It’s been a long wait for Jamel Artis. The rumors of his commitment to Pitt have been happening since July. And again, last month. Well, finally it has happened. Artis was able to verbal to Pitt on Friday.

Pitt has long been the favorite school of Jamel Artis. He was just waiting for the right time to pick the Panthers, and that came during his official visit Friday to the Oakland campus.

Artis, a 6-foot-7, 225-pound point forward from Baltimore who plays at Notre Dame Prep in Massachusetts, said he committed to the Panthers after learning that he had academically qualified for freshman eligibility.

“Pitt was my main school,” Artis said. “Everybody else was just recruiting me, saying they loved my game but never really put in the effort. Pitt came to see me a couple times. I felt the love from them.”

The main hang-up after scholarships opened up, seems to have involved getting his academics in order to qualify. That appears to no longer be an issue.

(more…)

The LBs / Defense

I tend to concentrate on the offense when I watch practices mainly because I understand that side of the ball’s responsibilities more so that the defenses.  That said – here are some observations, and opinions, on the Defense.

rsJR Eric Williams is going to be a good Safety and I think he will bounce JR Vinopal out of the starting spot opposite Jason Hendricks.  He’s a bit thin at 6’3” and 215 but he closes well and knows how to play that position in regards to seeing how the play will unfold.  He seemed to always be around the football. He might show some real star power back there this year.

rsJR Todd Thomas absolutely laid out SO TE J. P. Holtz on a running play and stood over him screaming “Pancake!” for a while.  Those two scramble it up a bit in practices and Thomas looks to continue his sound progression at that Weak Side LB position.

rsJR Anthony Gonzalez really surprised me out there at Strong Side LB.  He understands how the play will develop, probably the switched QB in him, and just glides to the ball avoiding blocks.  He’s one of those players who looks like he isn’t putting any effort into running but gets there damn quick.  I really didn’t think this was going to be a good move for him but everyone I talked with said he was probably going to start this season.

The other LB position in the Middle has been solidly grabbed by rsFR Mike Caprara.  He’s impressed the watchers and it looks like the staff wouldn’t hesitate to get him starting time should Shane Gordon’s injuries keep him from practicing or playing.  I asked a group of WPIAL HS coaches about Caprara and they went crazy describing how good he was at Woodland Hills.  One coach said they had to game plan around him in his FR year.

Caprara came into the program at around 6’0” and 200 lbs.  He’s at least 6’0 (maybe 6’1”) and probably up to at least 225 now, he’s pretty stocky even if a bit short.  You can hear it when he hits someone though.  I believe he’ll be a good one for us if not this year then he’ll shine the next three seasons.  It may be sooner than later though.

BTW – not one person I spoke with thinks Dan Mason will return to the football program let alone see any playing time this season.  Not sure what the story is there, everyone is very tight mouthed which make me wonder, but it appears this staff is going in a non-Mason direction, at least as far as I understand.

We are in a world of hurt if DEs Durham and Lippert see substantial playing time.  This position will be the Achilles Heel of our defense this season.  True FR Shakir Soto has been in the two deep along with Bryan Murphy.  Murphy and Lippert are returning players who really haven’t done much over their careers at PITT and Durham is an unknown since he played his one college year at FB for OSU.

All the above give 100% out there and made some good plays but it might just be a case of the talent ceiling these kids have. Put it this way; word on the street is that Luke McLean might be forced into a lot of action as a true FR.

(Note: Ex-LB LaQuentin Smith was moved to DE from the interior for Thursday’s practice and it looks like he’ll be kept there.)

The DL looks good with Donald being his own great self hard to tell much with him as the coaches are sitting him out for the bulk of most practices, after all it isn’t like they have to see what he can do..  I’ll say this publicly right now – Tyrique Jarrett is the Next Big Thing on the DL and you can take that to whatever bank you want to.

Say what you will about Aaron Donald being our best defender last year, rsSO Layfaette Pitts gave him a good run for the money in 2012 and hasn’t slacked up a bit.

Misc.

I don’t pay much attention to the actual characters on the OL until the last two weeks of summer training camp so I have nothing of substance to report there… sorry.  Rumor has it that Clemmings is filling space until Dorian Johnson arrives at the Southside facilities on his golden chariot.  Even as a true FR he’ll most probably grab that Right Tackle starting job.

One thing about the OL though, Huebner came out about as pissed off as one could get and just laid into the offensive lineman after each play.  The only time he shut up was when Bisnowaty tried to debate a point with him.  Huebner was so shocked he couldn’t say anything for a while then regained consciousness with “Don’t you f*cking argue with me buddy!!” repeating that phrase more than once.

