December 9, 2011
Welcome back to In the Pitt, the rundown of everything going on in Pitt recruiting.
A note about this week’s In the Pitt: if you’ve been reading the site all week, a lot of this will be a refresher. But since there was so much info this week between in-home visits and scheduled official visits, I thought it’d be good to recap it all in one place.
Of course, we’ll also have some new info for you, too.
The big weekend
This weekend will be a big one, with as many as a dozen recruits expected to take their official visits to Pitt. You can find the full visit list here, but let’s break the visitors down a little further.
Pitt will host six uncommitted recruits. These guys are the main focus for the weekend:
V’Angelo Bentley (Glenville cornerback)
- Pitt is the only visit Bentley has scheduled and the Panthers are in very good shape with him.
Marquez Clark (Navarro College receiver)
- Clark is a fast receiver who will enroll in January. He told Panther-Lair.com that he will visit Pitt this weekend and Kansas State next weekend before making his decision.
LaTroy Lewis (Arkon defensive end)
- Lewis is committed to Tennessee and took his official visit to Knoxville last weekend, but he wants to be sure of his decision, so he is visiting Pitt this weekend.
Deaysean Rippy (Sto-Rox linebacker)
- Rippy has been a top target for Pitt since he was a sophomore (and maybe before); the question is whether or not he wants to stay close to home.
Charles Siddoway (Butte C.C. offensive tackle)
- Pitt wants a tackle in this class, and Siddoway is one of the prospects they are targeting, along with Navarro College tackle Tavon Rooks.
Ryan Watson (Good Counsel defensive lineman)
- Watson has stayed under the radar throughout the recruiting process, but the four-star prospect is talented and would be a big score for Pitt. He said this week that he is considering three schools, but Pitt is in very good shape and could land a commitment this weekend.
You always want to surround uncommitted recruits with other prospects who have already chosen the Panthers. To that end, Pitt will have five commitments in town for official visits this weekend:
- Dakota Conwell
- Corey Jones
- Jahmahl Pardner
- Darryl Render
- Rushel Shell
Making the sale on the visits
In addition to Conwell, Jones, Pardner, Render, and Shell, quarterback commit Adam Bisnowaty will also be around during the weekend.
That’s a huge combination right there for Pitt. You’ll have the star quarterback (Voytik), star running back (Shell), and star offensive lineman (Bisnowaty) spending time with the likes of Clark and Watson and Rippy and the rest. It’s always important to have good relationships between recruits and coaches, and obviously things like the campus and the academics and all of that have to be the right fit, but if you can surround recruits with star players in their class, you can send a very distinct message:
“Come play with these kids and win a lot of games. Your class will be the foundation and here are the guys we have; now we need you to join in and put this thing over the top.”
That can be a powerful recruiting tool. And it’s especially effective when you’re working with a coaching staff’s first full recruiting class. Remember Dave Wannstedet’s class of 2006, with Dorin Dickerson and Jason Pinkston and John Malecki and the rest; that class was sold on being the foundation, the class that would return Pitt to prominence (and in Pitt’s best season under Wannstedt - 2009 - the players in that class were the ones who did form the foundation).
That’s what Todd Graham and his staff are going to be selling to the class of 2012: be part of the class that brings Pitt back. If you frame the conversation right and make sure guys like Voytik are around, you can make the point pretty well.
Getting a weapon
As we’ve said for awhile, Pitt really wants a junior-college receiver in this class. They want someone who they feel is a big-time playmaker that can come in and contribute right away. In addition to the quarterback issues, the staff felt like the receivers did not have a great year. Part of that was due to a lack of familiarity with the basic details and fundamentals of the offense, but the receivers were also suffering from a lack of speed among the older players.
You have to have speed to operate effectively in this offense; if nothing else, you have to be able to run fast off the line and get to the spot quicker than a defender. Pitt’s receivers were not great at that this season, which is why a junior-college receiver is such a priority.
Sierra C.C. wide receiver Courtney Gardner is one of Pitt’s top remaining targets, and for good reason: the more I’ve read and researched about Gardner, the more impressed I’ve become. He is a big-time talent and could be the game-changer that Pitt wants and needs at the receiver position.
