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December 14, 2007

I’m a bit late on this.

Linebacker Scott McKillop was the leading tackler in the nation.

He was a unanimous 1st team Big East player.

Sports Illustrated put him as a second-team All-American.

The Associated Press had him as a third-teamer.

Scout.com had named him a 1st teamer.

CollegeFootballNews.com (which is affiliated with Scout.com and FoxSports.com) named him the Big East Defensive Player of the year.

In the Big East, LeSean McCoy was named the Rookie of the Year in addition to being named to the 1st team All-Big East. McCoy also merited “honorable mention” in the Sports Illustrated All-American teams.

Jeff Otah was also named to the first team All-Big East and made the Sports Illustrated “honorable mention.”

Joe Clermond made second team All-Big East.





Congratulations to all these guys!
Jared Holley had an in home visit from Pitt tonight. Hopefully that went well. I would think Holley is going to commit before the new year.
Hale is coming in this weekend as we all know, and the word is that the zoo is going to give him the shady treatment. Hale is down to Pitt, Ohio State, and WVU or rivals and Pitt and Ohio State on scout. It is a mystery that about three days after he told virginia they were still one of his favorites that they simply disappear. Hale says that he will commit at the all-american game and there is absolutely no chance he will commit before then.
Houser had coach dunn fly out to California to see him. Houser may not be a potential first team big east guy, but he has maturity and a little experience. This is a must get and it appears that pitt may be slightly ahead of Syracuse.
A.J. Alexander has been relatively quiet lately. He is still getting recruited heavily by Gattuso. Tennessee and Pitt are his two favorites. i expect him to stay close and his family feels comfortbale with Pitt coaches. when he announces for pitt he will say the coaches were the reason
Not sure what Partridge is doing, but i think he is the only big guy getting the can. i would guess he is recruiting maggitt.
Marinovich and Cruz have become a big deal, because we need a tight end. i have heard alot of rumors that cruz is ready to commit again. nothing too solid though. They say that cruz was told to decommit to pitt because his family felt he made his choice way too early. This is a kid that said pitt was his dream school and decommitted. kind of shady. Marinovich is getting alot of attention from pitt and despite what rivals says i hear he does have an offer from pitt.
Sales seems to be slipping. He is going to go to syracuse. Pitt met with him the other day and he isnt comfortable with all the recievers coming in. Pitt coaches really couldnt sway him. Im not too concerned. we got baldwin and shanahan and will get alexander and sales in my opinion is not a great 4 star.
Collier isnt worth the time. He wants to play rb.. Pitt is recruiting him as a db. possibly a safety. Another New York guy that pitt shouldnt worry about and is a poor 4 star from the film I’ve seen.

now to the section that most likely isnt worth my time…
Pryor… Cav attended his practice wednesday and due to regulations i dont think Cav can attend his state champ game. Maybe Pitt throws a different coach his way to watch the game, but who knows. I think Pryor might give Pitt a look at some point, but until then lets not get our hopes up. i dont see him coming here even with the visits from shady, his dad saying he wants him to go to pitt, and our coaches constant efforts. Honestly i feel like the kid loves the attention. Dont worry about pryor. if we get him thats great. if not we got some other damn nice quarterbacks. he is not a need at this point, and yes i know he is absolutely unhumanly talented, but i would rather have a well rounded team without the pre madonna than one player that im counting on.

Comment by Adam 12.14.07 @ 3:49 am

I want Pryor-he is absolutely worth our time-we need to give himthe shady treatment at our next hoops game!

Comment by scoocher 12.14.07 @ 4:32 am

Dolphin fans are STILL whining about Wannstedt…

‘Dave freely admits there has been a need for his Web site for years, for it offers a place where “Dolphin fans can feel each others’ pain.” He believes the team’s single biggest failure is “poor personnel management, especially by Dave Wannstedt.”‘

Its a stupid article about a stupid ass website for whiney-ass fins fans…unbelieveable that still can’t get over it…i told you, Wanny is the reason they’re going 0-16 this year.

link to orlandosentinel.com

Comment by Stuart 12.14.07 @ 4:41 am

Adam – Great post. Agree with you on Pryor. He would be icing on the cake, but not the steak dinner. Hale is a must get. He would be a welcome addition. Is Baldwin projected as a TE or WR for Pitt. I know rivals has him as a TE, but with his athleticism, I can see him being a WR. And a hell of a downfield blocker too. That should help Shady once he gets into the second layer of defense.

