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Chryst

Slick Manager of Champs

Heisman Candidate
Apr 22, 2007
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I was never in the "He brought stability" camp or he was a "good guy". I thought he was incredibly average here (you are what your record says you are) and the way he left was every bit as bad as Graham. That said, I have to admit I am still surprised at the amount of success he has had at Wisconsin (once again you are what your record says you are, and it says he is pretty good). But now even the recruiting is going into overdrive according to the linked article.

Is Wisky that much of a "plug & play" system? Is their infrastructure that good that someone so average here can have such great success?

 
If the system is recruit great offensive linemen and running backs, then yes, it seems like he got that part right at Pitt and obviously at Wisconsin.
 
In retrospect, I have to agree with everything you wrote.

They like big OL's and do a good job building them. They run the ball well enough to make an okay QB look decent.

I think Whisky benefits from a very strong local loyalty. Kind of like Iowa, in that regard. So when a kid is good enough to play B1G football, he stays home. They recruit well in WI, MN, and IA.

Together, I think they do well to stay ahead of the rest of their division.
 
His tenure here are above average. Fraud left the cupboard bare and the team in disarray! Wiscy was much easier to recruit at that time but it is close now thanks to Duzz and stabilizing the program.
 
Wisconsin is a quality program with 80,000 people per game and coaching consistency. Pitt has had a bunch of dumpster fires with stadium people make fun of and a coaching carousel. Totally the opposite.
 
Wisconsin is a quality program with 80,000 people per game and coaching consistency. Pitt has had a bunch of dumpster fires with stadium people make fun of and a coaching carousel. Totally the opposite.
Comparing urban to rural campus football attendance figures is ridiculous. Also Barry Alvarez is behind alot of their success. H2P!
 
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The man can recruit O lineman with the best of them. A good O line can make an average running back very good and he recruits very good running backs who look great behind those O lines.
 
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His tenure here are above average. Fraud left the cupboard bare and the team in disarray! Wiscy was much easier to recruit at that time but it is close now thanks to Duzz and stabilizing the program.

19-19 record is the definition of average. His recruiting would have been worse if not for the PSU scandal. Guys like Hamlin said they wouldn't have committed to his regime. And if he recruited better and got local guys like Henry, Nicholson and Cox, the defensive backfield wouldn't have been such a sieve in 2016 and it really might have been that elusive special year for Narduzzi.
 
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The man can recruit O lineman with the best of them. A good O line can make an average running back very good and he recruits very good running backs who look great behind those O lines.
It's not just they recruit OLinemen, they really, really have done a great job developing Olinemen. They take alot of 2 stars, and turn them into All Americans and NFL players.
 
It's not just they recruit OLinemen, they really, really have done a great job developing Olinemen. They take alot of 2 stars, and turn them into All Americans and NFL players.

The line here was good, but Dorian Johnson was the best recruit we have had in a long time and didn't make the NFL. Same with Biz. Not much development. Chryst underachieved incredibly here.
 
19-19 record is the definition of average. His recruiting would have been worse if not for the PSU scandal. Guys like Hamlin said they wouldn't have committed to his regime. And if he recruited better and got local guys like Henry, Nicholson and Cox, the defensive backfield wouldn't have been such a sieve in 2016 and it really might have been that elusive special year for Narduzzi.
I agree with you but he probably did as good as one could expect given what he took over. He left Pitt better than he found it IMHO so Chryst is okay with me. Would he have done better than Duzz if he stayed.....I think that's the million dollar question.
 
The line here was good, but Dorian Johnson was the best recruit we have had in a long time and didn't make the NFL. Same with Biz. Not much development. Chryst underachieved incredibly here.
I knew Joe Rudolph wanted the Pitt HC position but lost a commanding league in the bowl game which we eventually lost. Joe does alot of the behind the scenes recruiting and is darn good at it. Well water over the damn and back to the present with Narduzzi. H2P!
 
They put players in the pros !!!!!

They get a handful of really good players from Wisconsin and Chicago area

They can recruit nationally and nab great players from Florida or New Jersey.

They always have a couple of stud running backs.
 
Narduzzi benefited tremendously from the offense that Chryst built - especially the offensive line. I sometimes wonder whether Pitt would have won more games from 2015-2017 with Chryst.
 
Yes true I totally know all about that situation. But have to realize that they're the only game in Madison too. Barry would've been successful here but not as popular due to being in the shadows of the pro sports here in Pittsburgh. Comparing apples to oranges

Don't forget Barry would have had to deal with Ovaltine Jaynes, J Dennis, Briscoe, and the whole cast of losers that was at Pitt in the early to mid 90's. That would have been more the hindrance than being in the shadow of pro-teams.
 