The problem is this: other schools are finding out how good he is. Arkansas has been after him the longest, Florida State is after him very hard, Miami recently started showing interest, and Dan Mullen from Mississippi State visited him on Thursday. Plus, you’ll recall the article we ran where Gardner said that Auburn commit Zeke Pike had been in touch with him, which could lead to increased interest from the Tigers staff.
All of which makes next weekend even more important. Gardner is scheduled to take his official visit to Pitt next weekend, so the coaching staff will have to really roll out the red carpet for him. And like we mentioned on Wednesday night, JUCO quarterback Deon Anthony will also be taking his official visit that weekend; Anthony expects to get an offer when he’s at Pitt and that could very well lead to a commitment.
That’s important because Gardner and Anthony were teammates in high school. Gardner transferred after two years, but they have stayed friends and kept in touch. The friendship is key, hanging out together in Pittsburgh is key, and the natural desire of a receiver to want a good quarterback - and vice versa - is key. The Pitt coaches have timed this about as well as they could.
In addition to Gardner, Pitt is also working hard on Marquez Clark, the smaller but explosive and fast receiver from Navarro College in Texas who is visiting this weekend. Clark is fast and set national JUCO records for single-season receptions (98) and receiving yards (1,693) this year, while also catching 15 touchdown passes.
Here are some highlights of Clark during his freshman year at Navarro. Clark will visit Pitt this weekend and Kansas State next weekend before making his decision; I think Pitt is in good shape.
A busy week
With the regular season in the rearview mirror, the Pitt coaches hit the road this week to get started on in-home visits. Starting Sunday and going on all week, Pitt’s coaches were sitting down face-to-face with recruits and their families.
Pitt’s coaches were all over, from California to Texas to Louisiana to Tennessee to Maryland and, of course, Pennsylvania and Ohio. They visited all of the committed recruits as well as the top targets.
The week began with Mike Norvell making a trip to California to visit with Gardner and Siddoway. We haven’t caught up with Siddoway, but Gardner Nyeem Wartman; keep an eye on Wartman over the next couple weeks, as the Penn State commit is likely to explore his options.
On Tuesday Randolph headed to Maryland to meet with Devon Porchia and Ryan Watson, while Randall McCray visited V’Angelo Bentley in Ohio and Spencer Leftwich headed down to Texas to meet with Marquez Clark and Tavon Rooks.
Wednesday was highlighted by a couple of key visits. Randolph and Keith Patterson visited with Shaler linebacker last weekend. Meanwhile, quarterbacks coach Todd Dodge went to Hinds Community College in Mississippi to meet Deon Anthony for the first time.
A Pitt coach was also expected to visit Downingtown East running back Drew Harris on Thursday. Harris, a Virginia Tech commit, attended the Pit-Syracuse game on Saturday with a group of teammates and has some degree of interest in Pitt. Like Wartman, he’ll be one to keep an eye on over the next few days and weeks.
One of the most important visits this week came on Thursday when Norvell and Dodge went to Tennessee to meet with Chad Voytik. Through everything Pitt is trying to do in recruiting this class, there is one overriding, all-important goal:
Maintain Voytik’s commitment. It is absolutely essential to keep him on board. That’s why Pitt has been focused on keeping communication with Voytik very open and very honest. As they have looked at the junior college ranks for a possible option at quarterback, they have kept Voytik informed every step of the way. He has to be made to understand - and I think he has - that he is still their guy. He is the future of the program.
And that’s not just lip service: the Pitt coaches are very excited about Voytik’s potential and they feel that he is one of the best quarterbacks in the nation. Nothing can interfere with his commitment.
I know I have written this several times this week, but it’s very important for Pitt and the overall outlook of the program.
Other uncommitted recruits who got visits from Pitt coaches this week:
- Louisiana offensive tackle Jerald Hawkins
- Louisiana receiver Daijuan Stewart
- Trotwood-Madison safety Bam Bradley
- Jeannette safety Demetrious Cox
- Sto-Rox linebacker Deaysean Rippy
- Another note on the in-home visits:
A school can have seven coaches on the road recruiting at a time. With the departures of Calvin Magee, Tony Gibson, and Tony Dews after the Syracuse game, Pitt has had to call in some reserves to hit the road. So grad assistants Bo Graham and Dan Lanning and all-around Pitt representative Bob Junko all got certified to hit the road.
