November 30, 2012
Welcome back to In the Pitt, Panther-Lair.com's rundown of everything going on in Pitt recruiting. Today we're focused on the rest of the class as the Pitt staff works to lock down its final 2013 recruits.
Top of the Pitt
We'll start off with a breakdown of what this class will look like on Signing Day, and that means we have to begin with a bit of contrition from me.
My understanding of Pitt's plans for this class has changed in the last week, and it's now pretty clear that the coaches are working with a target number that is a bit north of 25. In fact, I now expect Pitt to sign as many as 29 recruits in this class.
That is contrary to what I've been saying for the past few months. I always go to great lengths to get as much info and be as accurate about it as possible before I present it to the board. There have been plenty of times in the past where I have delayed in posting things because I wanted to be absolutely sure that I understood the situation.
In the past two years, I have had quite a few conversations about this very subject. Whether I was misinformed or I simply misunderstood is a moot point; what's relevant is that the approach I had been taking to Pitt's recruiting in the class of 2013 wasn't complete.
What I previously believed was that a team needed to meet two standards in order to count early-enrolling recruits back to the previous year's class. I believed that a team had to have room among the previous year's allotment of 25 initial scholarships, and I believed that a team had to have room on the previous year's 85-man roster.
The first part of that belief was correct; the second part was not. In order to count a recruit back, you only need room in the initial scholarships.
The initial scholarships are all of the new scholarships you give out in a year. That includes recruits, transfers, and walk-ons. The one caveat to that rule is walk-ons who have been with your program for at least two years, which is relevant to Pitt since the coaches gave scholarships to Mark Giubilato, Adam Lazenga, Kevin Barthelemy, and Matt Yoklic, who have all been at Pitt for at least two years.
As such, Pitt gave out 21 initial scholarships in 2012; that leaves room for 4 January enrollees to be "counted back." Pitt is currently positioned to fill all four of those spots, as these recruits plan to enroll in January:
Tra'von Chapman
Scott Orndoff
Shakir Soto
Tyrique Jarrett
Those four will then be "counted back" to the class of 2012, leaving a full complement of 25 after those four, meaning Pitt can sign up to 29 recruits in this class.
Obviously this goes a long way in understanding why the staff is pursuing so many recruits with 19 commitments at this stage of the recruiting process, although it's not the only reason. There is always a possibility of decommitments, and holding 19 commitments from November to February is not always common. We can't name names at this point, but there's at least a probable chance of one or two recruits opting to choose another college.
I know the topic of "counting back" has been brought up quite a bit on this board over the past six months, and I have denied the possibility. Turns out you were right. Now we can talk about Pitt adding as many as ten more recruits. You know the next question…
Who are the Ten?
That's the million-dollar question. If Pitt is going to sign 10 more recruits, who are they?
If we start locally, four-star receivers Terrish Webb, who got an offer from Pitt earlier this week.
I also think Pitt has a very good shot at landing defensive lineman Alex Officer could be leaning to Pitt, which would give Pitt a good quantity of offensive linemen in the class.
Pitt will probably want to add a running back to this class to go along with Kareem Hunt could end up being the running back Pitt lands.
Likewise, the coaches would like to get another defensive back (or two), and chances are they will land either Jaleel Hytchye. Landing both is probably unlikely, but Pitt should be able to get at least one of them.
In recent weeks, it has also become clear that Pitt will pursue a junior-college defensive tackle. Abens Cajuste got an offer last week after the coaches evaluated his film from this season, and he will visit in December. The staff is also pursuing a few other JUCO defensive linemen after viewing their tape, and we'll work on tracking down some names that have emerged.
Cass Tech defensive tackle Brian Brown
And then there's the surprise category; I think there will be at least one or two other recruits who sign in this class who are a bit unexpected. For instance, Cardinal Mooney linebacker Courtney Love is still very much in play, although Nebraska is working hard to keep him on the Huskers' commitment list.
If I had to name 10 recruits I could see filling out the class, here's what I would go with at this point. This is a reasoned guess, not a prediction.
