Well, it was certainly a big day for Pitt football and HC Pat Narduzzi yesterday. Both local recruits 4* DB Damar Hamlin (Central Catholic) and WR Aaron Mathews 3* (Clairton) made verbal commitments to play for us. This is what the staff, the fans and the other present and future local recruits have been waiting for. Hamlin is the Great White of this year’s crop of WPA players and Narduzzi reeled him in.
Both kids are truly filling positions of need – Hamlin certainly with the graduation of CB Lafayette Pitts and that may happen as quickly as this season, and Mathews helping to ease the pain of 4* Juwann Winfree departure from Pitt to Colorado U. Mathews won’t be seeing much playing time as a true FR but he’ll help out down the road.
So, Because of this good news and because you guys need your Pitt fixes while at work here, is a compendium of snapshots of media articles to get you through your day.
First off, here is the P-G’s take on Winfree bolting this recruiting class.
Without Winfree, Pitt is left with four-star prospect Ruben Flowers and three-star Maurice Ffrench (who could play defense) as its only receiver commitments for 2016. That’s a position of need for the Panthers heading into next year without Tyler Boyd, who opted to leave after his junior season to enter the NFL Draft.
Then they weigh in on Hamlin’s verbal last evening:
“I’m not sure of anyone whose talent transfers over to college as well as him,” said Central Catholic coach Terry Totten. “He’s a long, athletic cornerback, and those are prime gets, evidenced by all the fuss going on with his recruiting. Then if you find an athletic kid whose long, tall and can tackle like him, he becomes all the more special.”
We grabbed another local guy, WR Aaron Mathews who dumped PSU because they wouldn’t allow him to play WR it seems. Here is the P-G’s note on that switch because of his favored position:
Mathews had previously been committed to Penn State, and announced his flip on his Twitter page. “After a lot of thinking, I will be de-committing from Penn State University as a safety and committing the University of Pittsburgh!” Mathews wrote.
“I will be playing wide receiver for my hometown and I’m looking forward to it!!”
As you knew they would the PSU Pravda blog The Black Shoes Diaries came at his switch and new commitment from their “we are the center of the known world” point of view:
“As far as where Penn State looks next, they are likely done with the secondary, barring a surprise offer before National Signing Day. It’s a solid pickup for Pitt, and Hamlin could even find himself on the field when the Lions and Panthers meet on the field in 2016.
(Although in the future Damar, if you want to make your hat choice less obvious, don’t let the hat you’re going to pick be the flattest brim and be the closest to you.)”
You know what – if you can’t be gracious at least you shouldn’t be insulting.
Even the PSU semi- local York, PA takes a backhanded swipe at Pitt getting Hamlin –
The Pittsburgh Panthers struck a recruiting blow of sorts to Penn State seven months before their heated rivalry gets renewed, once again, on the football field.
And yet Nittany Lions still hold the dominant hand in the run-up to National Signing Day. Just before Signing Day last year, the Lions and coach James Franklin flipped two Pitt verbal commits — defensive lineman Kevin Givens and tight end Nick Bowers — to help finish off a Top 15 class.
Now, the Panthers and first-year head coach Pat Narduzzi got back some of that stretch-run recruiting buzz.
But back to the home team’s stories: the P-G Red Shoes Diaries by Sam Werner discusses the possibility of Hamlin’s immediate impact on the 2016 football season.
Not only is Hamlin talented, but he also plays a position of need for Pitt. The Panthers lose Lafayette Pitts at cornerback, and weren’t exactly deep in the secondary this year to begin with. You can probably pencil in Avonte Maddox at one of the starting cornerback spots and Whitehead at one of the safety spots, but that leaves two DB spots (1 CB and 1 S) up for grabs when Hamlin gets on campus.
I’d wait until training camp starts to get too firm on what position Hamlin will play to start off (remember, most thought Whitehead would begin his career at CB a year ago), but either way, there’s more than ample opportunity for him to make an immediate impact on the field.