A few going elsewhere
A couple recruits with Pitt offers decided to take their talents elsewhere this week. Glenville defensive lineman Stephen Gibson committed to Louisiana Tech.
With the likely addition of Ryan Watson, the losses of Pace and Gibson aren’t as significant as they might have been.
Looking ahead
- So far, we’ve got Deon Anthony and Courtney Gardner on the official visit list for next weekend, but expect a few more names to be added, including possibly a few from Louisiana.
- The next big official visit weekend after that will be January 13. Three commits - Devon Porchia - have scheduled visits for that weekend, but we’re expecting at least a couple very interesting recruits to take visits then, too.
- South Bend (Ind.) Washington athlete Will Mahone could take an official visit to Pitt that weekend; Mahone is committed to Notre Dame but still has interest in Pitt. As we wrote at the time he announced his decision, his mother was the driving force behind committing to the Irish; if Pitt can get Mahone and his mother on campus and put on a good show, they may have a chance again.
- At some point, Chartiers Valley athlete Wayne Capers will take his official visit to Pitt. Capers was planning to take the official this weekend, but he has basketball games throughout the weekend, so he might just make an unofficial visit on Saturday morning.
How many can they take?
As always, the big-picture question in all of this is how many recruits Pitt actually can take. Right now they have 19 commitments; you can sign up to 25 recruits, so that would technically leave them with six open slots.
I think they’ll get as close to 25 as possible, because although they won’t necessarily have 25 open spots - even with some attrition, which is expected - there are at least a couple recruits in the class who will not qualify academically. So Pitt could sign 25 with the knowledge that probably only 20 or 21 will get enrolled.
That still only leaves six spots for what looks to be a lot more recruits that they are pursuing. One option that has been discussed on the board involves the junior-college prospects Pitt is recruiting. Recruits who sign and enroll in January can be counted against the previous class, thus allowing you to sign more than 25. For example, if Pitt were to land Clark, Rooks, and Anthony - who are all planning to enroll in January - then they could technically sign 28 in the class, since those three could be counted as part of the class of 2011 if Pitt was so inclined.
But here’s the problem with that plan: if you want to sign them retroactively, you have to have space for them retroactively on the roster. What that means is if you want three recruits to count as part of the previous class, then you would have had to have space on the previous season’s roster (i.e. only have 82 players on scholarship this fall, so those three wouldn’t put you over the 85-scholarship limit).
You would also have to have retroactive space in the previous year’s recruiting class. What that means is that recruits you sign “back” to the previous class cannot put that class over 25. So look at Pitt’s class of 2011. We list 21 recruits in the class, but Jeremiah Bryson and Jevonte Pitts do not count since neither made it to Pitt. That puts the number at 19, but then you have to add in Tom Ricketts, Ray Vinopal, Cullen Christian, Brendon Felder, and Trey Anderson; they all count toward that class, putting the number at 24 and leaving room for one 2012 recruit to be counted retroactively
And that assumes Pitt hasn’t given out all 85 scholarships this fall; by my count they had four left over, but those may have been given out. If Pitt played this season with a full 85, then there is no room to sign anyone retroactively.
Pitt could possibly have one extra spot in the class of 2011 if Khaynin Mosley-Smith, who enrolled in January of this year, was counted back to the class of 2010; I’m not sure how they handled him.
But the gist is this:
Pitt’s not going to be able to sign recruits now and count them in the class of 2011 in order to sign more than 25 this February. They might be able to sign one depending on the math, but I do not think that will happen. The recruits who sign this year will count as part of the class of 2012.
Pitt may be able to get more recruits in the class if some of the current commitments decide to look elsewhere. Trenton Coles seems to be looking at his options, and there may be one or two more who do the same. Pitt may also look to over-sign in this class with the knowledge that some may not qualify.
But still, if Pitt were to sign 28 or 29 thinking that three or four won’t qualify, they would still have to be at the 85-scholarship limit in training camp. That means attrition from the current roster, possibly as many as six to eight players. The bowl game and bowl practice sessions may give us some indication, as any players who want to transfer and participate in spring practice would do so after the fall semester, thus missing the bowl game. So there may be a few now and then a few more after spring camp and the spring semester.
