Akron senior Kent St. redshirt junior Eugene Jarvis, as the leading returning rusher in college football, will get some love. He is this year’s Garrett Wolfe (remember the diminutive NIU back?). There will be the inevitable stories that mentions his recruiting.

Angry at Pitt for giving his scholarship to a bigger running back. Angry at West Virginia for going in another direction. Angry at every coach that took one look at him and decided the 5-foot-5, 170-pound sparkplug was too small to play major college football.

So, every time Jarvis steps onto the field he runs with a purpose to show what everyone but Kent State missed out on.

“I’ve been criticized about my size my whole life pretty much,” said Jarvis, a junior with the Golden Flashes. “Coming from high school to college that was always a big issue in recruiting. I had a lot of coaches that backed off me because of my size. At the same time, I just use that as motivation. Every game I go out with a chip on my shoulder trying to prove people wrong.”

That’s good. He plays angry. It works for him. It’s a common motivator. In college, it’s the teams that passed on you. In the pros, it’s all those who were drafted ahead.

Just to recap, though, as I recall why Pitt pulled his scholarship offer (and it was just an offer, Jarvis hadn’t given a verbal). Part of it was Jarvis’ own hubris. He had an early offer from Pitt, but was convinced he was going to get a lot more offers to pick and choose. Those offers never materialized, and Jarvis quickly found out that he didn’t have the leverage or reputation he thought he had to make teams wait on his decision.

Pitt got two verbals early from RBs LaRod Stephens (he hadn’t added the -Howling at that point) and Irv Brown (now a safety). While the offer was pulled after Brown committed, it was Stephens’ verbal that was the main reason. Both Jarvis and Stephens were similar in size and build (though, Stephens is about 2 inches taller). Stephens heard and actually listened to the Pitt coaches and his own about not taking too long to make a decision.

Jarvis also had academic concerns that added into teams backing away from him (which Stephens didn’t have), in addition to being a little too convinced of his own greatness.

Now is the time to remember that Jarvis is 5-foot-6, 165 pounds. That his academic standing — he claims to be qualified for freshman eligibility — is in question. And that he made some comments last spring that irked Pitt’s staff.

When a Pitt fan-based Internet recruiting site asked Jarvis about the Panthers, he said something to the effect of knowing that at least he can play Division I football.

At the time, it sounded like he was making the Panthers an afterthought, a fallback plan if bigger and better schools didn’t come through.

I don’t have the link to that article, but yes. Yes it did. I remember at the time, not wanting Pitt to waste any more time on the kid.

The other amusing thing about the latter article is how fawning Kevin Gorman was over Jarvis at the time, “Jarvis has unique football instincts, a combination of acceleration, elusiveness, quickness and vision that are uncommon. He’s a miniature version of Tony Dorsett, and Pitt has been waiting for his second coming since 1976.”

To be fair, Jarvis had a fantastic senior season at Central Catholic. Still, the number of offers went down rather than up. Pitt, WVU and even Bowling Green all pulled offers. Only Temple, Akron and Kent State remained.

Final thought. That chip and confidence that Jarvis has serves him well. How, though, would he have handled being supplemented by a back like LeSean McCoy? LaRod Stephens-Howling has been all about the team and making it work well. I don’t think he would have been able to put on the same happy face.

Here’s a blast from the past as there’s a piece on one of the few bright spots from the Ralph Willard era — Vonteego Cummings back home in Georgia.

The 32-year-old Cummings returned to his childhood playground last Saturday to kick off the Vonteego Cummings First Annual Community Day. The event was attended by more than 150 people - many of them youth and teens - who celebrated the occasion with games, including shooting hoops and eating hamburgers, hot dogs, and enjoying cold drinks.

“This was their day - a day of celebrating with them and giving back a little of what this community has given so much to me through the years,” said Cummings, a 1995 graduate of Thomson High School, where he was a star basketball player. After graduation, Cummings, the son of John David and Carri Mae Cummings, of Thomson, went on to become an outstanding basketball player at the University of Pittsburgh.

At Pitt, Cummings, who played point guard, averaged 17 points per game during his four-year career.

…

Today, Cummings plays for the Israeli Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball team in the European League. The team is the second-best in the European League.

