If I had checked some stuff online, I could have gone right to the home of Pitt’s newest verbal and said hello. Instead, I find out after leaving Lebanon that the Cedars are sending an offensive lineman to Pitt.
A senior-to-be on the offensive and defensive lines at Lebanon, [Arthur] Doakes is the latest in an increasingly long line of LHS gridiron standouts to reach the D-1 level, joining, among others, Penn State defensive tackle Jared Odrick and former teammate and soon-to-be Iowa State quarterback James Capello.
In addition, Doakes, who cannot officially sign on the dotted line with the Panthers until February, will be the first in his immediate family to attend college, something that made for an emotional moment Tuesday evening when Doakes and his mother — his father is deceased — informed Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt of his intentions.
“It means a lot to me,” Doakes said yesterday. “In my family, I’m the only one (to go to college). It’s a great chance. She (his mother) is just really happy for me.”
“He’s proud to make his mother proud,” Lebanon High head coach Gerry Yonchiuk said of Doakes. “He’s really ecstatic, but I don’t know if he understands how big a deal this is. It’s a really big deal.”
It’s just good to be getting another offensive lineman.
“It was really close between Syracuse and Pittsburgh,” said Yonchiuk, who accompanied Doakes on a Monday visit to Syracuse.
“I think it’s where he felt the most comfortable.”
Doakes confirmed his coach’s assertion.
“Pittsburgh made me feel really comfortable,” he said.
“I wanted to do this now so I could focus on this season instead of letting it go on through the football season.”
I’m not sure I could have shown my avatar at the next Big East bloggers meeting if a recruit from my high school had picked Syracuse. So, I appreciate him choosing Pitt.
Pitt jumped on him early.
Even so, the Panthers identified him as a prospect early and invited Doakes to their Blue Chip Day for a men’s basketball game against Cincinnati and to coach Dave Wannstedt’s individual skills camp in June.
“A lot of other schools wanted to wait for my senior film,” said Doakes, who also was receiving interest from Connecticut, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Virginia and West Virginia, “but I’m glad Pitt saw (potential) in me.”
The emphasis is apparently on potential (Insider subs). The stories love pointing out that despite now being a 6-6, 325 to 350 pound man-child, he didn’t start playing football until the 8th grade and only has one year as a starter. Doakes is a 3-star recruit according to Scout.com and unstarred by Rivals.com.