As a matter of fact I thought the tenor of the whole practice was much more intense than any I saw last year in either the spring or summer sessions.  Whether that was in response to the events that unfolded last week of because they still have to winnow out four scholarship I don’t know – but there wasn’t any  joking around between Staff and players like I’ve seen before.

Edit: My article yesterday about the offense was pretty critical about the two competing QBs so it was nice to read this in Sam Werner’s Redshirt Diaries first this this morning regarding yesterday’s practice.

“Tom Savage looked a lot sharper today.  He seems to have some good timing down on a post route and threw a couple of beautiful corner touchdown passes to Ronald Jones, who has also come on since returning from injury earlier this spring.

“I thought for a while he was holding on to the ball,” Pitt coach Paul Chryst said. “It kind of goes without saying, when a quarterback’s in rhythm, he’s got a better chance and one of the things that cause you to not be in rhythm are the quarterbacks not understanding something, the quarterback getting fooled on a coverage or a receiver off on what he should be doing. I think a couple plays specifically, I think he learned from Tuesday and was able to think a little bit better.”

I’ll follow up with an article about what happens at the Spring Game next Friday, until then HTP!

The QBs

Let’s get the main question out of the way right off the bat.  I didn’t think either QB looked that good.  Don’t get me wrong, both Tom Savage and Chad Voytik had some bright moments and some good plays, but overall after watching the complete practice I was soundly underwhelmed.

To get into more specific issues; Savage is the most inconsistent QB I’ve seen in PITT’s practices in the last six years.  It isn’t hard to see why he is a career 52.2% completion passer as he began the warm ups/drills by completing almost every pass he threw then when things got more formalized with actual pressure later in practice with the 7 on 7s and 11 on 11s drills he faltered.  The passes he throws are beautiful and on a line (more on that later), but just as with Iraq missiles, you really have no idea where they will end up.  Yesterday a few of them landed in the DB’s hands and on plays where there were no WRs within five yards.

Voytik wasn’t  a whole lot better either.   His arm isn’t what Savage brings (no matter what fans want to think) and while he may be a bit more accurate his indecision shows up pretty regularly.  Voytik does well on rollouts and can keep his eyes up field and that is something that usually comes with playing experience.  He completed some good yardage passes like that but other times he’ll throw at the receiver’s feet.  I thought he left the pocket too early on some plays.

Let’s don’t get caught up in the “who is more mobile” argument here either.  Tom Savage is surprisingly able to escape from the pocket and throw while on the run.  He was very close to completing a great deep pass into the left side of the end zone while scrambling to his left.   So Savage isn’t some water buffalo out there.  He’s big and muscular but can move his feet when required.

(more…)

Number Four on my list of concerns, five being the least worrisome and one being the most, is our remaining talent at Running Back.

Anyone who has been following PITT football, (and letting our FSU friends in on it), has to know by now our projected starting tailback, Rushel Shell, has taken his ball and gone home.  Actually, he isn’t going home as that is in the local area but going about as far away from PITT, the city of Pittsburgh, home and his fiancée’ and twins as he can get.  He’ll end up in the Pac-10.

Shell was a prime recruit for PITT in that he was a local product and one who set the schoolboy record for yards gained in a high school career.  Not only that, he went to the same HS as PITT god Tony Dorsett and ran to glory on “Tony Dorsett Field”.  Here is a sampling of what he did in his high school career:

“Shell rushed for a state-record 9,078 yards on 1,107 carries (8.2 avg.)…scored 110 career touchdowns, the most in WPIAL history…set a national record with 39 consecutive 100-yard games, eclipsing former Oklahoma Sooners great Billy Sims’ mark of 38 set in 1975…Shell rushed for 200 yards or more in 25 games…in 44 career contests, he averaged 206 yards per game…rushed for more than 2,000 yards in each of his final three seasons” …etc, etc.

So not only did he set PA records but topped some national marks as well.  Seems like he’d be a perfect fit at his local university wouldn’t he? Especially since PITT is a school with a strong track record of putting running backs into the NFL.

(more…)

This seems like a move born out of desperation by Trey Zeigler, than anything else.

The 6-foot-5, 203-pound Zeigler averaged 4.4 points and 2.0 rebounds in 31 games this season for Pitt after transferring from Central Michigan. Zeigler’s father, Ernie, a former Pitt assistant, had been fired from Central Michigan following the 2011-12 season. Zeigler was granted a special waiver from the NCAA and was immediately eligible at Pitt.

