masthead.jpg

switchconcepts.com, U3dpdGNo-a25, DIRECT rubiconproject.com, 14766, RESELLER pubmatic.com, 30666, RESELLER, 5d62403b186f2ace appnexus.com, 1117, RESELLER thetradedesk.com, switchconcepts, RESELLER taboola.com, switchconceptopenrtb, RESELLER bidswitch.com, switchconcepts, RESELLER contextweb.com, 560031, RESELLER amazon-adsystem.com, 3160, RESELLER crimtan.com, switch, RESELLER quantcast.com, switchconcepts , RESELLER rhythmone.com, 1934627955, RESELLER ssphwy.com, switchconcepts, RESELLER emxdgt.com, 59, RESELLER appnexus.com, 1356, RESELLER sovrn.com, 96786, RESELLER, fafdf38b16bf6b2b indexexchange.com, 180008, RESELLER nativeads.com, 52853, RESELLER theagency.com, 1058, RESELLER google.com, pub-3515913239267445, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0
December 12, 2015

Is anyone all that surprised Jim Chaney took off (or was helped on his way) this morning? I wasn’t.  I had the following Facebook private message conversation with another Pitt football fan at 8:41 am on Friday morning:

Jeff, the real point was what I’ve heard about Narduzzi and Chaney. I just wouldn’t be surprised if Chaney was gone in a year or two. Narduzzi took a big gamble on letting Chaney run with Peterman and it just worked out toward the end of the year.

However, to fire an Ass’t Coach means buying out their contract and that is big $$$. But we saw publicly some tension between Narduzzi and Chaney on the sideline (and with Narduzzi’s rather snide “You’ll have to ask Chaney that” and I’ve been told it was worse in the locker room and clubhouse.

I didn’t write about it on the Blather because I don’t do that unless it this type of information is made public in another forum first.  But there were signs of discontent with the coaches both on and off the field.

Last month the fine sports blog Cardiac Hill had a good take on what transpired between Narduzzi and Jim Chaney at the end of the 1st half against North Carolina:

…Even the coaches had serious issues. Major miscommunication cost the team approximately ten crucial seconds at the end of the first half when driving to potentially score some points. Pat Narduzzi appeared livid with offensive coordinator John Chaney as Nathan Peterman looked to the sidelines for a play call. Pitt was forced to use a timeout. That proved costly as the Panthers needed another timeout as they simply ran out of time and weren’t able to get the ball into the end zone or spike it for a field goal attempt.

The one thing about Narduzzi is that he doesn’t hold much in when his mouth gets on a roll… and that isn’t necessarily a bad way for a HC to be I suppose.  But it does make some of the more sensitive issues somewhat less than opaque when he does it.

Here is his statement from this morning:

“On behalf of our entire program, I would like to thank Jim for his contributions to Pitt. His work was very important as we established our program in this first year. In addition to being an excellent football coach, he is a tremendous person and we wish him and his family the very best.”

Compare that to his curt and pointed answer (below) when asked where RB Qadree Ollison was during the key parts of the loss to North Carolina:

WHERE WAS OLLISON?

Pitt ignored running back Qadree Ollison on the sneak that was called for Peterman and for most of the game after he gained 39 yards on seven carries in the first quarter. He finished with 54 yards on 10 carries, his lightest workload since the Iowa game Sept. 19. He carried twice for 14 yards after halftime, including a 4-yard touchdown.

Asked why Ollison was not a big part of the second-half game plan, coach Pat Narduzzi said, “I don’t know. You have to ask Coach Chaney that. (Backup) Chris James was good. I think (Ollison) had a couple (missed assignments) in protection. That’s not good. There are always answers.” James had a season-high 12 carries for 44 yards.

Chaney was not available for comment after the game.

Of course not – he was probably licking the wounds Narduzzi inflicted on him back in the clubhouseNarduzzi didn’t say all that with a smile on his face. . (Did you hear the wheels of a bus going flip-flop over Chaney here?)

