Article from my local paper. My paper is behind a paywall so I found this free one.
The surest way to the ACC title game is to stick with homegrown QBs
The surest way to the ACC title game is to stick with homegrown QBs
Best QBs are home-grown
- Thread starter NCPitt
- Start date
My philosophy is to over recruit the QB position and then find the best guy. Don't necessarily need 4 and 5 stars. Let those who aren't good enough or second best transfer somewhere else, I'd they desire. The numbers will take care of themselves.
It was obvious to me that Pickett had the ability to be an excellent QB very early on. That's what we want. Vileaux has also shown that he can be a good QB for Pitt. I think think Jurkovec has ever shown much, and it's still befuddling why he was even brought in, let alone remained the starter.
It was obvious to me that Pickett had the ability to be an excellent QB very early on. That's what we want. Vileaux has also shown that he can be a good QB for Pitt. I think think Jurkovec has ever shown much, and it's still befuddling why he was even brought in, let alone remained the starter.
This has always been the best way for a team like Pitt.
The trick is recruiting them out of HS. That has proven to be pretty difficult for PItt.
Going back to the portal year after year hurts prep school recruiting because we're taking these upperclassmen in for a year to start over the youngsters we have in the pipeline.
That becomes something other teams use against you when you're in on a decent QB prospect.
We need to break the cycle of going to the portal every year for our QB.
The trick is recruiting them out of HS. That has proven to be pretty difficult for PItt.
Going back to the portal year after year hurts prep school recruiting because we're taking these upperclassmen in for a year to start over the youngsters we have in the pipeline.
That becomes something other teams use against you when you're in on a decent QB prospect.
We need to break the cycle of going to the portal every year for our QB.
Also, a good high school QB who has NFL dreams doesn't want to go somewhere with a boring offense, where the head coach complains that passing too much is a bad thing, to become a hand off monkey.
No need to make any grand declarations one way or the other.
Transfers:
Michael Pennix
Caleb Williams
Bo Nix
Jordan Travis
Quinn Ewers
Dillon Gabriel
Jayden Daniels
Jaxson Dart
Sam Hartman
Shedeur Sanders
Etc.
I mean, I think Pitt's best chance to land good players is via recruiting, but to say the best QB's are homegrown because of some silly ACC stat is kind of just ignoring reality. Baker Mayfield, Joe Burrow, Cam Newton, Jameis Winston, Jalen Hurts... the list goes on, and that's even in spite of the fact that transfers at the numbers we're seeing today are a fairly new phenomenon.
Transfers:
Michael Pennix
Caleb Williams
Bo Nix
Jordan Travis
Quinn Ewers
Dillon Gabriel
Jayden Daniels
Jaxson Dart
Sam Hartman
Shedeur Sanders
Etc.
I mean, I think Pitt's best chance to land good players is via recruiting, but to say the best QB's are homegrown because of some silly ACC stat is kind of just ignoring reality. Baker Mayfield, Joe Burrow, Cam Newton, Jameis Winston, Jalen Hurts... the list goes on, and that's even in spite of the fact that transfers at the numbers we're seeing today are a fairly new phenomenon.
Those aren't the kind of QB's who transfer to Pitt. Remember we said for a team LIKE PITT!!
2013 - 138.20
2014 - 140.20
2015 - 139.00
2016 - 163.40
2018 - 120.30
2019 - 122.40
2020 - 129.60
2021 - 165.30
2022 - 127.10
I'm too lazy to do the math for 2017, which had multiple starters. Here is the quarterback rating for the predominant starter in each year since we joined the ACC. Generic average (i.e. not factoring in number of plays) tells me:
Transfer average = 141.93
Homegrown average = 135.56
"But I reckon we had one good year with 'er own tomata seed, so these numbers can't be real!"
Of course this year will knock the number down a few pegs for the transfer totals, but the season isn't over yet.
Of course, because as stated above, Pitt hasn't recruited the QB position worth a $hit for HS kids.
We're always scrambling to fill the most important position on the field with someone else's castoff.
Maybe if we could recruit a solid HS kid, sign him, and have him stick for 3 or 4 years, those numbers would flip?
Wasn't that the formula for Pickett, which produced 3 out of the worst 4 years on the list?
Again, I'm not saying one way or the other is better. I just think it's unclear to a point where grand declarations are probably unfounded. You bring in the best talent you can - from all outlets - and let it sort itself out.
