Hey another verbal.
Zach Poker out of Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. He’s listed as a tight end, but by all accounts he will be converting to a linebacker.
ESPN.com, Rivals.com and 247 have him unranked. Scout.com says 2-stars. And in the most shocking rarity, all 4 sites agree on his size and weight. He’s listed at 6-4. 220 pounds.
Poker had offers from Syracuse, Army and Air Force. Wisconsin showed some late interest, but only so far as offering to let him walk-on (Insider subs).
“I heard from [Wisconsin] this morning,” Poker said, “but I committed to Pitt.”
Poker officially visited Pittsburgh this weekend and added an offer while on the visit. He also held FBS offers from Air Force and Syracuse.
“The visit went well,” Poker said Wednesday night. “I got to see the city of Pittsburgh and meet the coaching staff and current players. It seemed like it was a cool city to be in.”
The Panthers coaches want Poker as a strongside linebacker, but they have not ruled out playing offense.
Part of the appeal of Pitt — aside from being the best scholarship offer received — is that Poker plans to major in engineering.
Another Wisconsin native, Jester Weah, plans to decide on Pitt, BGSU, Colorado State or Wyoming this weekend. After he completes finals (Insider subs).
Also, if Weah accepts, will we still have room for a RB like Kemp if he chooses Pitt?
Grey shirt is a term used to designate an incoming freshman who waits until the second semester to enroll rather than the fall. College athletes are allowed a five year calendar to play four seasons. The calendar begins once one is enrolled. By waiting until the spring to start college, a player will be playing his last season in the sixth year after high school rather than the fifth.
http://blog.pennlive.com/pa-recruiting/2013/01/recruiting_is_heating_up_for_a.html
do we save one for foster.
or do we give them all out to who ever says yes.
if it were i i would call kemp and say it is now or never.
and give 2 more to who ever says yes first.
and save one for foster.
but even with giveing one to poker we have 3 left
i think we give out the next 2 to who ever says yes first and save one for someone valuable.
remmber the old saying a bird in hand is better then 2 in the bush.
Stars, Smars, does everybody remember the dumbass immature completely clueless individual that they were back in the good old days of their senior year in high school? Now I’ll admit, I realized that I had some potential to develop into a reasonable adult at that point in my life, but really to try to comprehend what the potential of a 17 or 18 year old kid athelete is, ranks right up there with attemptig to predict where our screwed up economy is headed in the five years, good luck on that one.
Our newest recruit, Poker, could end up being the next McKillop or just as easily , never be heard from again. What I find truly laughable however is that a program that has been in such recent disarray as the University of Pittsburgh Football program has been has fans that actually are questioning the coaching staff’s judgements on offers that they extend to recruits.
At this pont in time, if the athlete in question can qaulify for a scholarship and has the ability to get his football pants pulled on correctly in lest than 5 minutes, and actually has a true desire to play for the Pittsburgh Panthers, then we should be welcoming all of those said athletes into the Pitt program with nothing less than wide open welcoming arms. Who the fu*k do you think we are, freakin Alabama or LSU??? Reality check my friends!!!
BTW, Foster is long gone, wish him well and move on. Anybody that wants to hold a scholarship open for him probably thinks that Tao’s GF is going to come back from the grave to become his bride before the start of next season too. LOL!
over on cardiachill in response to an article. So, if anyone is coming down to Durham for the Pitt-Duke game next year, this might be helpful.
Neither one is particularly highly ranked but they appear to have smarts which is needed for the signal caller of the defense. So I’m guessing this is the main strength of these 2 recruits. Poker and Matt Golumbus or something.
I think that’s why the defense played alot better with Dan Mason playing since he had to be somewhat limited physically. But he knew where to be positioned PRIOR TO THE SNAP, which is so important. And he knew where the other LB’s needed to be positioned. Same thing with Gruder previously. McKillop before him.
Every good defense needs a coach like LB on the field, the signal caller, the QB of the defense if you will.
So now we have two of these type kids. Cudos
Pc is working a plan cool and methodical … love it.
Tomulsa the DL coach from the 49ers would seem to fit this approach really well.
PC built team on Toughness and smart football will be a competitive advantage in the ACC.
Also, saying all this BS about smart 2 stars and getting a balanced class is just rationalizing poor recruiting. Say Chryst had only one scholarship left and he had to pick between Poker and a 4 star top 20 LB, Chryst is definitely picking the 4 star dude. Chryst doesn’t choose to recruit 2 stars, he’s forced to recruit 2 stars.
I think some folks in Palo Alto would disagree with the first part. Stanford seems to be putting together lots of double digit win seasons and BCS bowl games with STUDENT athletes.