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I was never in the "He brought stability" camp or he was a "good guy". I thought he was incredibly average here (you are what your record says you are) and the way he left was every bit as bad as Graham. That said, I have to admit I am still surprised at the amount of success he has had at Wisconsin (once again you are what your record says you are, and it says he is pretty good). But now even the recruiting is going into overdrive according to the linked article.

Is Wisky that much of a "plug & play" system? Is their infrastructure that good that someone so average here can have such great success?


Playing no P5 games OOC and in a very weak division helped a ton. UW is finally scheduled to playa couple of legit OOC games and B1G West might be a bit better. It should be interesting to see how the padded record holds up.
 
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I understand
Which is how long Narduzzi has been here
The point was Wisconsin had a bunch of churn over 4 years - so it want stable

That's a hiccup for Wisconsin and normalcy for Pitt. 4 coaches over 30 years, and Chryst isn't going anywhere soon.
 
Narduzzi benefited tremendously from the offense that Chryst built - especially the offensive line. I sometimes wonder whether Pitt would have won more games from 2015-2017 with Chryst.

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Narduzzi benefited tremendously from the offense that Chryst built - especially the offensive line. I sometimes wonder whether Pitt would have won more games from 2015-2017 with Chryst.

Look at the QBs that Chryst the "QB Guru" had in the pipeline and who Narduzzi used during that time frame and get back to us. I'll hang up and listen...
 
Yes true I totally know all about that situation. But have to realize that they're the only game in Madison too. Barry would've been successful here but not as popular due to being in the shadows of the pro sports here in Pittsburgh. Comparing apples to oranges

He might have been more successful. The Big East was ripe for the taking and an established coach like Alverez would have been perfect. Maybe he has enough success for keeping the program stronger and rebuilding Pitt Stadium instead of making the big mistake.
 
He might have been more successful. The Big East was ripe for the taking and an established coach like Alverez would have been perfect. Maybe he has enough success for keeping the program stronger and rebuilding Pitt Stadium instead of making the big mistake.

see my above post about the cast of characters that would have been a big road block for Barry.
 
The line here was good, but Dorian Johnson was the best recruit we have had in a long time and didn't make the NFL. Same with Biz. Not much development. Chryst underachieved incredibly here.

Only on a pitt message board would site Dorian Johnson, named all american by several publications, as an underacheivement
 
Only on a pitt message board would site Dorian Johnson, named all american by several publications, as an underacheivement

You are putting words in my mouth.

a) I said Chryst underachieved, not Johnson

b) post I was responding to from Owt said Chryst/Wisky does a great job at developing lineman by taking 2 star kids and turning them into NFL lineman. We didn't see that development here for the most part. Johnson was a 5 star who was very good here but didn't last long in the NFL. If Chryst was such the oline sage then a 5 star prospect should be developed into an NFL all-pro by now.
 
Some of it is just Big Ten money really starting to get returns.
You could write the same article right now about Minnesota.

Money is one way you lift the floor/ceiling of your program. And the Big Ten is rolling in right now.
 
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Look at the QBs that Chryst the "QB Guru" had in the pipeline and who Narduzzi used during that time frame and get back to us. I'll hang up and listen...
The counterpoint to this is to take a look at the QBs that Chryst has had at Wisconsin. There ain't too many guys worth writing home about, and it's clear that sterling QB play hasn't been necessary for them to win 10 games a year. It's going to keep them from the college football playoff and probably from winning the B1G, but the floor to that system is pretty high even with mediocre quarterback play.
 
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You are putting words in my mouth.

a) I said Chryst underachieved, not Johnson

b) post I was responding to from Owt said Chryst/Wisky does a great job at developing lineman by taking 2 star kids and turning them into NFL lineman. We didn't see that development here for the most part. Johnson was a 5 star who was very good here but didn't last long in the NFL. If Chryst was such the oline sage then a 5 star prospect should be developed into an NFL all-pro by now.

TJ Clemmings was a total washout as a defensive end and turned into an NFL pro. I'd say alex officer exceeded expectations. DOes he get credit for recruiting Brian O'neil?
 
Bryan Anderson
Rob Pettiti
Charles Spencer
Jeff Otah
Jason Pinkston
TJ Clemmings
Bisnowaty
Dorian Johnson
Brian O'Neil

9 Pitt panther offensive linemen have been drafted since 2003, and Chryst is directly responsible for four of them despite being at pitt for only 3 years.
 
It's impressive how much Pitt fans will contort themselves to avoid having to give Chryst any credit.

We've seen plenty of programs with good or better infrastructure than Wisconsin hire coaches and have no success. Maybe, just maybe, he's a good coach.
 
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It's impressive how much Pitt fans will contort themselves to avoid having to give Chryst any credit.

We've seen plenty of programs with good or better infrastructure than Wisconsin hire coaches and have no success. Maybe, just maybe, he's a good coach.

maybe it is all about fit. Rich Rod tore it up at WVU but was a putz at Michigan. Would you say Rich Rod is a good coach?
 
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