Savage and Peterman where pretty good, both made it to the NFL and played well for Pitt.
The article was about the ACC. Of the QBs you listed, only 1 was in the ACC and he has been at FSU for 5 years.
The article just shrugged off Peterman when he’s arguably a top 5 QB in Pitt history.
He's been bad when he's played in the NFL, but he's still hanging around there, at Pitt he was pretty good, good stats, winning seasons, beat NC team Clemson in 2016, I thought he was one of our better QBs
Our handoff monkey threw the ball 45 times in his second start.
Now tell us about Drew Allar & JJ McCarthy.
Transfers seem inevitable to continue. But we need to jettison the whole approach. The offensive philosophy of Duz, the crappy washed up failed OC, and the dud 5th year transfers doomed to fail like Slovis and Jurk.
This offense and the general Duz philosophy can’t succeed without superlative recruiting, and he’s unable to provide that (not even close to it).
So we need an overhaul of the offense… a 180 from Duz’s instincts … RPO. Gadget-heavy. Crazy formations. Tons of motion. And FAST. Everyone fast as hell, even the linemen (for zone blocking).
And savvy to find our QB Transfers not from the top of the P5 (where they have proven to be washed up failures) but from the ranks of the G5, FCS, even Jucos. Scour those racks. Find the most driven kid with a chip on his shoulder from being overlooked.
This offense and the general Duz philosophy can’t succeed without superlative recruiting, and he’s unable to provide that (not even close to it).
So we need an overhaul of the offense… a 180 from Duz’s instincts … RPO. Gadget-heavy. Crazy formations. Tons of motion. And FAST. Everyone fast as hell, even the linemen (for zone blocking).
And savvy to find our QB Transfers not from the top of the P5 (where they have proven to be washed up failures) but from the ranks of the G5, FCS, even Jucos. Scour those racks. Find the most driven kid with a chip on his shoulder from being overlooked.
But that's not what Duzz wants, I'm sure he was upset and plans to "correct" that.
Sure it is, a Power Conference Championship and 11-3 season, #13 ranking is success without superior recruiting.
Pitt had superior recruiting. 6 players were drafted in the 23 draft. Kenny was the first QB selected in the 22 draft & Addison was obviously a talent.
Pitt had superior talent compared to their opponent a lot in the last 2 seasons. Not the case this year.
Great. And where did those QB's go? Not Pitt. It's clear that there is going to be very good QB talent in the portal every year. Unfortunately, Pitt isn't particularly well positioned (either in terms of NIL or offensive scheme) to land those types of players.
Right, we should only recruit quarterbacks from now on. Because...
Nick Patti
Davis Beville
None
Nate Yarnell
Ty Dieffenbach
Julian Dugger
At last, we can stop stressing about transfers and enjoy the fruits of our recruiting labors.
He might just mean it’s inevitable to keep taking transfers QBs because decent prep QBs want nothing to do with us … but that there’s no prayer in getting the kind of big star quality transfer QBs you are listing. But it’s proven that taking the big star LOSER transfers that would consider us, like Slovis and Jurk are (literally) a losing proposition.
So there’s really no other solution than to go after high achieving G5 or FCS transfer QBs. Those kind tend not to be the classic tall strapping pro style QB, however; they are usually smaller, mobile, RPO types. So that’s the kind of offense we need to gravitate to, one that has success with these types of guys.
Step one: jettison Cig’s tired failure of an ass 30 seconds after the season mercifully ends; and hire an OC good at that kind of offense (likely also from the lower ranks). Step 2: let the new guy loose to scour the small under the radar schools to find his dream guy. Actually, GUYS… bring in at least a couple to compete against each other; competition is critical to success (Slovis and Jurk both sucked after guaranteed the job). If the OC thinks CV or Dugger can be one, that’s fine too (but frankly that’s dubious; ideally, bring in 2 guys who each had success at their former schools)
Duz has to be convinced of this of course. But if he balks, let him walk. Things have changed rapidly, even since as recent as 2021. His preferred way is impossible for success for us, and even he should have his eyes open to that fact after this absolute disaster of a season, which is totally due to this awful offense and OC. With even decent offense, this team is 5-2 or possibly even better. That has to bother even him.