I suppose it does help to have lots of 4 and 5 star student athletes…
I don’t think this is a bad pick at all. Especially since the LB core will need depth next year.
H2P
Now I’m not totally sure how these scholarships work … but if they are use them or lose them, then I can maybe understand this pick.
If not, then I don’t see why they would offer especially with 3 weeks left before LOI and only a few openinings left.
It could be that at 6’4 220, this could eventually work out at DE after putting on 30 lbs … didn’t the older McKillop do that?
You’re absolutely right that the Alabama’s and USCs of the NCAA world are the schools that are blessed with the first choices of the low hanging fruit, sometimes it just falls right in their laps, (ie. Robert Foster, taken right out of our backyard). This is the spoils of success. And success breeds more success. Pitt, at this juncture, is fortunate to be able to fill out their class with the quality of recruits that we currently have verbals to this point IMHO. Pitt presently has NOTHING to sell to these guys except a vision of the future right now. And that future is very interesting indeed with the jump to the ACC, a new HC that has demonstrated that he is in this for the longer haul and a core fan base that is lusting for its football program to return to the glory days of decades ago for some time now.
So Coach Chryst is placed in the position, at this point, with having to climb up a little higher in that tree to find the fruit that maybe isn’t quite as desirable or as well known for his players but it doesn’t mean that the quality of the product is necessarily inferior to the prime crop of the tree, because there are thousands of good graduating HS football athletes out there every year to be considered.
And your also right that if we have a roster completely filled with “projects” that are unknowns and lowly rated that our football program will probably be destined to muddle along in mediocrity for years to come. But that is far from the case in this class. Coach Chryst has definitively addressed the obvious weaknesses of the current roster by bringing in multiple O linemen, some highly recruited and ranked as well as a group that is balanced at other positions for future use. Therefore to take a chance or two on guys that may or may not work out in the long run is perfectly acceptable at this late stage in the process. And as it has already been posted by others above, this Poker kid IS smart and motivated. He has the basic body stats to suggest that he has the potential to be a contributor down the road and even though he may be a “project” he may turn out to be just the kind of player that Pitt needs in the future. You don’t know, I don’t know, Coach Chryst doesn’t even know. However Pitt is paying Chryst & Co. the big bucks to make those kinds of analysis and offers to these HS athletes, so if they have offered this Poker kid, then that’s good enough for my stamp of approval too, cause they sure as hell have put more time into researching this recruit than you, me and everbody else on this blog has, I can assure you of that.
We’ll all see soom enough if these bets pan out or not, it’s always a crap shoot, even with the “sure” bets sometimes. Just be happy that we got another recruit to help reinforce the linebacker corps, we need everybody we can get at this point in the program.
He also stated that he could have played for the U of Hawaii, (I never saw that he was offered though) but that he wanted to play his college ball out on the east coast. Welcome aboard, I like this kid. Check out the article below.
I take no issue if we offered a 3 star LB at this time but not a reach.
Rumors are just rumors. The WVU guy just spouted a bunch of BS about how his sources say UVA and Gtech are going to Big 10 and FSU and whomever are going to Big 12. His sources aren’t anything. He’s been wrong again and again. He said FSU and Clemson were a lock to leave last summer. It would be like me posting a rumor on my blog that the ACC is accepting PSU and OSU in July with ND becoming a full member. Also, from lot of what I’ve read, it seems like some of the money is starting to dry up. I guess the Big 12 wanted ESPN to guarantee an 18% increase or something if they added FSU and ESPN refused. Plus, if the Big 10 thought they could get say UVA and Ga Tech or something, don’t you think they would have added them before MD and especially Rutgers? Not worth worrying about.
I’m wondering what the ratio is of 4 and 5 stars that are a bust compared to 2 and 3 stars that excel?? Just wondering if more top recruits tend to disappoint or more lower star recruits tend to surprise?
Also, isn’t Poker the 7th Tight End recruit, they aren’t all going to play tight end.
By the way, If Price is healthy, he will be a starter.
In Chryst we trust, other than Foster, who could have helped this year, Chryst has righted the ship, which has been listing for a while.
He told me that he was always more impressed with coaches who made their own decisions on players and ignored the rankings.
I am going to go out on a limb here and say that Chryst is a pretty good judge of talent and knowing where that taelnt will fit into his team.
With that said, we are filling spots and by anyone’s measure have a good class AT THIS TIME.
It will matter most when the team hits the filed for real and the young guys turn into seasoned college football players.
Wait, that’s not a rumor, that actually happened.
Ok, here’s another rumor. WVU basketball is absolutely sucking and wetting the bed.
Wait, again, not a rumor, that’s actually happening.
The fun of a new conference, with new teams, new faces, new cities, new uniforms kind of looses it’s luster when your teams suck.