Welcome back to In the Pitt, the rundown of everything going on in Pitt recruiting.
A note about this week’s In the Pitt: if you’ve been reading the site all week, a lot of this will be a refresher. But since there was so much info this week between in-home visits and scheduled official visits, I thought it’d be good to recap it all in one place.
Of course, we’ll also have some new info for you, too.
The big weekend
This weekend will be a big one, with as many as a dozen recruits expected to take their official visits to Pitt. You can find the full visit list here, but let’s break the visitors down a little further.
Pitt will host six uncommitted recruits. These guys are the main focus for the weekend:
V’Angelo Bentley (Glenville cornerback)
- Pitt is the only visit Bentley has scheduled and the Panthers are in very good shape with him.
Marquez Clark (Navarro College receiver)
- Clark is a fast receiver who will enroll in January. He told Panther-Lair.com that he will visit Pitt this weekend and Kansas State next weekend before making his decision.
LaTroy Lewis (Arkon defensive end)
- Lewis is committed to Tennessee and took his official visit to Knoxville last weekend, but he wants to be sure of his decision, so he is visiting Pitt this weekend.
Deaysean Rippy (Sto-Rox linebacker)
- Rippy has been a top target for Pitt since he was a sophomore (and maybe before); the question is whether or not he wants to stay close to home.
Charles Siddoway (Butte C.C. offensive tackle)
- Pitt wants a tackle in this class, and Siddoway is one of the prospects they are targeting, along with Navarro College tackle Tavon Rooks.
Ryan Watson (Good Counsel defensive lineman)
- Watson has stayed under the radar throughout the recruiting process, but the four-star prospect is talented and would be a big score for Pitt. He said this week that he is considering three schools, but Pitt is in very good shape and could land a commitment this weekend.
You always want to surround uncommitted recruits with other prospects who have already chosen the Panthers. To that end, Pitt will have five commitments in town for official visits this weekend:
- Dakota Conwell
- Corey Jones
- Jahmahl Pardner
- Darryl Render
- Rushel Shell
Making the sale on the visits
In addition to Conwell, Jones, Pardner, Render, and Shell, quarterback commit Adam Bisnowaty will also be around during the weekend.
That’s a huge combination right there for Pitt. You’ll have the star quarterback (Voytik), star running back (Shell), and star offensive lineman (Bisnowaty) spending time with the likes of Clark and Watson and Rippy and the rest. It’s always important to have good relationships between recruits and coaches, and obviously things like the campus and the academics and all of that have to be the right fit, but if you can surround recruits with star players in their class, you can send a very distinct message:
“Come play with these kids and win a lot of games. Your class will be the foundation and here are the guys we have; now we need you to join in and put this thing over the top.”
That can be a powerful recruiting tool. And it’s especially effective when you’re working with a coaching staff’s first full recruiting class. Remember Dave Wannstedet’s class of 2006, with Dorin Dickerson and Jason Pinkston and John Malecki and the rest; that class was sold on being the foundation, the class that would return Pitt to prominence (and in Pitt’s best season under Wannstedt - 2009 - the players in that class were the ones who did form the foundation).
That’s what Todd Graham and his staff are going to be selling to the class of 2012: be part of the class that brings Pitt back. If you frame the conversation right and make sure guys like Voytik are around, you can make the point pretty well.
Getting a weapon
As we’ve said for awhile, Pitt really wants a junior-college receiver in this class. They want someone who they feel is a big-time playmaker that can come in and contribute right away. In addition to the quarterback issues, the staff felt like the receivers did not have a great year. Part of that was due to a lack of familiarity with the basic details and fundamentals of the offense, but the receivers were also suffering from a lack of speed among the older players.
You have to have speed to operate effectively in this offense; if nothing else, you have to be able to run fast off the line and get to the spot quicker than a defender. Pitt’s receivers were not great at that this season, which is why a junior-college receiver is such a priority.
Sierra C.C. wide receiver Courtney Gardner is one of Pitt’s top remaining targets, and for good reason: the more I’ve read and researched about Gardner, the more impressed I’ve become. He is a big-time talent and could be the game-changer that Pitt wants and needs at the receiver position.
