(Here is the last of a three part series on recruiting the prospective college players.  We left off yesterday talking about recruits and football camps… and greyshirts, etc…)

Rivals.com Chris Peak just wrote about the Pitt “Senior Elite” camp that we held last Sunday… here is an excerpt:

The Pitt coaches had positive feedback for all three local linebackers, as they did for Canton (Oh.) McKinley’s Kadeem Trotter, who was as impressive as any of them. The same goes for Buffalo (NY) Bennett’s Isaiah McDuffie, who is committed to Boston College (and was previously committed to Syracuse). And there were a few more who stood out, but I think you’re getting the picture: the linebackers were pretty good, and there are probably a few in that group who could be offer-worthy.

So here we have a recruit at our camp, Isaiah McDuffie, who has already committed to two different schools yet he’s paying his own way to attend a camp where he wants to get noticed by yet another school.  This is how it’s done these days.

A lot of fans and a ton of schools want the NCAA to adopt an ‘early signing’ policy in football like they do in basketball.  Last year the Conference Commissioners addressed the issue and punted it to at least this summer.  The gist of the proposal is that the schools would have the ability to have recruits sign an LOI as early as December of the recruiting year so they can ‘lock down‘ the kids they really need.

Is it a good thing?  Here is a great overview done by SB Nation in June 2015 that lays the details out well.

“College football’s National Signing Day is a February tradition. That’s the day recruits sign pledges to universities and commitments finally become official.

The Collegiate Commissioners Association is voting this week on a proposal that would create another three-day signing window, giving high school athletes the opportunity to sign prior to February. It’s expected to happen at some point — an early period could go into effect this year, from Dec. 16 to 18 [Update: the decision’s been “tabled,” so no early period for 2015] — and there wouldn’t be a limit on the number of recruits a school could sign during the early period.

Football has been one of the few college sports without an early signing period, joined only by soccer and water polo. Basketball’s early signing period has been considered a major success, because colleges do not have to continually recruit committed prospects once they’ve signed.”

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(Yesterday we had Part 1 of this recruiting article where we addressed a couple of pertinent question about the business.  This Part 2 continues that and we’ll have Part 3 on Thursday to wrap up…)

3.  Is it only the players who have to be convinced to go to a certain school?

The answer to this is a resounding no!  Every Pitt player’s family, mostly parents, I have talked to said that the coaching staffs probably spent as much time selling their school to the family and recruit’s HS coach as they did with the recruits themselves.

After all that is why they do “in-home” visits.  On those trips the staff doesn’t necessarily need or want to talk to the recruit so much as have the family hear them talking to the recruit.  A good recruiter will have already had many, many conversations with the player before an at-home visit. Walking into the home itself is when showtime begins.

Here is an interesting website that covers recruiting from a family point of view.  Covering in-home visits the author, a past college football staff coach says this:

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After I posted the podcast Saturday, and we since we have had our discussions about where Hill and Pugh should play, I started wondering more about the more human parts of college football recruiting.

We all pretty much know the NCAA rules and regulations behind the recruiting process with the official and non-official visits, verbal commitments, dead and quiet periods, Letter Of Intent day(LOI), etc…  But I began to scratch my head and ponder just what a head coach and recruiting staff really look for in recruits.

I have a good friend here in Maryland who is a legendary head coach in Maryland (Baltimore) High School football, Roger Wrenn.  He was in the football coaching profession for 43 years and retired with 14 city championships to his credit.

One thing to understand about Coach Wrenn’s position in high school ball here in Maryland is that Baltimore County football is taken as seriously here as WPIAL football is in PA.  Way above what the PGH City League is like in fact and national reputation.

I’ve talked with Coach Wrenn extensively on the subject of recruiting and he firmly maintains that the ‘best’ college HCs look at raw talent and character combined first.

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3* QB Kenny Pickett has become the latest Pitt recruiting verbal for the 2017 season.  He had previously committed to Temple University then got a better offer and took it.

From the Trib:

“Kenny Pickett of Oakhurst, N.J., on Saturday became the first quarterback in the Class of 2017 to verbally commit to Pitt.