It’s still a rough go, however for another Pitt alum. Clyde Vaughan appeared poised to finally land an assistant coaching job with New Mexico State — where Herb Pope still plays (Insider subs.). But, no.

New Mexico State has decided against hiring former Connecticut, South Florida, and Long Beach State assistant and one-time Pitt forward Clyde Vaughan as an assistant coach. Vaughan resigned from his position at UConn after he was arrested in 2004 on a solicitation charge. That arrest continues to haunt him. Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg has long been a proponent of giving Vaughan a second chance, but Greenberg said he hasn’t had a recent opening on his staff for Vaughan.

Of course, Greenberg was the one who recruited Vaughan to Pitt when he was an assistant.

I feel bad for Vaughan. I really do. On the scale of crimes, it’s pretty low. Guys with DUIs get more chances.

There are two things working against Vaughan, though, in this instance.

It’s not the severity of the crime, but the type that drags him down. It’s not easy to picture Vaughan going to a recruit’s family and telling them how he will be looking out for the kid, helping him to grow. All the while he’s got to answer questions about his solicitation charges — and the fact that it means he betrayed his wife. Something, I don’t think Vaughan has ever grasped.

The other thing, and this is probably worse for his chances, is that it wasn’t his first offense. He has a history of this.

According to the report, Vaughan was arrested and charged in July 1992 in Long Beach, Calif., just prior to joining the staff at Cal State Long Beach. He also was arrested, charged and convicted in Tampa of approaching an undercover police officer and offering her $20 for sex while he was an assistant at the University of South Florida in 1999. The Long Beach charges, details of which were not available, eventually were dismissed, according to the paper.

You can’t be worrying what your assistant coaches will be doing in their spare time, on top of worrying about the players.

DeAndre Kane out of Schenley is headed to prep school in New Hampshire. I wonder whether he’ll ever make it into a college uniform. I also can’t help but wonder if he’s got a learning disability. No one questions that he has talent, but no one can commit a scholarship until they can see that he will be able to survive the academic side. It’s too big of a risk, especially with the Academic Progress Rate and potential penalties.

This reads like it is just a matter of when for Tom Droney to commit to Pitt. Droney is only junior, and will be part of the 2010 recruiting class.

Droney, from Sewickley Academy, just twelve miles northwest of Pittsburgh, has not even begun his junior season yet, but he already knows he has had enough of the recruiting process.

“I plan on committing in September,” says the highly mature Droney. “I want to make sure that there is a spot open for me at the school I want to go to. I talked to (Pitt assistant coach) Tom Herrion and he said they were recruiting a lot of guards in my class and that it was best not to wait. I love Pitt. I’m not saying I’m going to go there, but if that’s my choice then I have to do it now. My high school coach and AAU coach agree with me.”

…

While you won’t see Droney yet on many top 50 lists that will change when more people see him. He has played in obscurity somewhat this summer, playing offsite in Las Vegas and playing in the 16 and under league in West Virginia. But one out of state college coach who saw Droney play in West Virginia had no doubts about Droney’s talent, saying, ”He’s definitely top 50 and could be higher when he becomes a more consistent three point shooter”.

The other school he is considering is Wake Forest.

Another guard for the 2010 class that Pitt has been after for some time is Isaiah Epps.

Currently, Maryland and Pitt are in the lead to land the talented Garden State star. Saturday night at the Summer Shootout at Allentown (NJ) High School, Epps actually wore Pitt basketball shorts.

“My cousin goes to that school, Travon Woodall,” said Epps when asked if wearing Panthers’ gear indicated anything in particular. Does Jamie Dixon’s squad have an advantage over Maryland and others because Woodall is already in the fold?

“Oh no, I just like the school,” Epps told Alex Schwartz. Isaiah is high on Pitt “because they [are in the] Big East and I want to start. They told me I can start as a freshman.”

Epps, who is being recruited by former Pitt star and NJ Playaz alum Brandin Knight for the Panthers, would likely be fine coming in and starting right away, as he is older than his grade would indicate.

Epps is already 18. Right now, the combo guard is 6′2″, but apparently there are expectations of another growth spurt to put him closer to 6′4″ in a year or two.

Pitt wants to add another big man for the 2009 class, and apparently this one has been getting a lot of attention.