The problem is this: other schools are finding out how good he is. Arkansas has been after him the longest, Florida State is after him very hard, Miami recently started showing interest, and Dan Mullen from Mississippi State visited him on Thursday. Plus, you’ll recall the article we ran where Gardner said that Auburn commit Zeke Pike had been in touch with him, which could lead to increased interest from the Tigers staff.
All of which makes next weekend even more important. Gardner is scheduled to take his official visit to Pitt next weekend, so the coaching staff will have to really roll out the red carpet for him. And like we mentioned on Wednesday night, JUCO quarterback Deon Anthony will also be taking his official visit that weekend; Anthony expects to get an offer when he’s at Pitt and that could very well lead to a commitment.
That’s important because Gardner and Anthony were teammates in high school. Gardner transferred after two years, but they have stayed friends and kept in touch. The friendship is key, hanging out together in Pittsburgh is key, and the natural desire of a receiver to want a good quarterback - and vice versa - is key. The Pitt coaches have timed this about as well as they could.
In addition to Gardner, Pitt is also working hard on Marquez Clark, the smaller but explosive and fast receiver from Navarro College in Texas who is visiting this weekend. Clark is fast and set national JUCO records for single-season receptions (98) and receiving yards (1,693) this year, while also catching 15 touchdown passes.
Here are some highlights of Clark during his freshman year at Navarro. Clark will visit Pitt this weekend and Kansas State next weekend before making his decision; I think Pitt is in good shape.
A busy week
With the regular season in the rearview mirror, the Pitt coaches hit the road this week to get started on in-home visits. Starting Sunday and going on all week, Pitt’s coaches were sitting down face-to-face with recruits and their families.
Pitt’s coaches were all over, from California to Texas to Louisiana to Tennessee to Maryland and, of course, Pennsylvania and Ohio. They visited all of the committed recruits as well as the top targets.
The week began with Mike Norvell making a trip to California to visit with Gardner and Siddoway. We haven’t caught up with Siddoway, but Gardner Nyeem Wartman; keep an eye on Wartman over the next couple weeks, as the Penn State commit is likely to explore his options.
On Tuesday Randolph headed to Maryland to meet with Devon Porchia and Ryan Watson, while Randall McCray visited V’Angelo Bentley in Ohio and Spencer Leftwich headed down to Texas to meet with Marquez Clark and Tavon Rooks.
Wednesday was highlighted by a couple of key visits. Randolph and Keith Patterson visited with Shaler linebacker last weekend. Meanwhile, quarterbacks coach Todd Dodge went to Hinds Community College in Mississippi to meet Deon Anthony for the first time.
A Pitt coach was also expected to visit Downingtown East running back Drew Harris on Thursday. Harris, a Virginia Tech commit, attended the Pit-Syracuse game on Saturday with a group of teammates and has some degree of interest in Pitt. Like Wartman, he’ll be one to keep an eye on over the next few days and weeks.
One of the most important visits this week came on Thursday when Norvell and Dodge went to Tennessee to meet with Chad Voytik. Through everything Pitt is trying to do in recruiting this class, there is one overriding, all-important goal:
Maintain Voytik’s commitment. It is absolutely essential to keep him on board. That’s why Pitt has been focused on keeping communication with Voytik very open and very honest. As they have looked at the junior college ranks for a possible option at quarterback, they have kept Voytik informed every step of the way. He has to be made to understand - and I think he has - that he is still their guy. He is the future of the program.
And that’s not just lip service: the Pitt coaches are very excited about Voytik’s potential and they feel that he is one of the best quarterbacks in the nation. Nothing can interfere with his commitment.
I know I have written this several times this week, but it’s very important for Pitt and the overall outlook of the program.
Other uncommitted recruits who got visits from Pitt coaches this week:
- Louisiana offensive tackle Jerald Hawkins
- Louisiana receiver Daijuan Stewart
- Trotwood-Madison safety Bam Bradley
- Jeannette safety Demetrious Cox
- Sto-Rox linebacker Deaysean Rippy
- Another note on the in-home visits:
A school can have seven coaches on the road recruiting at a time. With the departures of Calvin Magee, Tony Gibson, and Tony Dews after the Syracuse game, Pitt has had to call in some reserves to hit the road. So grad assistants Bo Graham and Dan Lanning and all-around Pitt representative Bob Junko all got certified to hit the road.