That building tension between the two principals might have been the worse kept secret in Pitt football this year.  Maybe Chaney wouldn’t have been fired had he not gotten the UGA offer, who really knows, but you can be sure that Pitt did everything but call him a limousine and escorted him off the Southside once he did.

I don’t believe in coincidences much and for Chaney to get a new job at almost the exact same time the HC gets a contract extension seems sort of strange to me.

With that, there is also another possible angle to this that I haven’t heard discussed yet.  Narduzzi has come out and said that he had been in discussions with Barnes about a possible contract extension ‘about a month ago’… That conversation would have been soon after the debacles of the North Carolina game took place.  Could that extension been contingent on making sure Jim Chaney wasn’t on the staff roster any longer?

That last paragraph is speculation on my part but one thing I’ve come to understand about Pitt football over the years is that nothing, nothing at all, is ‘too far out there’ to happen.  I’m not saying it went down that way but stranger things have happened in our program over the last decade.

Something interesting that Narduzzi stated in his video yesterday when he was being asked about Pat Amara’s impending transfer really caught my ear.  Starting at the 50s mark he says that (to paraphrase) “it was disappointing… that Amara was looking at “#9 playing in front of him and that he (meaning Jordan Whitehead) was just going to keep getting better in the future”.

Two things about that statement.

First, I can’t remember a HC every stating so specifically the reason he though a player was transferring and then inferring the thought that Amara didn’t think he could handle the competition… and his own disappointment in that.

Second – and for all the fans who are clamoring for Whitehead to be moved to offense on a permanent basis – it sounds like Narduzzi plans to keep him at Safety for Whitehead’s time at Pitt.

Again, Narduzzi shoots from the hip and that can be refreshing sometimes.  He certainly is a no-bullshit kind of guy and it would be unusual to see him change his ways just to appease the media – which he obviously doesn’t do.  But I just had to scratch my head over that bit about Amara, While the basis of the situation as described is true he could have handled that a little better I think.

On other notes.

Navy won their ballgame against Army today to advance to 10-2 which makes a win over them, if we can pull it out, even better for Pitt’s reputation. I’ve stated before that I think Navy is a better team than a lot of Pitt fans are giving them credit for and I just hope the staff and the players don’t look at the match the way the Pitt fans are.

I’m not at all sure that we can go into Navy-Marines Memorial Stadium, our opponent’s home turf, and come out with a win.  Everything has to go pretty perfectly for that to happen.

If we pull another crappy and low energy first half like we have done in our last three losses then we will have a very steep uphill battle.

For all the talk about how Pat Narduzzi has infused this program and team with new found drive and purpose you sure can’t tell by the way we played football over the last month in losing three of our last five games.  And it is the way we lost those games – digging ourselves into holes that we couldn’t scramble out of.

We are more talented than Navy, I do believe that.  What I worry about is the intangibles needed to go the victor’s way in games like this.  That is what I fear we’ll fall short in.

 

Here is Tim Salem’s Bio – he’ll be the Interim OC for the Military Bowl.





This staff has to start closing on these kids and not just tweeting. Dead period starts tomorrow, one month no contact.

Comment by pd 12.13.15 @ 11:08 am

Winfree is leaving without a verbal. No OC will do that.

Comment by pd 12.13.15 @ 11:10 am

dhuff – agree 100% about the game yesterday – Army lives for this game each season and because they pretty much suck all the time this game has more importance to them then it does to Navy – especially this season when Navy is doing so well otherwise. Navy obviously cares about it also but they also had another game – one that a win will make USN history.

Navy will be sky high for that bowl game, the Academy is asking its cadets to come back for the game – and a lot will – and east coast active duty alumni will get at up to 72 hrs “special Liberty” to attend the game also I’m sure.

I was singing praises of Chris James when I watched him in the Chryst practices his FR year in 2014. He really was head and shoulders above any other RB not named Conners. Fast, strong but with an excellent lateral move. I was really surprised when Chaney started highlighting Ollison as the featured RB early on this season because I firmly believe that had James gotten 100% support and 20+ carries a game he’d have been our next superstar RB – he is really that good.

