4 Star Recruits

[TheSpecialSauce]

At least 1 of the major recruiting sites has these guys rated as 4 stars. Keep the faith fellow Pitt fans.

Israel Abinkanda, RB
Henry Parrish, RB
Jaylon Barden, WR
Aydin Heinningham, WR
Jordan Addison, WR
Branson Taylor, OT
Dayon Hayes, DE
Bangally Kamara, LB
Jahvante Royal, S

 

[pittmeister]

A small correction... Sadly, Aydin Henningham lost his 4th star and is now a high 3 star player on the recruiting sites (Rivals, 247, ESPN)

 

[Pitt1992]

Parrish decommitted

 

[boseman7]

Parrish decommitted

Uh oh.

 

[superstein61a]

Uh oh.

He hasn't been committed for months except on paper. This is the biggest non surprise around

 

[pittdan77]

He hasn't been committed for months except on paper. This is the biggest non surprise around

Those official visits elsewhere seemed suspicious.

 

[HailToPitt1985]

Narduzzi better pick up his recruiting in a hurry if he expects to win more than 7 games a year. The current class doesn’t cut it.

 

[pittdan77]

Narduzzi better pick up his recruiting in a hurry if he expects to win more than 7 games a year. The current class doesn’t cut it.

This is sarcasm, right?

 

[PantherO]

I really like the fact the incoming (hopefully) WR are highly regarded. I am assuming that means they can catch the ball. That will help since we are a passing offense.

 

[pittmeister]

This is sarcasm, right?

I hope this is sarcasm...

 

[HailToPitt1985]

This is sarcasm, right?

LOL! You tell me.

 

[pittmeister]

LOL! You tell me.

LOL! No, how about you telling us...

 

[bladerunner1204]

For me, the difference between a 3-4 star and a 4-5 star are the intangibles. They can all run. They can all catch. They can all jump, block, and tackle. The extra 'star' to me is the most important, because IMO it speaks to things like:

- How do they think?
- Are they disciplined?
- Are they leaders?
- Do they accept coaching?
- How do they react to pressure?
- Whats the work ethic?
- Are they consistent in their approach to the game and their development?
- Are they committed to perpetual improvement.

That's just how I look at the world. Most of these kids are good athletes - in the gym or on the track they'd impress all of us. Most of them work hard "most" of the time. Most of them pass the "eye test" but you have to dig deeper and that's really the art of recruiting, because the kids with the intangibles have lots of options. You're competing with the big dogs at that point, who are happy to get 4's to augment their 5's.

A mix of 3-4 star guys, weighted towards three gets you about what we have right now. A team that is largely mediocre but shows flashes of brilliance. Weight it towards four probably gets you the Miami game and the BC game. Maybe Virginia. Its how we can beat a team like Clemson from time to time, or compete with PSU down to the last possession, but it's also how we can struggle with Delaware. Pitts not going to get many, if any, 5-star guys, but if Narduzzi can shift the balance towards 4-star guys it should move the needle in a meaningful way PROVIDED the coaching is there to mold it into a cohesive team.

 

[NCanton Panther]

For me, the difference between a 3-4 star and a 4-5 star are the intangibles. They can all run. They can all catch. They can all jump, block, and tackle. The extra 'star' to me is the most important, because IMO it speaks to things like:

- How do they think?
- Are they disciplined?
- Are they leaders?
- Do they accept coaching?
- How do they react to pressure?
- Whats the work ethic?
- Are they consistent in their approach to the game and their development?
- Are they committed to perpetual improvement.

That's just how I look at the world. Most of these kids are good athletes - in the gym or on the track they'd impress all of us. Most of them work hard "most" of the time. Most of them pass the "eye test" but you have to dig deeper and that's really the art of recruiting, because the kids with the intangibles have lots of options. You're competing with the big dogs at that point, who are happy to get 4's to augment their 5's.

A mix of 3-4 star guys, weighted towards three gets you about what we have right now. A team that is largely mediocre but shows flashes of brilliance. Weight it towards four probably gets you the Miami game and the BC game. Maybe Virginia. Its how we can beat a team like Clemson from time to time, or compete with PSU down to the last possession, but it's also how we can struggle with Delaware. Pitts not going to get many, if any, 5-star guys, but if Narduzzi can shift the balance towards 4-star guys it should move the needle in a meaningful way PROVIDED the coaching is there to mold it into a cohesive team.

Do you really think these recruiting services that hand out these stars are digging deeper to assess all these qualities you listed and that’s why they were given 5 stars??

 

[King Of All Message Boards]

Do you really think these recruiting services that hand out these stars are digging deeper to assess all these qualities you listed and that’s why they were given 5 stars??