Robert Foster
Tyler Boyd
Justin Moody
Jaryd Jones-Smith
Kareem Hunt or Jojo Kemp
Blake McClain or Jaleel Hytchye
Terrish Webb
Alex Officer
A JUCO DT
Surprise - Kenton Gibbs or other
Next Weekend
Pitt will hold its first big official visit next weekend - "big" in terms of quantity; in terms of quality, I'm not sure many will top the Johnson/Boyd/Foster/Howard visit from a couple weeks ago - and it just might be the biggest of this recruiting season.
We currently list 10 recruits on the official visit list for next weekend, and I don't expect that number to move much either way, save for maybe one or two additions. Of the 10 on the list, two - Shakir Soto and Scott Orndoff - are already committed, and they are taking their visits that weekend because they plan to enroll early.
Tra'von Chapman also plans to enroll early, so I suspect he'll be added to that list at some point between now and then.
Of the other eight recruits on the list, they all have Pitt offers and are all pretty high on the coaching staff's board.
I think when I interviewed him this week, and flat-out admitted that he didn't know if he would take more visits after Pitt. I think he wants to make sure Pitt is right for him and then he'll pull the trigger.
that he wants to take more visits after Pitt, including an official to Temple that is scheduled for the following week. He is considering a few options, but the Pitt coaches are strongly pursuing him. I'd say there's a chance that Jones-Smith commits on his visit, but he said that he talked with his parents and they want him to take all of his visits before he makes a decision.
Of the cornerbacks who are visiting, Jaleel Hytchye is a little higher on Pitt's board. He'll follow the Pitt visit with an official visit to Northwestern, and then he hopes to decide after that. It's been pretty clear since the summer that his final choice would come down to Pitt and Northwestern. NW seems to have the lead, but that's what official visits are for: to make up ground and take the lead yourself.
While Hytchye is probably higher on Pitt's board, the coaches have also been after visit to Pitt this summer, but he committed to Kentucky a few weeks later. McClain hasn't reopened his recruitment fully, but he is taking an official visit to Pitt next weekend and Kentucky the weekend after that. I think McClain is more likely to commit to Pitt than Hytchye.
At running back, Jojo Kemp will be visiting. Pitt seems like a good fit for Hunt, while Kemp is considering the Panthers, West Virginia, and Nebraska (he already visited WVU and Nebraska and doesn't have any visits scheduled after Pitt). I think Pitt is more likely to land Hunt, but it's tough to tell. (Update: I've been told that Hunt is not visiting that weekend.)
Detroit (Mich.) Cass Tech defensive tackle Kenton Gibbs is also visiting next weekend. After decommitting from Illinois, Gibbs has looked at several schools, but Pitt has been in the mix dating back to the summer when he visited despite his commitment. I heard that he has an official visit set to Illinois prior to the Pitt visit, but it certainly looks like Pitt is in good shape given the level of contact.
If I had to rank the visitors in order of most likely to commit on or shortly after the weekend, I would put it like this:
Justin Moody
Alex Officer
Jaryd Jones-Smith
Kareem Hunt
Kenton Gibbs
Jojo Kemp
Blake McClain
Jaleel Hytchye
I listed the cornerbacks last because both have visits scheduled to schools that have been prominent in their recruitment thus far (Kentucky for McClain, Northwestern for Hytchye).
Looking Ahead
I know this wasn't our longest In the Pitt (less than 2,000 words: lame) but there were a few things I wanted to get out there.
1. Pitt can - and probably will - go as high as 29 in this class, leaving 10 more spots to fill
2. There is potential to land some key targets on or shortly after next weekend's visit
I'll be in the air to Tampa when most of you read this Friday morning, so I'll respond to follow-up questions when I land. I think Pitt takes care of business against South Florida and I'm going to predict that they make a return trip to Tampa-St. Pete to play in the Beef O'Brady's Bowl in a couple weeks. I could be wrong, though, and we could see a Backyard Bowl in Yankee Stadium against West Virginia. That would be fun.
Next week we'll recap the season, talk about what went right and what went wrong, attempt to add some perspective to 2012, take a closer look at Paul Chryst's approach to recruiting, and, of course, keep you up to date on the latest in Pitt recruiting.
Oh, and one other thing: as I'm typing this, I'm seeing Syracuse fans and players squawk on Twitter and Facebook about being Big East champs. Just stop. The only thing that matters is the BCS bid; if you don't have that, you're just a co-champion. And if you're a co-champion, you're not a champion.
