I think they will be. Plus with the changes at Wisky/Nebraska, I wouldn't be surprised if there is flips there.
Brice pollack
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An NC State collective is giving every scholarship player $25k next year. You hear the same at Tex Tech, and there are more. That's just the here's money for everyone on scholarship stuff, not including any other deals. Imagine what the schools who punch above those weight classes are doing.
Problem I have with relying too heavily on the portal is that you're building a large percentage of your team with guys who got a look elsewhere aren't weren't good enough to cut it. So yeah... maybe we can have our Lucas Krull. But Florida gets Kyle Pitts. And we can have Shayne Simon, but ND has 3-5 linebackers who are better. And we can have Nolan Ulizio, but Michigan has multiple linemen who are better.
That's okay when you're just filling in a position here or there. But the larger the percentage of your team that is built that way is, the farther you are behind the big boys. At least when we were throwing heavier numbers at high school recruiting, there was a better chance WE were going to get the guys other teams coveted: Kancey, Pickett, Addision, Izzy, etc. And yeah, there will always be nuances/exceptions and some guys will come up from lesser leagues, etc. And I also get that you don't have to be all that great to compete in the ACC. I just don't love the idea of building the bulk of our team like that.
Pity can't fix nil under the current rules. Big donors can.
There is a school of thought that the 5-6th year player is the key in the portal. The kid who is mature who is trying to get film for the league. The DJ Turner type. I think it's another way of doing recruiting like Wisky used to do when it seemed like all of their OL were 5th year players and everyone was wondering how they could run the ball so well for only be 2-3 star types coming out of HS.
Jamie Dixon said it was key for PITT to retain guys for 4-5 years.
Jamie Dixon said it was key for PITT to retain guys for 4-5 years.
I don't know; I keep coming back to the teams ahead of us. TCU, Kansas State, BC, Wake Forest, Duke, Iowa State, Purdue, Northwestern, Illinois, Vanderbilt, Minnesota, Stanfod, etc. Some of those programs received their last rites years ago. I can't be convinced that they're all playing a game that Pitt can't.
That was then. Anymore, those dudes aren't sticking around to wait their turns for that long when they can transfer without having to sit out a year. Plus, we basically did that in 2018. There was a pretty definitive ceiling that came with it. Herndon, Dintino, Millin, Morsissey, and Bookser got one hell of a push against Syracuse, Virginia Tech, Virginia, Duke, etc. The problem was that any time they had to face a team that actually had good players (regardless of how old they were), the results were pretty much the same: 6 points against Penn State, 7 offensive points against Notre Dame, 10 points against Clemson, 3 points against Miami.
We were also predicted to finish 5th in the Coastal that year.
We ended up playing for the ACC Championship..
I have no doubt that we can beat Syracuse, GT Tech, Wake Forest, Duke, Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Albany most seasons by operating that way. Honestly, I don't.
You’re definitely making an assumption because these level of kids aren’t part of a bidding war
It’s damned silly
Our recruiting sucks because out recruiting has never been good under Duzz
It’s a baked in excuse for some here -because the truth that pitt isn’t a destination and our coaches aren’t selling well
I would go after good players who want an opportunity to play but are stuck behind someone on the depth chart at an SEC school, Michigan, or Ohio St of the world. Someone with a chip on their shoulder who can play. I’d much prefer putting our NIL $ towards this player than a high 3 star freshman recruit. Guys like Tyler Wiltz and Steph Millin were very good players from lower level schools. That is another avenue to pursue.
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So you want to pay Ryan Jacoby, Brandon Hodges, Nolan Ulizio, Dwayne Hendrix, Will Gragg, Bub Means, etc. to come here? I hate to break it to you, but that ain't fixing this. I don't care if there's an entire Lays factory on their shoulders. We'll get a Krull or Kylan Johnson every now and then. Not nearly often enough, but sometimes.
Transfers under Narduzzi
Nate Peterman
Marcus Minor
Taysir Mack
DJ Turner
Steph Millin
Ryan Jacoby
C’Bo Flemeister
Lucas Krull
Kylan Johnson
Tyler Wiltz
Shayne Simon
MJ Devonshire
Konata Mumpfield
Bub Means
John Petrishen
Yes, and Peteishen and Devonshire. And then about 40 more who sucked. Do you think you can sustain a high-level team with those guys? Where is Addison, Pickett, Izzy, Ollison, Boyd, Conner, Johnson, Biz, Whitehead, Hamlin, etc.?
As I've said 100 times, those guys are great to rely on to plug a hole here and there. But if you're relying on them to build your team, you're basically Syracuse. Everybody has some good players. You need special ones, too. And most of those are coming the old-fashioned way. If they were THAT good, they wouldn't have been in the portal and/or came to Pitt.