Talk about a kid whose stock has risen in the last month or two. Jordan Williams, a 6-foot-8 power forward/center from Torrington High (Conn.), has offers from Villanova, Marquette, Maryland, Georgetown, Providence, Pittsburgh and Penn State. Wake Forest is also in the mix.

It must have. WIlliams is only a 1-star PF on Scout.com. Rivals.com has 3-stars by him. ESPN.com/Scouts, Inc. (Insider subs.) hasn’t updated their point score for him but does seem to note that he has a lot of potential.

Williams has good size and strength, which he uses to wreak havoc in the post on both ends of the court. He uses his size to carve out deep position in the post for rebounding and scoring close to the basket. Williams, despite his size, runs the floor reasonably well and will finish in transition, keeping up with the smaller, quicker guards. He rebounds in traffic very well, and extra contact does not seem to bother him most of the time.

They say he needs to work on his conditioning and footwork. His size is listed anywhere from 6-8 to 6-10 and his weight is around 240-250.

There are days when balancing family and obsession actually tilts away from obsession. Lots of stuff I had to do over the weekend. Plus, I was putting the finishing touches on the FanHouse Big East preview postings with fellow Hauser John Radcliff. Putting the objective hat on is not a lot of fun, but it is helpful in forcing some perspective even with Pitt.

So there’s a lot to catch-up. The first bit of good news is that there weren’t any injuries in the practices and scrimmages over the weekend. After last year and the number of injuries across the country, that’s something that can’t be taken for granted.

Nice news that Pitt got ranked #25 in the AP poll. The only team in the poll to have a losing record last year. USF and WVU were also ranked. For an 8 team conference, that’s decent to have 3 teams ranked. Rutgers, Cinci and UConn also received votes.

Next bit of good news, a new verbal.

Pitt received its 11th football commitment from the Class of 2009 when Elizabeth (N.J.) running back Raymond Graham picked the Panthers after visiting for their scrimmage today in the South Side.

Graham chose the Panthers over scholarship offers from Connecticut, Maryland, Michigan State and North Carolina State. Penn State also was showing interest. Raymond Graham picked the Panthers after visiting for their scrimmage today in the South Side.

Graham is 5-9, 187 pounds. He’s Pitt’s 3d verbal from New Jersey. Oddly, all three are primarily running backs in high school. Can’t help but think at least one will look at a position change down the road.

Graham, though, is the highest starred recruit among the RB verbals. He’s a 3-star according to Scout.com and Rivals.com has him as a 4-star and the 5th best recruit out of NJ and #8 in all-purpose backs.

Given Pitt’s depth at running back, it has to be expected that most backs coming into the program are looking at redshirts. Something that comes through with Graham in this ESPN.com/Scouts, Inc. evaluation (Insider subs.).

Graham is a gifted runner who possesses workhorse-type qualities in a small package. He is small in height not body composition. Thick, compactly-built and strong throughout his upper- and lower-body. … Durability with his current style is a bit of a concern as well. We would like to see him continue building up his sturdy frame with lean bulk and strength. Overall Graham is a natural well-rounded runner with skills to hurt a defense both in-line and on the perimeter. Potential sleeper in this running back class.

Best news, this story on Bob Junko and surviving his heart attack.

Well, Josh Marks had his second visit to Pitt’s practice this morning.

Josh Marks, the former Southern Columbia star who left the Penn State team last week, watched practice from the sidelines for the second time in a week. He has been released from his scholarship at Penn State and appears set to transfer to Pitt, although nothing is official.

I’ve heard through the grapevine that Marks was making nice progress but apparently couldn’t get out of Joe Paterno’s doghouse despite being on the second-team at right guard (behind Central Catholic graduate Stefen Wisniewski) as a redshirt freshman.

By this afternoon there was something official.

Former Penn State offensive lineman Josh Marks has enrolled at Pitt and will join the Panthers next week when classes begin as a walk-on.

He will be able to play for Pitt next season since he is enrolled at Pitt for the fall, but begin practicing next week.

The controversy at Penn State was over his conditioning. There is little dispute he was overweight. With a year of only practicing and Buddy Morris working with him, we’ll find out whether it was the something more that was bothering him at Penn State.

I’m cautiously optimistic about this. At the very least, this is a low-risk gamble. Marks was a top OL recruit, that Pitt really wanted. His work ethic had never been questioned before. Again, the reports — even before his departure — were that he had struggled with conditioning from the spring onward.

