October 5, 2012
Welcome back to In the Pitt, Panther-Lair.com's rundown of everything happening in Pitt recruiting. Last week we broke down every position and evaluated what Pitt's recruiting board looks like. We won't do that again this week, so this edition will be a bit more concise. But we will take a look at the newest commit, the remaining targets, efforts in the junior class, a return to New Jersey, and more.
Top of the Pitt
The biggest story in Pitt recruiting this week was pretty easy to identify: on Tuesday night Cranford (NJ) athlete Reggie Green committed to Pitt. Green lines up at quarterback for Cranford, but his primary role is to be a playmaker.
Last season Green rushed for 1,523 yards and 18 touchdowns, and he's off to a similar start this year. In four games, Green has rushed for 591 yards and seven touchdowns - averaging 7 yards per carry - and has thrown for 224 yards and another touchdown. Cranford has scored nine offensive touchdowns this season, and Green is responsible for eight of them.
At 6'3" 205, Green has positional versatility on both sides of the ball, but he'll start his Pitt career at receiver. In fact, the opportunity to play offense and perhaps play early was an important factor for Green in picking Pitt. But mostly he based his decision on the elements that you often hear recruits cite: the coaching staff, the school, the football facilities, the campus, and all of those things.
Interestingly - since attendance and fan support are always hot-button topics - Green made particular mention of the crowd at the Pitt-Virginia Tech game, which he attended while on his official visit.
"When I saw the school, I really liked it," he said. "They have a nice history, and I really liked the atmosphere when I was there and the players I was around and the coaching staff. I liked everything.
"It was huge to see that atmosphere. In my town, everybody loves sports and supports the team. I wanted that again and they have it at Pitt."
Green also cited Pitt commits Shakir Soto, Luke Maclean, and Zach Challingsworth as having a positive impact on his recruitment. He met those three at the game and has kept in touch with them since that day. We've all seen some signs of Soto's personality, and that's rubbing off on other recruits. We're also seeing Challingsworth get more and more involved in recruiting other players. And Maclean, who we've heard is pretty reserved and quiet, seems to be really stepping up as a recruiter.
Here are some some highlights of Green. You can see all the things that the coaches saw: athleticism, good size, and good speed.
Still on the board
With Green on board, Pitt has 18 recruits on the 2013 commitment list. That obviously doesn't leave a whole lot of extra space. The NCAA allows a maximum of 25 recruits in any one signing class, and while exceptions can be made with a careful finagling of class placement, Pitt won't be in position to take advantage of those exceptions.
So the maximum number of remaining recruits Pitt could land is seven. But even that might be high. Consider The Scholarship Board, since that's where the numbers will really come from.
Pitt will graduate 15 players this season, so that's 15 spots open immediately. And they have 84 scholarship players on the roster this season - one short of the max of 85 - so they have one more to add to the 15. That makes 16 open spots. Since Pitt already has 18 commitments, they obviously need at least 2 instances of attrition to get to the current number.
We know that redshirt junior Zenel Demhasaj will not be back, so that's one more spot, but there aren't too many other likely options in the redshirt junior class, which often provides a few cases of attrition each year. But in looking throughout the roster, the coaches should be able to find another 4-6 players whose futures are best spent elsewhere. We could spend another entire edition of In the Pitt discussing possible attrition and the best way to handle those situations, but I'll just say this:
The coaches can't run players off, per se. But they can have heart-to-heart conversations about the future. That's what happened with Mark Myers: at the end of the summer prior to training camp, Paul Chryst had a discussion with him about what he saw in his future, and the mutual decision reached was for Myers to transfer. If Myers had said he wanted to stay, Chryst would have allowed that (albeit with certain demands related to focus and work ethic). And that will be the case with any player who has "the talk" with Chryst: they'll likely be given the option to stay, but chances are at least a few will decide that they would rather pursue their fortunes elsewhere.
Somehow the coaches will find a way to get more spots for this class, and my guess at this point is they'll end up signing 23-25. I wouldn't be surprised to see 25 sign in this class, even if the "open number" in February appears to only be 21 or 22. Coaches often sign more than they have room for, sometimes with a specific plan in mind ("this kid won't qualify and this kid is going to transfer") and sometimes with the understanding that these things usually work themselves out.
If Pitt's going to get to 25, then, they have seven more recruits to add. Here's what I see as the top remaining targets (in no particular order):
Belle Vernon offensive tackle Dorian Johnson
- The top remaining offensive lineman on Pitt's board, and the qualification of "top remaining" probably isn't needed. Johnson has been at the top of Pitt's recruiting board since the coaches arrived in Pittsburgh, and he's still there after decommitting from Penn State. Johnson told us last week that he is focused on Pitt, Ohio State, and Virginia Tech, and that the Panthers are his current leaders. He hasn't set any official visits yet, but he is attending the Ohio State-Nebraska game in Columbus this weekend as an unofficial visit. I highly doubt he will commit while he's at the game, but I also didn't expect him to commit right after his Penn State visit in June. Still, I think he'll take all three official visits, and in the end I think he ends up at Pitt.
Central Valley wide receiver Robert Foster
- One of the best athletes to come out of Western Pennsylvania in a few years, Foster is a big-time national talent with no interest in the spotlight that comes with that level of ability. He has stayed quiet on the recruiting scene, declining interviews whenever possible and sharing as little information as he can about the colleges he is looking at. He did reveal that his focus now is on Pitt, Ohio State, and Alabama, but he offered little elaboration beyond that. As Foster's recruitment has progressed and his lack of interest in "the process" has become more apparent, I get the feeling more and more and that he will stay home. He is comfortable at Pitt, knows plenty of people on the team and in future recruiting classes - those Beaver County guys like to stick together - and in the end it's the smoothest decision to make. There are questions about his eligibility, but I haven't confirmed those concerns.
