Signing day is done for Pitt. I mean there is still the outside possibility of one other kid joining the class at the end of the week (Kane Taylor), but for all intents and purposes the dust is mostly settled.
That means it is time to see what the recruiting rankings say about the class.
I know. I know. Recruiting rankings are meaningless. It’s about the grit and determination. It’s about uncovering those diamond-in-the-roughs and coaching them up. Aaron Donald was only a marginal 3-star recruit with not many major offers. Yada, yada, yada.
Yeah, no. The recruiting rankings do matter. No one claims they are perfect. No metric would be when it comes to evaluating how teenagers project out in — well… anything in life. Still they do a pretty good job compared to anything else.
Starting with the lowest team ranking.
Scout.com says Pitt comes in at 42d nationally. They appear to ding Pitt’s class for the kickers. It’s bad enough Australian Kirk Christodoulou is dealing with the culture shock and winter. But Scout puts him at 2-stars. And even though he is a preferred walk-on, kicker Grant Kersh got logged in the class. Couple that with TE Tyler Sear and WR Michael Smith also getting 2-star rankings, and that would drag the numbers down in the formula.
Rivals.com is a little kinder at 37th overall. Christodoulou is still a 2-star, but Kersh isn’t counted. Offensive lineman Owen Drexel, though was dinged as a 2-star.
247 was higher on Pitt’s class with a 32d spot rank. They credited Pitt with four 4-star recruits. Only Christodoulou is a 2-star guy.
So, much to my surprise, ESPN gave Pitt the highest class recruiting ranking out of the four with 31st. They really liked this class of kids, with 6 of them garnering 4-stars.
The one thing that is consistent. Across all sites. Pitt finished with the 7th ranked recruiting class in the ACC. Florida State was the consensus #1 class of the ACC. Miami was #2 in all but ESPN’s. Clemson was #3 in all but ESPN which said #2.Clemson.
And then it gets a little more varied.
Virginia Tech was #3 by Scout. But 247 and ESPN gave them #4, and Rivals #6.
North Carolina was #5 per 247, Rivals and ESPN. Scout put them #6.
Louisville was #6 by ESPN and 247. Scout put them #5 and Rivals #4.
If you really want to go further…
Georgia Tech was #8 in all but ESPN which had Duke#7. Everyone else had Duke with the #9 class.
ESPN doesn’t list class rankings beyond 40 spots (at least, so far as I have looked).
Here’s the rest
NC State: #10 — Rivals and 247; #12 — Scout
UVA: #11 all 3
Syracuse: #12 — Rivals and 247; #10 — Scout
Wake Forest: #13 — Rivals and 247; #14 — Scout
Boston College: #14 — Rivals and 247; #13 –Scout
What it ultimately suggests is that Coastal Chaos will continue for Pitt’s division with all but Virginia with a class ranked outside the top-10 but in the top-40 nationally.
Meanwhile the Atlantic division remains very clearly divided. There’s FSU, Clemson and I’ll be willing to say Louisville. Then the rest.
UPDATE: Scout and 247 have just come under the same parent company (CBS Media). So this might be the last year for 4 different sites.
BOY OH BOY… is Pitt going to miss Blewitt BIG Time!
Considering how MEDIOCRE of a job Narduzzi appears to be doing recruiting wise, the THIRD Year Coach is now going to have to show he really CAN Coach.
And especially considering how it was Blewitt who baled Narduzzi out in some of his BIGGEST Wins.
I think our D will show a nice upgrade next year, but our record will depend on who the new OC is, and his ability to read/set up opposing D’s. I don’t expect we’ll score 40+ ppg, but neither do I expect we’ll have to. Nor do I think we’ll be relying on end-of-game FGs for Ws.
I also agree, the QB position should be a position of strength.
I
77.8 to 76.2 to 65.2 to 58.8.
Pitt will be fine and it’s safe to say he didn’t carry Narduzzi let alone Pitt. Big kicks yes and very thankful for them but that was his job. Plenty of missed that we’re face palm moments.
Formerly HIGHLY recruited Players being shown the Door.
********
– Offensive Lineman Mike Grimm
– Offensive Lineman Alex Paulina
– Offensive Lineman Carson Baker
– Offensive Lineman Aaron Reese
– Running Back Rachid Ibrahim
– Wide Receiver Zach Challingsworth
– Tight end Zach Poker.
Trib Review
*********
And who said Pat Narduzzi was a “nice” Guy?
The pressure is OFFICIALLY on.