The mileage and time to travel suddenly become a sore point too when you’re not doing to well.
Just some morning thoughts for any trolls!!!
If this kid played at Woodland Hills everyone would be jumping for joy.
Justinian and sfpitt bring up good points in that Chyrst seems to have a shopping list of the type of player that he is looking for. Maybe some of the characteristics high on his list are intangibles like, desire, competitiveness, smarts, motivation, etc. Things that are difficult to put a star rating on when the kid is 17 years old but can be assessed if the recruiting staff takes the time and effort to actually get to know the recruit up close and personal during the process.
So far I like what Chryst has on paper with his OWN first recruiting class. The real assessment will be valid a couple years down the road when we see how this class pans out on the field.
I haven’t checked into the backgrounds of the rating analysts but if they were so good, wouldn’t they be working for the best programs in the country?
You have to start somewhere. Get the best kids you can get at the present time.
Work with those kids, prepare them, and try to have progressively better seasons, till hopefully, you become a top 20 program.
Then, recruiting becomes much easier as the program helps sell itself.
We’re still in the early stages.
My big concern is specifically this recruit and wondering if it’s the time to offer him. Again, what I want to know is how this schollie process works. Is it like my work vacation time … use it or lose it since you can’t carry any vacation until the following year? If so then maybe this pick is justified.
But if not, maybe there is no need to reach since we already have so many coming in including the 4 that are already attending class.
While I certainly hope Poker proves to be a good pick, I do know that if he would have comitted to PSU, we would all be scoffing.
Another thought .. if no other really attractive recruits commit, maybe Chryst can use it on a walk-on for next year only who has been toiling on the practice squad for the past 2 years. Some of these kids may be just as qualfiied as some of these recruits.
Now here is my question, do these four early enrollees that are on campus now, do they, in essence, lose a year of playing eligibility for FOOTBALL since this 2012-13 football season is already completed and that they are considered recruits towards that 2012-13 class?
Another way of asking this question would be, do these early enrollees still have FIVE years of eligibility (if they use a redshirt year) going forward, those would be academic years, 1) 2013-14, 2) 2014-15, 3) 2015-16, 4) 2016-17 & 5) 2017-18, just like all the rest of this current recruiting class would have? OR do they lose the 2017-18 year because they are early enrollees and have the current academic year 2012-13 counting as their first year of eligibility.
Can somebody please make this answer clear enough so that even can understand it???
The scholarship numbers are more of an accounting trick than anything else. The early enrollees count toward the previous year’s limit, if you have room for them. They still have 5 seasons to play 4, starting with the upcming fall.
I believe they count toward the previous year because they are enrolling in this school year. It does not effect their sports eligiblity at all.
Human nature, especially these days, to do the what have you done for me lately, instantaneous success.
I have to remind myself at times, of what I’ve always said. “would like a guy to come in and stabilize the program, and build a program.”.
It’s hard, as a fan sometimes to maintain that thought pattern. We all want to win, and win now.
Anyhow, your posts are always good, educational and well thought out.
For my specific post, I was just thinking out loud.
I always enjoy learning how to pronounce names of high schools in Wisconsin.
This is one of the better ones.
Oconomowoc (hope I spelled that right) 
I really like that kid who lives on Oahu as I’ve been all over that island.
That is awesome, he’s gonna be good. We have in inroad now to recruiting Somoa. Which is better than Florida. Go Inoke !
Poker is a tough player who is a heady ‘football smart’ player and that is precisely the type of player (irregardless of Polk) that we traditionally have in this region and that will allow PC to successfully run his pro style system.
PC doesnt want great athletes who cant handle college and will get to know the Pitt police personally… He doesnt want players who need a coach who slams headsets on the turf (WVU) and gets all ‘fired up’….
He wants tough intense players who get it when told something once… wow, what a concept…
Graham actually did us a favor by taking off because no one would have had the courage to fire him yr 2… Graham figured out quickly he had no way of being successful with his type of football here. And screw “high octane” anyway. and that is point … we have the coach, philosophy, and system that will work here… and that we will enjoy watching.
Also get real about why we are in the ACC folks… its because of our academic strength now as a university which fits the ACC brand of university. It certainly was not because of the strength of our sports programs (rather their potential over time). That is a fact.
yeah we need players that can read and write at a college level… good. Plenty of universities are successful that way period. PC is from Wisconsin which is an academically very challenging university.
Meanwhile PC now has an upper tier ranked recruiting class in the country, is addressing areas of chronic weakness (line play)… good QBs, running backs… etc. etc…. well positioned for 2014 local blue chippers… oh and now we are projected as a upper tier team right out of the gate in the ACC….
and our recruiting class is upper ranked in ACC…
… and we all know the star system is basically bullshit anyway (And do note that Dorian Johnson now has the coveted 5 star status… if that is important to someone).
