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Recruiting Quantity - Where we stand vs ACC

Jan 17, 2014
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After scrolling through each of our ACC counterparts' football recruiting pages I noted that we have the fewest 2016 commits among all schools. For the most part, its not even close. Most schools have about 10+ commits (Miami has 30+). The closest to our 3 recruits is Cuse (with 3, bad company), GT (with 4) and UNC (with 5).

I know the goal here is "quality" and "good fit". I also know the narrative "but we have a new staff, cut them some slack." I'm just looking at raw quantity of commits and it seems a little scary. Are we in a NCAA recruting quiet/dead period?

We need some more Pat-signals in our life.
 
After scrolling through each of our ACC counterparts' football recruiting pages I noted that we have the fewest 2016 commits among all schools. For the most part, its not even close. Most schools have about 10+ commits (Miami has 30+). The closest to our 3 recruits is Cuse (with 3, bad company), GT (with 4) and UNC (with 5).

I know the goal here is "quality" and "good fit". I also know the narrative "but we have a new staff, cut them some slack." I'm just looking at raw quantity of commits and it seems a little scary. Are we in a NCAA recruting quiet/dead period?

We need some more Pat-signals in our life.

To be honest, Narduzzi's recruiting has not been very good so far but its still very early on. I like how active and engaged in recruiting he seems to be but it hasnt translated to any success so far. It still may this year or it may not. He may need another year to build relationships with the underclassmen.

The other theory is that he's not offering any 1-AA/MAC recruit within a 5 hour drive like Chryst did. Maybe he's being more selective. I don't know but I'm not anticipating a very good class this year. We've started out too slow. The class of 2017 is where I think we'll be able to tell how good of a recruiter he really is.
 
My suspicion, based on our head coach's history at Michigan State, is that the staff will recruit a lot like its oft-maligned predecessors.

I also predict that a number of posters on this board will never admit that.

Finally, I have no problem with that approach as I think it is a wise one for school in our position.

I do not care how many recruits Pitt has a full six months before National Signing Day. What I do care about is that Pitt has a number of good athletes signed by February of next year.

A lot of people don't want to face this reality but the University of Pittsburgh is not going to be a perennial top 10–20 recruiting school until it's game day atmosphere is at least in the top 30. Right now, it is probably not in the top 75.

Our facilities are mediocre and located off campus. The university is located in an urban region and its teams play fourth fiddle to the local pro teams.

What I would like to see as for Pitt to do very well in the WPIAL and PIAA. Then, I would like to see them do reasonably well in the neighboring states of Ohio, New Jersey, and Maryland/metro DC. Also, I would like to see them cherry pick some under the radar prospects from Sunbelt states – namely Florida.

Finally, I would like to see them redshirt and develop almost every single kid they sign. Literally, for me, it would be the more redshirts the better.

That is the recipe Pitt needs to follow to succeed. Most of the rest of what people try to tell you is either pie in the sky bullshitt or simply uninformed rhetoric.
 
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After scrolling through each of our ACC counterparts' football recruiting pages I noted that we have the fewest 2016 commits among all schools. For the most part, its not even close. Most schools have about 10+ commits (Miami has 30+). The closest to our 3 recruits is Cuse (with 3, bad company), GT (with 4) and UNC (with 5).

I know the goal here is "quality" and "good fit". I also know the narrative "but we have a new staff, cut them some slack." I'm just looking at raw quantity of commits and it seems a little scary. Are we in a NCAA recruting quiet/dead period?

We need some more Pat-signals in our life.

I do think this staff has been the best recruiters since Wannstedt. We had a lot of ground to make up here, and Franklin has had a huge head start on all of PA while quiet man Chryst let him run amuck a bit. I really like the vibe, twitter has been blowing up with pro Pitt stuff, and the top recruits are definitely starting to drink the kool aid here. NO DOUBT Duzz is evening the playing field here vs st college... and the scary thing is we still havent played a game!

Obviously the negative ninnies will come out about not recruiting well, but that just doesnt look like a fact at this point. Duzz seems to understand the social media, and making campus and the faciliteis more attractive to kids. Recruiting isnt a 3 month or 6 month journey, often it is years. He has picked up ground on alot of these guys that had penn state earmarked in their heads.

There will be some pat signals after this coming weekend.
 
Interesting that Miami has a gazillion recruits, and not one of them is in the Florida Top 10. Only 1 is even in the Florida Top 25, same amount that WVU has. The Canes a nowhere near getting back their swagger.
 