The Trib-Review gets some info on Hamlin into print when DiPaola says this:
Hamlin, who helped Central (15-1) win WPIAL and PIAA championships, chose Pitt among 25 offers, including Penn State, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Michigan and Michigan State. Pitt, Penn State and Ohio State were his final three, and he took his official visit to Pitt last weekend.
Hamlin (6-foot-1, 179 pounds) is ranked the No. 1 defensive player in the state by Rivals.com, which lists him as the seventh safety in the nation (the top six are from California, Texas, Georgia and Florida).
And the Trib follows that up with their own piece on Mathews:
Mathews played quarterback at Clairton, leading the Bears to the WPIAL Class A championship last season when he was named all-state as an athlete. As a junior in 2014, Mathews was an all-state wide receiver, leading Clairton to the PIAA title game and a runner-up finish. He recorded 44 receptions for 773 yards. “They taught us how to win,” Mathews said of the Clairton coaches. “I hope I carry that over to college.”
At one time, Pitt had filled its quota at wide receiver in the Class of 2016 after receiving verbal commitments from four-star prospects Juwann Winfree and Ruben Flowers and three-star Maurice Ffrench. Not long after Winfree committed, Mathews accepted a Penn State scholarship offer Jan. 2.
But when Pitt’s coaches decided to discontinue their recruitment of Winfree, a junior college transfer who was suspended twice at Maryland in 2014, a spot opened up at wide receiver.
Then they have this nice video of our old friend ex-Pitt football beat reporter Kevin Gorman talking about Hamlin’s verbal.
Mike Vukovcan has a bit on his new blog:
The 4-star cornerback listed buying into Pat Narduzzi and bringing his hometown school back to prominence as reasons for picking the Panthers. This is a major recruiting win for Narduzzi and his staff. A year ago, there’s zero chance that Hamlin would’ve committed to Pitt. However, the job that Narduzzi, Josh Conklin, Renaldo Hill and Rob Harley did got Hamlin to buy into what they were selling.
Beaver County gets into the act praising Narduzzi’s 1st class. BTW – Art Walker was the coach I had the conversations with when I wrote about what the HS coaches felt about Todd Graham and what the difference they felt was in place with Chryst. Great guy and willing to talk to strangers…
“The difference with Narduzzi is what an energetic head coach recruiter he is,” said Steve Wiltfong, Director of Recruiting for 24/7 Recruiting. “He’s very involved on the trail with top targets for Pitt.”
Narduzzi has used his entire staff — not just one particular assistant coach assigned to a geographic area — to quickly gain the trust of local high school coaches. He also makes it a habit to invite local coaches to practices as often as possible.
“He’s building relationships with the local coaches, and it’s clear that he wants his assistants to have those relationships too, not just the guy that is recruiting your building,” North Allegheny head coach Art Walker said. “There are more coaches from his staff that have walked through our doors than in the past.”
“They’ve done an outstanding job — a better job than the previous three or four staffs they’ve been through,” Pine-Richland head coach Eric Kasperowicz added.
How do we now stack up in team recruit rankings against the other FBS schools two days before LOI Day?
Scouts.com has us at 22nd; Rivals at 27th; 247 at 34th and get this – ESPN doesn’t have us in the top 40 but has PSU at 13th.
Bullshit I say! I say Bullshit!k
LATE ADDITION:
MEDIA ADVISORY
From: E.J. Borghetti Executive Associate Athletic Director/Media Relations
Re: Pitt Football National Letter of Intent Day
University of Pittsburgh head football coach Pat Narduzzi will host a press conference at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex to discuss the Panthers’ 2016 recruiting class on Wednesday, Feb. 3, beginning at 3 p.m.
The press conference will be held in the regular press conference room (second floor team meeting room).
National Letters of Intent may be faxed/e-mailed on Wednesday beginning at 7 a.m. (ET). Pitt will announce its signings as they occur via the following platforms:
Coach Narduzzi’s official Twitter account: @CoachDuzzPittFB
facebook.com/PittsburghPanthers
“Signing Day Central” on PittsburghPanthers.com
Video and biographical information on Pitt’s signees will be tweeted throughout the day via @GoPittFootball.