Philadelphia George Washington defensive tackle Justin Moody
- Pitt has one defensive tackle in the class with Tyrique Jarrett, the former Taylor Allderdice standout who is at Milford this fall after failing to qualify for Pitt last year. But the depth chart and roster show that the Panthers need more defensive tackles, and Moody appears to be at the top of the list. Last week he narrowed his list to a group that includes Pitt, Purdue, Cal, Temple, and Syracuse, and while he maintained an even level of interest in those five schools, he did say that Pitt is doing more than the others.
"I would say Pittsburgh is recruiting me the hardest," Moody stated. "They just stay in contact with me a lot and show me love. They send me a lot of hand written letters and stay in touch."
Moody wouldn't say that Pitt is his favorite, but the winds are blowing that way.
Newark (NJ) Shabazz linebacker Al-Rasheed Benton
- Benton took an official visit to West Virginia last weekend and obviously came away with a positive impression of the Mountaineers, but Pitt is still very much involved. The Panthers need another linebacker in this class - they only have one - and while Benton didn't speak much on Pitt in the visit recap article, he has told me several times that Pitt is a major player in his recruitment. He's planning to visit Pitt, Arizona State, and Syracuse; I like Pitt's chances, but we'll have to see how the visits go.
Philadelphia West Catholic offensive tackle Jaryd Jones-Smith
- Jones-Smith has had an interesting relationship with Pitt. He has been trying to visit Pittsburgh since the summer, but each visit has fallen through for a variety of reasons. He'll make an official visit to Pitt after the season is over, and while it's tough to get a read Jones-Smith, it seems like Pitt should be in good shape to land his services.
Rochester (NY) offensive guard Alex Officer
- Yes, there are three offensive linemen on this list - and two already committed - but given the state of the offensive line on the current roster, it wouldn't be a complete surprise to see Pitt sign five offensive linemen. They might need that many. Officer said this week that Pitt is one of the four schools recruiting him the hardest, and he plans to "definitely" visit Pitt.
And then there are a bunch of guys who could fit in as No. 7. Here are a few:
Wide receiver Tyler Boyd
Linebacker Alton Meeks
Linebacker Courtney Love
Cornerback Jaleel Hytchye
Linebacker Zayd Issah
Defensive tackle Kenton Gibbs
Defensive tackle Donovan Munger
Offensive tackle Eric Tetlow
Admittedly, there is a pretty reasonable chance that Pitt doesn't land any of those five. Boyd is admittedly leaning to West Virginia, although I won't rule him out as a possibility for Pitt until he signs a Letter of Intent to go elsewhere. Meeks and Love are already committed to other schools (Cincinnati and Nebraska, respectively), Hytchye seems to prefer Northwestern and Issah is looking around after decommitting from Penn State. Gibbs wants to visit but could end up back at Illinois, where he already committed. And Tetlow visited Pitt this spring and had positive things to say, but the Panthers seem to be on the periphery for him. That doesn't mean he won't take an official visit, though, and if you can get one of those, you'll have a chance.
Munger is an interesting one. He's one of the top prospects in Ohio, has a whole host of offers, and didn't mention Pitt in an interview recently, but I'm hearing that there is still contact and that he wants to visit Pittsburgh, probably after the season. This may be a situation where some of the schools that offered Munger have been filling their open spots. Either way, if Pitt can get him on campus for an official visit, they'll have a chance. And while he's listed as a defensive tackle, he could project as an offensive lineman, so he could fit into that spot for Pitt, too.
Early enrollees and counting back
While we're on the topic of recruits in this class, I want to address an oft-discussed topic: the "counting back" of early enrollees.
Pitt has several recruits in this class who plan to enroll early. Scott Orndoff, Shakir Soto, Tra'von Chapman, and Corey Clement have all stated the intention to enroll early, and that usually leads to questions of whether Pitt can use those early enrollees to its advantage in terms of numbers for this class. The short answer is no.
Recruits who enroll early can be "counted back" to the previous class - i.e. count against the 25 of the class of 2012 instead of the 25 of the class of 2013 - if two circumstances exist:
1. There has to be room in the prior year's class
2. There has to be room on the prior year's roster
If the coaches wanted to count Orndoff, Soto, Chapman, and Clement as members of the class of 2012 in order to increase the recruits they sign in this class, there would need to be room for them in that class and there would need to be room on the 2012 roster. Pitt signed 16 recruits on Letter of Intent Day last year, and Tyrique Jarrett also signed later in the spring, so that's 17. Jarrett didn't make it due to academics, so he can be crossed off, but Jevonte Pitts, Mark Gibuilato, Chris Wuestner, Matt Yoklic, Kevin Barthelemy, Adam Lazenga, Emmanuel Rackard, and Manasseh Garner all went on scholarship for the first time this year. You are permitted to award 25 "initial scholarships" in a year; that includes recruits, transfers, and walk-ons. With the 16 recruits and the other eight I listed, Pitt gave out 24 initials in 2012. So the coaches could only add one early enrollee from the class of 2013 to that group.
The same goes for the roster. Pitt is playing this season with 84 scholarship players; the limit is 85, meaning the Panthers have one extra spot on the roster. So if they wanted to try to count back one of the early enrollees, they could only count back one.
But here's the most relevant point in all of this: the "count back" trick with early enrollees is an opportunity to sign more than 25 in a class. Pitt will have to create some significant attrition just to make room on the roster for 25, let alone more than 25. Pitt needs room on the current roster in order to get to 25; signing more than 25 isn't going to be an option. So there's no advantage in class of 2013 for the coaches to count any early enrollees back. Going forward, if they count one 2013 recruit back to 2012, that would leave open a spot among 2013's 25 initial scholarships. That spot could be used if a 2014 recruit wants to enroll early and the coaches want to count him back to 2013. But there again, I don't see Pitt having the roster space to sign more than 25 next year either, so it's largely a moot point.
I realize I just spent a lot of words - a little more than 500, actually - to say that Pitt can't take advantage of the early enrollees. But this gets brought up quite a bit in discussion on this board, so I figured I'd address it here.
