Do campus pro days make a difference? Probably not for the players who received and went through the NFL Combine last month. Guys like Nate Peterman, James Conner, Ejuan Price, etc. who had their measurables taken in that setting probably won’t do much to change things. Any changes for them in the draft board will come from private team workouts and evaluations of their game film.
For the next tier, though, it is about getting noticed. Raising an eyebrow. Getting teams to reevaluate them.
Arguably, no one did a better job of making that happen then Ryan Lewis.
Ryan Lewis always knew he was fast, but his form was flawed. He was a high school running back who never played defense until he got to Pitt, where he didn’t crack the starting lineup until his senior season.
But Lewis wasn’t invited to the NFL Combine, so he knew Pitt’s Pro Day was his final chance to show scouts, like his father, what he could do.
Ryan ran the 40-yard dash, the ultimate test of speed. Scouts clocked Lewis at 4.35 seconds his first time, then at 4.32.
“It was a surprise for me,” [proud dad and director of pro scouting for the Kansas City Chiefs] Will Lewis said. “I was thinking he’d run in the mid- to low-4.4s. When he was 4.32, everybody looks at their watch and then looks at you.”
All thinking the same thing: Ryan Lewis just made some money.
Thirty NFL teams were represented, including Detroit Lions head coach Jim Caldwell, on Wednesday at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex on the South Side. They came to see Pitt quarterback Nathan Peterman, running back James Conner or linemen Adam Bisnowaty and Dorian Johnson. They left buzzing about Ryan Lewis.
A Pitt cornerback was probably the last player expected to turn heads, considering that the Panthers finished next-to-last nationally in pass defense. But Lewis comes with pedigree, as the son of then-Seattle Seahawks vice president of football operations; nephew of former Pitt cornerback Tim Lewis, a first-round pick of the Green Bay Packers in 1983 and former Steelers defensive coordinator; and cousin of former Panthers Louis Riddick, Ian Riddick and Tristan Roberts.
Man, you want to talk about one of the great Pitt families. They get overlooked. Maybe because they aren’t from Pittsburgh and/or didn’t stay in the area. But I’m not sure you can find a bloodline in Pitt’s history that has covered so many different periods.
Good for Ryan Lewis. At the very least he is going to get a chance somewhere as an undrafted free agent.
James Conner continues to do James Conner things.
But what Nathan Peterman noticed was that even when someone like seldom-used William & Mary receiver Kevin Hart — no, not the comedian, but the Seton-LaSalle High School graduate — lifted alongside Pitt’s NFL hopefuls, there was one voice booming and imploring others to be just as supportive of Hart as they would their own.
Yes, even on Pitt’s annual pro day — an individual activity by nature, as draft prospects work out for NFL teams — James Conner’s presence was felt.
“Guys he just met today, he’s rooting them on, getting our whole team to cheer for them,” Peterman said. “He’s probably one of the favorite guys I’ve played with. Maybe we’ll get another chance one day to play with each other. … I’ve never seen a guy like him.”
Stop being so goddamn perfect that it makes the rest of us look so small and petty.
Standing outside the circle of NFL people, Narduzzi looked and talked like a proud father. Six of his players – Conner, Peterman, offensive linemen Adam Bisnowaty and Dorian Johnson, tight end Scott Orndoff and defensive end Ejuan Price — were at the NFL Combine and look like they could get drafted.
Asked what that would mean to his program, Narduzzi was honest.
“It would mean we probably should have won more games this year,” he said.
Said every Pitt fan after (almost) every loss this past season.
“It would be great for the University of Pittsburgh and for this program to have that many guys drafted.
“We just want to keep matching that with winning football games.”
It would definitely help, and yes.
But how can you guys condone his incessant whining about his players, and I see from the PG, it still continues? That is not leadership.
Maybe I’m expecting too much since his predecessor was a class act who would never think of making his players look bad. Kevin Stallings makes a handsome salary and should accept the responsibility commensurate with his position and salary … especially with the shady circumstances of his hiring.
