Great to have a coach that can get linemen, maybe we can start building some depth there.

Sounds like a solid scouting report. I especially like the part about “Nasty Finishing Attitude”. Welcome to Pitt Alex!

Sam Werner is as bad as Zeise was .
4 days ago he wrote clemmings moved to OL.
that was the last thing he posted.

he has not posted abought pitt DC leaveing for
NCS he has not said who he thinks the new DC will
be.

if he waits for the press release wht do we need
him for we can read that ourselves any were.

he sucks do your job get us some names.

Post Gaz in general does a horrible job with Pitt coverage. All Steelers all the time.

This is the 2nd recruit in as many years from Rochester area (Jamal Pardner). Not know as a recruiting hotbed, but nice to get talent from under Syracuse’s nose, which is only 80 miles away.

Sounds like a great get! The offensive line is a big area of need. When you get good offensive linemen the quarterback and the runningbacks suddenly look a lot better. I like the way this recruiting class is coming together. Let’s hope the it continues and they finish well.

Great news! I assume most of these players have played OL and DL so they are an option for either at Pitt.

Player development is the key to college football.

Speaking of player development….how about giving the staff credit for finally bringing out the best of Shane Hale. Turns out the DL coach that is often criticized on this blog did a pretty damn good job this year after a slow start.

Render, Cook, Smith, Murphy and Mosely-Smith all have gained valuable playing time this year and have two or threee years left.

I’m curious if we’ll make NJ a target again. From what I can tell, it doesn’t look like we have one commit from there this year. Just glancing at the state’s top 10, programs like Ohio St, Miami, Auburn, Wisconsin, Penn State, Alabama, Notre Dame, all added recruits from there. I hope we’re not ignoring it because there is definitely some talent to be had, hello Ray Graham.

Any of Pitt’s recruits from Florida this year? Pitt needs to focus more on the Sunshine state although I am surprised no Jersey recruits as of yet. Is Butgers taking them all?

Sam Werner is terrible. Provides little or no
insight. Have sent him emails asking for
imfo on the DC and recruiting. Does not
respond. At least the previous guy was a
jock. When it comes to Pitt read the Trib.

I recommend following Werner (or any Pitt beat writer for that matter) on Twitter … more info. He’s really not that bad but he is also on the Duquesne Women’s Basketball beat. Pitt football is not his only gig and they are dormant until the bowl game.

Anybody know how the numbers are going to shake out? .. Officer makes verbal number 20 .. assuming they’re saving two spots for Boyd and Foster, that makes 22 .. there were 18 seniors introduced at the Rutgers game .. so unless some of the incoming are non-qualifiers somebody has to go …

@TX Panther

Actually it’s a mixed bag, the teams I mentioned in my post are scattered in the top ten, Rutgers definitely has the most, but only one of the top ten. I was mistaken though, we have one NJ recruit, Reggie Green, however he is the 37th ranked player in the state.

As for Florida, no commits yet, I think we’ve got about a dozen offers out there to FL guys, 2 have made official visits, a safety, Blake McClain who has since committed to Kentucky, and JoJo Kemp, a 4 star RB, who looks like we have a good chance to snag, which would be great. He also has many offers and has visited Nebraska, but I like what he’s done to his twitter page.

https://twitter.com/i/#!/J_Kemp4/media/slideshow?url=pic.twitter.com%2FGpw9T16C

Nice pickup for the Panthers. Getting those first stirrings of really positive vibes about the program (starting with the fact that Chryst didn’t leave). Let’s keep it going and watch the program bloom under consistent leadership (hey I can dream right?)

H2P

Doesn’t look like new DC to be hired before bowl game.

http://blogs.sites.post-gazette.com/index.php/sports/pitt-redshirt-diaries/36411-likely-no-dc-by-bowl-game

anyone have any inside info on boyd or foster?

It is my understanding that the four players coming to school in January count towards last years class. That means the total count for this year is 29. Still plenty of space available.

Besides the seniors leaving (bye Sir Tino), weren’t there a couple who got booted or left.

Left: Roderick Ryles & Lloyd Carrington
Booted: The 19yr old who beat up his GF

Offensive Line is looking up.
Next year Bisnowaty & Ricketts should give us a big boost. Maybe Johnson gains enough weight to play immediately. Rotheram and King can be moved to guard perhaps, where better suited. Need a new center, can Artie Rowell play Center, if so maybe he be the answer. lol
All these other guys recruited this year can be red shirted.

We had another kid from Jersey, the Cory Clement before he de-committed.

Lots of bigtime decommitts going on.
Top player in the country, Clemson’s top recruit
A 5 star from Auburn
4 star from FSU
USC’s top Recruit
USF’s top recruit
Cincy is losing players like:

Massillon senior QB Kyle Kempt has reportedly decommitted from the University of Cincinnati, according to multiple reports including Scout.com and ScoutingOhio.com. Had offers from Wvu, Tennessee & Arkansas.