Also being watched
Pitt has a good shot with a bunch of the recruits listed above, and at the same time it's tough to call the Panthers the favorites for several of those prospects. If Pitt misses on a few of those names, they'll have to look elsewhere, and we've been trying to assemble a working list of targets, recruits who are being watched by the Pitt coaching staff but do not have offers from the Panthers.
We wrote about a few of these guys recently:
- West Lawn Wilson linebacker Junior Joseph
- Prescott (Wisc.) offensive lineman Nick Jacobsen
- Madison (Wisc.) Madison Memorial receiver/athlete Jester Weah
Of those three, Weah may be closest to an offer because he has some positional versatility; at 6'3" 195, he could be a receiver or a safety. Joseph and Jacobsen probably need a couple of the targets listed above to commit to other schools before they would get offers.
There's also Gaithersburg (Md.) Avalon School athlete another article this week he said that he expects Pitt to offer when he does visit.
I wouldn't necessarily call Ibrahim a Plan B; while Pitt hasn't offered him, I've heard that they are very interested. He's more of a Plan A-2, or whatever the Plan A equivalent of 1A is.
We're going to keep tracking down these kinds of prospects in the class of 2013 in the coming weeks. While the focus is obviously on Dorian Johnson and Robert Foster and the rest, these unoffered recruits are important because if some of the top targets commit elsewhere, the staff will look at this group for its next batch of senior offers.
New this week
In addition to the prospects on the watch list, we also covered a bunch of new 2014 offers this week. You can access the Offer Sheet here (toggle the year to 2014). The names added this week were:
WR Troy Apke
WR Dorian Baker
WR Saeed Blacknall
WR Ricky Rogers
OL Jamerez Bowen
LB Cameron Queiro
DT Courtel Jenkins
(Note: Apke and Baker received their offers over the summer; we updated their profiles and interviewed them this week.)
It's pretty typical for coaching staffs to be aggressive with the junior class during the fall. You have to get as early a start as is reasonably possible with recruits, and now is the prime season to get rolling with juniors.
I suppose it speaks to the multi-layered nature of recruiting. Right now coaches have to focus on:
- Finishing strong in the current recruiting class
- Monitoring potential offers among current seniors
- Maintaining healthy relationships with committed recruits
- Evaluating juniors for potential offers
That's a lot to have on the plate. And, oh yeah, they have to scout and evaluate and game plan for Division I college football opponents.
That's probably why Paul Chryst chuckled this week when someone asked him about the "idle time" of the bye week.
A trend
There's a notable trend in that list of junior offers. Blacknall, Queiro, Jenkins are all New Jersey prospects. And so is athlete Kiy Hester, who has held an offer.
And, of course, Pitt's latest commitment Reggie Green is from the Garden State, too, as is running back Corey Clement, the oft-discussed Pitt commit who is still a Pitt commit (more on that in a minute).
If Pitt signs Green and Clement, they will be the first New Jersey recruits to sign with the Panthers since the recruiting class of 2010. That was the class with TJ Clemmings, K'Waun Williams, Bryan Murphy, and Brandon Sacco. Three years later, 75% of that group is in the starting lineup, so I'd say that yes, there's some talent in New Jersey.
But the Todd Graham regime left the state virtually untouched. The reasoning was that New Jersey is a hotbed for talent but also a talent hotbed that is well-known as such. Everybody in the country - or at least the eastern seaboard - knows about New Jersey talent and recruits the state. Therefore, unless you have connections that can give you an edge, it is difficult to pull some of the best from the Garden State.
As such, Pitt hadn't had a New Jersey commitment since Max Issaka picked the Panthers in August 2010. That changed when Clement committed this year, and with Green's commitment and the outburst of junior offers, it looks like Pitt is making a go of it in New Jersey.
Leading the charge are offensive line coach Jim Hueber and running backs coach Desmond Robinson. From what I'm told, both have pretty strong ties in the state, so they've been able to work in and get a few footholds. It always takes some time, and the 2013 pull from New Jersey may only be a couple players (although if it's Green and Clement, I doubt anyone will complain); but as we've seen in the past, you can use your first year planting the seeds and then really reap in the following years. The coaches are obviously hoping 2014 will be a year of reaping.
The Corey situation
We addressed the situation with Corey Clement last week, but we'll do it again because the topic is one that isn't likely to fade from the forefront of Pitt recruiting coverage.
To recap:
Clement committed to Pitt in June but said almost immediately that he would probably take other visits. Pitt was the only school he visited, and while he liked the school, the coaches, and the program quite a bit, he did have some concern about not seeing what else is out there.
Clement's interest in Pitt has not wavered, nor has his communication with the Pitt coaching staff. Despite looking around, Clement has never announced a decommitment, nor has he fallen out of contact with the coaches. He has continued to keep them informed of his status, and from what I've been told, he has continued to tell them that he is still solid with Pitt.
Obviously a recruit is not truly solid if he is taking visits, but it's worth noting that Clement is working to keep the relationship with the Pitt coaches in a positive place.
So far he has taken official visits to Nebraska and Notre Dame and is also planning one to Wisconsin. Additionally, Clement has told me and the Pitt coaches that he will take an official visit to Pitt. To me, that's the key: he can take visits to other schools as long as he still checks out Pitt. I've said this many times: the Pitt coaches need to keep open lines of communication and then do their best on his official visit. Remind him what he likes about Pitt and why he committed there in the first place. If they can do that, I think they've got a better-than-even chance of keeping him.
