I think the recruitment/commitment of Breon Allen over the weekend caught most of us off guard. Not because we never heard of him, or that he’s a diminutive running back  somewhere around 5-6. It’s that he had no other BCS offers. His only 1-A offer was from Marshall and some 1-AA programs. He also has not actually visited Pitt at this point.

New Linebackers Coach Bernard Clark recruited him.

“I was talking to him last night [Bernard Clark Jr., Pittsburgh’s linebackers coach], and the first thing he said was, ‘Size don’t matter,’ and that blew me away. So I’m committing to Pitt,” Allen said.

“They said they wanted me to play straight-up running back, and that was appealing to me,” he added.

There was some interest by other programs like FIU in him, but as a undersized cornerback.

Here’s a ten minute sequence of Allen’s highlights. In the interest of shorter attention spans, this highlight real is a bit over 4 minutes.

Obviously in college, size of the tailback is less of an issue. Dion Lewis, Jacquizz Rodgers, Noel Devine, etc.

As the ESPN.com/Scouts, Inc. report (Insider subs) indicates, he is a versatile athlete.

Allen is a slippery, undersized scatback that could be utilized as a utility offensive weapon and definitely has upside as a return man. He lacks size, power and bulk, but is very quick with great feet and good lateral agility. His stature could lead to him finding a home at cornerback on defense if he cannot hold up as a fulltime running back. Uses vision and patience to stretch runs outside and slip through small cutback creases. Shows the ability to change speeds and burst through the seam. He’s a very jittery through the hole, natural runner who has good body control and balance. Flashes nice stop-start quickness and the sharp cutting ability to make defenders miss.

So along with Lafayette Pitts, Allen could be a factor in special teams for returning kicks and/or punts.

I wonder if Pitt’s struggles in the return game the last year or two has Coach Wannstedt looking a bit harder for a player that can provide more of an impact.

Jabaal Sheard’s preliminary court appearance is set for July 28. That means at least a week before we can expect any initial plea and if any additional information is revealed.

Details at this point are entirely from the police report and officer’s affidavit. The motives and reasons for Sheard going Barkley on the guy are unknown at this point.

Sheard’s high school coach is at a loss for the actions.

[Al] Lang believes Sheard’s actions are not indicative of his character.

“He had every opportunity to get into trouble down here, and he kept his nose clean,” Lang said. “He did a great job, and I think this is a one-time thing.”

At the moment the charges are aggravated assault, resisting arrest, criminal mischief and disorderly conduct. It remains to be seen what other charges might be added or subtracted.

Bob Smizik posts about the issue of punishment from Pitt and Coach Wannstedt. He rightly points out that there is no clear answer at the moment.

I doubt Sheard will get off that easy, although his case sounds no more serious than [Penn State QB Rahsard] Casey’s was.

I’m opposed to suspending Sheard for the season, as some have suggested. He made a big mistake. That’s no reason to possibly ruin his life.

Still, a serious suspension would appear to be in order. Two of Pitt’s most difficult games are among the first three — Utah and Miami. A suitable punishment would be for Sheard to miss those first three games and then be returned to the team.

If Wannstedt chooses less or more that’s his choice. Although Sheard faces possible punishment from the criminal justice system, as far as Pitt is concerned Wannstedt is judge and jury.

Clearly more information is still needed. We don’t know anything beyond the police report and there is a broken door.

I expect that Sheard will have to be suspended for the season opener. Beyond that, I don’t know.