A GOOD SIGN & TREND I'VE NOTICED!!

[tlmitch]

Those of you who follow Twitter may have noticed this as well...but every time we get a commit I get a notification from Twitter stating that Hamlin, Ford, and a number of the other top recruits "just followed" whoever it is that just committed. All at the same time! Without a doubt they are either planning something or at the very least trying to piece things together about who their potential teammates would be if they committed!

 

[vegasgreed]

Good to know. Butler seems to be fading.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Good to know. Butler seems to be fading.

I don't like it when recruits are still considered "committed" and show up on sites as being a "commitment" when through their words and actions, are anything but. Tony Butler still may possibly attend Pitt but he clearly is not "committed" to Pitt. Same goes for Miles Sanders at PSU. He may end up at PSU but right now, he's not committed to them.

 

[The Loaded Italian]

Well... honestly... it is the smart thing to do.

You may think it is a bit shady, and maybe it is... but why not take a good offer and still look around? If you leave it open and that school grabs a RB (in Sanders case) then your ship may be pulled. The school doesnt care if you dont have other offers, they will pull it. Or of course, god forbid, you get hurt? At least you have that verbal there. Not many schools will pull it if the verbal commitment is there, although I suspect Franklin would pull it if the recruits gf wasnt hot enough.

 

[pittdan77]

The schools, especially the majors, treat kids like free agents. No reason they shouldn't behave like one. A smart kid is going to watch and see what position battles look like now and in the future. Also smart to keep open lines of communication in case you get to campus and something goes wrong and need to transfer.

 

[pittzap]

If you are a player that does that, fine, just don't be surprised if you decommit and fans call you out on it. I'm not saying either side is right, but it happens. You can't be surprised or wonder why a fan would have an issue with that.

 

[The Loaded Italian]

That's true, you will make alot of enemies... but I would hope that you are committing to the school you really want to go to in the first place

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Well... honestly... it is the smart thing to do.

You may think it is a bit shady, and maybe it is... but why not take a good offer and still look around? If you leave it open and that school grabs a RB (in Sanders case) then your ship may be pulled. The school doesnt care if you dont have other offers, they will pull it. Or of course, god forbid, you get hurt? At least you have that verbal there. Not many schools will pull it if the verbal commitment is there, although I suspect Franklin would pull it if the recruits gf wasnt hot enough.

Personally, I think the idea of a "signing day" or "signing period" is stupid. After the players complete their junior year of HS and are considered "rising seniors," I believe they should be allowed to sign a LOI. If Tony Butler or Miles Sanders are sure where they want to go to college, let them sign. If they're unsure, well, then dont sign and continue to look around until you are sure. The signing period rules were made decades ago when recruiting was much different. Its a 365 day/year thing now and can become relentless for the athlete. If a kid knows where he wants to go in June before his senior year, he should be able to sign the LOI and go about his life. The coach he is signing with doesn't have to waste time and money to continue to recruit him and rival coaches can worry about going after other kids rather than trying to get players to flip. This makes too much sense for it to happen. Imagine how much of our lives we could get back (not to mention the lives of Sanders, Narduzzi, and Franklin) if Sanders already signed the LOI.

 

[9nationalchampionships]

Don’t care what ups is doing. Pitt’s class will be fine and the Duzz has coached up 2*s to NFL players!

 

[pittdan77]

Hope Pitt's recruiting picks up... PSU is rocking it again.. Up to 6th in country with only 15 commits!

Good for them. Will still finish third or fourth in their own, loaded, division.

 

[geeman2001]

It's pretty simple. The high revenue / glamour coach programs can flip committed recruits pretty easily up to LOI day. So there will never be a rule that makes an initial commitment binding. It has nothing to do with what is good or bad for the recruit. And certainly not what is good for lower tier programs. It's all about what is good for Saban and Meyer.

The only reason a LOI day at all probably is permitted by those schools in the first place is that it gives them a logical stopping point and starting point to gear up for the coming recruiting campaign, plus to call in their assistants to focus on spring practice. But if they wanted it wiped out so they could flip guys right up to the opening kickoff of the new season, believe me, they'd get it.

So in retrospect a LOI day somewhat helps the likes of Pitt too. Otherwise, instead of merely getting screwed in a January press conference, you could have a Robert Foster tearing off his uniform in Pitt's first game warmup Alabama called his dad to upp the deal at that point.

 

[Pitt is #1]

Good for them. Will still finish third or fourth in their own, loaded, division.

I suspect.. if PSU finishes no better than 4th the next two seasons? They will be crying for a shuffling of the B1G's divisions. If you haven't noticed, this is the only way they achieve anything. They may not have the greatest football team...but they may have the greatest Cult.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Good for them. Will still finish third or fourth in their own, loaded, division.

PSU is recruiting as good as anybody, including Ohio State. Its unknown if Franklin can coach, but if he can, they could win that division in a couple years.

