things from the Panthers secondary this season.

Kevin Gorman in his blog, thinks Pitt will be getting several commits in the next few weeks including Averin Collier and the long-anticipated verbal from Lucas Nix. He also notes that several scholarship players may be leaving the problems because of Buddy Morris’ strength and conditioning program, academics, injuries and playing time issues. This includes Darrell Jones, Dexter Davidson and Kevin Hughes.

Kevan Smith got some face time in the “Sunday North” section of today’s Post-Gazette. The Seneca Valley grad is the lesser-known of the three quarterback candidates and probably has the lowest odds to end up as the starter in September.

One thing he seems to like is that he isn’t feeling pressure. It comes down to who he’s competing with; Bill Stull and Pat Bostick. Stull has extra heat on him because he’s seen more action and Smith, even though it was in mop up duty after Palko. Bostick is coming in as a freshman and has all kinds of expectations on him to be a “savior” of sorts. Smith? Well, he’s just a guy who’s going to give it his all and do what he can without feeling the pressure.

“I don’t have any of that,” Smith said. “I’ve always believed that hard work pays off and I’m staying positive. I’m only worrying about what I can do.”

He was redshirted yesterday last year and was able to bulk up from 210 to 230 pounds.

“I put on weight and I’m sleeker,” he said. “I’m quicker on my feet than I’ve ever been. I always wanted to see what would happen if I just concentrated on one sport.

This quarterback competition is going to be pretty interesting, huh?