I'm not really concerned. He is currently an unknown commodity as a HC. Kids are going to want to see how they will fit in with his style of play. I get the impression Narduzzi is confident he can win now. Which would open up the door to better recruits. Because of these factors, I think both sides are taking a let's wait and see approach to things.
 
My suspicion, based on our head coach's history at Michigan State, is that the staff will recruit a lot like its oft-maligned predecessors.

I also predict that a number of posters on this board will never admit that.
.

Yep.

I'll also add something that I've said before - I've never (at least in the 10 years I've been on this site) seen Pitt rack up a bunch of recruits by this time. Never. Even when Wannstedt was here.

In fact, I took it a step further by look at the commit list from his best class, 2006. Here are the players who had committed by June 1, 2005:
Scott Corson
Dan Loheyde
John Malecki
Jared Martin
Lowell Robinson

Not a large group. And, only one of these guys - Malecki - did anything at Pitt.
You did start to see the list grow later in the month; that's when Dickerson and Pinkston committed. Bynam came aboard in August.
 
I think that Pitt needs to get all or some of these players from PA

Pugh- Aliquippa
Shaw- Woodland Hills
Matthews- Clairton
Jackson Twins- Allderdice
Hudson- McKeesport
Wheeler- Pitt CC
Dioubate- Phill Prep Charter
Battle- Wallenpaupack
Hamlin- Pitt CC'
Coleman- Brasher

Now why did I say they need to get som of these kids, because all of these kids are being recruited by other power conference schools. If Pitt lands a few of these guys look for an uptake in the AC rankings
 
Right now we have only 15 projected openings in the next class. That has a lot to do with it. Sleepy left us with a bubble of two large classes that Duzz will have to sort out in the coming months.
 
Right now we have only 15 projected openings in the next class. That has a lot to do with it. Sleepy left us with a bubble of two large classes that Duzz will have to sort out in the coming months.

Are you really going to blame Chyrst for having large recruiting classes because of the max exodus after the Graham/Wanny/Haywood debacle?
 
Are you really going to blame Chyrst for having large recruiting classes because of the max exodus after the Graham/Wanny/Haywood debacle?

Who' blaming anybody? It's merely a statement of fact. We have a bubble of 61 players in two classes that precludes anything approaching a big class this year UNLESS the Duzz continues to evaluate between now and the end of the season. Which I suspect he will.

When you're a dummy you shouldn't imply things that aren't stated.
 
Right, calling Chryst "sleepy" and referring to those classes as bubbles (a term that usually has a negative connotation i.e. a stock market bubble, on the bubble for the NCAA tournament) in no way, shape or form infers that Chryst was at fault.
 
Yep.

I'll also add something that I've said before - I've never (at least in the 10 years I've been on this site) seen Pitt rack up a bunch of recruits by this time. Never. Even when Wannstedt was here.

In fact, I took it a step further by look at the commit list from his best class, 2006. Here are the players who had committed by June 1, 2005:
Scott Corson
Dan Loheyde
John Malecki
Jared Martin
Lowell Robinson

Not a large group. And, only one of these guys - Malecki - did anything at Pitt.
You did start to see the list grow later in the month; that's when Dickerson and Pinkston committed. Bynam came aboard in August.

They had 12 by June 28th in Chryst's first year.
 
Also, we are offering higher quality kids with more choices. Those kids are going to wait, especially with dooz not having coached a game. Win 9 games this year and look out
 
They had 12 by June 28th in Chryst's first year.
Well, we're talking about the first week of June, which is where we are at in the calendar year right now.

On June 3, 2012, Chryst listed as commits:
Scott Orndoff
Jaymar Parrish
Aaron Reese
Shakir Soto

Like Wannstedt's 2006 class, a bunch committed in the following weeks, which is what people think are going to happen here.
 
Just stating the facts here. We have 3 recruits and our ACC foes are out recruiting us. Glad everyone on here is happy with it... I'm not thrilled. Here's hoping your confidence is founded, and we manage to scoop up a few guys that were overlooked by other teams. Seems like the ACC teams may not be putzing around with recruiting like the old Big East teams during Wanny years.
 
After scrolling through each of our ACC counterparts' football recruiting pages I noted that we have the fewest 2016 commits among all schools. For the most part, its not even close. Most schools have about 10+ commits (Miami has 30+). The closest to our 3 recruits is Cuse (with 3, bad company), GT (with 4) and UNC (with 5).