Don’t even bother with PG coverage anymore.
Werner’s reads are about as interesting as reading a 10th grader’s high school newspaper articles.

And that’s what he should be assigned to, women’s basketball, not Pitt football. Sheesh on the job training.

We all know they’re anti-Pitt anyway and pro-Pedo.

ROAD GRADER.

Ok it’s a new week.

And you know what that means right.

Who is moving to a new conference this week.

I watched a 20 minute youtube video on Officer until I got bored watching him pancake block guys 60 lbs lighter than him constantly. The thing that I really appreciated though was the kid has good feet and in many instances he was downfield knocking linebackers on their asses lead blocking on run plays. All of a sudden I’m not worried about our depth on the Oline for next year, especially with Clemmings going to the other side of the line next season too.

@ FRANKCAN do you agree with JeffinCPa’s comment that the early enrollees coming in January are considered recruits in this years class. That doesn’t seem to make sense to me. Wouldn’t that mean that they would have already used one year of their eligibility?

I heard somewhere that Foster is going to commit this Friday afternoon around 1:30-2:30.

Foster will commit to Pitt after the world ends that day. Our rotten luck.

I think you are right DR TOM they have to count this year,
but dont worry as EMel said 3 have transfered
plus the DB who went to asu.
i think we have 27 commits this year if he can get that many.

cincni had 28 last year.

@Dr Tom not sure where I read it but I was also under the impression that any Jan. enrollees are part of this years class as long as we are not over the 25 yearly limit.

I did find this on the web referring to how schools get around the limits it is just an excerpt

The NCAA last year adopted an SEC rule prohibiting its Football Bowl Subdivision programs from signing more than 28 in a given class. The rule bolsters a provision already on the books allowing for only 25 incoming freshmen in a given class — a number that does not account for academic non-qualifiers or signees who are asked to grayshirt and defer their enrollment.

But 2 SEC schools signed more than the allotted 28 players this year: Arkansas (30) and South Carolina (32).

They did so because of early enrollees. The NCAA limitation of 28 applies only to student-athletes signed between signing day in February and May 31, and does not apply to signees who enroll in January. Five Arkansas signees and four South Carolina signees enrolled early this year.

LOL…at least we won’t have to watch Tino one more time then.

@giveitarest Very informative. The flexibility in the total number is a good opportunity for Pitt to reload. Schools like some in the SEC use it to stockpile players. Recruits should understand that they have a much greater chance of seeing the field early at Pitt.

Info for you all.
Charlie Partridge who some thought might be our next DC. Made at wisconsin $240.000 as DL coach.

He will make 350.000 at arkansas for same job
DL coach.

Tells me that Arkansas places more value on athletics than academics and really wants to win. I’m all for paying Pitt’s assistant coaches more money if it is based on performance or if it will help attract and retain quality coaches, BUT the money that some schools and conferences throw at football is completely obscene. Is a DL or any position coach really worth that kind of dough?

We know chryst likes wisconsin coachs or players
for his staff.
So Tood Orlando make sence if he is are next DC.
he played at wisconsin he is from pittsburgh
and has been a DC at 2 schools U CONN being one
he has been in the deep south for years and should be a help in recruiting.

if he is are next dc it would make sence.

So does an early enrollee still have five years of eligibility, as far as being eligible for FIVE football seasons, that is if he redsirts at some point in his career? As an example, with Chapman coming in in January 2013. Is he still eligible for all of these seasons? 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 AND 2017?

What is the going rate for DC? I thought 500 grand

On a separate note. I read on cnnsi.com that notre dame does NOT have a buyout clause with the BE. Why conferences let ND get away with this. Pitt and SU pay 5-6 M. WVU pays 12M and ND nothing?

We can take as many people as PC wants. Texas A&M has 34 recruits right now. Yes, the January enrollees count against 2012 class and the walk-ons who earned scholarships are not guaranteed ones in the upcoming years. But when your doing your ship count don’t forget about the incoming transfers David Durnham, Masseh Garner, and Savage I like all 3 players.
Anyways, Officer is on board whose next?
Foster announces on the 21st,
Other WR Tyler Boyd, Jester Weah, Terrish Webb, Brian Brown
RB Jojo Kemp
OL Jaryd Jones Smith
DL Justin Moody, Trent Jacobsen, Kenton Gibbs
LB Nigel Harris
CB Sterling Parks Jaleel Mytche
I think those are the options right now, unless the new D coord brings someone else in or other things happen.

It has been my experienceover 55 years in yhe reformed church(Presbyterian.USA)that it is much less difficult to assemble a staff than to dismiss them. So I am in complete accord with Coach Chryst’s seeming desire to take his time and hire the RIGHT DC. There is no panic this year as there was the past years to get a staff on board because of recruiting. Pitt has a pretty good number of verbals with (hopefully)a few more to go) so ease up folks and allow our new head mentor time to work out his plan. I, for one, am pleased how things are PROGRESSING thus far. HAIL TO PITT!! Rev. George from Columbus

@Pitt fan in Atlanta, I be sure to be tellin ya, it just be the luck of the Irish my boy.