This post was edited on 11/30 2:40 PM by Chris Peak
Welcome back to In the Pitt, Panther-Lair.com's rundown of everything going on in Pitt recruiting. Today we're focused on the rest of the class as the Pitt staff works to lock down its final 2013 recruits.
Top of the Pitt
We'll start off with a breakdown of what this class will look like on Signing Day, and that means we have to begin with a bit of contrition from me.
My understanding of Pitt's plans for this class has changed in the last week, and it's now pretty clear that the coaches are working with a target number that is a bit north of 25. In fact, I now expect Pitt to sign as many as 29 recruits in this class.
That is contrary to what I've been saying for the past few months. I always go to great lengths to get as much info and be as accurate about it as possible before I present it to the board. There have been plenty of times in the past where I have delayed in posting things because I wanted to be absolutely sure that I understood the situation.
In the past two years, I have had quite a few conversations about this very subject. Whether I was misinformed or I simply misunderstood is a moot point; what's relevant is that the approach I had been taking to Pitt's recruiting in the class of 2013 wasn't complete.
What I previously believed was that a team needed to meet two standards in order to count early-enrolling recruits back to the previous year's class. I believed that a team had to have room among the previous year's allotment of 25 initial scholarships, and I believed that a team had to have room on the previous year's 85-man roster.
The first part of that belief was correct; the second part was not. In order to count a recruit back, you only need room in the initial scholarships.
The initial scholarships are all of the new scholarships you give out in a year. That includes recruits, transfers, and walk-ons. The one caveat to that rule is walk-ons who have been with your program for at least two years, which is relevant to Pitt since the coaches gave scholarships to Mark Giubilato, Adam Lazenga, Kevin Barthelemy, and Matt Yoklic, who have all been at Pitt for at least two years.
As such, Pitt gave out 21 initial scholarships in 2012; that leaves room for 4 January enrollees to be "counted back." Pitt is currently positioned to fill all four of those spots, as these recruits plan to enroll in January:
Tra'von Chapman
Scott Orndoff
Shakir Soto
Tyrique Jarrett
Those four will then be "counted back" to the class of 2012, leaving a full complement of 25 after those four, meaning Pitt can sign up to 29 recruits in this class.
Obviously this goes a long way in understanding why the staff is pursuing so many recruits with 19 commitments at this stage of the recruiting process, although it's not the only reason. There is always a possibility of decommitments, and holding 19 commitments from November to February is not always common. We can't name names at this point, but there's at least a probable chance of one or two recruits opting to choose another college.
I know the topic of "counting back" has been brought up quite a bit on this board over the past six months, and I have denied the possibility. Turns out you were right. Now we can talk about Pitt adding as many as ten more recruits. You know the next question…
Who are the Ten?
That's the million-dollar question. If Pitt is going to sign 10 more recruits, who are they?
If we start locally, four-star receivers Terrish Webb, who got an offer from Pitt earlier this week.
I also think Pitt has a very good shot at landing defensive lineman Alex Officer could be leaning to Pitt, which would give Pitt a good quantity of offensive linemen in the class.
Pitt will probably want to add a running back to this class to go along with Kareem Hunt could end up being the running back Pitt lands.
Likewise, the coaches would like to get another defensive back (or two), and chances are they will land either Jaleel Hytchye. Landing both is probably unlikely, but Pitt should be able to get at least one of them.
In recent weeks, it has also become clear that Pitt will pursue a junior-college defensive tackle. Abens Cajuste got an offer last week after the coaches evaluated his film from this season, and he will visit in December. The staff is also pursuing a few other JUCO defensive linemen after viewing their tape, and we'll work on tracking down some names that have emerged.
Cass Tech defensive tackle Brian Brown
And then there's the surprise category; I think there will be at least one or two other recruits who sign in this class who are a bit unexpected. For instance, Cardinal Mooney linebacker Courtney Love is still very much in play, although Nebraska is working hard to keep him on the Huskers' commitment list.
If I had to name 10 recruits I could see filling out the class, here's what I would go with at this point. This is a reasoned guess, not a prediction.