Yes, there are rumors that Clement tried to commit to Notre Dame on his official visit and was rebuffed while the Irish gauge higher-priority running back targets. I haven't been able to confirm or deny those rumors, but I'll repeat what I said last week:
It doesn't matter how the sausage gets made. If those rumors are true and Clement still ends up at Pitt, then the end result is that he ends up at Pitt. There are two relevant pieces of news that could come between now and when Clement signs of Letter of Intent in December (he plans to enroll early). Those two relevant potential pieces of news are:
1. He decommits from Pitt
2. He reaffirms his commitment to Pitt
Anything short of either of those won't register too high on my radar. We'll be monitoring his recruitment, of course, and we'll keep an eye on his goings-on. But those are the two relevant pieces of news that could come; that's where the focus is.
Hard at work
In the section about junior offers I mentioned the multi-layered responsibilities of the coaching staff during this time of year, and I wanted to share something I've been hearing quite a bit in the last few weeks.
These coaches are busting it when it comes to the recruiting process. I know there were questions in the winter and spring about whether or not these coaches understood the level of dedication and effort that is needed to recruit effectively (I had my own questions, based on what we were seeing); now I'm pretty confident that they've got a good read on how to handle the recruiting process.
More than one 2014 recruit has told me that they are getting 2-3 pieces of mail from Pitt per day, and at least once per week the entire staff sends handwritten letters. I don't know quite how many recruits are getting this treatment, but I've heard it from enough of them to lead me to believe that these coaches are writing a lot of letters on a weekly basis.
And they're not just generic "Pitt is a great place/good luck this week" letters. The coaches are producing recruit-specific letters, personal letters on a weekly basis. And that's in addition to daily pieces of mail that point out the highlights of Pitt, whether it's recent games or NFL success or campus developments or University recognition. The coaches have an organized plan of attack, one that serves a primary goal:
To never let a recruit forget about Pitt.
If you're the Pitt coaching staff, that's the thing you strive for the most. People used to ask me what made former defensive backs coach Jeff Hafley such an effective recruiter, and the answer was simple: he worked like crazy to make sure a recruit was always thinking about Pitt. How did Pitt get a commitment from Bill Belton and stay in good shape with Savon Huggins and get a good start with the likes of Darius Hamilton (Pitt would have had a great shot with him if Hafley had been retained)? Because Hafley was tireless in his efforts to keep Pitt relevant. One way or another, Hafley was in contact with the recruits every day, calling any time he could per NCAA rules and emailing the rest of the time. But he was always in contact, so Pitt was never far from their minds.
That's the big key for a school like Pitt: stay in the recruit's focus.
On the current staff, Director of Player Personnel Dann Kabala has taken on much of that load. For almost every recruit I have spoken with in the class of 2014, they talk about the recruiting coach they have had contact with and they mention Kabala. In many cases, he is a primary point of contact, much in the same way Matt Dudek was a couple of years ago.
Guys like Kabala (and Dudek before him) give the recruits a third point of entry to the coaching staff. The recruit has his area recruiter and his position coach, and the relationship with each of those is unique. Then the recruit has Kabala, an off-the-field coach who can be something closer to a friend. The relationship between the recruit and the person in Kabala's position is unique from the relationship the recruit has with the coaches, and it's valuable in its uniqueness because it makes the recruit's relationship with the program more complete.
Recruiting is a group effort, and it's important to recognize how extensive the process is. You may not see Kabala's name in many articles (I could include it in more articles than I do), but believe me, he's a big part of this. In addition to his relationships with the recruits, Kabala also tends to be the person who makes sure all of the coaches are writing letters and keeping abreast of the recruits.
The recap
Finally, we'll recap some of the content we published this week, just in case you missed anything:
- 2014 Cleveland Heights receiver he spoke to us about it.
- Here was our weekly rundown on how Pitt's commits and targets performed last weekend. Of note: Zach Challingsworth had this stat line: 9 receptions, 136 receiving yards, 1 receiving touchdown, 3 carries, 24 rushing yards, 8 tackles, 1 forced fumble, 1 interception, and 1 blocked punt.
- Pitt has several offensive line targets rated higher than Prescott (Wisc.) guard is keeping an eye on him.
- Gateway is loaded with junior standouts, and several already have scholarship offers. Defensive back Pitt could be the first.
- Madison (Wisc.) Memorial athlete are still very interested.
- New Jersey athlete here's our interview with him.
- Speaking of New Jersey, Pitt offered 2014 defensive tackle he talked about his interest in the Panthers.
- With former Mt. Lebanon head coach Chris Haering as an assistant at Pitt and two parents who were student-athletes at Pitt, it's probably not a surprise to see Mt. Lebanon junior got an offer from Pitt this summer.
- 2014 Manalapan (NJ) receiver that the coaching staff was interested enough to offer. Blacknall had a lot of good things to say about Pitt.
- Pitt has also been talking to Chartiers Valley junior lineman his recruitment so far.
On the road
I'm posting this on the board this morning and then hitting the road for Syracuse, so if you have any questions, feel free to post them in this thread but understand I won't have a chance to answer them until I get into lovely upstate New York (since I have a kid now I've been trying to stop posting on the message board while driving; it has mostly worked. Mostly).
In the meantime, be sure to check out this week's Bostick Breakdown. I think it's safe to say that former Pitt quarterback and current color commentator Pat Bostick knows more football than you and me put together, and I am not too proud to admit that I learn something about football every time I sit down with him to preview the upcoming game.
With that in mind, I think Pat is right that Pitt needs to do two things against Syracuse: run the ball and create pressure. I don't know if Pitt can hang in a shootout with Syracuse's offense if it comes to that; I think they might be able to, but I'm not quite sure. But it's probably better to not have to find out. Establish the running game, make some plays in the passing game off the run, and disrupt Orange quarterback Ryan Nassib.
I know, that's pretty much the game plan for every game, right? I guess Paul Chryst is right: football is not a difficult game. It's really pretty simple.
Finally, I'll be on the pregame show Friday night at 4:20 pm with Pitt sideline reporter Gregg Giannotti live from the Carrier Dome. You can hear it locally on 93.7 The Fan. Also, I'll be back on The Fan on Saturday from 4-7:30 pm. We'll discuss a lot of topics, and the Pitt game will be among them.