We forget that he had 437 yards (5.0 ypc) and 4 TDs in very spot duty last season. Good RBs need to gather momentum during a game and getting the ball 2-3 times a half isn’t going to cut it. Chaney wanted a more smash mouth running game and that did OK but it was inconsistent and underperformed thus they had to run Boyd 35 times. I would have much rather preferred that Boyd get 20 of those carries as receptions and gained more yardage and more tDs as a WR.

Chaney way underperformed as a OC in my opinion. It wasn’t just the number of points scored although we dropped a bunch in that area – from 31.8 to 28.2 overall… but in how he used his personnel, their talents and his gameplan. His in-game decision making was poor and the NC game referenced above was only part of it.

I think he bungled the use of Nate Peterman’s talent also. Peterman has an accurate and strong arm and he should have been called to throw deep at least five times a game. Instead Chaney insisted NP stick with his progressions in the play that was sent in and Chaney rarely called for deep shots. Chaney had a different type of talent at QB than Rudolph had the year before and he didn’t capitalize on the real strengths.

When you have a Tyler Boyd and, in what was a nice surprise, Dontez Ford with the ability to catch balls thrown deep you use that as a starting point – not an afterthought.

It was as if the OC felt he needed to shorten up all of the offense and play only ball control. Which, I guess you could say worked if you look at the 8 wins we have so far.

Also, and to be fair to Chaney – it may well have been Narduzzi putting the brakes on a more ‘open’ offense as former DCs are wont to do. But I suspect it was more like Chaney getting gun shy as the season went on.

Lest anyone think I am 100% down on Jim Chaney I’ll say this – I though his bringing in Nate Peterman to compete for that starting QB job was stoke of genius and was one of the best personnel moves I’ve seen at Pitt in a long time. It paid off dividends this season and I believe that it will really show how good a move it was next year. IMO Peterman is going to have a very good rsSR year with his 1st year as a starter behind him… especially if we get a more aggressive OC.

However the situation with Chaney leaving unfolded, and I do believe it went down as described as above, I like the fact that Narduzzi will have more time to get the OC he really wants to have running the offense in his 2nd year as a HC. Hiring Chaney always felt like a stop-gap measure to me as I wasn’t real impressed with his resume’ in the first place.

Now that PN has some experience AND a decent track record (with an extension of his contract) the OC job at Pitt has more luster than it did in Jan and more people will be wanting to coach here.

Comment by Reed 12.13.15 @ 11:13 am

Like O’Neill, Zac Williams played TE in high school .. should have good feet .. and definite redshirt which is ok since we return 5 OL who have started plus Bookser

Note that recruits can commit in dead period; the coaches just cannot initiate any contact

Comment by wbb 12.13.15 @ 11:13 am

Williams is a nice get. Need to keep depth on OL. Very dissappointed Winfree did not give verbal. Thought for sure he would commit. Him and Rueben Flowers would have really gone a long way in helping ease the loss of Boyd.

Hopefully he is just waiting to see who OC is. I got a bad feeling the visit didn’t go to well. He had said it was very possible he would be committing. Aaron Matthews is still on the table. Pitt seems to want him at safety. I don’t get that and think it may cost us landing him. He has said he prefers WR.

Comment by Pap76 12.13.15 @ 11:24 am

My problem with OCJC “Slim Jim”?) Was that he never saw a pass he didn’t like. His MO was, abandon the successful run in order to throw. I’d like to see “pound it” to bring the DBs up; then throw a few times to open the running game back up. Wear out the DL for 3 qtrs.

Savannah paper this morning has a big article about the hiring of Slim Jim. They (UGA) also hired JC’s OL coach from Arkansas. He and JC were together from Tenn and Ark. Interesting quote, “Pitt is 8-4 this season with an offense that ranks 76th nationally in total offense, 70th in scoring, 49th in rushing, and 95th in passing. Those numbers are down from a year ago in the first three categories.”