“We will assist Trey in finding the best situation for him to reach his goals both academically and athletically,” Dixon said. “He’s a great kid, hard worker and good player. We thank Trey for his contribution to our program over the last year and wish him much success in the future.”

I’ve said it a few times, but the worst thing for Zeigler was getting that immediate waiver to play. He didn’t have time to get familiar with the style of Pitt’s offense. Spend a year practicing against his teammates. He tried so hard to fit in on the fly that he was too deferential, tentative and stayed on the perimeter. Rather than utilizing his ability to attack the basket. He needed to be a little more selfish and drive to the basket.

(more…)

This is Coach Paul Chryst’s entire statement.

“Rushel and I met on Tuesday morning and he informed me of his final decision to transfer. I wish him only the best moving forward. Out of respect for Rushel, his family and his privacy, this will be my final comment on the matter.”

Just a little editing and he probably could have gotten that out in a single tweet.

Shell is supposed to meet with Pitt coaches and members of the athletic department to discuss his potential transfer destinations. All the noise is that Shell wants to go out West to the Pac-12.

My guess is that the extent of the restrictions on Shell’s transfer by Pitt will be limited to Arizona State and the ACC (including Notre Dame). Otherwise I see no reason to limit his choices.

I don’t exactly wish him well, but I’m not going to hate him. He’s made his choice. He will likely say some more stupid stuff in the next year — I mean beyond foolishly getting into it on Twitter with Mark Madden. Otherwise, I will not have much to say on the kid after he chooses his destination.

Shell’s burned a lot of bridges locally with this drama. He’s now put himself in a position where he has no choice but to work harder than ever to build a life for himself (and hopefully his children). There’s going to be a lot less support around him, and plenty waiting to see him fail. Who knows if he can meet that challenge.

This really shouldn’t be a surprise. Rushel Shell has apparently decided that he still wants to transfer.

The destination isn’t confirmed. It’s rumored that it will be somewhere in the Pac-12. I really can’t believe Pitt would let him go to Arizona State, but there are plenty of other options.

Cynically you can make a logical case for Shell to transfer. Think about it. He is a 4-/5-star talent coming out of high school. He plays as a freshman in a partial load, but not much workload .Shows the potential that tantalizes as a number one back.

He decides to transfer. That means sitting a year. Only practicing with the scout team and working out. He then plays one season. At which point he turns pro. Much lower treadlife on his body/legs. As far as his character, he can point to helping hold the recruiting class together after Fraud Graham. Then he just says, hey, he tried but it just didn’t work with Chryst.A perfectly reasonable rationalization.

Is it bull? Perhaps. But it is also a plausible scenario to sell.

The loss of Shell hurts Pitt this year, and perhaps next year. That really shouldn’t be a debate. Losing talent like Shell is never good. Chemistry and long-term, it isn’t so clear. It’s now up to Chryst and the rest of the team to make his loss negligible.

Okay, so it seems Rushel Shell’s transfer is a little more up in the air than it seemed yesterday. Coach Paul Chryst has issued the “back off” statement.

“Like many college freshmen, Rushel is working through some challenges right now. As it is for all members of our team, my most important concern is his personal well-being. Rushel and his family have our full support. We are giving him time away from football to work through this situation but he very much remains a part of our family on a daily basis. We want to be sensitive and respectful of Rushel, and I would ask others to do the same.”

This really says nothing, but that’s the point. Chryst can’t comment, but has to comment.

(more…)

You know, a day ago when I said this: “One thing to watch after the spring practices — and the semester ends. Some more attrition. In Chryst’s first year there were some transfers slowly trickling out. But, it should not be a huge surprise to see a few more after the spring…”

I didn’t think that it would start immediately.

Defensive tackle Terrell Jackson of Columbus, Ohio, who was redshirted last year during his freshman season, intends to transfer and has been granted his release by the university.

Ugh.

(more…)

Okay. So it looks like there is just a little bit of turmoil at the moment.

Rushel Shell, who would be Pitt’s marquee running back in its inaugural season in the ACC, is considering transferring to another school and is meeting Wednesday with coach Paul Chryst, a source close to the team told the Tribune-Review.

Another source said Shell, a rising sophomore who was one of Pitt’s most prized recruits in many years, has not asked for his transfer papers. Shell and his mother Toni Zuccaro did not return telephone calls to the Tribune-Review. A university spokesman declined comment.