Welcome back to In the Pitt, Panther-Lair.com's rundown of everything happening in Pitt recruiting. Last week we broke down every position and evaluated what Pitt's recruiting board looks like. We won't do that again this week, so this edition will be a bit more concise. But we will take a look at the newest commit, the remaining targets, efforts in the junior class, a return to New Jersey, and more.
Top of the Pitt
The biggest story in Pitt recruiting this week was pretty easy to identify: on Tuesday night Cranford (NJ) athlete Reggie Green committed to Pitt. Green lines up at quarterback for Cranford, but his primary role is to be a playmaker.
Last season Green rushed for 1,523 yards and 18 touchdowns, and he's off to a similar start this year. In four games, Green has rushed for 591 yards and seven touchdowns - averaging 7 yards per carry - and has thrown for 224 yards and another touchdown. Cranford has scored nine offensive touchdowns this season, and Green is responsible for eight of them.
At 6'3" 205, Green has positional versatility on both sides of the ball, but he'll start his Pitt career at receiver. In fact, the opportunity to play offense and perhaps play early was an important factor for Green in picking Pitt. But mostly he based his decision on the elements that you often hear recruits cite: the coaching staff, the school, the football facilities, the campus, and all of those things.
Interestingly - since attendance and fan support are always hot-button topics - Green made particular mention of the crowd at the Pitt-Virginia Tech game, which he attended while on his official visit.
"When I saw the school, I really liked it," he said. "They have a nice history, and I really liked the atmosphere when I was there and the players I was around and the coaching staff. I liked everything.
"It was huge to see that atmosphere. In my town, everybody loves sports and supports the team. I wanted that again and they have it at Pitt."
Green also cited Pitt commits Shakir Soto, Luke Maclean, and Zach Challingsworth as having a positive impact on his recruitment. He met those three at the game and has kept in touch with them since that day. We've all seen some signs of Soto's personality, and that's rubbing off on other recruits. We're also seeing Challingsworth get more and more involved in recruiting other players. And Maclean, who we've heard is pretty reserved and quiet, seems to be really stepping up as a recruiter.
Here are some some highlights of Green. You can see all the things that the coaches saw: athleticism, good size, and good speed.
Still on the board
With Green on board, Pitt has 18 recruits on the 2013 commitment list. That obviously doesn't leave a whole lot of extra space. The NCAA allows a maximum of 25 recruits in any one signing class, and while exceptions can be made with a careful finagling of class placement, Pitt won't be in position to take advantage of those exceptions.
So the maximum number of remaining recruits Pitt could land is seven. But even that might be high. Consider The Scholarship Board, since that's where the numbers will really come from.
Pitt will graduate 15 players this season, so that's 15 spots open immediately. And they have 84 scholarship players on the roster this season - one short of the max of 85 - so they have one more to add to the 15. That makes 16 open spots. Since Pitt already has 18 commitments, they obviously need at least 2 instances of attrition to get to the current number.
We know that redshirt junior Zenel Demhasaj will not be back, so that's one more spot, but there aren't too many other likely options in the redshirt junior class, which often provides a few cases of attrition each year. But in looking throughout the roster, the coaches should be able to find another 4-6 players whose futures are best spent elsewhere. We could spend another entire edition of In the Pitt discussing possible attrition and the best way to handle those situations, but I'll just say this:
The coaches can't run players off, per se. But they can have heart-to-heart conversations about the future. That's what happened with Mark Myers: at the end of the summer prior to training camp, Paul Chryst had a discussion with him about what he saw in his future, and the mutual decision reached was for Myers to transfer. If Myers had said he wanted to stay, Chryst would have allowed that (albeit with certain demands related to focus and work ethic). And that will be the case with any player who has "the talk" with Chryst: they'll likely be given the option to stay, but chances are at least a few will decide that they would rather pursue their fortunes elsewhere.
Somehow the coaches will find a way to get more spots for this class, and my guess at this point is they'll end up signing 23-25. I wouldn't be surprised to see 25 sign in this class, even if the "open number" in February appears to only be 21 or 22. Coaches often sign more than they have room for, sometimes with a specific plan in mind ("this kid won't qualify and this kid is going to transfer") and sometimes with the understanding that these things usually work themselves out.
If Pitt's going to get to 25, then, they have seven more recruits to add. Here's what I see as the top remaining targets (in no particular order):
Belle Vernon offensive tackle Dorian Johnson
- The top remaining offensive lineman on Pitt's board, and the qualification of "top remaining" probably isn't needed. Johnson has been at the top of Pitt's recruiting board since the coaches arrived in Pittsburgh, and he's still there after decommitting from Penn State. Johnson told us last week that he is focused on Pitt, Ohio State, and Virginia Tech, and that the Panthers are his current leaders. He hasn't set any official visits yet, but he is attending the Ohio State-Nebraska game in Columbus this weekend as an unofficial visit. I highly doubt he will commit while he's at the game, but I also didn't expect him to commit right after his Penn State visit in June. Still, I think he'll take all three official visits, and in the end I think he ends up at Pitt.
Central Valley wide receiver Robert Foster
- One of the best athletes to come out of Western Pennsylvania in a few years, Foster is a big-time national talent with no interest in the spotlight that comes with that level of ability. He has stayed quiet on the recruiting scene, declining interviews whenever possible and sharing as little information as he can about the colleges he is looking at. He did reveal that his focus now is on Pitt, Ohio State, and Alabama, but he offered little elaboration beyond that. As Foster's recruitment has progressed and his lack of interest in "the process" has become more apparent, I get the feeling more and more and that he will stay home. He is comfortable at Pitt, knows plenty of people on the team and in future recruiting classes - those Beaver County guys like to stick together - and in the end it's the smoothest decision to make. There are questions about his eligibility, but I haven't confirmed those concerns.