A few going elsewhere
A couple recruits with Pitt offers decided to take their talents elsewhere this week. Glenville defensive lineman Stephen Gibson committed to Louisiana Tech.
With the likely addition of Ryan Watson, the losses of Pace and Gibson aren’t as significant as they might have been.
Looking ahead
- So far, we’ve got Deon Anthony and Courtney Gardner on the official visit list for next weekend, but expect a few more names to be added, including possibly a few from Louisiana.
- The next big official visit weekend after that will be January 13. Three commits - Devon Porchia - have scheduled visits for that weekend, but we’re expecting at least a couple very interesting recruits to take visits then, too.
- South Bend (Ind.) Washington athlete Will Mahone could take an official visit to Pitt that weekend; Mahone is committed to Notre Dame but still has interest in Pitt. As we wrote at the time he announced his decision, his mother was the driving force behind committing to the Irish; if Pitt can get Mahone and his mother on campus and put on a good show, they may have a chance again.
- At some point, Chartiers Valley athlete Wayne Capers will take his official visit to Pitt. Capers was planning to take the official this weekend, but he has basketball games throughout the weekend, so he might just make an unofficial visit on Saturday morning.
How many can they take?
As always, the big-picture question in all of this is how many recruits Pitt actually can take. Right now they have 19 commitments; you can sign up to 25 recruits, so that would technically leave them with six open slots.
I think they’ll get as close to 25 as possible, because although they won’t necessarily have 25 open spots - even with some attrition, which is expected - there are at least a couple recruits in the class who will not qualify academically. So Pitt could sign 25 with the knowledge that probably only 20 or 21 will get enrolled.
That still only leaves six spots for what looks to be a lot more recruits that they are pursuing. One option that has been discussed on the board involves the junior-college prospects Pitt is recruiting. Recruits who sign and enroll in January can be counted against the previous class, thus allowing you to sign more than 25. For example, if Pitt were to land Clark, Rooks, and Anthony - who are all planning to enroll in January - then they could technically sign 28 in the class, since those three could be counted as part of the class of 2011 if Pitt was so inclined.
But here’s the problem with that plan: if you want to sign them retroactively, you have to have space for them retroactively on the roster. What that means is if you want three recruits to count as part of the previous class, then you would have had to have space on the previous season’s roster (i.e. only have 82 players on scholarship this fall, so those three wouldn’t put you over the 85-scholarship limit).
You would also have to have retroactive space in the previous year’s recruiting class. What that means is that recruits you sign “back” to the previous class cannot put that class over 25. So look at Pitt’s class of 2011. We list 21 recruits in the class, but Jeremiah Bryson and Jevonte Pitts do not count since neither made it to Pitt. That puts the number at 19, but then you have to add in Tom Ricketts, Ray Vinopal, Cullen Christian, Brendon Felder, and Trey Anderson; they all count toward that class, putting the number at 24 and leaving room for one 2012 recruit to be counted retroactively
And that assumes Pitt hasn’t given out all 85 scholarships this fall; by my count they had four left over, but those may have been given out. If Pitt played this season with a full 85, then there is no room to sign anyone retroactively.
Pitt could possibly have one extra spot in the class of 2011 if Khaynin Mosley-Smith, who enrolled in January of this year, was counted back to the class of 2010; I’m not sure how they handled him.
But the gist is this:
Pitt’s not going to be able to sign recruits now and count them in the class of 2011 in order to sign more than 25 this February. They might be able to sign one depending on the math, but I do not think that will happen. The recruits who sign this year will count as part of the class of 2012.
Pitt may be able to get more recruits in the class if some of the current commitments decide to look elsewhere. Trenton Coles seems to be looking at his options, and there may be one or two more who do the same. Pitt may also look to over-sign in this class with the knowledge that some may not qualify.
But still, if Pitt were to sign 28 or 29 thinking that three or four won’t qualify, they would still have to be at the 85-scholarship limit in training camp. That means attrition from the current roster, possibly as many as six to eight players. The bowl game and bowl practice sessions may give us some indication, as any players who want to transfer and participate in spring practice would do so after the fall semester, thus missing the bowl game. So there may be a few now and then a few more after spring camp and the spring semester.