PC is allowing his preferred/targeted choice to coach in his final game at his current school or nfl team. Makes perfect sense to me.

Heading to refectory for dinner tonight George. Is that any good?

I have a different thought i think the reason
that they wait till after the bowl game to hire
a DC is

bye then all the schools will have the DC hired
there is only wisconsin and one outher school with out a head coch.

so lets say there are 6 DC with out a job bye
then he can pick from the 6 and they have to take the amount of money that is offered.

or be with out a job becuse all dc jobs but ours
are filled that way he gets one for what pitt wants to pay.
just a thought.

pitt fan in atlanta i think the reason fotr that is becuse the 7 bb schools voted to leave the big east had they not ND would have to pay.

Nd left before they did, just like pITT AND Cuse.

I like this recruiting class. Now I would to see Chryst & company finish off the class with Foster and Boyd. Go get em guys! Hail to Pitt

frankarms ND has not left yet all they did was say they are leaveing.
they thought it would be 2015 before they could leave unless they worked somthing out.
and they still cant leave yet it would take to long to explain i just read a post abought it.

you see they dont know who they have to go to so they can leave the bb schools or the football schools
i guess it has to go to the courts.

IF you want to read it your self it is here under

big east split complicates ND departure associated press
or just type in big east football dec 18 2012
and scrowl down to story.

Maybe ND rethinking about ACC after fellow Catholic schools form new league. New league would fill ND BB needs but probably not other ND sports needs.

Strange world we live in. Actually if ND reneges on ACC Pitt could then play ND every year.

lol Yea read that too.

ND doesn’t know who to negotiate with, ie as in who exactly is the BigEast now since the 7 left.

But I think that’s BS, since there is still a league office in our favorite city of Providence and there is still a league obviously since we’re all (including the Domers) playing basketball in it.

The Domers just want OUT earlier than 27 months.
Since they don’t have an exit fee (part of being ND I guess) they should be made to pay if they want out earlier.

I’m assuming the only schools that can vote on this subject would be Uconn, UC & USF.
All 3 must be sweating bullets, especially USF who is supposedly building an on campus football stadium. Can’t see it being filled up much, except for the USF vs UCF(future BE member) game.

@Dr Tom….The four players (Tra’von Chapman, Tyrique Jarrett, Shakir Soto, Scott Orndoff) are enrolling in January 2013 but thanks to the NCAA Pitt is allowed to count those players towards the previous year. Because of defections and kids leaving the team there were enough scholarships available from 2012 to use for these four towards that total instead of 2013.

So right now Pitt has 20 commits. But since four kids don’t count for this years total so they have sixteen that count, therefore giving them nine available scholarships to still award for this class to get to the limit of 25.

I looked for the story in which I read this but could not find it. Chris Peak wrote it. But this is how I remember it. However, I’m getting old and my memory fuzzy so if I’m wrong about this somebody speak up and correct me.

I believe student athletes have 10 semesters (not including summer courses)of eligibility. So if they come in January, they would have 5 fall semesters to play football. That allows the coaches to still use a red shirt on them. They can also get medical red shirt to extend their eligibility. Jacobson falls into that category.

hey fellas. havent posted in a while. Jeff in CPa is right about the scholarships. pitt is able to take a full class of 25. officer is a very good get. Like reese and baker, he is raw but is athletic and has high upside. we all know about johnson. also, for those who enjoy rankings… luke maclean was reevaluated by rivals as a de and is a high 3 star. tony harper was also reevaluated as a tight end and moved up to 3 stars. matt galambos was promoted to 3 stars. the class is shaping up nicely.

as for defensive coordinator, there could be any number of quality candidates being considered. since chryst doesnt seem to be “in a hurry” i take that as the person he wants or most of the candidates are on other staffs of teams in bowls or on an nfl staff. i do not think its crystobal as it wouldnt make sense to not have hired him yet if he was the top guy. im confident that chryst will find a quality coach

pk glad you are back
do you know who this man is he was DC of the year
in 2005 and DC of year in 2008 .
and voted the 2nd best DC in the USA bye rival
lives in pittsburgh
and needs a job as a DC.

I cant say i do frank. Who is it?

Question to FRANKCAN … is he an enabler?

I might be wrong about this but didn’t Tom Bradley attend some spring and preseason Pitt practices? I thought I read this somewhere.

Wbb no proof as far as we know he is as clean as
a bar of soap.

sois OJ

and Barry Bonds and sammy Sosa

Why me, Yes Bradley was there at the Pitt football practices. You read it on this blog.