Those numbers NEED to change -for the good – next year!

Comment by Savannah Panther 12.13.15 @ 11:25 am

We should have a great crowd at the game. We sold our allotment but there are plenty of tickets on stub hub and Seat Geek left for Pitt fans who need them. Prices aren’t bad at all.

In terms of what I saw, my guess is the Navy QB accounts for 3 TD’s – 2 running and one of those in excess of 40 yards and one passing. But, I don’t see how we don’t outscore them. Run downhill against smaller players and you have Boyd, Ford, Holtz, Chally, etc. Army had one guy and Navy knew it and still left him wide open all game playing Cover 2. I’m thinking 38-21 Pitt. Can’t wait to get down there.

Comment by htp123 12.13.15 @ 11:25 am

Army driving… BIG pass from the Freshman QB… Let’s let the Wideout throw the ball?

Army’s play calling makes Chaney look like a World Beater.

Comment by PittofDreams 12.13.15 @ 11:45 am

Guys – I am not impressed with this staff’s class of 2016 recruiting at all. It looks, at this point, to be equal to or less than the classes we have been getting in the recent past.

Rivals has it with two 4*, 10 3*s, one 2* and one NR – I like Rivals the most of all the recruiting sites.

Scouts has it all 3*s and one NR

ESPN has it all 3* and one NR (those 3* kids equal out to a 75 avg on a scale of 70-79)

24/7 has it all 3*s and one 2*

So, color me not excited in the least.

We can always drag in the argument for and against the star system… or the old saw that the staff is targeting and getting ‘only the guys they really want’ (hogwash! as the esteemed Dr. Tom has been known to mutter under his breath) but to me that’s what we can say about every recruiting class with every coaching staff.

Here is another scary thing with this subject – Pitt doesn’t get many 4* kids but of the ones we have got lately three of them – Voytik, Jennings and now Chris James have transferred out under Narduzzi.

Those are some talented kids to try to replace and the time is running short to do so. I figured that we’d be ahead of where we are at this point and with Chaney leaving, then the dead period… and especially if we don’t win the bowl game, we’ll be disappointed when the dust settles on this class.

Comment by Reed 12.13.15 @ 11:45 am

I remember the Navy loss a couple of years ago as they kicked the winning field goal at end. Navy athletes always in excellent shape especially at game end. We need to get a lead and keep going. I am sure HCPN has the players very aware of Navy skills.

Comment by Frank MD 12.13.15 @ 11:50 am

Trousers – you do know that this is a blog, right? Not the New York Times or the New England Journal of Medicine.

We do opinions on here, along with speculations and sometimes (but not often) passing along things that ‘little birdies told us’.

OK then… just so you know what you are getting into here.

Comment by Reed 12.13.15 @ 11:51 am

Reed – TE Clark and DE Hendrix were brought in as transfers by HCPN and I believe both were 4 star recruits.

More on the way – no guarantee, but the feeling is they are coming.

Comment by Erie Express 12.13.15 @ 11:52 am

Reed – when they finish with a top 30 class you’ll change your tune and besides, the 2017 was always the year this group would take off and 2017 is looking very positive right now.

Comment by Tossing Thabeets 12.13.15 @ 11:53 am

… and another way to judge the true value of the stars is what other schools are competing for the kids. Pitt is beating much better competition for the 3’s and 4’s which tells us they are better than the star system is telling us.

Chyrst et al were risk adverse and went “safe”. I for one am glad to see some of that staff’s recruits transfer out. Good luck to them but it’s a new regime.

Comment by Tossing Thabeets 12.13.15 @ 12:07 pm

@Reed,

The New York Times? All the Times does are opinions, speculations and passing on things the little birdies told them.

The Blather is way more informative than the NY Times. (smile)

Comment by 66Goat 12.13.15 @ 12:09 pm

@ Tossing, they have land these kids before having a high ranking. There is only 2 weeks of open contact before letter of intent, I’m starting to have doubts.