Everyone who posts here, keep up the good work. It gives me something to look forward to each day at work.

Comment by pidoublet 12.14.07 @ 8:43 am

Off topic: not to sound callous or anything, but is there anyway they can free up Wallace’s scholarship if he’s really going to need two years of rehab? He sounds like a good kid, and I certainly wish him a speedy recovery and hope he can get back on the court as soon as possible, but it would just kinda stink if we had to play down one scholarship player for the next two years.

Comment by Jeff 12.14.07 @ 9:42 am

pidoublet,

Baldwin will be a WR at Pitt. One of the main reasons he was high on Pitt all along was that Pitt was one of the only schools that told him, unconditionally, that he will be a wideout in college. Most other schools were recruiting him as a TE.

He reminds me a lot of what Plaxico Burress was like at Michigan State. I think that’s the kind of potential he has, although I also think Baldwin is faster than Burress was.

Comment by Stoosh 12.14.07 @ 10:19 am

Adam,

The thing about Pryor is what it would mean to the program and Western PA. football. We certainly have added quality depth to the QB position. This quality can win champiuonships. This was Coach W’s mantra. He wanted quality depth at each position and fifth year seniors or fourth year juniors starting at every position. But, we have consistently been gaining ground in keeping our recruits home at PITT. We have also went into PSUcks backyard and took McCoy when they were seriously in need of a starting RB. To keep Pryor where he belongs, playing in front of the fans that watched him grow up, will not be shot across the bow to PSU, it will be a “we sank your battleship”. This will only increase interest in fan base. Pryor has a chance to be a legend in Western PA. There has always been some pressure in his household to look at PITT. He writes an article for our Newspaper. I think Pryor has and is seriuously looking at PITT.

S. Hale is vital to this class. Although we have quality depth at QB, we lack that defensive monster at LB to lead this team. We have picked up some very good LBs but none like Hale.

Comment by ironhead 12.14.07 @ 11:19 am

I totally agree with you Ironhead. I think Pryor is a gamechanging player too. He is a guy that can take control of a game much like shady. It just appears that at this point there is no new talk, and despite our best efforts right now Pryor still has no interest. By no means do i think we should stop recruiting a player like that, but i am becoming more and more doubtful that this is a battle that is winnable.
On a good note. Chris at rivals announced that Hale is expected to commit THIS WEEKEND AFTER HIS VISIT!
That is a good tool to get Pryor on the bandwagon if it is ever going to happen, and the earlier the better.

Comment by Adam 12.14.07 @ 11:39 am

Pryor isn’t as high on OSU because they don’t run a version of the spread offense. Pitt doesn’t either so i think he’s a definate NO. The wildcat doesn’t count either because it’s the major offense.

Comment by Fcuk Paterno 12.14.07 @ 12:39 pm

Adam,

I wanted to clearly state this earlier. I think a early Hale commit is vital for a Pryor commit. This will certainly juice up the local news and populace towards Pryor to think about PITT. I just can’t count Coach W. out on any recruit until signing day. Oh yea, If I’m a top QB recruit, do I want to put my career and future in the hands of Jay Paterno (i.e. zero rings, does not know what it’s like as a player to succeed at QB position) or Coach Cav (QB of College Nat Championship & owner of Super Bowl ring)

I have been blogging since Coach W entrance that we needed to get STUD LBs. The last two classes put very good depth at the position. This commit puts a dominating force at the position. PITT is finally in a position to succeed on a National level.

Adam,

Just wondering about your thoughts on our new emphasis in recruiting the N.J., Maryland area.

Comment by ironhead 12.14.07 @ 12:45 pm

Also,

The never ending Saga of Dickerson. Is he moving to TE?

Comment by ironhead 12.14.07 @ 12:56 pm

Word is that Hale won’t officially commit until the HS all-star game he’s playing in (early January?). More TV cameras.
But, the good news is he now leans towards Pitt (following his cousin Cam Saddler).