Philadelphia George Washington defensive tackle Justin Moody
- Pitt has one defensive tackle in the class with Tyrique Jarrett, the former Taylor Allderdice standout who is at Milford this fall after failing to qualify for Pitt last year. But the depth chart and roster show that the Panthers need more defensive tackles, and Moody appears to be at the top of the list. Last week he narrowed his list to a group that includes Pitt, Purdue, Cal, Temple, and Syracuse, and while he maintained an even level of interest in those five schools, he did say that Pitt is doing more than the others.
"I would say Pittsburgh is recruiting me the hardest," Moody stated. "They just stay in contact with me a lot and show me love. They send me a lot of hand written letters and stay in touch."
Moody wouldn't say that Pitt is his favorite, but the winds are blowing that way.
Newark (NJ) Shabazz linebacker Al-Rasheed Benton
- Benton took an official visit to West Virginia last weekend and obviously came away with a positive impression of the Mountaineers, but Pitt is still very much involved. The Panthers need another linebacker in this class - they only have one - and while Benton didn't speak much on Pitt in the visit recap article, he has told me several times that Pitt is a major player in his recruitment. He's planning to visit Pitt, Arizona State, and Syracuse; I like Pitt's chances, but we'll have to see how the visits go.
Philadelphia West Catholic offensive tackle Jaryd Jones-Smith
- Jones-Smith has had an interesting relationship with Pitt. He has been trying to visit Pittsburgh since the summer, but each visit has fallen through for a variety of reasons. He'll make an official visit to Pitt after the season is over, and while it's tough to get a read Jones-Smith, it seems like Pitt should be in good shape to land his services.
Rochester (NY) offensive guard Alex Officer
- Yes, there are three offensive linemen on this list - and two already committed - but given the state of the offensive line on the current roster, it wouldn't be a complete surprise to see Pitt sign five offensive linemen. They might need that many. Officer said this week that Pitt is one of the four schools recruiting him the hardest, and he plans to "definitely" visit Pitt.
And then there are a bunch of guys who could fit in as No. 7. Here are a few:
Wide receiver Tyler Boyd
Linebacker Alton Meeks
Linebacker Courtney Love
Cornerback Jaleel Hytchye
Linebacker Zayd Issah
Defensive tackle Kenton Gibbs
Defensive tackle Donovan Munger
Offensive tackle Eric Tetlow
Admittedly, there is a pretty reasonable chance that Pitt doesn't land any of those five. Boyd is admittedly leaning to West Virginia, although I won't rule him out as a possibility for Pitt until he signs a Letter of Intent to go elsewhere. Meeks and Love are already committed to other schools (Cincinnati and Nebraska, respectively), Hytchye seems to prefer Northwestern and Issah is looking around after decommitting from Penn State. Gibbs wants to visit but could end up back at Illinois, where he already committed. And Tetlow visited Pitt this spring and had positive things to say, but the Panthers seem to be on the periphery for him. That doesn't mean he won't take an official visit, though, and if you can get one of those, you'll have a chance.
Munger is an interesting one. He's one of the top prospects in Ohio, has a whole host of offers, and didn't mention Pitt in an interview recently, but I'm hearing that there is still contact and that he wants to visit Pittsburgh, probably after the season. This may be a situation where some of the schools that offered Munger have been filling their open spots. Either way, if Pitt can get him on campus for an official visit, they'll have a chance. And while he's listed as a defensive tackle, he could project as an offensive lineman, so he could fit into that spot for Pitt, too.
Early enrollees and counting back
While we're on the topic of recruits in this class, I want to address an oft-discussed topic: the "counting back" of early enrollees.
Pitt has several recruits in this class who plan to enroll early. Scott Orndoff, Shakir Soto, Tra'von Chapman, and Corey Clement have all stated the intention to enroll early, and that usually leads to questions of whether Pitt can use those early enrollees to its advantage in terms of numbers for this class. The short answer is no.
Recruits who enroll early can be "counted back" to the previous class - i.e. count against the 25 of the class of 2012 instead of the 25 of the class of 2013 - if two circumstances exist:
1. There has to be room in the prior year's class
2. There has to be room on the prior year's roster
If the coaches wanted to count Orndoff, Soto, Chapman, and Clement as members of the class of 2012 in order to increase the recruits they sign in this class, there would need to be room for them in that class and there would need to be room on the 2012 roster. Pitt signed 16 recruits on Letter of Intent Day last year, and Tyrique Jarrett also signed later in the spring, so that's 17. Jarrett didn't make it due to academics, so he can be crossed off, but Jevonte Pitts, Mark Gibuilato, Chris Wuestner, Matt Yoklic, Kevin Barthelemy, Adam Lazenga, Emmanuel Rackard, and Manasseh Garner all went on scholarship for the first time this year. You are permitted to award 25 "initial scholarships" in a year; that includes recruits, transfers, and walk-ons. With the 16 recruits and the other eight I listed, Pitt gave out 24 initials in 2012. So the coaches could only add one early enrollee from the class of 2013 to that group.
The same goes for the roster. Pitt is playing this season with 84 scholarship players; the limit is 85, meaning the Panthers have one extra spot on the roster. So if they wanted to try to count back one of the early enrollees, they could only count back one.
But here's the most relevant point in all of this: the "count back" trick with early enrollees is an opportunity to sign more than 25 in a class. Pitt will have to create some significant attrition just to make room on the roster for 25, let alone more than 25. Pitt needs room on the current roster in order to get to 25; signing more than 25 isn't going to be an option. So there's no advantage in class of 2013 for the coaches to count any early enrollees back. Going forward, if they count one 2013 recruit back to 2012, that would leave open a spot among 2013's 25 initial scholarships. That spot could be used if a 2014 recruit wants to enroll early and the coaches want to count him back to 2013. But there again, I don't see Pitt having the roster space to sign more than 25 next year either, so it's largely a moot point.
I realize I just spent a lot of words - a little more than 500, actually - to say that Pitt can't take advantage of the early enrollees. But this gets brought up quite a bit in discussion on this board, so I figured I'd address it here.