In a word....nope.

 

[SoufOaklin4Life]

I find it interesting that folks will Cherry pick to spin a class better than it seems - but not consider the same criteria for others

here’s a simple rule of thumb

if you are posting on a forum- use their ranking

if you’re going to celebrate recruiting - show how we compare to conference peers

are we gaining ground or merely treading water ?

 

[pittdoc57]

The only digging Rivals does is to see how many Rivals camps these kids attend. Some of the rating disparities are ridiculous.

 

[thebadby2]

This is sarcasm, right?

What's sarcastic about it? Where are the QB, TEs and OLs in the class? You think our current roster is solid at those spots? We have 15 verbals in this class. 6 of them play offense. Last year it was 8 out of 19. In 2018 it was 7 out of 20--and two of them are gone, including the top rated one. This year, we finally had a strong defense with quality depth. The offense was one of the worst in the country. You starting to see the problem here? This is similar to Chryst where only one side of the ball was being properly addressed through recruiting.

Duzz had better find a way to add some quality at those positions in this class if he wants to do better than #125 of 130 in scoring average. If I were him I'd prioritize the best 2-3 grad transfer QBs that can play immediately, preferably with 2 years left, and give them the hard sell. If Pickett can beat a strong grad tranny out in the spring and fall, great, we know that Pickett is the guy and we've done the best we can at QB. If not, we will have a better player at QB, and we need a better QB than we had this past season.

 

[SoufOaklin4Life]

The only digging Rivals does is to see how many Rivals camps these kids attend. Some of the rating disparities are ridiculous.

Not really

if that’s the case use only composite rankings for your comparison .

how does our composite class rank among the acc composite rankings ?

We are 8 out of 15 teams with 2 four stars

it’s thoroughly a mediocre class
https://247sports.com/Season/2020-Football/CompositeTeamRankings/?Conference=ACC

 

[pittdan77]

What's sarcastic about it? Where are the QB, TEs and OLs in the class? You think our current roster is solid at those spots? We have 15 verbals in this class. 6 of them play offense. Last year it was 8 out of 19. In 2018 it was 7 out of 20--and two of them are gone, including the top rated one. This year, we finally had a strong defense with quality depth. The offense was one of the worst in the country. You starting to see the problem here? This is similar to Chryst where only one side of the ball was being properly addressed through recruiting.

Duzz had better find a way to add some quality at those positions in this class if he wants to do better than #125 of 130 in scoring average. If I were him I'd prioritize the best 2-3 grad transfer QBs that can play immediately, preferably with 2 years left, and give them the hard sell. If Pickett can beat a strong grad tranny out in the spring and fall, great, we know that Pickett is the guy and we've done the best we can at QB. If not, we will have a better player at QB, and we need a better QB than we had this past season.

TE is a problem. Probably going after a grad transfer but Allen Horace looks like he likes Pitt and might commit. There are two big OL-men in the class that are very well regarded and had great offer sheets. I’m not sure what you expect Pitt to do at QB. The kid that is the heir apparent was a RS and probably made other QB’s a little less likely to want to come here.

The other issue, this was going to be a small class so they had to be smart about who they were going after. It’s a good class considering and this morning’s ranking is a product of the class size as much as anything. With the class composite average, this is potentially a top 25 caliber class if there were 22 players in it.

 

[rmf05]

Recruiting is getting better. The bad news is that this staff still isn't cl9sing ground on their ACC rivals. At best, we're stuck in a rut. If we don't win 10 games next year, we never will. If we don't go sub-.500 Narduzzi will get at least 2 more years.

 

[HopeandChangeforAntoons]

For me, the difference between a 3-4 star and a 4-5 star are the intangibles. They can all run. They can all catch. They can all jump, block, and tackle. The extra 'star' to me is the most important, because IMO it speaks to things like:

- How do they think?
- Are they disciplined?
- Are they leaders?
- Do they accept coaching?
- How do they react to pressure?
- Whats the work ethic?
- Are they consistent in their approach to the game and their development?
- Are they committed to perpetual improvement.

That's just how I look at the world. Most of these kids are good athletes - in the gym or on the track they'd impress all of us. Most of them work hard "most" of the time. Most of them pass the "eye test" but you have to dig deeper and that's really the art of recruiting, because the kids with the intangibles have lots of options. You're competing with the big dogs at that point, who are happy to get 4's to augment their 5's.