Comment by pd 12.13.15 @ 12:29 pm

Need to get Hudson, Hamlin or Sanders. If not, Narduzzi has not been very successful in his own backyard. These are the big dogs this year.

Comment by gc 12.13.15 @ 12:47 pm

Agreed gc.

Comment by Bj 12.13.15 @ 12:54 pm

Pitt goes down 10 inthe first half of the Bowl game. Voytik starts the 2nd half and leads PITT to victory. Don’t laugh. It could happen! History does repeat itself. Seriously, Voytic deserves to play. Peterman has a better deep arm but it seems like everyone has been calling for a run first offense. (Now that Chaney is gone) Given a fair package of plays, Voytic could be an effective weapon.

Comment by T Bear 12.13.15 @ 1:31 pm

I think this class is decent. Right now ranked 5th in ACC. Really want to see them land Winfree and Matthews. Has also had some nice transfers. I think Hendrix can be a stud. If Chris Clark actually stays he was considered the top tight end in the country last year.

I hate to say this but gc and Bj you guys may wanna prepare to be disappointed. Sanders mom apparently loves PSU and I think he is a long shot. Pitt has had very little success with McKeesport in the past, so I’m not holding out much hope for Hudson.

Hamlin is hosting Pitt coaches at his house tonight. They are saving the best for last, as the dead period starts tomorrow. Hope Narduzzi lays on the charm or has the kavorka(any Seinfeld fans will get that). I thought at one time Pitt was a lock for Hamlin. Mike Vukovan has said he has been less than impressed with crowds at Heinz. With Pitts graduating after starting the last 27 years, Hamlin has a chance to start from day one. Hopefully they sell him on that…

Comment by Pap76 12.13.15 @ 1:42 pm

Voytik, “deserves” to play back-up. His practices and game playing have dictated that.

Comment by pd 12.13.15 @ 1:49 pm

pd +1. Chad “deserves” absolutely nothing.

Comment by htp123 12.13.15 @ 1:56 pm

That goes for everyone on the team.

Comment by pd 12.13.15 @ 2:00 pm

Neither the Almighty nor fate favor any foe. Preparation, performance and focus do.
Contrary to the article, not only do I think we can win at Navy, I expect us to win.
At least 7,298 other Panther fans agree with me.

Comment by Sfpitt 12.13.15 @ 2:20 pm

Pat Signal!

Comment by Tossing Thabeets 12.13.15 @ 2:24 pm

Guessing Morgan, hoping Hill

Comment by pd 12.13.15 @ 2:30 pm

Newest verbal is previous Rutgers commit Phil Campbell, a three-star safety.

Had offers from.. Rutgers, Purdue, WVCC, Boston College, and a few others.

Comment by Mailman 12.13.15 @ 2:30 pm

Phil Campbell. Safety from New Jersey. Flip from Rutgers

Comment by htp123 12.13.15 @ 2:30 pm

I think we may have a double Pat Signal…

Comment by Tossing Thabeets 12.13.15 @ 2:30 pm

Really good get. The kid is a hitter, big time!

Comment by pd 12.13.15 @ 2:33 pm

Loosing Chaney is an important lose. With a year under his belt and knowing the players better his play calling would have improved next year. His play calling this year he was pretty good.

Sorry, James transferring no big deal, we have a bunch of running backs and frankly they aren’t as important as they use to be to an offense being productive.

I will take flack for these statements.

Comment by Old Pitt Grad 12.13.15 @ 2:34 pm

James may be important if Ibrahim and Conner are unable to start next season

Comment by wbb 12.13.15 @ 2:41 pm

Peterman- 180/293 61.4 pct 2,150 yds 19 TD 5 int 179.2 qbr 82 rushes for 207, 1td total yards 2,357 20 TD’s total

Voytik- 176/287 61.3 pct 2233 yds 16 TD 7 int 171.8 qbr 108 rushes for 466, 3td total yds 2,699 19 TD’s total