A three-star recruit according to Rivals, Pickett is ranked No. 22 overall — and the No. 2 quarterback — in New Jersey. An announcement on a Twitter account bearing Pickett’s name confirmed the news. Pickett, who verbally committed to Temple earlier this spring, also has offers from Boston College, Buffalo and Connecticut.

Pickett (6-foot-3, 191 pounds) threw for 1,796 yards with 19 touchdowns and three interceptions last season. He is considered a dual-threat quarterback and ran for 336 yards and five touchdowns.”

Also Sunday’s Pitt camp brought us a verbal from unranked LB Cameron Bright out of Alabama.  Good for us and for them.

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Who says he can’t throw long?

Here is the promised weekend podcast – #2 in the series so far.  I touch on Cavanaugh, Hill to DB, University of Pittsburgh itself, uniforms and some other stuff.

After looking at the previous quarterback inductees in College Football’s Hall of Fame I have to backtrack a bit on Matt Cavanaugh’s chances to be enshrined.  See the College HoF’s website here, compare his career (without the Pitt blinders on) and make your own decision.  I still think he’s on the outside looking in but who knows…

I found this interesting bit by meddling around on the Internet – it is the NCAA Statisticians Manual for 2015.  Want to know what the details are and how stats are actually measured then check this out.  Mind boggling – I figured they pretty much just watched the games and figured crap out.

BTW – QB Bob Griese went to Purdue.

We’ll take a lead for some of the discussions of the last week or so and discuss the Pitt QB situation, both present, future and some past.  I said in a comment “Its been a long time since Pitt had a star QB” and it truly has – certainly none in the last decade and that’s an eternity in college ball when rosters and starting lineups changes regularly.

Top 10 QB Commitments Since 2010

2016: Thomas MacVittie: Only 1 interception in 211 attempts his SR HS season

2015: Ben DiNucci: Redshirted this season as a freshman; Alex Hornibrook: Verbally committed to Pitt, signed with Wisconsin

2014: Adam Bertke: Redshirt freshman, never played, transferred out; Wade Freebeck: Verbally committed to Pitt, signed with Vanderbilt

2013: Tra’Von Chapman: Attended spring drills, dismissed after criminal charges, backup at Akron

2012: Chad Voytik: Started in 2014, lost starting job and transferred to Arkansas State

2011: Trey Anderson: Didn’t join team until second week of fall camp, graduated from Pitt as a career backup

2010: Anthony Gonzalez: Played a few snaps at quarterback, two-year starter at linebacker; Mark Myers: Transferred as a rsJR to John Carroll College

Man – that transfer record is brutal especially when there weren’t any star QBs in front of all those kids who transferred out before they had a chance to show what they could do after a couple year in the program.

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One of the more intriguing and anticipated recruits who will land on the Southside in early August is George Hill.  He is a 6’0″ 205# ATH and has earned his bona fides on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball.

There is a real benefit in recruiting high school football players who are listed as “ATH” (labeled as such for an unspecified position he would play in college ball).  Foremost it implies the kid is so good he can play multiple positions well which is always a good thing.

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Happy Memorial Day to all who served, their families and our Active Duty members serving today.  Today is a when our thoughts should turn to more serious things other than sports and college football.  Let’s wish for safe passages to our current service members both home and abroad and give a hearty thank you very much to all who have served in the past.

One personal note: When you think of our service members and the missions they undertake remember that what our citizenry sees publicly is the tip of the iceberg of what their responsibilities and duties really are. It truly is a 24/7/365 job and let us also appreciate that at any moment their phone may ring and they could be on a flight within the hour to anywhere in the world to keep us safe and healthy.

Bravo Zulu to all!!

But hey- we are also Pitt football fans on this Memorial Day so here goes –

Everyone loves talking about the upcoming Pitt -Penn State game that will be played at Heinz Field on September 10th.  It will be a noteworthy game in many ways – first time the teams met since we beat them in 2000; a PSU coach who may be on the hot seat sooner than later; bragging rites for recruiting the state of Pennsylvania, and last, but not least, in Pitt fan’s books – James Conner’s return to playing in a big game.

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Here is the Doctor who also worked very hard to help James in his battle.  Thank You!!

So – A few days then the medicinal entry port comes out of Conner’s chest… then however many days it takes to heal and we are back to full contact for the fall camp.