It won’t be Bradley. All those coaches knew either directly or indirectly what was going on and they all did nothing other than defer to their leader who continued enabling. I do agree that these coordinator picks need to be made with careful and considerate thought. The coordinator is often the initial leading candidate for head coach when that head coach leaves. I don’t expect Chryst to be here in 4 years but I do see him being successful. Take your time Chryst and choose wisely.

not fair Wbb the outher 2 old time penn state coachs are coaching are they gilty to just becuse they were on the staff.
no proof is no proof or is it just becuse he is from penn state.

info CB Brian Brown 6 foot 2 185 pounds will
vist Pitt on 1/11/2013

and a JC DT vist was over yesterday but did not hear how it went so i guess it was no good or he did not show up.

dhuffdaddy: As you probably know by now, The Refractory in Columbus is upscale and highly respected. It is a dandy place to dine for all”dhuffdaddys”. A good spot to talk sports as well. No, I’m NOT on their payroll! Rev. George in Columbus

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/blog/eye-on-college-football/21420705/report-wisconsin-to-hire-gary-andersen

Wbb all the men you named were accuse of something
bradley has never been accuse of any thing if
the outher old time coachs are coaching why not him also.

Bradley shared an apartment with McQueary. Don’t ask, don’t tell may be alirght in the military … but it’s certainly not alright here

Thanks wbb for the Wisconsin scoop….and I agree about Bradley….can’t believe that he and McQueary were that close and the shower scene night never came up in conversation. Or that Bradley wasn’t inside the circle enough to not hear it from Paterno or PSU brass.

I think Bradley is a heck of a coach and probably a decent guy …. but there is a reason that he is not even interviewing for any openings

That does not mean mcqueary told him any thing
you are not being fair.
your reasoning is if one brother did something
the outher brother should go to jail to becuse they are brothers.

mcqueary said he told his dad and joe pa end of story.

TX Panther, I was thinking the same thing that Pitt needs to be forward thinking with the DC hire. Pitt does not currently have a viable head coaching candidate on staff and should take that into consideration in the hire of the DC. I am really interested in seeing who Alvarez hires as Wisconsin’s next football coach. I am hoping that it is a guy with strong Wisconsin ties who has great success at Wisconsin so they leave Chryst alone. You know next time around that Alvarez is not going to exclude Chryst.

Andersen has no Wisc ties. He is 48 so he won’t be retiring soon, or probably not going anywhere else (unless fired

Has anyone read the Freeh Report? Just wondering if it mentioned Bradley by name. You would think that a coach of his stature would have been named in the report if it was discovered that he was part of the cover-up. Although they were roommates, I think there is an age difference between McQuery and Bradley of about 25 years. They may not have been as close as many assume.

again, why has he not been interviewing?

LOOK i dont know if he knew but nobody has said that he did.
so we will just hang him on a maybe.
tell me this as far as coaching goes do you think we will hire a better DC then him. i dont think so.
there are not that many better then him are there.

Wbb i dont want to be mean but may be they are all thinking like you are thinking.
but what if we are wrong what if he did not know .

but like i said we can hang him on maybe he knew
it doesent make a difference that he has not been accuse of any thing hang him find a tree.

Wbb, just read the article you linked above. Thanks for posting. Glad to see that Wisconsin hired a coach. I was still a little nervous that Alvarez could change his mind and pursue Chryst even though he said he wouldn’t.

I believe he is not interviewing for two reasons, account of what happened and because he lives in Pittsburgh and at his age doesn’t want to leave and I believe he has let it be known.

Too much STATE PENN talk here.

3 more days till Foster is a Panther!

Gary Anderson makes sense as the pick for Wisconsin.

Alvarez was on the record saying his top candidates were all current Head Coaches.

Any speculation about NFL or college assistants was misplaced.

Seems Alvarez really mean what he says, as does Chryst.

There are plenty of good candidates for D coordinator out there. Pitt doesn’t have to dip into a radioactive bin and pull out Bradley all glowing with the smell of Poopy Pants. He’s a good coach and recruiter BUT….

No to tom bradley. Theres a reason nobody has associated with him even though hes a great coach and recruiter. Again theres a great number of quality candidates.

If I were sports editor of the PPG, I would make sure that there was a Pitt-oriented article in the sports section EVERY DAY! It could be a stat piece, a recruiting piece, an opponent piece — but SOMETHING every day!

I like the way Kenny Powers thinks. Lets plump out this recruiting class with some recruits with class! Foster giving a Pitt verbal this Friday would be a great way to start our weekend.

I’m glad to learn that we still have so many scholarships available. The OL is looking great for 2013. If either Foster or Boyd pick Pitt, then we have a top 25 class IMO. Now I’d also like to see a couple linebackers show up in the recruiting roster by LOI day and then I think that Chryst can call this first recruiting class a success.

I don’t want to be Negative Nellie here, but I’m not sure Foster is as much of a shoo-in for Pitt as some of the locals seem to think. I certainly don’t know, and the announcement of a new Wisc coach certainly doesn’t hurt, hwoever, many of the national recruiting sites has Foster leaning towards Bama.