The look and feel of what PC is doing is exactly right for rebuilding a program to be truly solid and successful. Fun to watch unfold so I’ll trust his judgment on how many slots he still has and how he knows the kids still on his list of prospects…
Didn’t we have two kids names Dion Lewis & Greg Romeus. Who nobody was recruiting.
And how did they turn out. Anyone older than say 16 should know college recruiting is a crap shoot.
Sheesh, take it easy.
Though I would disagree with this stmt;
“Graham figured out quickly he had no way of being successful with his type of football here. ”
We lost 4 games by a total of 12 points. And had we had a real D-1 QB those 4 games could have been won. That would have made us 10-2.
It was doomed to failure the minute he named Sir Tino starting QB. Just as the past season was as well. (let the sparks fly)
as for poker.. hes big and hes fast and hes smart. what more d you want in a linebacker?
#19 VCU loses by 12 to Richmond.
Don’t know how VCU was ranked that high to begin with, but there it is.
Currently 11 of the Top 25 have lost their last game. Talk about parity. Every week almost half of the Top 25 loses.
This could be a year for Pitt to do the opposite of all those years, we seemed to peak in Jan/early Feb and then faded.
Maybe we keep getting better and actually make a run this year in a very parity filled Big Dance come March.
……..
Like Dr. Tom I currenlty see 74 players on the roster. Using my best judgement I can filter out 10 players that I don’t *think* are on scholarship. That leaves 64. This 64 includes transfers Savage and Durham.
Now if Tom Savage gets on a train heading West from New Jersey traveling at exactly 60 miles per hour and exactly one hour later David Durham gets on a train heading east from Columbus at 55 miles per hour… heheh
………
Footnote – Here are a list of players I *believe* are not on scholarship:
1. Brad Lukasak
2. Ethan Brown
3. Brett Zuck
4. Keegan Buck
5. Anthony Rippole
6. Pat Fisher
7. Drake Greer
8. Pat Quirin
9. John Guy
10. David Murphy
http://www.pittsburghpanthers.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/pitt-m-footbl-mtt.html
Even with 10 walk-ons on the current updated roster, that makes 64 players on scholarship. Add 27 to that (current verbal commits) equals 91. So my math tells me Coach Chryst has to drop the axe on at least six current scholarship players, unless there are kids in this recruiting class that are NOT going to qualify academically and have to go the prep school route for the 2013-14 season. Chime in here FRANKCAN you usually have all the answers on the recruiting scene. (and don’t try to side step the question by telling me how many days its been since we haven’t had a DC on board) LOL.
(1) Any greyshirts enrolling in January 2014 do not count toward the limit of 85 ships. They are not counted until they enroll in January 2014. By then all 2013 5th year seniors will have graduated.
(2) Any 5th year seniors who are not on the 2-deep by the end of summer 2013 will be dropped–and presumably all who are dropped then will have graduated by summer’s end.
(3) There are usually a few guys with injuries that end their playing days–they can be kept on scholarship and not count against the 85–like we already know has happened with Ricketts. Additional injuries of this sort could crop up during spring ball or fall camp this summer.
(4) Some upperclassmen who by the end by the end of spring ball realize they will never see a down the rest of their career will transfer over the summer to a school at a level where they know they can play.
(5) A couple more upperclassmen possibly could reach the the same conclusion during fall camp in the summer and transfer out at that time.
Somehow, through all of these possibilities the number of players counted toward the 85 limit will drop from your current 91 (+/-) count by the start of school in fall 2013 to meet the NCAA overall limit of 85 which applies at that time.
Even the coaches probably don’t know how that is going to precisely work out at this time so they are rolling the dice just a little.
@ pitt1972, looked at and accounted for many of those contingencies you’ve itemized already in my list of 64. And I concur with your final analysis, that by the fall, when the season is ready to start there will be a half dozen players who will have determined, on their own, that it is time to move on or else they will need to be encouraged to move on by the coaching staff simply as a matter of necessity to comply with the 85 roster limit.
In most cases, it still sucks for them, whoever “them” are, since it requires either a financial burden, with a loss of scholarship if they want to continue their education at Pitt or an upheaval of their lifestyle if transferring to another school that may offer up a scholarship for them to finish their education.
Hard to make an omelette without breaking a few eggs however, I guess.
went out and found this nice review on Weah after hearing this here.
http://triblive.com/sports/college/pitt/3363067-74/weah-madison-pitt#axzz2Ixxe7pts
4 WRs in this recruiting class now.
Don’t get me wrong — this guy may turn out to be Max (forgot his last name) with more speed (and I hope he does), but I am not very impressed at the moment