I know the goal here is "quality" and "good fit". I also know the narrative "but we have a new staff, cut them some slack." I'm just looking at raw quantity of commits and it seems a little scary. Are we in a NCAA recruting quiet/dead period? We need some more Pat-signals in our life.

All I know is Recruiting is very important because Team that win need Horses and the more talented recruits that become players help those Coaches to make Teams that win more games.
Versus
Great coaching can often beat more talented Players & Teams but not having those Horses makes it so much harder and not often succeeds!

I know Coach Pat has had only 6 months to be at Pitt and I can wait even longer since I have been waiting since 1996 for someone to rebuild Pitt Football Program, and there is no need to panic, but the Pederson's Poison upon the Pitt Program goes on until someone changes it!
 
The bad news for Pitt is that I expect a longer rebuild. Think back to MSU 2007 and 2008. Three similarities I see.

A - Narduzzi has a great reputation as a D-coordinator. Dantonio had a great reputation as D-coordinator. Dantonio wasn't bad as Cincy head coach, but wasn't rated as he is now. Narduzzi is unproven as head coach.

2. MSU was then know as "same ole Spartans" that got 20 point leads and lost games, with late season collapses missing out on bowl games. John L Smith wasn't a distant memory. Pitt's reputation is better than that of 2007 era Michigan State, but not viewed as a national contender - yet. Coaching turnover is the big recent issue with Pitt, as it was with MSU.

3. A (then) bigger name in state. Pitt has to deal with State Penn. MSU had to deal with that school in Ann Arbor which then had a good reputation in football.

The two big differences is that Pitt isn't coming off a 4-8 year, and that Narduzzi is not an established head coach as Dantonio was.

Going into MSU, there were advantages that Dantonio/Narduzzi had with the Ohio connections so some of the relationships were there. Narduzzi's territory at MSU was Eastern Ohio and Eastern PA/New Jersey, along with part of Florida, and in state Michigan.

In Pitt, Narduzzi's recruiting territory helps.

MSU was lucky in 2007 in the mist of that 4-8 season. That class had a lot of hits with underrated recruits. On defense that included Greg Jones, Kevin Pickelman, and Chris L Rucker.

2008 was similar to 2007 although less stars. Trenton Robinson was a 2* from Bay City, and ended up being a multi-year starter at safety and an NFL contract. His best two other offers were Cincinnati and Indiana. Johnny Adams was a 3* from Akron (beat WVU and Syracuse) and a starting corner and was drafted late. Both were smaller than what MSU likes today, but they were tough and could play. Narduzzi recruited them. Jerel Worthy was surprising overlooked as a 3* from Huber Heights. Nebraska and MSU saw him. He was in the league. Tyler Hoover was not overlooked as a 3* with UM and Wisconsin offering.

2009 (year after 9-3) was when things were really starting to pick up. It was also a strong in-state talent year. MSU was ranked 17th and it was a good class.

2010 (year after 6-6) was supposedly a "step back" but was the best Dantonio class at MSU in hindsight. That class was ranked 30th (Pitt 33rd). In reality, that was a top 10 class. Bell, Bullough, Dennard, Drummond (Narduzzi - Ohio), Gholston (5*, Narduzzi - Detroit), Jackson, Langford, Lewis, Lippett, Mumphrey, and Rush were multi-year starters, many of whom were all-conference and all-American.

All those classes were heavily laden with in-state and Ohio players. There were a few Florida, Georgia, Indiana, DC area, and other area players as well. Later on after more consistent success, MSU expanded back into Illinois and Pennsylvania again.

I expect a lot of Pennsylvania, Ohio, and New Jersey players going to Pitt, along with the occasional Floridian and Michigander as Narduzzi recruited those areas. Looking at the latest offer list, I'm not surprised to see DC/Maryland/Virginia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. I am surprised a little to see Connecticut and Louisiana, although not as much the Carolinas (ACC).
 
MSU was lucky in 2007... That class had a lot of hits with underrated recruits.

2008 was similar to 2007 although less stars... a 2* ended up being a multi-year starter at safety and an NFL contract ...a 3* ... a starting corner... was drafted late... Narduzzi recruited them.

2009... a strong in-state talent year. MSU was ranked 17th.

2010 ... the class was ranked 30th... In reality, that was a top 10 class... multi-year starters, many of whom were all-conference and all-American.

All those classes were heavily laden with in-state and Ohio players.