Also being watched
Pitt has a good shot with a bunch of the recruits listed above, and at the same time it's tough to call the Panthers the favorites for several of those prospects. If Pitt misses on a few of those names, they'll have to look elsewhere, and we've been trying to assemble a working list of targets, recruits who are being watched by the Pitt coaching staff but do not have offers from the Panthers.
We wrote about a few of these guys recently:
- West Lawn Wilson linebacker Junior Joseph
- Prescott (Wisc.) offensive lineman Nick Jacobsen
- Madison (Wisc.) Madison Memorial receiver/athlete Jester Weah
Of those three, Weah may be closest to an offer because he has some positional versatility; at 6'3" 195, he could be a receiver or a safety. Joseph and Jacobsen probably need a couple of the targets listed above to commit to other schools before they would get offers.
There's also Gaithersburg (Md.) Avalon School athlete another article this week he said that he expects Pitt to offer when he does visit.
I wouldn't necessarily call Ibrahim a Plan B; while Pitt hasn't offered him, I've heard that they are very interested. He's more of a Plan A-2, or whatever the Plan A equivalent of 1A is.
We're going to keep tracking down these kinds of prospects in the class of 2013 in the coming weeks. While the focus is obviously on Dorian Johnson and Robert Foster and the rest, these unoffered recruits are important because if some of the top targets commit elsewhere, the staff will look at this group for its next batch of senior offers.
New this week
In addition to the prospects on the watch list, we also covered a bunch of new 2014 offers this week. You can access the Offer Sheet here (toggle the year to 2014). The names added this week were:
WR Troy Apke
WR Dorian Baker
WR Saeed Blacknall
WR Ricky Rogers
OL Jamerez Bowen
LB Cameron Queiro
DT Courtel Jenkins
(Note: Apke and Baker received their offers over the summer; we updated their profiles and interviewed them this week.)
It's pretty typical for coaching staffs to be aggressive with the junior class during the fall. You have to get as early a start as is reasonably possible with recruits, and now is the prime season to get rolling with juniors.
I suppose it speaks to the multi-layered nature of recruiting. Right now coaches have to focus on:
- Finishing strong in the current recruiting class
- Monitoring potential offers among current seniors
- Maintaining healthy relationships with committed recruits
- Evaluating juniors for potential offers
That's a lot to have on the plate. And, oh yeah, they have to scout and evaluate and game plan for Division I college football opponents.
That's probably why Paul Chryst chuckled this week when someone asked him about the "idle time" of the bye week.
A trend
There's a notable trend in that list of junior offers. Blacknall, Queiro, Jenkins are all New Jersey prospects. And so is athlete Kiy Hester, who has held an offer.
And, of course, Pitt's latest commitment Reggie Green is from the Garden State, too, as is running back Corey Clement, the oft-discussed Pitt commit who is still a Pitt commit (more on that in a minute).
If Pitt signs Green and Clement, they will be the first New Jersey recruits to sign with the Panthers since the recruiting class of 2010. That was the class with TJ Clemmings, K'Waun Williams, Bryan Murphy, and Brandon Sacco. Three years later, 75% of that group is in the starting lineup, so I'd say that yes, there's some talent in New Jersey.
But the Todd Graham regime left the state virtually untouched. The reasoning was that New Jersey is a hotbed for talent but also a talent hotbed that is well-known as such. Everybody in the country - or at least the eastern seaboard - knows about New Jersey talent and recruits the state. Therefore, unless you have connections that can give you an edge, it is difficult to pull some of the best from the Garden State.
As such, Pitt hadn't had a New Jersey commitment since Max Issaka picked the Panthers in August 2010. That changed when Clement committed this year, and with Green's commitment and the outburst of junior offers, it looks like Pitt is making a go of it in New Jersey.
Leading the charge are offensive line coach Jim Hueber and running backs coach Desmond Robinson. From what I'm told, both have pretty strong ties in the state, so they've been able to work in and get a few footholds. It always takes some time, and the 2013 pull from New Jersey may only be a couple players (although if it's Green and Clement, I doubt anyone will complain); but as we've seen in the past, you can use your first year planting the seeds and then really reap in the following years. The coaches are obviously hoping 2014 will be a year of reaping.
The Corey situation
We addressed the situation with Corey Clement last week, but we'll do it again because the topic is one that isn't likely to fade from the forefront of Pitt recruiting coverage.
To recap:
Clement committed to Pitt in June but said almost immediately that he would probably take other visits. Pitt was the only school he visited, and while he liked the school, the coaches, and the program quite a bit, he did have some concern about not seeing what else is out there.
Clement's interest in Pitt has not wavered, nor has his communication with the Pitt coaching staff. Despite looking around, Clement has never announced a decommitment, nor has he fallen out of contact with the coaches. He has continued to keep them informed of his status, and from what I've been told, he has continued to tell them that he is still solid with Pitt.
Obviously a recruit is not truly solid if he is taking visits, but it's worth noting that Clement is working to keep the relationship with the Pitt coaches in a positive place.
So far he has taken official visits to Nebraska and Notre Dame and is also planning one to Wisconsin. Additionally, Clement has told me and the Pitt coaches that he will take an official visit to Pitt. To me, that's the key: he can take visits to other schools as long as he still checks out Pitt. I've said this many times: the Pitt coaches need to keep open lines of communication and then do their best on his official visit. Remind him what he likes about Pitt and why he committed there in the first place. If they can do that, I think they've got a better-than-even chance of keeping him.
Yes, there are rumors that Clement tried to commit to Notre Dame on his official visit and was rebuffed while the Irish gauge higher-priority running back targets. I haven't been able to confirm or deny those rumors, but I'll repeat what I said last week:
It doesn't matter how the sausage gets made. If those rumors are true and Clement still ends up at Pitt, then the end result is that he ends up at Pitt. There are two relevant pieces of news that could come between now and when Clement signs of Letter of Intent in December (he plans to enroll early). Those two relevant potential pieces of news are:
1. He decommits from Pitt
2. He reaffirms his commitment to Pitt
Anything short of either of those won't register too high on my radar. We'll be monitoring his recruitment, of course, and we'll keep an eye on his goings-on. But those are the two relevant pieces of news that could come; that's where the focus is.