Let’s not get to carried away with Peterman. Last year there was plenty of talk about yards per attempt and yards per catch when comparing CV to previous QB’s. This year as THE STATS prove that doesn’t seem to matter when talking about Nate. Peterman like Savage is great when he has plenty of time to throw and his first target is open. Nate locks on to his
receivers, he doesn’t throw on the run very well at all and he’s got a hitch in his throwing motion. His comp pct was very good but as many drops that people complain about remember the first half at GT when there were several great catches including Boyd’s TD that was tipped first. I have no problem with Peterman. When the QB competition began people took sides and after the dust has setteled the people in the Peterman camp just refuse to admit that he is equal to or not much better than CV. He also performed poorly in all the biggest games, all the games we lost. I hope whoever becomes OC is a great teacher because whether you want to admit it or not Nate has some big deficiencies to over come.

Comment by Steve h 12.13.15 @ 2:51 pm

Right Old Pitt Grad. That’s why we were so much more productive in The Red Zone this year than last!!

Comment by Savannah Panther 12.13.15 @ 2:53 pm

Old Pitt Grad – you are right on all points – but changes happen all the time in college ball and not just on the player’s side of things.

Losing Conner was big of course but this offense still had enough talent to do much better than it did and I don’t mean numbers-wise.

Stats are one thing, but what really gets me about our offense this year was how so very inconsistent it was. Had we been able to have even decent, or average, showings in the 1st half of a few games we’d have two more wins.

7 points in the 1st half against Iowa cost us that game. We held Iowa to a total of 10 2nd half points.

3 points in the 1st half against NC cost us that game. We held NC to a total of 6 2nd half points.

3 points in the 1st half against ND gave them a ton of momentum going into the half with a 21-3 halftime lead. If we could have scored at least one TD in that half a 21-10 score is a lot different coming out of the clubhouse for the 2nd half. We scored 27 points in that 2nd half and while I think we would have still lost that game there is a big difference between just being behind at the half as opposed to being blown out.

3 Points in the first half of the Miami game set up much the same situat at half as in the ND game. Had we one TD in that half it is 23-10 and we scored 21 points in the 2nd half and could have won that game.

It seemed to me that not only didn’t Chaney have his weekly gameplan ready to go against those team he also didn’t get the players confidence that they could go out and score points early in those games. That is the mark of a poor OC IMO. It isn’t enough to score X amount of points – it is how and when you score points that controls the game and its outcome.

Comment by Reed 12.13.15 @ 3:02 pm

T Bear,
You might be right on the money with your prediction for CV in the bowl game. I always got the impression that early in the season when Chad was still getting playing time that the plays drawn up for him had little chance to succeed. With Chaney gone that should change. Nate had a slightly stronger arm but not significantly better than Chad . But Chad had the ability to throw on the run and run better than Nate.

Comment by Spindler's Spirit 12.13.15 @ 3:18 pm

Steve H – again, you are missing the point that Peterman has played 2.5 games less that Voytik did with those numbers you put up.

but you are correct that the ypc/ypa stats are close. To me though it was the way Peterman played in the clutch that separated the two.

He was the QB in three come from behind or take the lead wins.

In five of our Six ACC wins Peterman did this:

VT – W 17-3; 2 TDs, 143.6 QB Rating, NP = 14 points of a 14 point difference

VA – W 26-19; 2 TDs, 176.0 QB Rating, NP = 14 points of a five point difference

GT – W 31-28; 3 TDs, 178.6 QB Rating; NP = 21 points of a three point difference

DK – W 31-13; 3 TDs, 165.5 QB Rating, NP = 21 points of a 18 point difference

UL – W 45-34, 4 TDs, 160.9 QB Rating, NP = 28 points of a nine point difference

That is damn good football for a first year starter and is exactly why he is considered a better QB than Voytik in most people’s minds. Peterman certainly produced when needed and got those six ACC wins as the starting QB enroute to a 8-4 regular season. Last year Voytik had four ACC wins going 6-6 in the regular season

Was he a superstar or a ton better than Voytik? No and no. But the results the team had when he was under center and his production (three 3+ TD games when Voytik had none) tells a pretty clear story of an effective and winning QB.