Note especially here that Conner didn’t want any special treatment as a patient.  That is he wanted to be in the cancer ward with every other patient and did what he could do to make the world a better place for them, and I’m sure their families.  His initial diagnosis wasn’t good, the cancer was very large according to his Dr. and yet he was joyful and, at least publicly, calm every day.

I’d like to take a second and mention someone who most fans don’t know.  Mike Gallagher from Erie, PA is much like a surrogate father to Conner.  He himself has had multiple physical problems that stemmed from a sideline hit in a college game he was covering for his local  newspaper… so he was a great role model and support – as was Gallagher’s family I’m sure – during this entire process.

Mike Gallagher and James Conner are two of sports success stories and I’ll say a big Thank You! to Mike also for all he has done, not just for James, but anyone he has come in contact with. I met Mike last fall and he and I had a long conversation about many things – not all Conner or football related. With guys like Mike involved, even if just on the outskirts, of Pitt’s football program we are in great shape.

One last Conner bit:

Anyone who has watched the sun set over Lake Erie can attest to its beauty.

Two years ago, 15-year-old Meghan Gallagher couldn’t see it from her hospital room at UPMC Hamot, where she spent three weeks getting treatment for a kidney ailment.  And that bothered her friend, James Conner.

During one of his regular after-school visits, Conner decided to do something about it. He knew how much Meghan loved going to the beach and watching the sun set with her father Michael. So he picked Meghan out of a hospital bed, cradled her in his massive arms and set her down in front of a window.

“The sunset relaxed her mind,” Conner said.

Kind of says it all…

Two days ago the Trib had another Chris Peak Podcast, this time with Ken Laird, and they start out talking about the Pitt-Penn State game’s kickoff at noon on Sept 10^th and the accompanying bitching done by Pitt fans. This is a good listen to have on at work in any event:

I’ll say now, and fans may not like it, that the Pitt-Penn State game is important to the state of PA but other than that – and for the rest of the nation – the game is like any other.

It certainly wasn’t like that in the past.  Back when both teams were at the top of the ranking regularly this match-up was an event. Now however we are two programs that college football fans have a short memory about.

Jerry DiPaola has an fun blog about the complains regarding the noon start.

Here we have an example of what I do when I’m bored.  I was thinking about Pitt’s history, uniforms, Pitt-PSU and all the previous doings of Pitt football that we like to discuss on here and came up with the novel idea of … talking about recruiting.

With the above discussions by Peak and Laird about the departures of players and the numbers game to get down from the current 87 (with recruits coming in) roster players down to the mandated 85 bodies I wonder not only who the next two guys to go are, but also, as they discussed in the podcast, which players from the ’16 recruiting class will be prepping at a secondary high school (like Fitzgerald, McCoy and Dion Lewis did) or will be taking a greyshirt.

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After you have watched that take a look at this slideshow Pitt put out – you get to see the details of the uniforms up close and personal.

We have been talking a lot on here lately about Pitt’s history when it comes to our football programs and our past teams.  We have certainly climbed to the top of the heap with our 1976 championship, but we also have walked in the Death Valleys of college football.  Nothing every seems to come easy for Pitt when it comes to our football program.

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Since we all don’t agree here on The Blather and we do throw down point/counter point often, I’ll chime in on this timely football uniform change subject.  Chas likes it, Justine likes it, but…

Color me unimpressed.

I don’t actually hate what I saw.  I mean I’m not literally gagging each time I look at the football uniforms – but I’m shaking my head and drinking heavily over what I see as a lack of courage on Pitt’s part to create for us an attractive, whole and strong identity.  I’m very disappointed at the bumbling Pitt did with the football uniforms more than anything else.  More on that…

Last night Pitt put on a visually and aurally dramatic “unveiling” show to introduce the Pitt athletic department’s new logos and uniforms. I am led to understand that it was a well received show and everyone seemed to have a good time.  I didn’t drive up for it so I don’t really know, but from the video below it looks well staged I suppose.

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Tonight is the night of the new uniforms for the Pitt sports teams. Yeah us!! We’ll see the old script back at the team identifier…

“A rebranding process that effectively started 19 months ago finally will reach its conclusion tonight, as Pitt formally unveils its “new” script logo, as well as updated uniforms for its 19 varsity sports.