Good post- some really good information-

I edited your post to show, if you read between the lines, Narduzzi and Dontonio were not so much lucky at MSU with the unheralded recruits they landed as they were brilliant at seeing talent where other coaches could not or possibly just amazing at teaching kids without elite talent to play at a much higher level. Or both. No matter what the truth really is, it ought to make Pitt fans feel good about what PN is capable of doing in terns of landing and coaching players.
 
Just stating the facts here. We have 3 recruits and our ACC foes are out recruiting us. Glad everyone on here is happy with it... I'm not thrilled. Here's hoping your confidence is founded, and we manage to scoop up a few guys that were overlooked by other teams. Seems like the ACC teams may not be putzing around with recruiting like the old Big East teams during Wanny years.

I'm not happy with it either but I think a lot of it has to do with Narduzzi going after bigger fish and not offering any player that Toledo and Bowling Green covet. This could backfire of course but Narduzzi has more confidence in his recruiting. I think he believes he can land the big names and not have to settle for MAC recruits. Whereas, Chryst basically got a bunch of MAC recruits and believed he could coach them up.
 
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I think he'll get a few more this month and Pitt really isn't that far behind the rest of the coastal.
Except for Miami of course. Their roster is loaded. How they haven't won more is beyond me.
 
Hamlin, Shaw, Matthews, Pugh and Coleman. I think these are the guys Pitt has a good shot at landing. The rest of the wpial I expect to go elsewhere.
 
Interesting that Miami has a gazillion recruits, and not one of them is in the Florida Top 10. Only 1 is even in the Florida Top 25, same amount that WVU has. The Canes a nowhere near getting back their swagger.
And even so their class is light years ahead of ours. We will know more when the clock hits zero's in the 4th quarter against YOUNGSTOWN STATE UNIVERSITY.
 
Good post- some really good information-

I edited your post to show, if you read between the lines, Narduzzi and Dantonio were not so much lucky at MSU with the unheralded recruits they landed as they were brilliant at seeing talent where other coaches could not or possibly just amazing at teaching kids without elite talent to play at a much higher level. Or both. No matter what the truth really is, it ought to make Pitt fans feel good about what PN is capable of doing in terns of landing and coaching players.
I think we can expect to see some commits after a couple of Duzzi's prospect camps. He's off to a bit of a slow start, but as i have said many times, Pitt has become (over the past 30 years) a very tough place to recruit to. Extended mediocrity and a carousel of coaches will do that to a program. I think he;s going about it the right way, he will need to build some relationships and credibility with WPIAL coaches and prospects before he's stacking up 10 commits by June 1 every year--and he is working hard to do that.
 
Just stating the facts here. We have 3 recruits and our ACC foes are out recruiting us. Glad everyone on here is happy with it... I'm not thrilled. Here's hoping your confidence is founded, and we manage to scoop up a few guys that were overlooked by other teams. Seems like the ACC teams may not be putzing around with recruiting like the old Big East teams during Wanny years.
And the negativity narrative drones on...
 
Good post- some really good information-

I edited your post to show, if you read between the lines, Narduzzi and Dontonio were not so much lucky at MSU with the unheralded recruits they landed as they were brilliant at seeing talent where other coaches could not or possibly just amazing at teaching kids without elite talent to play at a much higher level. Or both. No matter what the truth really is, it ought to make Pitt fans feel good about what PN is capable of doing in terns of landing and coaching players.

That was a really good synopsis of Michigan State and its recruiting. There is one BIG dynamic that differs what PN faces at Pitt compared with D'Antonio faced at East Lansing. That is the local talent pool. So I really think that makes the dynamics different. Especially since so many in this class seems connected. I think it both slows down the commitment process, yet could make the end results so much better, as when a domino or 2 falls, then a flood happens.

We shall see.
 
The bad news for Pitt is that I expect a longer rebuild. Think back to MSU 2007 and 2008. Three similarities I see.

A - Narduzzi has a great reputation as a D-coordinator. Dantonio had a great reputation as D-coordinator. Dantonio wasn't bad as Cincy head coach, but wasn't rated as he is now. Narduzzi is unproven as head coach.

2. MSU was then know as "same ole Spartans" that got 20 point leads and lost games, with late season collapses missing out on bowl games. John L Smith wasn't a distant memory. Pitt's reputation is better than that of 2007 era Michigan State, but not viewed as a national contender - yet. Coaching turnover is the big recent issue with Pitt, as it was with MSU.