My God... Some of those guys weren't even starters on mediocre teams.
It's reality, not an excuse. Pitt's never been a destination, and the coaches only sold when they had money to buy. That's the truth.
How many incoming freshman never make the 2-deep? Who cares where a kid came from or how he got to Pitt if he’s making plays on the field? NIL and immediate eligibility have changed the game forever.
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The extra Covid year basically eliminated an entire recruiting class, so the extra 2,500 - 3,000 guys who would have otherwise played FBS should help offset that a bit.
Decisions, decisions....
Pitt or NC State + $25k yearly roster bonus
Pitt or NC State + $25k yearly roster bonus
Pitt or NC State + $25k yearly roster bonus
Pitt or NC State + $25k yearly roster bonus
Explain to me what is distinguishing Pitt vs NC State here. Basically clones of one another. Some coach who acts cool, or the potential for $100k in spending cash while in school? Yes, even for a measly 2 or low 3 star.
The ACC in general is behind on NIL, and Pitt is likely near the bottom of the ACC just like it is in donations.
Pitt or NC State + $25k yearly roster bonus
Pitt or NC State + $25k yearly roster bonus
Pitt or NC State + $25k yearly roster bonus
Pitt or NC State + $25k yearly roster bonus
Explain to me what is distinguishing Pitt vs NC State here. Basically clones of one another. Some coach who acts cool, or the potential for $100k in spending cash while in school? Yes, even for a measly 2 or low 3 star.
The ACC in general is behind on NIL, and Pitt is likely near the bottom of the ACC just like it is in donations.
One thing I'd like to see us do in recruiting is start offering the best OL out of the WPIAL regardless of size. Granted someone at least 6'1-6'2, 245lbs+ but develop him into a center.
I'd also like to see the big TE types who can block that are undersized for OL but are athletic and be developed into OL.
I'd also like to see the big TE types who can block that are undersized for OL but are athletic and be developed into OL.
This summer I was talking to the coaches at St. Francis and they said they've worked so hard to become a respectable program and now they're in limbo because of the portal.
I still can’t figure out why more schools weren’t after Greg Smith - SV. The kid was dominant the couple times I saw him and he lived in the backfield last week.
Depends on your perspective. I think Pitt's recruiting has been very good under Duzz. He & his staff have done a great job at finding talent and developing players. Just because they don't sign 4 star guys or compete with bigger brand schools often doesn't mean the recruiting hasn't been pretty good.
I think thats a winning formula at Pitt, tbh. Pitt isn't going to fare well if they chase stars or try to battle with the blue-bloods.
McKenzie, total flop. I think Hull & Yancich were backups mostly. It has been repeated often but how many that left were true misses? The ones I regret the most were Pozluzny & Lee, positions of need that were the real deal
Well I agree with that
But now This recruiting class is falling apart following a less than good one .
But listen - we lost to 3 acc teams in a historically Terrible acc
Losing 5 or 6 guys is hardly falling apart. Just about every staff has contingency plans and are braced to lose up to half their early commits. It's an accepted part of the process and every staff over plans for it.
LSU just recently had a kid flip to a school without a coach. Has nothing to do with how your program is perceived.
Pitt needs Tepper and other uber wealthy alums to establish a $100 million endowment, that can generate $5 million per year to make it worthwhile for the athletes.
Makes no sense.. If he works at it in college, he might be the best prospect in PA.
I saw him last year vs. Clairton and I was shocked at his mobility at that size.
I have no idea why he hasn't caught on.
Another one that I'd look at is Neco Eberhart from Quip. I know I said I'd recruit smaller OL and develop them. But, I think he could be a stud center or guard.
So you think losing 25-30% of the class isn’t falling apart ?
What they hell fantasy land do you live in !
Okay, so, putting all this together:
You want to build a program predominantly out of guys who initially get paid big money to these big schools, go there for 2-4 years, are determined to not be good enough, and the transfer to Pitt.
Here's the problem with the idea that we can build this magical fairytale team from the transfer portal:
Proven commodities are getting even bigger NIL deals than most recruits. So Pitt is going to be even more behind the 8-ball in the transfer portal. It's not like it's some niche market we can master while everyone else is out recruiting high schoolers. No - we're legitimately going to get these schools' discarded trash. Legit, solidified backups, just as I described. And probably not even ones on the two-deep.
As I've said, that's totally fine for 5-10 roster spots. But you aren't winning jack if that's your primary business model.
You know what works better? Recruiting guys in the range of Damarri Mathis, Jalyen Twyman, Kenny Pickett, Dayon Hayes, etc. Guys in that 400-800 national ranking range. And then maybe sprinkling in an Addison and/or Izzy here and there. Even if you can't get the latter, at least get the former. My God. If we can't do that, then we absolutely need to drop down a level.