Alex Paulina is also hurt I believe
Barker, Reese, Ibrahim, Challingsworth,and Poker are graduate transfer candidates I believe.
Nard dog is a great guy, great recruiting class! and
H2P!!!
PTG – PoD is just trolling. Has to be. You’re right on all the above. Grimm quit football because of injury and the others are grad transfers or just plain graduating and not playing any longer. Normal 5th year senior moves. Not sure about Pualina.
PittsburghSportsNow.com is reporting that Narduzzi said to expect an OC announcement by the end of the week.
Lots of speculation it could be Clay Helton’s (USC Head Coach) brother, Tyson Helton. Currently QB coach at USC and formerly Western Kentucky OC. Saw it on the POV board too.
“WKU sits sixth in the Football Bowl Subdivision in total offense (520 yards per game). It also features the nation’s second-leading passer in Brandon Doughty (4,594 yards) and fourth-leading receiver in Taywan Taylor (1,363 yards), a Pleasure Ridge Park product.”
link to pittsburghsportsnow.com
The city of miserable college BB was once a proud city of the same.
When a grayshirt puts off his enrollment, he’s extending his eligibility past his senior year for another term. Grayshirting is most commonly used in football. By delaying enrollment until the winter after his senior year of high school, a football player can play the fall season one year after his graduation date.
However, in redshirting, an athlete is enrolled in classes and practicing with the team, but not competing in games. By postponing their participation in games, they extend their eligibility into a fifth year of school. They are allowed to practice and train, but don’t compete in games so they don’t lose a year of eligibility. Redshirting is also used when an athlete gets injured and won’t be back for the season.
It also allows the university to “stash” a player for a year without him counting against scholarship limits. Hope that helps
Rhetorical question. Always wonder how many of the so called
recruiting analysts actual see a kid play rather than watch film?
Also how do they measure competition level? Aaron Donald
had 2 offers Pitt and Kent State; how could that happen in
an are such as WPa which is heavily worked by so many schools. Net beyond obvious elite talent the stars have very little value as stars can’t measure desire, heart, and the determination to succeed.
Of course, have no idea how good he is at this point
Chas – Blewitt will always be a hero in my book, for the Clemson kick alone. However, he was not a consistent kicker and always scared me when he lined up to kick. I’m looking forward to the next guy, and I have no clue how good (or not) the next guy is.
Really excited about Drake, Warren & Carter.
HCPN’s NLI press conference…
In 2012, Louisville posted an 11-2 record, claimed a Big East Championship and finished the year ranked 13th in the BCS Standings, USA Today Coaches Poll and Associated Press Poll. The Cards capped the year with a 33-23 win over fourth-ranked Florida in the Allstate Sugar Bowl.
Good Lord
POD, this is a good class. It will keep us competitive.
Maybe not a home-run hire … but this time last year, I was less enthralled with the Canada hire than I was with the Chaney hire the year before who I thought had a better resume.
Dokish is a Homer and is more interested in stroking the Democratic Party than talking sports.
My concern with the west coast is creativity. It can be such a bland offense. Part of the reason I prefer college football is the diversity in displayed on offense.
Canada was a breath of fresh air with it but he had never let the offense loose like he did at Pitt. I’m hoping the complaints that fans of his other schools have of him are more indictments on controlling head coaches vs. a conservative play caller.
Nothing worse than a conservative play caller and Watson has a history of being one. Is it because that’s his philosophy? Or is it because of the Head Coaches philosophy?
Narduzzi will give him free reign. Hopefully, he takes advantage of it. I hope he also learned something at Indiana with the explosive offense they had … and that he’ll keep some of the Canada playbook and jet sweeps.
I’m indifferent on the hire. Certainly not a splash hire but also one that could actually be at Pitt for a few years. If he takes advantage of the creative freedom Narduzzi will give him, this could be a great hire. If not, it could be a slightly better variant of Matt Cavanaugh.
He’s a little conservative but willing to open it up when necessary and has also been hamstrung by head coaches demanding a conservative game plan. He’s not super creative but maximizes talent to make up for it.
He called plays at TX but wasn’t OC and that style of offense isn’t really a fit for the Big 12.
I really have no feel for this hire. He doesn’t seem to ever have been given a chance to form an identity. Maybe at Louisville a little but his time with Strong at TX makes me question that.
We know Narduzzi wants an attacking offense that runs the ball. We know Narduzzi and Chaney didn’t get along because he thought Cheney was too conservative. We know Canada took full advantage of truly having freedom to call plays.
I’m in a hope phase that Watson takes the same liberties Canada does and just goes for it.