Hard at work
In the section about junior offers I mentioned the multi-layered responsibilities of the coaching staff during this time of year, and I wanted to share something I've been hearing quite a bit in the last few weeks.
These coaches are busting it when it comes to the recruiting process. I know there were questions in the winter and spring about whether or not these coaches understood the level of dedication and effort that is needed to recruit effectively (I had my own questions, based on what we were seeing); now I'm pretty confident that they've got a good read on how to handle the recruiting process.
More than one 2014 recruit has told me that they are getting 2-3 pieces of mail from Pitt per day, and at least once per week the entire staff sends handwritten letters. I don't know quite how many recruits are getting this treatment, but I've heard it from enough of them to lead me to believe that these coaches are writing a lot of letters on a weekly basis.
And they're not just generic "Pitt is a great place/good luck this week" letters. The coaches are producing recruit-specific letters, personal letters on a weekly basis. And that's in addition to daily pieces of mail that point out the highlights of Pitt, whether it's recent games or NFL success or campus developments or University recognition. The coaches have an organized plan of attack, one that serves a primary goal:
To never let a recruit forget about Pitt.
If you're the Pitt coaching staff, that's the thing you strive for the most. People used to ask me what made former defensive backs coach Jeff Hafley such an effective recruiter, and the answer was simple: he worked like crazy to make sure a recruit was always thinking about Pitt. How did Pitt get a commitment from Bill Belton and stay in good shape with Savon Huggins and get a good start with the likes of Darius Hamilton (Pitt would have had a great shot with him if Hafley had been retained)? Because Hafley was tireless in his efforts to keep Pitt relevant. One way or another, Hafley was in contact with the recruits every day, calling any time he could per NCAA rules and emailing the rest of the time. But he was always in contact, so Pitt was never far from their minds.
That's the big key for a school like Pitt: stay in the recruit's focus.
On the current staff, Director of Player Personnel Dann Kabala has taken on much of that load. For almost every recruit I have spoken with in the class of 2014, they talk about the recruiting coach they have had contact with and they mention Kabala. In many cases, he is a primary point of contact, much in the same way Matt Dudek was a couple of years ago.
Guys like Kabala (and Dudek before him) give the recruits a third point of entry to the coaching staff. The recruit has his area recruiter and his position coach, and the relationship with each of those is unique. Then the recruit has Kabala, an off-the-field coach who can be something closer to a friend. The relationship between the recruit and the person in Kabala's position is unique from the relationship the recruit has with the coaches, and it's valuable in its uniqueness because it makes the recruit's relationship with the program more complete.
Recruiting is a group effort, and it's important to recognize how extensive the process is. You may not see Kabala's name in many articles (I could include it in more articles than I do), but believe me, he's a big part of this. In addition to his relationships with the recruits, Kabala also tends to be the person who makes sure all of the coaches are writing letters and keeping abreast of the recruits.
The recap
Finally, we'll recap some of the content we published this week, just in case you missed anything:
- 2014 Cleveland Heights receiver he spoke to us about it.
- Here was our weekly rundown on how Pitt's commits and targets performed last weekend. Of note: Zach Challingsworth had this stat line: 9 receptions, 136 receiving yards, 1 receiving touchdown, 3 carries, 24 rushing yards, 8 tackles, 1 forced fumble, 1 interception, and 1 blocked punt.
- Pitt has several offensive line targets rated higher than Prescott (Wisc.) guard is keeping an eye on him.
- Gateway is loaded with junior standouts, and several already have scholarship offers. Defensive back Pitt could be the first.
- Madison (Wisc.) Memorial athlete are still very interested.
- New Jersey athlete here's our interview with him.
- Speaking of New Jersey, Pitt offered 2014 defensive tackle he talked about his interest in the Panthers.
- With former Mt. Lebanon head coach Chris Haering as an assistant at Pitt and two parents who were student-athletes at Pitt, it's probably not a surprise to see Mt. Lebanon junior got an offer from Pitt this summer.
- 2014 Manalapan (NJ) receiver that the coaching staff was interested enough to offer. Blacknall had a lot of good things to say about Pitt.
- Pitt has also been talking to Chartiers Valley junior lineman his recruitment so far.
On the road
I'm posting this on the board this morning and then hitting the road for Syracuse, so if you have any questions, feel free to post them in this thread but understand I won't have a chance to answer them until I get into lovely upstate New York (since I have a kid now I've been trying to stop posting on the message board while driving; it has mostly worked. Mostly).
In the meantime, be sure to check out this week's Bostick Breakdown. I think it's safe to say that former Pitt quarterback and current color commentator Pat Bostick knows more football than you and me put together, and I am not too proud to admit that I learn something about football every time I sit down with him to preview the upcoming game.
With that in mind, I think Pat is right that Pitt needs to do two things against Syracuse: run the ball and create pressure. I don't know if Pitt can hang in a shootout with Syracuse's offense if it comes to that; I think they might be able to, but I'm not quite sure. But it's probably better to not have to find out. Establish the running game, make some plays in the passing game off the run, and disrupt Orange quarterback Ryan Nassib.
I know, that's pretty much the game plan for every game, right? I guess Paul Chryst is right: football is not a difficult game. It's really pretty simple.
Finally, I'll be on the pregame show Friday night at 4:20 pm with Pitt sideline reporter Gregg Giannotti live from the Carrier Dome. You can hear it locally on 93.7 The Fan. Also, I'll be back on The Fan on Saturday from 4-7:30 pm. We'll discuss a lot of topics, and the Pitt game will be among them.