If it was a short term slump on his part he will get over it and Pitt greatly benefits. If it really is his attitude, then the team will probably figure it out before the end of this year.

Will Clarke out of Allderdice has apparently given a verbal to Pitt.

According to Allderdice coach Don Schmidt, Clarke, 6 feet 6, 245-pounds, will choose Pitt after also considering scholarship offers from West Virginia and several Mid-American Conference schools.

Also a tight end at Allderidice, Clarke is seen as a tremendously raw recruit with the potential improve exponentially. He helped lead the Dragons to the City League title game last season.

Clarke comes from great athletic bloodlines — he is the son of Bill Clarke, who started on the fabled 1976 Fifth Avenue High School basketball team before going on to play at Duquesne.

Colin Dunlap at the P-G — who broke the story — seems to love this guy. Going so far as to say he’s got Greg Romeus potential. The star-ratings are not so kind. Scout.com puts him at 1-star. Rivals.com gives him 2 and says he’s the 40th best prospect in the commonwealth.

Obviously he is a complete project who likely won’t be seen on the field for a bit. A redshirt will definitely be in his future.

Then there is Darrin Walls, the cornerback who went to ND. There are lots of rumors swirling about Walls who would be a junior. The one that most care about is that he plans to transfer to Pitt. It’s hard to say anything definite at this point, so here’s the background to date.

Walls, it was announced by Notre Dame, would not be enrolled this fall. Instead coming back to Pittsburgh for personal reasons. ND Coach Weis stated that he expected/hoped that Walls would be able to return in the spring semester. Other coaches for ND have echoed that they expect him back. The persistent rumor is that he has some academic problems that led to his not playing this year. What doesn’t quite make sense in that is why he went home to Pittsburgh for the year.

Now, if Walls does indeed want to/plans to transfer to Pitt or any 1-A program he has to sit out 2 semesters (one year). So it would behoove him to enroll before the fall semester would get underway. That would allow him to play next year.

The other thing to consider is getting released from his scholarship at ND. I don’t know ND’s decisionmaking on this sort of thing, but it would not at all surprise me if they don’t release him this year. Especially to Pitt considering the two schools will be meeting over the next six years. That would require Walls to enroll and pay his own way (think Joe Flacco or Luke Getsy).

Take one day to spend with the family. Banking some small amount of goodwill in anticipation of lost weekends of me either at Pitt games or watching football and basketball from September ’til April and lots happens.

A couple years ago when Henry Hynoski gave his verbal to Pitt, his teammate chose Penn State. Offensive lineman Josh Marks, was a preseason top-15 recruit in PA. Well, this week, it was reported/rumored that Marks failed the conditioning test at Penn State. Marks decided that he was done with PSU. Not, however, done with football.

Marks was unavailable for comment Friday, but his father John Marks said that his son was on a “recruiting visit.” The elder Marks said that Josh would play college football again, and he wanted to dispel rumors about why his son left Penn State.

“He did not get in trouble, he did not get in a fight,” John Marks said. “And his grades are fine.”

Which brings things to this item on who was on the sidelines for Pitt’s Saturday practice.

Perhaps most interesting was the presence of lineman Josh Marks, who recently left the Penn State football team. Marks was heavily recruited by Pitt out of Southern Columbia, where he played with Hynoski. The two spent time talking after practice, and it’s possible Marks could transfer to Pitt and walk-on to the team.

Coming out of spring practices, Marks was second on PSU’s depth chart behind guard Stefen Wisniewski.

Of course, that’s getting ahead of things. There is no verbal. No decisions there. Marks may decide he wants to play right away and go the 1-AA route. Besides there were a couple others that actually verballed.

The first came Friday night when Carl Fleming out of Maryland gave a verbal.

The safety is a 2- to 3-star recruit, with offers from Delaware and UConn, with growing interest from Rutgers and Maryland. He was also the Old Spice Red Zone Player of the Year in Maryland.