Comment by Reed 12.13.15 @ 3:36 pm

Army is 2-10 and could have (should have) won. By and large their defense held Navy in check.
If we do not beat the Midshipmen, then this season, despite the record, will truly be no better than any of the last four.

Comment by Gas 12.13.15 @ 3:39 pm

Bet Big on Steelers!!! Big Wins and got some luck.

Also took Giants to just win against Dolphins.

Comment by Upittbaseball 12.13.15 @ 3:52 pm

Reed I understand that Nate played less games. But in that time he had more pass attempts. That is why it is comparable. A Voytik led O averaged 3 more points a game. CV led a drive against UNC to take a late lead the D folded and Carolina wins on a late TD. CV puts Pitt into FG range against Duke a 28 Yd miss but he makes a 56 yarder to beat GT this year and a 20 some yarder against Cuse. Even in the epic fail against Houston CV put a pass right on to Boyd’s hands that could have put Pitt into FG range. CV was just as clutch it was his teammates and poor coaching that let him down. Let’s not also forget the second half comeback in the pizza bowl. CV just doesn’t do it the way people like to see so his accomplishments are brought way down.

Comment by Steve h 12.13.15 @ 4:09 pm

Hamlin cancelled tonight’s in home visit. Sanders sticking with State Penn the OC leaving made the choice easier… info from Mike Vuk.

Comment by pd 12.13.15 @ 4:24 pm

Hamlin’s just rescheduled the in-home due to being “mentally drained”. He is still taking an official visit to Pitt during the dead period.

“**Looks like Miles Sanders is going to stick with his commitment to Penn State. Brad Everett of the Post-Gazette talked to Sanders and just tweeted this out:

Woodland Hills’ Miles Sanders says he will be taking no other visits: “I’m sticking with Penn State.” Pitt’s OC leaving “made choice easier”

As I wrote yesterday, Sanders was a big fan of former Pitt OC Jim Chaney. His departure ruined an chance of Pitt getting him to flip. Pitt will try real hard to land NC RB Robert Washington.”

link to pittsburghsportsnow.com

Comment by Reed 12.13.15 @ 4:29 pm

Hamlin wasn’t coming here even if Chaney stayed. He and his family are all in on Franklin.

Probably miss on Hamlin and Hudson as well.

Comment by Bj 12.13.15 @ 4:31 pm

I just wonder just what impact the new PSU OC being a Central Catholic alum will have.

Meanwhile, here is story on new commit from NJ paper

link to mycentraljersey.com

Comment by wbb 12.13.15 @ 4:53 pm

Anyone think Phil Campbell (S / Ath) flipping to Pitt from Rutgers has anything to do with Hamlin canceling the in house visit tonight?

My gut says that Pitt is # 4 on his list.

I was hoping we’d get verbals from both WR Winfree and Ath Hill today. If they both left without either committing – ugh!

Hoping for at least one more Pat Signal tonight.

Comment by Erie Express 12.13.15 @ 5:01 pm

We had a Ffreaking Ffantastic day!!

Not concerned about Hamlin visit. He is burned out on the process. Everybody is promising him the world to matriculate to their school. The only thing they can’t promise is that he can be home in 25 minutes when he misses his family.

Let’s not understate that. Staying close to home is really important to some of these kids. Look at his twitter and his other stuff and you see a little baby in his arms. He loses that if he goes to psu, nd or osu. Again, all these coaches promise the kids the same thing, except they all can’t relocate their campus.

There is only one school that provides these kids a chance to see their families on a whim! All the other coaches will beat their ears saying “make your own trail in life son, don’t follow others”. Be your own man! yadda yadda, heard that, didn’t do that! Urb only cares about kids from ohio and making ohio proud! Franklin will be gone next year if they go 7-5. This year it was him or his OC. Next year, no excuses. Barclay starts for next 2-3 years. PSU will never win the big10 because they can’t beat osu, msu or michigan each year. Pitt is the easiest way to the national championship.