Comment by Patrick 12.14.07 @ 1:53 pm

Ironhead,
I couldnt begin to answer the dickerson question… I think personally that his best shot at anything would be to redshirt and train at a position. I dont like constantly moving the kid around. i really feel bad for him too…
I like the more mid atlantic recruiting… It is hard to recruit the south, because the big east is frowned upon down there as a region where the kids that arent quite good enough go. It is too hard and expensive to be constantly flying down to florida. USF is going to start to steal some florida talent now too. Florida was good for the Harris era, because we didnt recruit four or five star guys… Its pretty hard to keep a four or five star in Florida from going to a SEC or Florida school. The mid atlantic really doesnt have dominate teams.. You have your Ohio State which is more towards midwest and BC, but nothing huge. We can get 4 or 5 stars there and you dont have to constantly fly down to Florida.
I think it is a great move, and the best part about our recruiting.
However as everyone knows recruiting the hell out of PA is the best thing. Kids in PA know that Shady, Berry, Baldwin and the big name guys went to Pitt and there opinion of Pitt rises. Look at PSU they cant recruit PA anymore. Pitt is making them go out of state. (part of that is because kids dont think paterno does anything and want to play for a coach that is active)

Wanny is a recruiting genius

Comment by Adam 12.14.07 @ 2:03 pm

Patrick,
That was the word for a long time. He had always said he was committing at the Army all-american game. Last night pantherlair got credible info that he is committing to Pitt after his visit. Saddler, the coaches, and the chance at playing locally have sold him.
I love Hale, but minus Shady i still think that kid Lucas Nix from TJ is the highlight of our class. We need to build our team around the line!

Comment by Adam 12.14.07 @ 2:06 pm

Michigan is meeting with Rich Rod in toledo

Comment by Adam 12.14.07 @ 2:55 pm

Adam,

“Look at PSU they cant recruit PA anymore. Pitt is making them go out of state.” I have felt the same way. This ruse by PSUcks that they now have to go National to get the players to be a contender in the Big Ten. We may soon have three players in the top 100. On some rankings, PSUcks has none. Those three (if you include Hale) are PA players. Both Saddler and Hale reign from Gateway, which produced King and is coached by a PSU guy. Neither had PSUcks even under consideration.

Why is Hale bumping up his commit? Maybe to influence other top WPIAL players or player….

Concerning recruiting, I also think the move to Mid-Atlantic will be better in the long run. PSUcks has been down there more since we booted them from the WPIAL. Soon we will chase them out of there.

Comment by ironhead 12.14.07 @ 3:05 pm

I can’t see Michigan running a spread offense.

Comment by ironhead 12.14.07 @ 3:18 pm

I agree.
Regarding Hale i couldnt tell you.. ill ask Greco or Chris from pantherlair tonight and get back to you. I would guess he is just sold. He is disgusted with Ohio State i think and he just feels that Pitt has alot to offer him.

Comment by Adam 12.14.07 @ 3:20 pm

Pitt does have a lot to offer him- this team is on the rise. I think we’re on the brink of something special and the players know it. Like Paul Zeiss was saying all year long from being around the team day to day- the players had a completely different attitude this year compared to past years, even when things looked bad. That’s what you need the core of a great team to be made of- and these are mostly freshmen and sophomores.

Comment by Dan35 12.14.07 @ 5:21 pm

How many scholarships does have to offer right now and how many potentially? We already have 13 commits and I didn’t think we had too many scholarships left to offer. People are talking about Hale, Holley, Houser, Alexander, Cruz, and maybe a few others. Can we really get 5 more commitments?

Comment by Brian 12.14.07 @ 6:04 pm

I hope like hell dick rod goes to michigan – the sooner that dump to the south gets back to mediocrity, the happier i’ll be.

And WTF is up with Michigan? Are there any employees left at WVU you haven’t hired? I know the state of Michigan is a dump….so maybe this makes sense on some level…

Comment by Stuart 12.14.07 @ 7:21 pm

Stuart,
Michigan prides themselves on being one of the top public academic schools… I find it funny that they are raiding WVU’s coaching staff. I guess its true that its for sports, but WVU. Regarding as one of the biggest joke schools in the country. If you take the SAT at WVU your ahead of 50% of the people there, and if you are able to register on a computer for them you are ahead of 95%.

Comment by Adam 12.15.07 @ 4:45 am

I also think it’s strange that Carr and UM would even consider Rodriguez. I mean to go from Schembechler to RR is a strange progression.

Comment by Reed 12.15.07 @ 5:54 am

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