A mix of 3-4 star guys, weighted towards three gets you about what we have right now. A team that is largely mediocre but shows flashes of brilliance. Weight it towards four probably gets you the Miami game and the BC game. Maybe Virginia. Its how we can beat a team like Clemson from time to time, or compete with PSU down to the last possession, but it's also how we can struggle with Delaware. Pitts not going to get many, if any, 5-star guys, but if Narduzzi can shift the balance towards 4-star guys it should move the needle in a meaningful way PROVIDED the coaching is there to mold it into a cohesive team.

I'd say that you have it exactly backwards. Those things might be what makes a kid a great player. But the recruiting ranking is based more upon physical skill, measurables and camp performance than any of that stuff. Every year there are 5-star kids that dominate physically yet don't have the qualities that you list, so they fail to live up to their rank.

 

[Pitt1992]

i think this class is pretty much what its going to be, they might add a TE, that QB is going to FSU it looks like now

 

[PittFanDan17]

If i am a top ranked TE the better question is "Why wouldn't a commit to Pitt?". We don't have ANY. You can come to one of the top schools in the FBS and play in the best football conference, and did i mention we dont have any TEs? They would play right away.

 

[Joe Magarac]

What's sarcastic about it? Where are the QB, TEs and OLs in the class? You think our current roster is solid at those spots? We have 15 verbals in this class. 6 of them play offense. Last year it was 8 out of 19. In 2018 it was 7 out of 20--and two of them are gone, including the top rated one. This year, we finally had a strong defense with quality depth. The offense was one of the worst in the country. You starting to see the problem here? This is similar to Chryst where only one side of the ball was being properly addressed through recruiting.

Duzz had better find a way to add some quality at those positions in this class if he wants to do better than #125 of 130 in scoring average. If I were him I'd prioritize the best 2-3 grad transfer QBs that can play immediately, preferably with 2 years left, and give them the hard sell. If Pickett can beat a strong grad tranny out in the spring and fall, great, we know that Pickett is the guy and we've done the best we can at QB. If not, we will have a better player at QB, and we need a better QB than we had this past season.

Maybe our illustrious head coach is planning to have the defense on the field for 60 minutes. That way Pitt’s chances of scoring a touchdown increase exponentially.

 

[pittmeister]

I find it interesting that folks will Cherry pick to spin a class better than it seems - but not consider the same criteria for others

here’s a simple rule of thumb

if you are posting on a forum- use their ranking

if you’re going to celebrate recruiting - show how we compare to conference peers

are we gaining ground or merely treading water ?

Here’s our rule of thumb...

1. One recruiting website is no better than the other, so reference all of them. Don’t cherry pick
2. Always take the other side of the argument when dealing with soufie. That way, you‘ll always be right...

 

[Pitt1992]

i dont really care where someone is ranked or how many stars someone has, the recruiting sites work for the big schools

 

[SoufOaklin4Life]

Here’s our rule of thumb...

1. One recruiting website is no better than the other, so reference all of them. Don’t cherry pick
2. Always take the other side of the argument when dealing with soufie. That way, you‘ll always be right...

Yep
Things are going terrific with Pitt football
Narduzzi is doing great

 

[PittFamily2]

A small correction... Sadly, Aydin Henningham lost his 4th star and is now a high 3 star player on the recruiting sites (Rivals, 247, ESPN)

How does that happen when HS football for the most part is done.

If he was a four star at season end he should be a four star today.

I'd throw a flag. Since the call on the field determined he was a four star I'd demand conclusive video evidence that he's not.

Lol.

Watch one day soon this will come to stuff like that or legal challenges since the star BS can mean Ohio St or Rutgers. Big difference.

 

[PITTDAD60]

Narduzzi better pick up his recruiting in a hurry if he expects to win more than 7 games a year. The current class doesn’t cut it.

If Duzz wins only 7 games next year, Heather should look for a Capel type football coach. I'm sure she can find one

 

[HailToPitt1985]

If Duzz wins only 7 games next year, Heather should look for a Capel type football coach. I'm sure she can find one

That's a concern, for sure. If he's supposed to be getting better recruits now, let's see what he can do with them on the field to develop them. 7 or less wins next year won't fly.

My other concern is that the recruits are all they're hyped to be. It happens.

 

[Weavedog469]

If i am a top ranked TE the better question is "Why wouldn't a commit to Pitt?". We don't have ANY. You can come to one of the top schools in the FBS and play in the best football conference, and did i mention we dont have any TEs? They would play right away.

Did you just refer to us as one of the top schools in the FBS and and in the best conference lol

 

[PittFanDan17]

Did you just refer to us as one of the top schools in the FBS and and in the best conference lol

Meant academically, which we 100% are. And which conference is home to the defending national champion? Who? ACC. Next.