Yeah. It looks like that is going to happen. Not sure what happened to all the desire to be close to his daughters and all that stuff. Maybe it still is a factor. Maybe he changed his mind about that.

(more…)

Wwhhhhyyyyy???????!!!!!!!! Wwwhhhhhyyyyy??????????!!!!!!!!!! Why can’t we have nice things?

Okay, got the whining angst out of the system.

So, the spring practice reports noted that Rushel Shell was not at practice. He had hurt his leg last week, but…

Running back Rushel Shell, who injured his upper leg Friday in practice, was excused Tuesday, although coach Paul Chryst refused to confirm that his absence was injury-related. “Couple things here,” Chryst said. “We’ll kind of work through it and then we’ll see (about Shell returning Thursday). “Not positive on it.”

Okay. I’ve gotten used to vague statements from Coach Chryst. Could be classes. Could be personal. Could be related to the injury.

(more…)

In the recruiting game, sometimes it doesn’t pay to wait for late offers and sometimes it does. For Jon Severe, it worked out well. The shooting guard from Christ the King didn’t have a lot of offers at first. A 3-star recruit, had offers initially from middling A-10 programs like Rhode Island, GW and Fordham. He didn’t commit and saw his stock rise, including being named New York’s Mr. Basketball. He now has offers from Pitt, WVU, K-State, Creighton. No surprise Pitt and WVU are now after him considering both struggled with being able to score consistently this past year. He is a shooter and willing to drive.

He gets to the rim north to south as well as east to west with a quick first step and good economy of motion. He runs hard in transition, has dexterity putting the ball on the floor and finishing, and actually prefers to drive left. Severe is also a capable shot maker off the catch or the dribble with terrific shot preparation for a youngster.

As you would expect defense and consistency are the issues for him. He’s a bit on the small side for a shooting or wing guard at 6-2 — which was the primary reason he didn’t attract a lot of high-major interest. It’s not clear when he will make a decision. The number of offers swelled, so he appears to be re-evaluating everything.

(more…)

Waaaayyyyy back in July, it seemed Pitt was going to take a commit from Jamel Artis. A long wingman out of Baltimore. 3-star but with potential and scouting reports that suggested he was the kind of player who Coach Jamie Dixon has developed in the past.

Then Pitt got the commit from Mike Young to go with Josh Newkirk, and it seemed Pitt backed off. No extra scholarships and all. Artis never verbaled, but also didn’t commit anywhere else. There seemed to be a lot of interest and desire from Artis, but Pitt seemed to be holding back. Even after two more scholarships opened up with transfers.

Then yesterday things changed. Maybe.

(more…)

This is one of my favorite parts of the signing day. The day after, when the stories are published of the kids signing their Letter of Intent to attend college on scholarship. It is one of the biggest days, and a day of pride.

For Jaryd Jones-Smith there is more than a little sadness to his day since his father recently passed.

Jones, 58, died on Dec. 22 after a battle with brain tumors.

“It’s been pretty hard on him, because he and his dad were very close. He wanted his dad to be a part of his signing day,” said Jones-Smith’s mother, Shirley Smith. Smith and Jones were not married.

Jones-Smith said his father would be “extremely happy” with Pittsburgh, a decision the senior made less than a month after his father’s passing.

…

One of Jones-Smith’s last memories shared with both parents was the Burrs’ Senior Night in November, just a few weeks before his father was hospitalized.

While Jones-Smith was a key cog on West’s offensive and defensive lines, his father cheered loudly from the stands. After the game, the three posed for a picture together on the field – the last photograph of Jones-Smith and his parents.

“He was always there for me, especially with football,” Jones-Smith said.

Sorry, it’s a little dusty in here.

(more…)

Yes, we all know that the class rankings after you get out of the top 15 or so become very nebulous and subject to wild swings based on whatever formula a recruiting site uses. Scout.com — for example — places a higher emphasis on quantity than most sites. Something that hurt Pitt in their rankings last year, but gives Pitt a huge boost this year. That said we, like to know where Pitt is considered to be compared. Especially within the conference.

I have to say that it was and is taking some getting used to seeing Pitt listed as an ACC team. I understand it since Pitt will be playing there in the fall. It’s just having Pitt still playing and competing in the Big East in basketball. Not to mention that the official joining doesn’t take place until July (and a reminder to Pitt: don’t do any stupid videos about joining like Texas A&M did for the SEC).

So how did the four major recruiting sites view the Pitt class as a whole? And how did it compare to others in the ACC?

(more…)