Coach Wannstedt has been an excellent recruiter. No one disputes that. Despite the win-loss record, Pitt has brought in talent. Now that it seems increasingly likely that Pitt will finish above .500 for the first time under Wannstedt, the speculation grows as to what will happen with recruiting this year.

“I got several e-mails and calls from recruits after the game, and we had a recruiting meeting and [the other coaches on the staff] had the same experience,” Wannstedt said yesterday via teleconference. “We had two coaches stay and recruit in Florida after the game and it was very receptive. And then we had guys in New Jersey and we had guys in eastern Pennsylvania last week and everybody was echoing the same sentiments about how positive it is out there, and that’s good.”

In case you are wondering who stayed in Florida, it was RB coach Dave Walker and LB Coach Joe Tumpkin. Other assistants hit the recruiting trail elsewhere.

…while tight ends coach Brian Angelichio headed to eastern Pennsylvania, defensive backs coach Jeff Hafley and offensive line coach Tony Wise trekked to New Jersey, and defensive line coach Greg Gattuso and offensive coordinator Matt Cavanaugh checked in on a number of WPIAL prospects.

In Florida, they are still a little surprised to find out that Wannstedt can actually recruit in Florida after the Dolphins.

Four years after his messy exit, Dave Wannstedt remains a mustachioed punching bag in South Florida.

The mere mention of his name in a group of Dolphins fans still tends to cause one of three reactions: fist-balling anger, convulsive laughter or goofy imitation.

The nervous hand through the hair. The stammering speech patterns. The deer-in-the-headlights look.

So it’s more than a little stunning to behold the strong South Florida flavor at the University of Pittsburgh. Since returning to his alma mater less than two months after resigning his Dolphins post in November 2004, Wannstedt has recruited heavily in his former stumbling ground.

Apparently they are a little slow down in Florida. His coaching acumen has certainly been subject to questions. His recruiting, personality and being liked has not.

This year in recruiting, unless Pitt plucks some big names from outside of Western PA, it will be a “down” year compared to the past couple. The amount of talent in Western PA is not as deep with respect to recruiting rankings.

Finally, since I made fun of the mousetrap thing from Wannstedt, even the Florida columnists can acknowledge that what seemed clueless when a team loses looks smart when you are winning.

“When we were in Dallas, we used to hang mousetraps up all over the place,” Sparano said.

Don’t eat the cheese. Don’t get caught in the trap.

What a difference a couple of wins make.

Or doesn’t anyone remember much-ridiculed former Miami coach Dave Wannstedt once upon a time using lobster traps in an attempt to impart the same admonition? The ploy became a joke.

Now?

“I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw some mousetraps going up around here pretty soon,” said tight end Anthony Fasano.

Dave Wannstedt does it: eye rolls and snickering. Bill Parcells does it: give respect or he’ll cut you.