Dennis noted the Gorman blog post on Houser, here’s the local coverage in Butte, California.

Putting an end to what was one of the winter’s closest Big East Conference football recruiting battles, sought-after Butte College center Robb Houser verbally committed to Pittsburgh over Syracuse on Saturday morning.

He’s an important recruit and a vital get for Pitt. That was, however, a bit of an overstatement.

“They have a real similar approach to what I have been doing at Butte and that was a big factor for me,” Houser said.

He will begin the spring semester at the school Jan. 7 and be an immediate candidate to fill the Panthers’ open starting center spot when spring football workouts begin.

Head coach Dave Wannstedt, a longtime NFL assistant who was also the Miami Dolphins head coach before coming to Pitt, recently cited landing a junior college center as one of his top offseason priorities. The Panthers’ starting center last season, fifth-year senior Chris Vangas, graduated.

“When we set our personnel board, the area I will have to spend the most time with is the offensive line,” Wannstedt told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette earlier this month. “It will be easy defensively, guys will move around a little, but where we need to get it laid out right, depth-chart-wise, is the offensive line.”

It would be a huge shock in the depth chart after spring practices if Houser isn’t #1 at the center position.

Starkey had a Sunday piece about Cliff Stoudt not holding a grudge against Pittsburgh and giving his blessing to his son, Zack committing to Pitt.

Mike Farrell of Rivals.com takes note of Pitt’s recruiting fun in the last couple weeks.

Watch out for Pitt to have some quick success based on the momentum from its upset of West Virginia. Pitt received a commitment from running back Cameron Saddler and quarterbacks Zack Stoudt and Greg Cross. But the big news is that Aliquippa, Pa., tight end/wide receiver Jonathan Baldwin committed Monday. The Panthers also lead for Saddler’s teammate, linebacker Shayne Hale, and in-state cornerback standout Jared Holley. One thing is for sure: Dave Wannstedt can recruit.

One potential good thing for Pitt over Ohio State for Shayne Hale. The Buckeyes already have 4 DL in this recruiting class.

The recruiting ball keeps on rolling and we continue to see what are likely direct effects from the win against WVU way back at the beginning of the month. Junior-college center Robb Houser is your newest Panther, coming to Pitt all the way from Butte, California. Houser is 6-foot-3 and 285 pounds and chose Pitt over Syracuse. He’s expected to compete for the starting job and it seems like everyone out there is happy he’ll be here next fall.

“I was looking for a good program and a great opportunity to start,” Houser said. “They’re not just going to give it to me, but the spot is mine to take. I’ve just got to earn it.”

It won’t be too hard to be an upgrade over what was there last season.

Meanwhile, Gateway linebacker Shayne Hale came to the Pitt-Oklahoma State basketball game on an official visit. Cat Basket’s thoughts from the Zoo:

I didn’t talk to Shayne at the game but I can tell you this about his visit. He came over to the Zoo with Cameron and watched the game for a few minutes with the Zoo. Not only that, but Shayne and Cameron were both wearing Oakland Zoo shirts. There were many signs and chants from the small Zoo crowd.

Prior to December 1, we were completely out of the Hale sweepstakes, but after a huge win and his friend/cousin Cam Saddler verballing to Pitt, things are looking very positive.

Duke is currently destroying Albany on ESPN2 and will be undefeated when we meet them at MSG on Thursday. What a huge non-con game — more coverage coming.