3. A (then) bigger name in state. Pitt has to deal with State Penn. MSU had to deal with that school in Ann Arbor which then had a good reputation in football.

The two big differences is that Pitt isn't coming off a 4-8 year, and that Narduzzi is not an established head coach as Dantonio was.

Going into MSU, there were advantages that Dantonio/Narduzzi had with the Ohio connections so some of the relationships were there. Narduzzi's territory at MSU was Eastern Ohio and Eastern PA/New Jersey, along with part of Florida, and in state Michigan.

In Pitt, Narduzzi's recruiting territory helps.

MSU was lucky in 2007 in the mist of that 4-8 season. That class had a lot of hits with underrated recruits. On defense that included Greg Jones, Kevin Pickelman, and Chris L Rucker.

2008 was similar to 2007 although less stars. Trenton Robinson was a 2* from Bay City, and ended up being a multi-year starter at safety and an NFL contract. His best two other offers were Cincinnati and Indiana. Johnny Adams was a 3* from Akron (beat WVU and Syracuse) and a starting corner and was drafted late. Both were smaller than what MSU likes today, but they were tough and could play. Narduzzi recruited them. Jerel Worthy was surprising overlooked as a 3* from Huber Heights. Nebraska and MSU saw him. He was in the league. Tyler Hoover was not overlooked as a 3* with UM and Wisconsin offering.

2009 (year after 9-3) was when things were really starting to pick up. It was also a strong in-state talent year. MSU was ranked 17th and it was a good class.

2010 (year after 6-6) was supposedly a "step back" but was the best Dantonio class at MSU in hindsight. That class was ranked 30th (Pitt 33rd). In reality, that was a top 10 class. Bell, Bullough, Dennard, Drummond (Narduzzi - Ohio), Gholston (5*, Narduzzi - Detroit), Jackson, Langford, Lewis, Lippett, Mumphrey, and Rush were multi-year starters, many of whom were all-conference and all-American.

All those classes were heavily laden with in-state and Ohio players. There were a few Florida, Georgia, Indiana, DC area, and other area players as well. Later on after more consistent success, MSU expanded back into Illinois and Pennsylvania again.

I expect a lot of Pennsylvania, Ohio, and New Jersey players going to Pitt, along with the occasional Floridian and Michigander as Narduzzi recruited those areas. Looking at the latest offer list, I'm not surprised to see DC/Maryland/Virginia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. I am surprised a little to see Connecticut and Louisiana, although not as much the Carolinas (ACC).
And this year MSU is reaping the benefit of all that winning on the recruiting trail--having their best recruiting year ever. 15 commits by star prospects already and counting, a top 5-7 class right now. Messiah DeWeaver has been working the phones and social media personally to get other star players in the 2015 class to come to MSU.
 
This thread makes it seem no one listened to Chris Peak's weekly pantherlair radio report for Thursday (June 4). He seems incredibly optimistic on Narduzzi's current recruiting efforts. He seems to think Narduzzi has a good shot at all but 1 or 2 of the top wpial kids. But; then, maybe he is wearing those rose colored glasses with the blue and gold frames? Or, from an alternative point of view, maybe he hasn't been drinking enough Mon water lately to maintain the proper level of negativity and pessimism?.
 
Some good stuff in this thread.

Angst being expressed is the result of a couple intertwined factors/misperceptions:

Our last guy was nearly moribund in his public recruiting and marketing PR.

Our new guy is a lot more active in those areas.

This apes (pun not intended but delicious) the new guy to the North East, who was also much louder and in your face than his own predecessors.

He got immediate, impressive results, even before coaching a game.

... so, many of us concluded that this is all it takes, and expected similar.

The problem is, the two programs are rotten apples to mushy oranges, in terms of booster heft and complicit administrations, not to mention media support. And, yeah, things like zealous fanbases, and willingness to win at all costs too.

Things some of us may find repugnant are very, very attractive to some recruits ... and the higher ranked tend to include a higher percentage of those. Football is a dirty game, and the best coaches and players tend to be type-A individuals that ain't gonna win too many congeniality contests.

Our guy has good credentials, aggressive spirit, all that ... and may yet be far more successful than predecessors in recruiting, and I'm glad he's trying harder than the previous guy (sheesh, he'd better, given the low bar).