He’s also being disingenuous regarding recruiting ethics preventing him from dumping last year’s class. Clark, Manigault and Kithcart all reportedly (Trib and PG) asked to be released from their scholarships.
Also, Stallings and his supported continue to overlook the fact that he recruited Kithcart while at Vanderbilt “Vanderbilt recruited him really hard. I was there to witness that and was part of that process, but they never offered him,” Staples said. “When other schools swooped in on Justice once they realized how good he he really was, Vandy kind of got put on the back burner. They had an inside track on him earlier, but they backed off.”
More from Trib:
” Stallings was among the first coaches to recruit Kithcart when he was at Vanderbilt. However, Vanderbilt never made an offer, said Virginia Episcopal coach Curtis Staples.
Kithcart selected the Panthers over Providence, Creighton, Memphis and TCU. He also received interest from ACC members Virginia Tech and Clemson.”
Meanwhile at TCU Dixon took four seniors and convinced them that their perennially losing team would be better if they played less. Instead he started a true freshman and a first year transfer. He started a guy who was injured all of last year. He took a big man that liked to play on the perimeter and turned him into a post player and the team’s leading scorer.
Jamie – Doing a fine job with TCU, as expected, he is a good coach. He is a poor recruiter, however if he hangs onto the assistants/recruiters he picked up at TCU and they continue to produce for him, he should do a fine job elevating their program. I suspect he will get them to where he once had Pitt.
Stallings – Continues to represent the university poorly, this time with his excuse making. If he were a good coach, we’d put up with it, but that combo of poor behavior and poor coaching is a tough pill to swallow.
JD is no doubt a good coach, there should have never been any doubt. But again, the change was necessary for both him and Pitt. Trouble is that we apparently just screwed up another hiring .
link to gofrogs.com
where were these hires the last few years at Pitt?
The point I was trying to make is that Stallings and his acolytes continue to act as if Stallings inherited crap roster with recruits that he otherwise would not have wanted. The fact is that he recruited Kithcart while at Vanderbilt. He also had Jeter on his roster at Vanderbilt. So the truth is that Stallings recruited 2 of the top 7 guys in minutes on Pitt’s roster last season.
Interesting side note to that stat regarding minutes, Cam Johnson actually led Pitt in minutes last season.
In my opinion, the better recruiting assistance was the UNLV hire. TCU’s starting freshmen guard came to TCU when the UNLV coach was fired (after 15/16 year) & Jamie hired the assistance.
“Penn State trustee ‘running out of sympathy’ for Sandusky victims”
All I can say is wow!
Of course Parrish is trolling Pitt as Dixon’s team makes the Final Four – of the NIT.
aD would take this job without being able to can a program
Killer like Rockports.
What a scumbag. Sure — As long as one gets a little cash, this erases all the torment, tragedy from a child’s brain. Where has this world gone?
Looks like more evidence to support the case that he wasn’t receiving that support at Pitt. No big surprise there.
Agree CK, Al Lord is the kind of scumbag that allowed all those years of child rape to go on unabated. Blame the victim.
Even when Jamie was struggling, he never tried to deflect or blame his players.
We need to have a coach who can do the above to succeed in the ACC.
“ACC will make more than $100 million off schools’ NCAA tourney runs over past 3 years
The Atlantic Coast Conference didn’t have its best run in this year’s NCAA tournament, but North Carolina’s trip to the Final Four, combined with two stellar tournaments in 2015 and 2016, will yield the conference at three-year total of more than $100 million.”
“The ACC, like many conferences, splits the revenue equally. With 15 members, that puts the three-year tournament take for each ACC school at about $6.8 million.”
The importance of hiring the right guy. For the life of me, I can’t figure out why universities don’t spend more money on coaches. An extra $1-2MM annually (above market) on top coaching will actually save millions and keep the stream of ticket sales and donations flowing. Barnes opted for the buddy system and look where Pitt ended up. The Peterson Events Center will look great with 2,000 people watching games. Typical Pitt. Time for Lyke to just rip off the band aid and start over with a young energetic coach.