Pitt also got a big in-state verbal from Tyrone Ezell from Munhall (Steel Valley HS). A 3- to 4-star defensive tackle recruit, he had offers from Ohio State, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan and Virginia. Rivals.com had him as the 10th best recruit in PA while Chris Dokish at PSR lists him at #8. Here’s a bit on Ezell from ESPN.com/Scouts, Inc. (Insider subs.):

He will play some end and tackle in high school and could project to defensive end in college, but with his size potential and ability it looks like he will be best suited for the tackle position. He looks to be about 250 pounds of muscle and should be able to add more bulk. He can be a stout force versus the run. He has a solid get-off. Does a good job of using his hands. When he gets his hands on a blocker he displays the power to control him and move him aside. Will flash the ability to come off the ball with good pad level and shot his hands and when he does that he can jolt a blocker back.

He’s a bit on the raw side, but lots of the ever-important, “upside.”

Some already Pitt verbals — Devin Street and Juantez Hollins — were at the Friday practice along with past Pitt great Jimbo Covert and his son, Scott, who is also a Pitt recruiting target.

Oh and a couple other recruits and future targets were around the camp.

Allderdice senior defensive end Will Clark, Seneca Valley receiver Matt Plautz and another ’09 commit, Bethlehem Liberty receiver Devin Street, also watched practice from the sidelines.

Sto-Rox junior quarterback Paul Jones, considered by some the state’s top prospect in the Class of 2010, had an audience with Pitt athletic director Steve Pederson (who spent 15 years as a recruiting coordinator at Nebraska, Tennessee and Ohio State).

Dokish had a small profile on Jones recently.

There’s what is posted in a media day transcript, then there is the information that gets left out or is supplemented by the athletic department in the form of handouts. Case in point, Maurice Williams is gone from Pitt for good.

Enrolled at Edinboro: Former Strong Vincent High star Maurice Williams is enrolled at Edinboro, coach Scott Browning confirmed Monday.

“He enrolled last week,” said Browning, who declined further comment.

At Pittsburgh’s media day Monday, coach Dave Wannstedt confirmed that Williams is in the process of transferring.

A quarterback in high school, Williams played wide receiver at Pitt as a true freshman in 2007 before becoming academically ineligible for the upcoming 2008 season.

Williams was initially expected to redshirt this season and resume play for the Panthers in 2009. Then Pitt gave Williams permission to talk with Edinboro earlier this summer.

If academically eligible, Williams can play this season. If not, he’ll have to sit out until next season. Edinboro opens practice Thursday.

Well, that’s that. Good luck to Williams. If he really has NFL dreams like his talent suggested, he’s made it that much harder on himself to get there.

Kevin Gorman blogged lots of goodies. Players who are gone besides Williams also include Shane Brooks (academics), Dan Loheyde (medical hardship), Sherod Murdock (suspended indefinitely then left team) and Dustin Walters (quit).

Maybe Running Back. Maybe Safety. Maybe Outside Linebacker. Your guess is as good as mine. Okay, running back seems unlikely considering the talent already backing-up behind McCoy.

So, welcome the presumable sleeper recruit in Kevin Adams. A kid who seems to have talent but no one position.  A 2- to 3- star recruit from New Jersey. A kid who plays both sides of the ball and probably could stand to be kept at one position.

And he’s looking at Pitt.

Lake Forest High School defensive lineman Scott Covert could be the first player of the coach Chuck Spagnoli era to verbally commit to a major college ahead of the season.

The coach said the 6-foot-2, 245-pounder is close to making his college intentions known.

According to the Rivals.com Web site, Covert is being recruited by Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Pittsburgh and Northern Illinois.

Covert’s father, Jimbo, was an All-American at Pitt before starring for the Chicago Bears in the 1980s.

Not to be confused with Scott Covert the artist who likes to do word maps of grave rubbings.

Today Fernando Diaz picked Pitt over UConn to be commit number 6. I have to admit that this would be a more exciting get, if the player picking Pitt over UConn was in basketball. Diaz in an offensive guard, though, and building depth on the O-line is a good thing.

Diaz comes in as a 2-star recruit and also ranked #9 overall in New York by Rivals.com.

This is the 3d verbal for a likely O-line player to this point. along with Juantez Hollins and Cory King.

Right now the lines, linebacker and safety seem like the more important spots to build depth. It seems Pitt has depth and talent at QB, RB, FB, WR and CB. Especially with the number of redshirts.

The lines have remained an issue as any injury along them seems to throw everything into a mess. Forcing moves and shifts. Attempts to shore up spots.