While very knowledgeable about Pitt’s recruits, Dokish (who thnks Foster is in) has proven to be a little too much of a fan. This past Feb right after the LOI for the previous class, he did a post about all of the top area recruits for the coming year (Foster, Johnson, Kugler, Boyd, etc) and he mentioned that Kugler was a strong possibility for Pitt and even mentioned the fact that his dad worked at the same pratice facility which he thougt was a big plus. Just a short while later, Kugler opted for Mich and Pitt was never even considered.

Obviously, I hope Foster comes to Pitt (and Boyd for that matter) and do think that there is a good chance for it coming to fruition .. I’m just saying that I don’t think it may be the 100% guarantee that everyone thinks it is.

It also cculd be that as a Pitt fan, I always expect the worst!

No to Bradley, is not like State Penn defense had been dominating the last years he was there.

Chris Dokish had a few random thoughts regarding the Final Top 25 PA recruits. PITT has 7 commitments & serious contention for 3 others such as Foster,Boyd & Moody (DT Philly area). 40%to 50% of the top Pa talent is encouraging!!! I’m sure these young men will make the right decision & become Panthers!! HTP & God Bless the children of Newtown!! Happy Holidays Everyone *

Listen, Patterson’s defense was ranked 111th at Tulsa in 2010, he came here and did a pretty good job, and then he was at WVU last (co-coordinator) and once again his defense stunk.

Much of coaching depends on personnel (Jimmy and Joes vs Xs and Os) and the other depends on the system that you’re in. When you coach in a system that basically just tries to outscore the opponent, the defense will suffer.

While someone like Bradley is accomplished, there are several candidates available that should be able to come in and do a creditable job.

Tom Bradley come on guys, he might be innocent, that’s what we are going on. The man never coached or played anywhere else but PSU, PC has no ties to him, and I don’t think he’s that good no other school has indicated that ever even before the scandal. So not only is he not right for PC but he isn’t right for Pitt. I’m so pumped about that Utah State guy I’m rooting for Wisconsin now until the day I die, unless they play Pitt of course. Wbb what national recruiting sites have Foster a lean Bama? ESPN Joe Shanker says foster is pitt’s to lose right now, the 247 guy has Pitt for Foster. I know I’m trying to reassure myself.

Another recruiting tidbit, looks like we are in the running for another 3-star running back. You have to like Pitt’s chances vs. Purdue and Iowa, given that he’s from Maryland.

http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/ncfrecruiting/east/post/_/id/5382/jacquille-veii-names-his-finalists

Beanntown, the other day, I read 2 different national postings that gave Bama the edge for Foster — sorry I can’t rmember them but note that I have no agenda for lying here

I’m with Wbb, if the steelers love Bradley,why don’t they hire him. Do you really think his resume wouldn’t come up? Fair or not, recruiting is a dirty business.

Dr. Tom, I’m with you on the need for linebackers, our biggest weakness since McKillop. Thomas is great, Gordon was ok, and I am a huge fan of Mason,but we need more for the future. Let’s hope Price comes back healthy.

One or two stud d-lineman are needed for redshirts as well.

Foster and Boyd are future pros, one or both would be an absolute home run.

Chryst is the man to establish a program, let’s hope he falls in love with Pittsburgh. Pitt Football needs it’s Jamie Dixon.

Pitt could do much worse than Tom Bradley. Nothing to do with local ties, he is simply a great DC.
I don’t buy into the comments that he roomed with McQuery. McQuery has a wife and young kids. Come on.
I think the obsession with Boyd and Foster is over the top. Sure they are good, but it is NOT the end of the world if they go else where. There are tons of other players just as good or better. It matches the obsession with hiring Pitt guys as coaches.

I’ve read underclassmen will be the focus for the first half of practices. I’m looking forward for a QB evaluation on Savage and Voytik. Anyone know if Savage can participate in bowl practices?

I really wish there was a Tom Bradley ban on here. Why is everyone clamoring for a dude who has never been able to get a job more than D-coordinator? If he’s so great, then why was he never a headcoach? And do we even now how good a recruiter Bradley is? He’s only ever been at PSU and I feel like a lot of us would be able to recruit for PSU. Even with the scandal and the inability to play in a bowl game, the incoming PSU class is still ranked 37 on Rivals.

speaking of Mckillop, he was on ink masters last night, they showed a pic of him in his pitt gear too!..

Question about walk-ons. Seems schools are using them more – example PSU.

If a student has an academic scholarship, can he walk on and not be counted against the athlete scholarship number of a sport.

I believe that Bradley roomed with McQueary back in the time of the shower incident. I am not suggesting any improprieties here … just the fact that Bradley has a close connection to him. You also may recall that when Bradley was rumored to be the top candidate for the Pitt HC job (before Graham was hired), McQueary was the 1st PSU assistant who was mentioned that woud join him here.