What gets me is that this is the furthest Pitt and PSU have been in terms of "recruiting star rankings" in years. Not since the beginning of the Harris era has PSU been so far ahead of Pitt and now we have to play them 4 times. Some of us (not me) thought the Sandusky scandal would wipe them out but in all honestly, it was a very good thing for their program. It greatly strengthened them by ushering out a stale regime and feeding the machine with the "Us vs Them" mentality.

I remember when we played PSU in 1998, the announcers said something like Pitt had only 3 players that had been offered a scholarship by PSU. Its not like that now but if Franklin keeps recruiting this way, what will it be like when we play in 2018 and 2019?

 

[Taft's Baby Hook]

PSU is recruiting as good as anybody, including Ohio State. Its unknown if Franklin can coach, but if he can, they could win that division in a couple years.

What gets me is that this is the furthest Pitt and PSU have been in terms of "recruiting star rankings" in years. Not since the beginning of the Harris era has PSU been so far ahead of Pitt and now we have to play them 4 times. Some of us (not me) thought the Sandusky scandal would wipe them out but in all honestly, it was a very good thing for their program. It greatly strengthened them by ushering out a stale regime and feeding the machine with the "Us vs Them" mentality.

I remember when we played PSU in 1998, the announcers said something like Pitt had only 3 players that had been offered a scholarship by PSU. Its not like that now but if Franklin keeps recruiting this way, what will it be like when we play in 2018 and 2019?

I know it's a little different being that they're in the SEC, but look at Florida's recruiting classes the last 4 years and look how that panned out to success on the field...stars aren't the end all be all, still need a dude with a headset on who knows what he's doing. Franklin hasn't exactly done that yet.

It's great to be playing them again regardless.

 

[Pitt is #1]

Franklin is doing so well recruiting at a school that has had very little success in the past 15 years. It makes me wonder if he is doing things above board?

 

[9nationalchampionships]

Makes sense, I mean how else would you explain a recruit wanting to spend 4 -5 years in centre county?

Franklin is definitely paying the recruits...there is no other possible explanation.

 

[PSUPALY]

Franklin is doing so well recruiting at a school that has had very little success in the past 15 years. It makes me wonder if he is doing things above board?

I mean....we've had some success, gosh.

2 Big Ten Titles (better than Michigan), beat Ohio State 3 times (sadly, that's more than anybody else), beat Florida State, LSU, Texas A&M, & Tennessee (when they were good) in bowl games, three 11 win seasons. considering the last couple years.....ehh, we haven't been too bad, in my opinion. Michigan, on the other hand, has been awful.......how's their recruiting going? just fine....ya know why?.....because they're Michigan. sorta the same reason why our recruiting is going just fine. the old regime was holding us back.

Pitt should've kept Wanny. he was a beast recruiter, and he was dedicated to the program....plus he had a great stache. Pitt sorely misses a Pitt guy...or a Pittsburgh guy.

we'll see what Narduzzi does, but recruiting's been underwhelming thus far. obviously, win some games....that'll change.

 

[lionlurker]

I think we're all taken aback by how good a recruiter JF is. Insofar as his coaching ability goes, it's a whole lot easier to be a good coach with a roster full of 4-star recruits, as even he admits.

What he hasn't brought in relative to OSU are the 5 star guys, and he likely never will at the same rate. Whether or not that is important is debatable, but there is no denying that a 5 star that lives up to his potential are guys that can dictate how a game is played. Woodson, for example, when he was at Michigan basically took away half of the field in the passing game. OSU is always in the hunt for guys like that, and most other non-SEC schools will not be, in big numbers at least.

 

[9nationalchampionships]

Let me know when a dominatrix lead team beats a good team because I am still waiting.

 

[9nationalchampionships]

I don’t remember the last time I watched a ups game. Oh wait yes I do, ups was shut out by the PITT Panthers!

 

[9nationalchampionships]

Jimbob,

I realize it is hard for a cult member to look at something and anywise logically but think about this.

It was the last time we played and you are trolling a Pitt board.

Take the tin foil off!

49 - 24

 

[PSUPALY]

Jimbob,

I realize it is hard for a cult member to look at something and anywise logically but think about this.

It was the last time we played and you are trolling a Pitt board.

Take the tin foil off!

49 - 24

Jimbob?...lol. alright...I can go with Jimbob.

the 2000 game where Pitt won 12-0 was the last game we played...correct. what other analysis (not anywise, Rob) is needed? don't answer...it was rhetorical.

what's 49-24 mean? is that a prediction next year? cool...great guess

 

[9nationalchampionships]

The last time PITT played ups in BB the halftime score was 49 - 24 but the game wasn’t that close

Too early for predictions but good to have you back on the schedule.

 

[Pitt is #1]

I mean....we've had some success, gosh.