Coach Narduzzi’s 3 p.m. press conference can be viewed live via periscope. It will later be uploaded to YouTube.com/pittlivewire.
Additionally, ROOT SPORTS Pittsburgh will air the UPMC Pitt LiveWire 2016 Signing Day Special on Thursday, Feb. 4, at 6 p.m. Hosted by Rob King, the show will analyze Pitt’s recruiting class and feature video highlights. It will re-air on Friday, Feb. 5, at 3 p.m. and 11 p.m.
—PITT—
VT was a good match-up for us in that they have no big men. They play small, and the recruits aren’t that athletic.
Yes, it is true that it is a way for large groups to communicate as we saw in the Arab Spring uprising and for individuals to reach a large audience and I understand the value in that. However on that last point the more I have written on here the less I find twitter acceptable for people who are presenting info and (supposedly) informed opinions in a formal manner and as a public record.
but the fact is that people get a truly overblown image of self when the get more and more Followers when all they are doing is, as stated above, passing along info that has just been presented to them… via twitter.
If fans want to do that and have fun with it it is one thing, but all too often Twitter is use to either try to persuade or subvert recruits when they are in the decisions process… to name just one subject that I think twitter is badly misused.
If Chas wants to tweet his opinion and people read it it is one thing… t6hat is done in fun and everyone knows that he is either linking an actual info source or just stating his opinion about things. But some, actually a lot, of people in the Media use tweets to pass along ‘sure things’ to others and by virtue of their established media presence fans and readers tend to – and want to – believe it.
What is so wrong about that is that people who do those quick tweets won’t take even ten minutes to sit back and try to 1) verify what they were tweeted and 2) they take any time to really think and compose what they want to say in that short allotment of words.
So what happens is the the Tweeter buys into the ‘need for speed’ as that is what Twitter is designed for and thus readers get drawn into believing that “if it’s on Twitter it must be true” and we all know that the majority of tweeters do exactly that.
I have stopped reading linked tweets because over the years it has become apparent that what is tweeted today is either forgotten (overcome by other tweets) or proved to be false in the near future. Yet fans hang onto them as if they are gospel.
One last point – I have seen only a few tweets that actually have the phrases “I think” or “It’s my opinion” or “I’ve been led to believe…” in them because the tweeters purposefully meant to make it read as a statement of fact when the truth is that the vast majority of the time they are creating or passing along rumors and innuendo.
I have mentioned before that a solid 2000+ word article takes me about 8 hours to write because I want to make sure you know I am stating facts when I can actually show them to you (links or stats, etc) or that I am saying something that I have talked about and trust the info (“I understand that” or I have been led to believe)… or make sure that you know that an issue I may be writing is my opinion (“I feel that“, “It seems to be” or “in my opinion“).
I have a tweet account that I started and used one time, maybe two, because it drove me crazy and made me very nervous that I didn’t have enough space to really say what I meant.
It isn’t that Twitter is ‘newfangled’ or anything – I am very open to new ideas and ways of doing things – I just don’t trust or like it.
As far as Dokish and Peak go both are very good in their different ways. Dokish in the background of the recruits and Peak with his very solid and deep network of people inside the Pitt football program and also on the Athletic admin side of things. When Peak gets testy he is more cynical with the commenter and there is usually an edge of humor. Dokish is just plain thin skinned and gets insulting to those who disagree with him. I can’t remember a time that I read him admit to making a mistake – which anyone in the media does sometimes.
Hail to Pitt!
Remember when Myron Cope used to say “A little birdie told me….” That was the Twitter years ago 😉
If Keyshon Camp and Rashad Weaver join Henry Miller as Panthers the recruiting future enters in to a new dimension //// WPIAL plus Florida equals a potential goldmine!
It’s like the fax machine is in my office.