Listen, once again, Bradley is an accomplished DC and highly regarded as so, and also took over the reigns when JoePa was axed … all the more reason to wonder just why (1) he wasn’t retained at PSU (2) his name never comes up as being a DC candidate anywhere

Why ban Tom Bradley talk?…because he is from PSU?
He is an obvious option for DC whether you like him or not.
He never left PSU because it was great gig and he wanted to stay local. As for being only a DC….ah, the same could be said of our current head coach and tons of new head coaches.
Also, how many people wanted life long position coaches like Sal Sunseri, etc. for head coach? Now that is crazy.

That being said…I don’t think Chryst will hire him…..LOL

@ Why me…

I believe, now that the semester is over, Savage can practice. I think it is similar to the situation in basketball, where you simply need to sit out 2 semesters, a la Khem B*tch at UNLV…

The reason for the obsession with Foster and Boyd is that they are the absolute best in Western PA

It will say a lot about the program if they stay home. Especially if we beat out Alabama for Foster.

The reason not to consider Bradley is that he was the number two guy at PSU. It is almost inconcievable that he did not know what was going on. Plausible deniability and innocent until proven guilty may keep you out of court, but does not change public opinion.

You have to ask yourself, if he is that great, why does no one else want him?

With all of our recent PR problems and coach selection missteps, why go there?

Foster and Boyd would top off a very solid recruiting class and make it great. The class as it is right now is very good. I am pulling for Foster or Boyd, or both, plus a few more solid prospects. It is not a PC failure if we don’t land them either and each of us should be thankful that the program is trending up.

We are not far removed from being perceived in the national media as being a program of instability and drama. Coach C has the right personality to successfully bring us back to national respectability. I like his plan and we need to give it some time. Rankings are what they are. If you go by the top 124 football rankings, Pitt is about 60th. Our current recruiting rankings have us between 34-40. That is a large delta which is a great sign that the recruits have bought the vision of the coach!

As far as Bradley is concerned, I do agree that he is probably not the best candidate for where we are now. Time , place and circumstance. Wrong time, right place, wrong circumstance. On todd graham’s staff, yes. On Paul Chryst’s, no way.

I imagine Paul Chryst already has a few people in mind that he needs to talk with for the Offensive Coordinator’s position. Now that Wisconsin has named their new head coach, maybe there is someone there that will be looking for a job. There is always a lot of movement at this time of year and I’m sure there a few other DC canidates on the radar screen that we don’t even know about.

I’m sure a few DC Coordinators elsewhere have contacted Chryst about the opening. Doesn’t seem like Chryst is too worried about the position at this point. I think we will be fine. Chryst might have the guy lined up but is allowing the guy to fulfill his current commitment before announcing hire. The only possible bad from this would be defensive recruits not sure where they might fit with new DC. Defensive recruits are less worried about this compared to offensive players.

Because Bradley will never be hired. That’s why ban it. The scandal is reason enough to not hire him. Like people have been saying for a while the program has taken a huge hit with all the coaching drama. Why take a risk even if small of getting involved in that PSU junk. I mean lots of you guys were saying don’t play PSU in football, but it’s ok to hire the number 2 guy during when the stuff went down?

You are all well aware that I’m hestitant about Chryst. But Chryst is NOTHING like Bradley when it comes to career arc and experience. Look at all the different places Chryst coached where he was able to learn from different people and had to learn to work differently. He coached in the NFL, the CFL and multiple colleges. Chryst went out to prove himself at different places so that he could earn a head coaching job. That’s nothing like Bradley, a guy who settled for his job and hoped to be given just given the head coach job.

There’s no point piling on Bradley. Because of what went on at Penn State it’s pretty much accepted that he will not be considered as canidate. As fair or unjust as that may be. He has a good solid reputation as a coach and as a recruiter and hopefully, for his sake, sometime down the road someone else hire him. I would love to know who is currently on Paul Chryst’s short list. Hopefully we’ll hear sone enough. In the mean time, let’s hope he closes out the recruiting season with a least one or two of the big names that we’ve been talking about. I hope it turns out to be very merry Christmas, for Paul Chryst and his staff.

bradleys being pd to 2014,

@ notrocketscience, not sure I can agree with you on Foster’s decision on Friday, Not being the end of the world, if he doesn’t pick Pitt.

Didn’t you get the memo? The Mayan’s calendar suggests “game over” on 12/21/2012! I just hope that I have the satisfaction of learning that Foster decided to become a Panther prior to the world’s termination. That would be a nice warm fuzzy to take with me to my eternal damnation.

Wish I could have hoped for eternal salvation but it is just my nature to be pessimistic considering that I’m a lifelong Pitt fan.

OK here is my 2nd pick my be you like it better.

He coached at fox chapel and central catholic
he played LB for wisconsin.

he was the DC at u conn for 6 years he is the
DC at FIU he is from pittsburgh he would be a
great recruiter in Florida .

Tood Orlando.

.

I understand the appeal of Foster and Boyd, but another guy we should all be paying attention to is JOJO Kemp.

Hes from Florida, and he put the picture of him in a pitt script jersey as his twitter picture (though that means very little it shows interest at least)and him and shady were talking back and forth on his twitter also.

