Finally. This has been a frustrating few days. Not able to post a damn thing. Just spinning wheels and looking at other options for a hosting company. The system started coming back on Saturday and is allegedly fully restored now.

As I’m sure most of you are aware, Kolby Gray and Dan Schneider are leaving the Pitt program. Dan Schneider sustained a shoulder injury that will not let him play football any longer. Kolby Gray is transferring to Baylor. Part of it is driven by being closer to home, pursuing a music career, and the fact that the DC at Baylor is his former DC here at Pitt: Phil Bennett.

Pitt has taken in one JUCO and three transfers this offseason. Transfer Brendon Felder is possible to get a hardship waiver to play this season, and JUCO Josh Brinson is obviously eligible. But the oddity is that Pitt has yet to actually have a verbal for the 2012 recruiting class as the end of May looms.

Coach Todd Graham downplays that.

“I don’t pressure kids,” Graham said Thursday. “I probably could have a couple of them. But, as a former high school coach, I’m not interested in pressuring kids. I don’t know how you can make a decision without seeing other places. It’s early right now.”

Penn State has, by contrast, received eight verbal commitments. Others schools have multiple commitments as well. Graham and his assistants are taking their time.

“We’re doing outstanding in recruiting,” he said. “We’ve been diligent in our research. We don’t just watch a film and offer a scholarship. We want to make sure it’s the right fit. We don’t offer 150 kids and take the first 25 that commit. I don’t worry about what other coaches are doing. I don’t mind being unique.”

Is it spin? Is it all truth? I don’t know yet. I’m inclined to believe it’s a little of both and move on from there. It’s nice to get the verbals early, and god knows we could use the news. But it’s hard to get too worked up on this yet.

More interesting is Coach Graham talking a little more about where and how he’s recruiting.

Signing more receivers will be a priority for Graham, who is installing a spread offense. He has seven scholarship receivers on his roster and said he would like to carry 11 or 12.

Under NCAA rules, Graham is not allowed to be on the road recruiting during May. That’s not ideal for a first-year coach, but Graham has compensated by keeping office hours on every Saturday this month. This open-office policy allows recruits to come to campus to meet him on unofficial visits.

Graham reiterated that signing top local recruits is his top priority.

“The last time we won a national championship in 1976 we owned this area,” Graham said. “It’s vital. We also think Ohio is vital, the Youngstown and Cleveland area. Then we have D.C. and Jersey, and we’ll recruit in Texas and Florida. But nothing is more important than Pennsylvania.”

The recruiting area outside of driving distance — Texas, Louisiana, Florida, etc. —  is the “spot recruiting.” This is something reflected by the comments of QB Coach Todd Dodge in this really good piece on the coach.

Dodge will also play a major role in Pittsburgh’s pursuit of Texas talent. North Texas has been assigned as his top area to recruit, but he will also spot-recruit around the state and venture nationwide for quarterbacks.

“We are definitely going to step in to the state of Texas because there is so much talent for what we are doing, especially offensively,” said Dodge, who recently spent 10 of his 16 recruiting days in Texas. “We won’t recruit Texas a whole lot for offensive and defensive linemen because with western Pennsylvania, Ohio and New Jersey, we’ve got those guys. We are going to go to Texas for the speed guys, for the quarterbacks and for shotgun centers. There aren’t too many of those in the Northeast.”

Getting Dodge was some good timing for Coach Graham who talks in the article about wanting and trying to hire Dodge a couple times before. This time, it finally came together.

After being fired at North Texas in October, Dodge figured he would either stay in college as a quarterbacks coach or go back to the 5A ranks.

“Those were my two wants. I was going to take it through the first part of February and let the whole college part play out,” he said. “Lo and behold Todd called in early January and I talked it over with my wife and it was really what I was looking for.”

Of all the positional coach hires on the new staff, Dodge remains the one that has me most excited for the possibilities.