Robert Foster
Tyler Boyd
Justin Moody
Jaryd Jones-Smith
Kareem Hunt or Jojo Kemp
Blake McClain or Jaleel Hytchye
Terrish Webb
Alex Officer
A JUCO DT
Surprise - Kenton Gibbs or other
Next Weekend
Pitt will hold its first big official visit next weekend - "big" in terms of quantity; in terms of quality, I'm not sure many will top the Johnson/Boyd/Foster/Howard visit from a couple weeks ago - and it just might be the biggest of this recruiting season.
We currently list 10 recruits on the official visit list for next weekend, and I don't expect that number to move much either way, save for maybe one or two additions. Of the 10 on the list, two - Shakir Soto and Scott Orndoff - are already committed, and they are taking their visits that weekend because they plan to enroll early.
Tra'von Chapman also plans to enroll early, so I suspect he'll be added to that list at some point between now and then.
Of the other eight recruits on the list, they all have Pitt offers and are all pretty high on the coaching staff's board.
I think when I interviewed him this week, and flat-out admitted that he didn't know if he would take more visits after Pitt. I think he wants to make sure Pitt is right for him and then he'll pull the trigger.
that he wants to take more visits after Pitt, including an official to Temple that is scheduled for the following week. He is considering a few options, but the Pitt coaches are strongly pursuing him. I'd say there's a chance that Jones-Smith commits on his visit, but he said that he talked with his parents and they want him to take all of his visits before he makes a decision.
Of the cornerbacks who are visiting, Jaleel Hytchye is a little higher on Pitt's board. He'll follow the Pitt visit with an official visit to Northwestern, and then he hopes to decide after that. It's been pretty clear since the summer that his final choice would come down to Pitt and Northwestern. NW seems to have the lead, but that's what official visits are for: to make up ground and take the lead yourself.
While Hytchye is probably higher on Pitt's board, the coaches have also been after visit to Pitt this summer, but he committed to Kentucky a few weeks later. McClain hasn't reopened his recruitment fully, but he is taking an official visit to Pitt next weekend and Kentucky the weekend after that. I think McClain is more likely to commit to Pitt than Hytchye.
At running back, Jojo Kemp will be visiting. Pitt seems like a good fit for Hunt, while Kemp is considering the Panthers, West Virginia, and Nebraska (he already visited WVU and Nebraska and doesn't have any visits scheduled after Pitt). I think Pitt is more likely to land Hunt, but it's tough to tell. (Update: I've been told that Hunt is not visiting that weekend.)
Detroit (Mich.) Cass Tech defensive tackle Kenton Gibbs is also visiting next weekend. After decommitting from Illinois, Gibbs has looked at several schools, but Pitt has been in the mix dating back to the summer when he visited despite his commitment. I heard that he has an official visit set to Illinois prior to the Pitt visit, but it certainly looks like Pitt is in good shape given the level of contact.
If I had to rank the visitors in order of most likely to commit on or shortly after the weekend, I would put it like this:
Justin Moody
Alex Officer
Jaryd Jones-Smith
Kareem Hunt
Kenton Gibbs
Jojo Kemp
Blake McClain
Jaleel Hytchye
I listed the cornerbacks last because both have visits scheduled to schools that have been prominent in their recruitment thus far (Kentucky for McClain, Northwestern for Hytchye).
Looking Ahead
I know this wasn't our longest In the Pitt (less than 2,000 words: lame) but there were a few things I wanted to get out there.
1. Pitt can - and probably will - go as high as 29 in this class, leaving 10 more spots to fill
2. There is potential to land some key targets on or shortly after next weekend's visit
I'll be in the air to Tampa when most of you read this Friday morning, so I'll respond to follow-up questions when I land. I think Pitt takes care of business against South Florida and I'm going to predict that they make a return trip to Tampa-St. Pete to play in the Beef O'Brady's Bowl in a couple weeks. I could be wrong, though, and we could see a Backyard Bowl in Yankee Stadium against West Virginia. That would be fun.
Next week we'll recap the season, talk about what went right and what went wrong, attempt to add some perspective to 2012, take a closer look at Paul Chryst's approach to recruiting, and, of course, keep you up to date on the latest in Pitt recruiting.
Oh, and one other thing: as I'm typing this, I'm seeing Syracuse fans and players squawk on Twitter and Facebook about being Big East champs. Just stop. The only thing that matters is the BCS bid; if you don't have that, you're just a co-champion. And if you're a co-champion, you're not a champion.
This post was edited on 11/30 2:40 PM by Chris Peak