ND may be more prestigious than Pitt academically, but it is just in the middle of nowhere. Can’t fault a kid for going there, but don’t expect to see your family when you want. Just sayin!

Comment by dhuffdaddy 12.13.15 @ 5:32 pm

@eerie Hill is a strong lean to MSU. We’re in 3rd behind Wisconsin.

Comment by Bj 12.13.15 @ 5:44 pm

Reed – per your above, “Peterman played 2 1\2 games less than Voytik…”. Your words show that your Nate, therefore, only won 6 games this year – same as Chad last year! Stats are so close to equal on approx the same number of passes. Actually, Chad only played 1\2 season – he didn’t get good until the 5th (?) Game last year. And this year, Nate only played 1\2 a season – he was AWOL in one half or the other of every game this reason. Hence, tell me again how much better off we were with NP this year!!

Comment by Savannah Panther 12.13.15 @ 5:46 pm

BJ I read Peak, Dokish and Vukovcan for my Pitt recruiting news. I think you are talking out of your ass. How do you know what these kids are thinking ?

Comment by Chick 12.13.15 @ 6:22 pm

Good for chicky. When Hill ends up at one of the other two I mentioned, remember me

Comment by Bj 12.13.15 @ 6:26 pm

Bj, I agree that Pitt is a long shot for Hill … but if Damlin was sure about PSU, he would have committed just like Sanders did today (RE-confirmed.) He still has 3 official visits to take and Pitt is one of them … so it’s likely he has no idea himself what he wants to do

Comment by wbb 12.13.15 @ 6:35 pm

Just got tickets through the Military Bowl website. There are some left. Sec. 128. My wife asked if they were nosebleed seats. I dont’t Navy’s stadium has any that far up. Only 34,000 seats. How far up can you be? After seeing Navy play Army, does anybody really think they Navy isthe 21st best team in the country? I get that it is Army-Navy and teams are psyched but Army completion percentage on center snaps to the quarterback was about 65%. Okay I’m exaggerating but still.

Comment by Sam_in_215 12.13.15 @ 6:44 pm

@Wbb I couldn’t figure out what you were talking about when I read your post. I finally went back and re read my post. I meant to say Sanders was locked into PSU, not Hamlin

Comment by Bj 12.13.15 @ 6:56 pm

Anyone think Phil Campbell (S / Ath) flipping to Pitt from Rutgers has anything to do with Hamlin canceling the in house visit tonight?

My gut says that Pitt is # 4 on his list.

Comment by Erie Express 12.13.15 @ 5:01 pm

Not particularly sure what one has to do with the other. Hamlin is a cornerback.

Comment by Mailman 12.13.15 @ 7:16 pm

Mailman – Rivals has Hamlin classified as a Safety, which is where Campbell projects to play.

I’d think this staff will find room for Hamlin in this class regardless. My point was – does Hamlin think the roster is getting crowded.

Comment by Erie Express 12.13.15 @ 7:44 pm

against the spread offenses we see in the ACC .. and that will include Clemson next year .. as well as OOC OK State next 2 years, we will need all the talented DBs we can get … and they will get PT (don’t care if they are CB or S)

Comment by wbb 12.13.15 @ 7:50 pm

Agreed wbb – with Amara transferring and L. Pitt’s graduating, we will need recruits who can step into the line-up and play right away.

Hamlin has always been the top choice that I have seen this staff pursue. He has the best chance of starting right away.

Comment by Erie Express 12.13.15 @ 7:59 pm

Am I reading between the lines in some of the above blogs that Narduzzi’s temper may have cost some recruiting success?

Comment by Old Pitt Grad 12.13.15 @ 8:07 pm

No

Comment by wbb 12.13.15 @ 8:15 pm

@eerie Hamlin knows he is a priority at Pitt. There is no way to spin it.

Comment by Bj 12.14.15 @ 7:39 am

Powered by WordPress © PittBlather.com

Site Meter