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There is a very good argument that the opposite is true. Sone of the best QBs in history have been transfers
You understand the difference between a coincidence and a cause and effect relationship, right? It's like saying the team that won the world series had a shortstop who hit .230, so our shortstop should be hitting .230.
Clemson, who hasn't believe in/used the transfer portal, has dominated the ACC. That's why the winner hasn't had a transfer: The one team worth a damn hasn't taken transfers. In the years when they didn't have a 1st round pick under center it's cost them those seasons, and their fans are pissed. Sure, they were still good enough to win the ACC.
When FSU wins the conference with a transfer QB, maybe we can squash this debate. There's a good chance next year's winner also has a transfer QB.
I'm not saying they did; I'm saying it's mind-numbingly insane to say, "No transfer quarterback has won the ACC, so we shouldn't take them." Like, they've won national championships, but not the ACC so we better go with our 2-star flip from UNLV instead of, for example, Minchey - a guy with a bunch of arm talent who impressed at Elite 11 - if he gets beaten out by Carr and wants to go elsewhere.
We should recruit high school quarterbacks, and we should recruit transfers. Every single year. We should find the most talented guys we can, regardless of where they come from.
And, like I said, the last three cycles of high school recruiting produced no one, a G5 flip, and a guy who might have had to go FCS if he wanted to play QB and Pitt didn't offer. So we really want that to be our only route for QB acquisition?
You're getting closer to what most of us have been saying for quite some time.
QB recruiting during the Nardawg regime has been putrid!!!
It is indefensible that we suck at recruiting, developing and retaining kids at the most important position on the field!!
We are in on guys, but never, land the best of them.
We end up taking what we can get from the portal. Funny, Slovis was very highly thought of, but Nardawg/Cignetti ruined his chances for success with the offensive scheme.
Jurkovec? LOL
Villeaux........verdict still out.
People complain about TE recruiting?? It sucks too, but QB is way more crucial than any other position. Something has to give here!
I'm fine with MacVittie, Pickett, Patti, Beville over a 4-year period. Obviously only one of them worked out... I'm just saying every QB recruit is an unknown to some degree, so I'm fine with bringing in guys on that level in theory.
But the QB recruiting has fallen off a cliff after that. I agree it needs to improve... by a lot. It's also why I'm not about to put all my eggs in that basket.
It’s a combination of not enough NIL being ponied up for even mediocre recruits and transfers (the better ones want thousands merely to give you a visit now), and the national reputation Pitt now has for having a bad OC and the HC saying … multiple times … that he outright hates exciting offense.
This in only three years since we had a Heisman finalist QB and a bilitnikoff WR. But that’s how fast and cynical things are in this sport. Hire a terrible OC and boast that you want to win every game 11-10, then this is what you are going to get … guys like Jurk and Reynolds
It's hilarious to think that there are people who think this is anything other than the obvious correct path forward.
Is it a 'Burgh Thing as they used to say? Why are we stuck with the most putrid, obsolete, impotent, overly scared/conservative offensive philosophies/attitudes in the entire nation? Both Pitt and the Steelers, why is Yinzer Nation obsessed with "Pawndin' da rock and resting the D to win 13-10"? I'm sick of it! and every time we even threaten to be an open, modern, passing offense, with Walt or Big Ben or Kenny at Pitt, Yinzer Nation and the head Yinzers (Rooneys, Duzz, Wanny, Coach Cahr, Tomlin anyone like them) rushes in to restore the order of impotence asap.
Yeah it is a very silly argument.
I fail to see with the advent of changing OCs every few years why it matters if a qb got experience at another university or at Pitt.
Obviously Phil Jurkovec was n absolute disaster, but the coaches are in practice what the roster is like, if they think bringing someone in gives us a better chance to win then they should
We hired a HC who was a DC in the Big Ten. It was pretty much preordained.
Seriously, the thought is likely that we can’t recruit flashy, high powered offensive players well enough to compete using a flashy high powered offense. That our only chance is to play conservative and win with tough defense.
The problem is that this might have been true in the 1970s but ever since then, the classic tactic of the underdog is usually a creative, dynamic offense that somehow can outscore the bigger power. Like when WMU beat Pitt 45-41 or Toledo beating us when we were ranked 7th back in the day. Nobody in college football today, other than maybe Iowa beating Northwestern, can win 7-6 every week.
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