Watch the kids tape, hes FAST. He’s rated as a 3 or 4 star and they list his 40 time as a 4.5 and breakaway speed as one of his weaknesses but i just dont see it from his tape.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kBHU8Tum3A

He wouldn’t be our first Jo Jo!!!

there also was a pic of him in wvu uni. Would love to see him at Pitt. It would also maybe open the doors in Fla. for the future.

I also looked into the Kemp highlights file.

WoWo that JoJo can GoGo. I’m sure that Chryst has already sent his YoYo to JoJo but my guess on him becoming a Panther is a NoNo. Hope I’m wrong, JoJo would add some more MoJo to the RB positon for ShoSho.

@Dr. Tom
Sweet Loretta Flat she thought she was a sweeper, but she was a frying pan.
JoJo certainly knows how to market himself. But I prefer Foster if I only get one.

info for you some new offers AJ Jackson TE
6 foot 6 240 pounds
Jerod Fernandez LB 6 FOOT 1 215 POUNDS from
Florida

it’s funny about foster. Look at twitter and you’ll see that Alabama people are optimistic about him. You’ll also see the Pitt people are optimistic about him.

I say just recruit all the 6’6″ 220 – 240 lb guys you can and turn them into receivers, then run a bunch of 3 and 4 “receiver” sets. Who cares if they run 4.7′s, they will trample defensive backfields like a herd of wild elephants. (speaking of bama…)

Seriously though I really like HuffDaddy’s take on things. Very solid class given the turmoil this program has been through. Foster, Boyd, and Kemp would definitlely add to what is a very solid foundation.

@Dr Tom
Dang, I may have jinxed us with the end of the world comment.

@frank MD – On the hoops side of things, Aron Nwakano is on an academic scholarship so he is listed as a basketball walkon. He is redshirting this year – maybe they want his grades on the team for 5 years?

Dr. Tom…eternal life is a free gift for the taking…remember that this Christmas season. Christ is the gift.

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” ~ Rom. 6:23

http://realanswers.net/bornfree/index.html

BTW….why isn’t the Pitt game on TV tonight?

@ Jackagain, you been private texting with Rev. George Mehaffey again? No matter, you’ve helped me to be more optimistic now after the JC peptalk. Still hope we get Foster though, even if I don’t have to redeem my free gift come Friday.

The best thing about the direction the 2013 class is going is that it has finally shut-up the “just offer” criticism of PC which was never valid or fair.
Sign 2 or 3 4-star skill types and round out the class with some LBs/DL with upside and I think it will be an outstanding class.
I think PC’s down home, honest no pressure approach has been shown to be attractive to certain types of quality recruits and possibly less so to some others. But, at the end of the day, he has to be true to himself or he’ll appear to be a fake and a “fraud” and I use that second term with purpose.

info for you.
college football news.com ranked the new
football head coachs 1 thru 30.

ranked #2 penn state bill obrien
# 7 az dick rod
# 8 asu tood gram
# 15 chryst

was Sumlin #1 ?

Chryst was one missed field goal away from being #3

Dr. Tom…ya have to redeem it now! 2 Cor. 6:2

Just heard Chryst on radio say Pittsburgh is a NEAT city.

@DR. TOM, that nitrous oxide is for your patients only!!

Gary Anderson to be named head coach at Wisconsin,as per espn.

Don’t get your hopes real high for Foster. If the local media is saying he’s in the bag for PITT, they could be setting us up for a huge letdown. Wouldn’t be the first time !

If he comes to PITT that’s great, if he doesn’t, well it’s his loss. I don’t really think he wants to play in the Deep South, as most northern kids have nothing in common with that area of the country.

Good FB article in the better newspaper….

http://triblive.com/sports/college/pitt/3158080-74/chryst-pitt-offensive

@ Jackagain, thanks for the motivation, just reconfirmed my eternal salvation. Since I already was straight with JC being the only Son of God, died for our sins concept and have no issues with the believing and accepting part, I’m good. I guess I just tend to lean towards being a glass half empty pessimist. My attitude is much brighter now though. Kinda hope the world doesn’t end on Friday now.

Dan FYI, the nitrous oxide is always ONLY administered to the patients, now how efficient the evacuation system is to get rid of the exhaled gas from the treatment room, well,,,, I always seem to be in the best mood with my laughing gas patients but up to this point I haven’t been able to determine for sure why that is.

Dr. Tom..no reason for a half filled glass where salvation is concerned….

“He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.” 1 John 5:12-13

“And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day. Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life.” John 6:40,47

notrocketscince ohio state coach was # 1 i think
i just glanced at the outhers.

Everybody keeps saying orlando, tomsula, austin etc etc like they are the only options. Like chris dokish said, there could be 50 qualified coaches and theres no way to tell who he wants. We keep naming guys that chryst may not even think of and were saying theyre the best/obvious option. Thats not soi

*so

@DR. TOM, well, after I saw the wo wo the jo jo can go go, I was concerned!! LOL

I’m currently visiting my in-laws in Alabama. A friend of mine of mine who is a big Tide fan even commented on the battle between Alabama and Pitt over Foster. Their fans are more concerned about the rumors of losing Saban to the NFL. A lot of my friends here were big Pitt fans when we played ND. They hate ND down here.