But absent the built in support system Franklin had behind him coming in, should have tempered outrageously high expectations. Lots of tweets and a few more public appearances don't replace a private plane and helicopter, not to mention whatever is pressed into the hand of the recruits, their dads, their high school coaches etc. when the coach strides in.

A big misperception is we amped up financial and 'morality' commitment with Duz. But that's faulty. In critical areas, we're still playing the rest of the game in a cast and blindfolded.

It's not to say he can't end up making us as solid as MSU, but unrealistic to expect a huge splash until he surprises recruits with big wins in real games. It's the only way a poor / cheap program can seem attractive to guys used to wining and dining from a monster program.

And even then, may not be enough. Look at Robert Foster. Pitt seemed to do all needed effort with him, including (per rumors) forgiving his poor grades. Yet all it took was one quick phone call from a Saban flunky to his dad (promising ... God only knows??? ... but an amount Pitt couldn't, that's for sure) to sway the commit immediately, even with the whole family in Pitt garb at the presser and the kid in tears.

That's what we're dealing with.
 
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My suspicion, based on our head coach's history at Michigan State, is that the staff will recruit a lot like its oft-maligned predecessors.

I also predict that a number of posters on this board will never admit that.

Finally, I have no problem with that approach as I think it is a wise one for school in our position.

I do not care how many recruits Pitt has a full six months before National Signing Day. What I do care about is that Pitt has a number of good athletes signed by February of next year.

A lot of people don't want to face this reality but the University of Pittsburgh is not going to be a perennial top 10–20 recruiting school until it's game day atmosphere is at least in the top 30. Right now, it is probably not in the top 75.

Our facilities are mediocre and located off campus. The university is located in an urban region and its teams play fourth fiddle to the local pro teams.

What I would like to see as for Pitt to do very well in the WPIAL and PIAA. Then, I would like to see them do reasonably well in the neighboring states of Ohio, New Jersey, and Maryland/metro DC. Also, I would like to see them cherry pick some under the radar prospects from Sunbelt states – namely Florida.

Finally, I would like to see them redshirt and develop almost every single kid they sign. Literally, for me, it would be the more redshirts the better.

That is the recipe Pitt needs to follow to succeed. Most of the rest of what people try to tell you is either pie in the sky bullshitt or simply uninformed rhetoric.
It's fairly clear that those thinking we'll be reeling in scores of All-American recruits...are going to be very disappointed.
 
My suspicion, based on our head coach's history at Michigan State, is that the staff will recruit a lot like its oft-maligned predecessors.

I also predict that a number of posters on this board will never admit that.

I predict that Narduzzi will do very well with PC's recruits and that there are more than a few people who will never admit to that either.
 
Good post- some really good information-

I edited your post to show, if you read between the lines, Narduzzi and Dontonio were not so much lucky at MSU with the unheralded recruits they landed as they were brilliant at seeing talent where other coaches could not or possibly just amazing at teaching kids without elite talent to play at a much higher level. Or both. No matter what the truth really is, it ought to make Pitt fans feel good about what PN is capable of doing in terns of landing and coaching players.

I only mentioned luck because it was outside of Mark Dell (4* receiver and John L Smith recruit kept on by Dantonio), basically a 2 month recruiting class, but it really wasn't luck since Cincinnati back then recruits much of the same area MSU recruits (Ohio and Michigan).

The 2008 class at this point had 1 commitment, 3 by the end of June. Hoover was a major recruit and picked MSU over UM. After that, things started to take off in August when 4* Fred Smith committed picking MSU over UM and Wisconsin, which wasn't common in those days. Smith wasn't a star at MSU, but it was much needed recruiting momentum.

Hopefully Pitt can hang on to Butler and keep him away from Ohio State or State Penn. One problem that MSU had to deal with early on is bird-dogging for (especially) Ohio State and other schools. They offer early and Ohio State (or occasionally SEC) swoops in and takes the player.
 
I'm not happy with it either but I think a lot of it has to do with Narduzzi going after bigger fish and not offering any player that Toledo and Bowling Green covet. This could backfire of course but Narduzzi has more confidence in his recruiting. I think he believes he can land the big names and not have to settle for MAC recruits. Whereas, Chryst basically got a bunch of MAC recruits and believed he could coach them up.

You realize Macvittie and Ford have mostly MAC offers (i.e. teams like Toledo and Bowling Green). Some of our offers as of late have been to kids with limited offers or low level teams as well. I'm not saying we are not going to land a lot of good kids, but I don't think the reason for our slow start is waiting on bigger fish like you say.
 
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