2 Big Ten Titles (better than Michigan), beat Ohio State 3 times (sadly, that's more than anybody else), beat Florida State, LSU, Texas A&M, & Tennessee (when they were good) in bowl games, three 11 win seasons. considering the last couple years.....ehh, we haven't been too bad, in my opinion. Michigan, on the other hand, has been awful.......how's their recruiting going? just fine....ya know why?.....because they're Michigan. sorta the same reason why our recruiting is going just fine. the old regime was holding us back.

Pitt should've kept Wanny. he was a beast recruiter, and he was dedicated to the program....plus he had a great stache. Pitt sorely misses a Pitt guy...or a Pittsburgh guy.

we'll see what Narduzzi does, but recruiting's been underwhelming thus far. obviously, win some games....that'll change.

No Pitt shouldn't have kept Wanny. They should of had a plan after canning him.

 

[Ray-Ray]

good one, Rob. you're the only Pitt fan I know that brags about that game from 15 years ago.....against a Penn State team that went 5-7 and lost at home to Toledo...lol

it's not like that's the only time you beat us.....but you always talk about that particular game?.......oh well, congrats on your big victory! maybe I should go on the Indiana board and brag about our victory last year.

Indiana may have been the best team you beat last year.

 

[PSUPALY]

Indiana may have been the best team you beat last year.

that's incorrect. Boston College, Rutgers, UCF, and even Temple were all bowl teams. not murders row, of course...but obviously better than Indiana. plus, we beat Akron

 

[9nationalchampionships]

Conners had more yards against BC than the dominatrix lead team. No quality wins last year and Pitt’s OL would have mauled your defense had we played.

 

[lionlurker]

We'll take our chances. Our defense is going to be very very good.

 

[9nationalchampionships]

Key word highlighted

We'll take our chances. Our defense is going to be very very good.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Franklin is doing so well recruiting at a school that has had very little success in the past 15 years. It makes me wonder if he is doing things above board?

Nobody does things "above board." This is college football. Of course PSU is cheating, are you serious? In Franklin's defense, he may not even know about it but certainly PSU boosters are paying some of these kids. This is common practice at football factories. If I was a PSU fan, I'd be pretty stunned if they weren't and honestly wished we had boosters who would do the same.

 

[9nationalchampionships]

So it is not the cultural diversity, plenty of things to do and the nice weather in centre county?

Nobody does things "above board." This is college football. Of course PSU is cheating, are you serious? In Franklin's defense, he may not even know about it but certainly PSU boosters are paying some of these kids. This is common practice at football factories. If I was a PSU fan, I'd be pretty stunned if they weren't and honestly wished we had boosters who would do the same.

 

[9nationalchampionships]

I would also take Hendrix over any recruit 3 hours to our northeast. He will be eligible in ’16.

 

[pittdan77]

I was paraphrasing Cory Giger earlier. He pretty much said that it's all uphill and I have no reason to think he's wrong. B1G hates Penn State anyway. Right guys?

 

[raleighpanther]

I don't waste my time comparing Franklin's recruiting to Narduzzi's. Narduzzi knows how to recruit, and he hired a staff that does too.
Some of you guys get all wrapped up in comparing the so called experts rankings of classes, and while it may be true in GENERAL that higher ranked classes perform better than lower ranked classes, I don't care about things in general. I care about what a SPECIFIC coach can do, in this case, Narduzzi.
For the last 8 years, Michigan's class was higher ranked than MSU's class every single year, and MSU beat Michigan 7 out of those last 8 years head to head, and had a far better overall record during those years. Trust the coach, not the rankings.

 

[Ray-Ray]

that's incorrect. Boston College, Rutgers, UCF, and even Temple were all bowl teams. not murders row, of course...but obviously better than Indiana. plus, we beat Akron

touche

 

[Pitt is #1]

For what it's worth. I just spoke with a high school coach with a close relationship with the PSU staff. He says their staff is pretty confident Hamlin will commit to PSU.

 

[Pitt is #1]

The same reason Tom McAndrew bans anyone who doesn't think Joe Paterno was a saint.

 

[thebadby2]

I don't like it when recruits are still considered "committed" and show up on sites as being a "commitment" when through their words and actions, are anything but. Tony Butler still may possibly attend Pitt but he clearly is not "committed" to Pitt. Same goes for Miles Sanders at PSU. He may end up at PSU but right now, he's not committed to them.

I will never understand why some of you guys get bent out of shape about this kind of stuff. It is a total non-issue, it does not affect Pitt football one way or the other, and it just couldn't matter less in the scheme of things. If anything, better to have a guy with a lot of high Power 5s on his offer sheet still showing as a Pitt commit than not no matter what he ends up doing.

 

[Pitt is #1]

I respectfully disagree. I was banned and I definitely was respectful. I just didn't share the same opinions as you folks.

 

[Brazillm10]

At least with all the back and forth between programs, we will finally get to settle it on the field. This is a game that should be played every year.