And some of the folks on there are hilarious. Are any of you guys “Souf Oakland fo Life”?
Good for laughs and breaking news – the real kind…but if I want something substantive on Pitt FB, it’s the Blather all the way.
Big day tomorrow guys!
Without verified numbers, the parents don’t know who they are talking to. I could call anyone on here and pretend I WAS Reed and each of you would believe me. Some of these coaches call and act like they are from other places just to get the kids parents to dig in for their school. That may or may not have happened with Sanders….i mean upitt, but you get the gist.
In recruiting, you can’t trust anyone or what they would do to turn a recruit away from a school. Parents – Verify who you are talking too or better yet meet the pains in the asses so you know for sure.
It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble,it’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so… ~ Mark Twain
Your description is geared towards teenagers and celebrities and not an educated adult demographic.
Most tweets of any relevance have an article behind the tweet or of the nature that you described for Chas.
You don’t need “I think” in front of a tweet. It’s social media … it’s already assumed it’s your opinion.
^^ none of that is supposed to come across as smug. Re-reading it, it may sound like I’m attacking you. I’m not – just giving you another POV and my opinion.
I agree with the criticism of Vuk. His reporting made me very skeptical. Getting “wrong” info and then not getting the stuff he was kind of right on 100% correct the first time is misleading and damaging … but hey, it drove hits to his fucking website.
Putting a bullseye on Miles Sanders mom was as low brow as you can get. Absolute complete garbage and guerrilla journalism. If you want to represent yourself as a professional, you have to act like one.
It’s not the least bit surprising he has a background in local TV instead of a newspaper. It’s all about sensationalism.
BTW – this was all on his blog and not Twitter.
The Chris Peak’s of the world at least wait until they have all the information so it doesn’t lead to rampant speculation by a rabid fan base that turns into personal attacks on a kids mom who just is doing what she thinks is best for her son.
Now I have to run though a brick wall after seeing that “Coming Home” recruiting video.
It begins tomorrow…H2P!
If all stays as is, do you think we get a 5th year grad transfer like Darius Hamilton? Bloodlines of Keith Hamilton. Injured as a senior. Duzzi was his main recruiter when he was a 4/5 star out of high school. Just sayin…
Put some extra ink in the fax machine and have back up generators working!
Hail to Pitt!
Come on home son, we’d love to have you for a “special” year as you carve your own way to the next level.
HTP and the 412crew!
Has this been used? Seems like it has to have been. If not Pitt fans need to get this trending. I want to be the last living human being without a Facebook page or Twitter account so it’s not gonna be me that gets this party started…
Someone told someone who told someone else that Toney would choose Pitt. That last someone was Psaros who, because he gets paid to get people to go to 247, passed on a rumor or even a flat out lie.
Bostick faxed his LOI in at 12:01 am on 2007’s LOI Day so you used to be able to do it anytime after midnight.
Narduzzi has done a great job holding onto recruits this class… Winfree was basically given his release without requesting it.
Let us know how the movie rates and if us common folk would enjoy it. Battin’ down the hatch mate.
My guess is HCPN get’s two positive suprises and one negative today. I hope I’m wrong on the later…
Some of us have to work today and calling off sick wasn’t an option. Enjoy!
HTP!
Not even close. We have no All Americans on either th O & D lines; only Whitehead in the DBs, no stars at LB, certainly no one like Hugh Green.
Boyd would play as a WR but no other and we’ve average TEs. Forget about QBS -Marino and Cavanaugh are way above who we have… as were their backups.
Conner at RB yes, but no one else. Ollison is good but no Dorsett.
Majors and Sherrill are above Narduzzi… but he may be a big winner down the road.
If you are looking at these recruiting classes of Narduzzi and projecting that high level of talent then that is always fun but again and IMO those old teams set a skyhigh bar to reach.
You may be a younger fan but that 1981 team has been mentioned as the best in the history of college football. We had AAs all over those teams every year.