The return of the beloved script logo, which served as the school’s primary athletic mark from 1973-1996, will be celebrated with a public fashion show at 6:30 p.m. today in the Petersen Events Center lobby. On Tuesday, ahead of the unveiling, the university announced the renaming of its Twitter and Instagram accounts.

“We are excited to make the full transition back to the script logo,” athletic director Scott Barnes said in a statement. “Not only will this move help unify our branding efforts, it also gives us an opportunity to celebrate the amazing history of Pitt Athletics. Wednesday’s event will give Panther fans an opportunity to see some impressive Pitt apparel as well as some of the other exciting improvements we currently have underway.”

This in itself isn’t isn’t really big news – Pitt started doing this willy-nilly back in 2014.  It took two years to get Nike onboard with all the teams’ gear.  Again, the colors will not change but the graphic design of the uniforms will. The public roll-out will be done formally this evening, along with a silent auction of memorabilia and will, I’m sure, make the Internets right away.

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There was a good article from my friend Chris Logue over at Pitt Nation Sports that centered on Narduzzi’s recruiting philosophies,  where our recruiting efforts have been targeted and where we will (should?) be getting the bulk of our recruits from.  It is titled “Narduzzi active in forging recruiting identity outside of the Pitt norm”

It is a good read and thought provoking but I wonder if Chris took a detailed look at what our geographical recruiting ‘gets’ have been over the last five years.  After reading his article I started to wonder if indeed it was more important to spread out Pitt’s recruiting targets or to concentrate on landing more of the higher quality local (meaning Tri-State area) high school players.

Here is our “Out Of Area” (OOA) recruiting over the last six years.  I used the years 2011 until 2016 to survey because that was when we had Steve Pederson as our athletic director for most of the years and had lower limits on our recruiting budget.

However, getting distant players isn’t the end all be all to success at Pitt as we have seen the results of those recruits actually play out on the field, but sometimes it does help.  If you look at the 2011 recruiting class of Todd Graham’s and then look at where they are now there are few still with the team.  Out of the 13 players from far away 10 of those didn’t last at least four years in the program.

There were a few reasons for this and on was that because Graham was stuck with a decimated class after Wannstedt was fired he went after marginal players who he was recruiting during his latter years at Tulsa. Regardless – a 77% attrition rate is horrendous.  Granted many of them were purged when Graham left, then  Chryst was hired with the mandate from the administration to get rid of those dead weight and marginal players.

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(When I say lighter I mean from the last FB article)

Here is Chris Peak’s latest podcast from the Trib-Review that he recorded last night and posted today.  There is always something interesting in these podcasts and I find myself constantly rewinding to make sure I get exactly what he’s saying.

Here he (tries to) list his Top five players on the Pitt roster going into the fall camp.  He mentions how some players work out right away; SO S Jordan Whitehead for example, and some others take a year or two to develop.

Surprisingly he mentions 3* recruit WR Aaron Matthews as someone who was overlooked by fan’s expectations of who will make an early impact this season as a true FR… then says Matthews may not play this year (??).  That reference is in context to  WR Juwann Winfree bagging out at the last moment. Remember the Winfree of the  suspension at Maryland, then over to CC, then pledged to Pitt, then off to Colorado?

Here’s a past article to jog your memory on that Matthews/Winfree subject.

But Peak feels that true FR WRs Flowers and Ffrench (sounds like good ’cause and effect’ on a date, eh?) are more likely to see playing time this season than any other FR WRs. He also mentions (now) SO WRs Quadree Henderson and Tre Tipton getting some PT early on last season and, in Henderson’s case at least, doing pretty well through the year.  Even though Henderson contributed mostly on Special Teams he showed the speed and talent which could push him up the depth chart at WR.

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A point guard for the 2017 class.

Breaking: Aaron Thompson, a class of 2017 PG from Team Takeover/Paul VI, just committed to Pittsburgh. pic.twitter.com/FIhw3Or9Qq

— Pat Lawless (@PatLawless_) May 8, 2016

Aaron Thompson is considered a 4-star recruit by Scout and ESPN. Rivals and 247 say 3-star. He’s out of Fairfax, Virginia and also had offers from Miami, GT, Temple, Dayton, SMU, VT and PSU.

Stallings had been recruiting him at Vandy so there was a relationship there.

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