I guess I need to proof read before posting.

Gdodson – you are right. I looked at ‘bama’s commit list, it looks like ours in reverse. They have ONE – ONE, three star commit. The rest are four and fives. They scoop up guys like Foster on a routine basis. ROBERT DONT BE A NUBMER, COME TO PITT AND BE THE MAN!

Read the trib article. Love street saying savage has the best arm he ever seen. Also said savage could be great. I wish we can get another point of view on how savage is looking. Cant wait for chryst to have savage voytik chapman to work with this spring.

As to the Trib article, Cam must have done something pretty serious to not play in the last football game of his college career and likely last game of organized football ever.
Sounds like Savage has a million dollar arm, lets hope he doesn’t have a 10-cent head.
Classy move on PC’s part making sure Street has all the information he needs to make the draft or no draft decision even though it would be a bad thing for Pitt if he left early.

I saw that ESPN article about all the successful college coaches in the NFL now and how they see at least 11 NFL teams firing their coaches.

That’s why I’m happy the O’Brien is at the top of the list now. Would love to see him jump to the NFL.

I guess they’ll be no Pitt BB thread tonight since they aren’t on TV. A radio thread maybe? LOL..

Pitt is on locally on Panther TV.

The Trib article mentioned most everybody on the OL roster but left out Tom Ricketts, whats he, chopped liver or is he no longer on the team?

there was never a question about Savage’s physical attributes. He arrived at Rutgers as a 4 and 5 star recruit … and started as a frosh, and showed a lot of promise. However, he then had some issues and was replaced part way thru the following year by another natural freshman …. Chas Dodd. Then Dodd was replaced the next year by yet another incoming freshman, Gary Nova.

Savage should be much more mature and knowledgeable so just hope he lives up to his potential

Shell is going to to pound opposing defenses into submission and Savage is going make it rain long bombs to Devin Street and Ed Tinker all year long. Hail to Pitt.

The Paul Chryst interview on Sirius was very interesting. In short, it’s hard not to like him. I actually like the fact the he approaches this as a “project”. It speaks to his management style.

Based on what Chryst was able to get out of Tino, I can’t wait to see what he will be able to do with a quarterback like Savage who appears to have a much higher skill level. The future of Pitt football looks better than it has in a real long time.

Dr. Tom I heard Tom Ricketts isn’t that good. Don’t ask me what writer said or when saw it cause I can’t remember but I do know the staff isnt very impressed with Ricketts. I would suspect he is back up stuff especially considering the new big boys on the way.

savage will start hands down

My point on Foster is simple. Athletes from the north fit in with other athletes for visits. It is completely different when you are from the north and surrounded by people with roots in the south. It’s like Rudolph on the land of misfit’s. The long term success is just not there and you can’t get in your car and go home once you are homesick!

I feel bad for him because there is a conflict because Alabama has been the hot team playing for championships. The major negative is that Saban may be heading to the big league because I am told, he wants to prove himself at that level once and for all. Tough choice. He sees the field here early and his family can see him play alot. Not so with Alabama.

For Boyd, it is similar. ESPN just said that WVU’s closest big12 school is 869 miles from Morgantown. It would be a fit for his family if they could go to all of his home games at Pitt and the majority of games on the road, within driving distance. He too gets to see the field early.

Location, location, location. Pitt is a solid choice, trending up and their head coach is also solid and trending up. Intangibles in Pitt’s favor.

the thing with ricketts is he has a hurt arm
but i think it is his weight that hold him back
only 275 pounds if you play OL for chryst you must be at least 310 pounds or biger.

Jacobson likes Bisnowaty in this article:

http://triblive.com/sports/college/pitt/3165029-74/pitt-donald-jacobson

Every year about half way through the season I say I am going to give up pn Pitt football forever. Now after reading these posts I can’t wait for next year. When will it ever end.

Good point on Rickets. Think about it: Would they really have moved Clemmings to OT with Hollins coming back if they thought Rickets was the answer? Probably…not. It’s a shame becasue I’m sure he’s a good, hardworking kid, who knows maybe he will recover from his injury and turn it on next season.

@ oklahomeboy, most likely,,,,,NEVER. It’s termed the “wait till next year” syndrome. Most evident in people that have experienced a national championship with their team at a young age, thereafter they are much more susceptable to the illness in later life.

@ Dr. Tom, I too am a purveyor of nitrous oxide. I graduated Pitt undergrad in ’76. Those were some great football days.

@ oklahomeboy, “75″ for my Pitt undergrad degree. Did you make it to the Sugar Bowl in the Superdome to see the Georgia beat down for the NC in your senior year?

Great memories from that trip to New Orleans.

Good for you! Didn’t go. Maybe next time.