WPA football was legendary back then and we got the cream of the crop every year… especially in the 1980s.
The big difference between now and the 70s is that Western PA / Eastern OH was the hotbed of recruiting back then … now replaced by Florida, Georgia, Texas and So Cal. And in fact, Eastern PA has surpassed Western PA in most years at producing D1 prospects.
Yes, we did get people like Hugh Green and Rickey Jackson from other places but the core of the team was Western PA and Eastern OH. There is still quality recruits here but not near the quantity of quality like you used to be.
In just a few hours all the rumors will be laid to rest for another year. Like the detectives on Dragnet used to ask the people they were questioning, “just the FAX ma’am”.
Hail to Pitt!
Somehow you have to bring yourself to the realization that showing hope doesn’t equate to being naive. This new Narduzzi Era is giving tangible reasons for real hope. Hope is just the right frame of mind to have if you possess aspirations for success.
Quit being a wet blanket and a Doubting Thomas, I’ve got the name for that job and the only thing that I’m doubting is that our Pitt Panthers will make the football Playoffs this coming season.
You gotta believe! What’s wrong with that? Disappointment? Who cares? Anticipating greatness is so much more fun, get on board because this train is leaving that station called Mediocrity and is headed for greener pastures, ultimate destination, remains to be determined.
One thing is obvious though with guys like Wheeler, Garner, Campbell, Mathews, Pugh, Hamlin, Ford and legacies like Gilbert signing on with Pitt, some pretty heavy local talent are all “Coming Home”. Next year’s local talent is even better, I’m hope they’re coming home soon too!
It is a great time to be a Panther!
Everything else he said I agree with so I didn’t comment on it. There was not on word of ‘doubting’ in my post and as a matter of fact I said that Narduzzi may be a big winner down the road. Where is the doubting Thomas in that?
Right before the NC game last season I wrote that I thought that team could go 10-2 or 9-3… where is the wet blanket there?
Do you want cheerleaders on here or do you want commenters who put down what they think and feel about Pitt football? Good God – you write very strong statements on here every day and you don’t see me or anyone else combing through it and twisting them to fit what we might think you said.
You are seeing my name on comments and automatically assuming that for some reason they are negative when they really aren’t.
So, Chill Bro – and read the actual words. Take a lesson from wbb and correct things you think need correcting and comment on things you disagree with, which we all very much appreciate his doing, Keep your cheerleading style for yourself – you are obviously comfortable with it, but others don’t see things in such blue and gold tints as you seem to.
As to rumors – yes they have but we were talking about how rumors directly impact recruits, players, and fans. It is a topic presently at hand and I commented on it. I think I have a different insight to that phenomenon granted that I write article for all the public to read if they choose.
Twitter has made recruiting less fun in my opinion because there is so much information and speculation thrown against the wall to see what sticks and no tweeter even acknowledges he’s doing it… and half of them are wanna-be sportswriter and fans who just make crap up.
“VI. RECRUITING ATHLETES
Only our countable coaches (i.e., head coach and/or assistant coaches) can recruit on behalf of the University.
Non-coaching staff members (e.g., marketing assistant, director of operations, volunteers, etc.) may not engage in any recruiting communication with prospective student-athletes, directly or indirectly, in any manner in an effort to persuade them to attend Pitt.
Exceptions:
Contact with prospects during on-campus visits
Pre-existing relationships that have been reported, documented and approved by the Compliance Office
Examples of Impermissible Contacts:
Tweeting @ recruit to encourage him/her to attend Pitt
Calling a recruit to tell him/her about all the great things that Pitt has to offer
PLEASE LEAVE THE RECRUITING TO THE COACHES!
… in case you didn’t know the NCAA requires only certain “Countable Coaches” to recruit and other things…
Here is a great breakdown what employees other than the Countable Coaches can and can’t do with regards to recruits and current players.
I agree that he often disappears in the off-season, but lately he has been doing his job …. in fact, read Reed’s article above .. much of it references Werner’s articles.