Friday, March 15, 2013
Welcome back to In the Pitt, Panther-Lair.com's rundown of everything going on in Pitt recruiting. Today we'll look at Pitt's approach to the recruiting class of 2014, target numbers for the class and positions, and how Paul Chryst and company have been ahead of the curve this year.
The class of 2014
As always when discussing the upcoming recruiting class and the shape and design of the class, there are two valuable resources to consult:
The Offer Sheet
The Scholarship Board
One tells you which recruits Pitt is targeting; the other tells you how much room the coaches have to get those targets in. We'll start with the latter resource since it will set the stage for how Pitt approaches the former.
Pitt is currently set to have 90 players on scholarship this fall. Obviously that is too many, and in a discussion that has been brought up many times - and will again, this year and beyond - the coaches will need to whittle the list by five. The first candidates are probably some of the walk-ons who earned scholarships for the first time last fall. Fullback Mark Giubilato and punter Matt Yoklic will probably stay on scholarship since they are both starters, and I don't think the coaches will take redshirt freshman receiver Chris Wuestner off scholarship, since they seem to like him quite a bit.
Fullback Adam Lazenga, linebacker Emmanuel Rackard, and long-snapper Kevin Barthelemy are probably the most likely candidates to come off scholarship; if that happens, Pitt would still need two spots to open up. There are candidates all over the roster, but it's always tough to speculate on attrition. For the purposes of this discussion, let's assume that Lazenga, Rackard and Barthelemy don't have their scholarships renewed.
(I think one possibility has to be Dan Mason, who is sidelined this spring by turf toe and off-field issues; the off-field issues concern me - and the coaches - and I wonder if Mason and the coaches will mutually agree to move on in separate directions. But I digress).
Pitt will find a way to open the other two scholarship spots, but in terms of the recruiting class, taking two senior scholarships (Barthelemy and Rackard) off the books means fewer spots being open immediately for recruits. The Scholarship Board currently shows 16 seniors, which would be the starting point for the recruiting class; with those two removed, the number drops to 14. But the projection for a class is always higher than that starting number.
From what I've gathered, Pitt is shooting for at least 16 recruits in the class of 2014 and as many as 20, so for the purposes of our look at the class, we'll set the target number at 18.
The makeup of the class
So how will Pitt fill those 18? We'll start with the Three Years Out rule.
If you have read previous editions of In the Pitt, you've seen this before, and it's generally a good rule-of-thumb approach to identifying needs in a recruiting class. It's not a hard-and-fast policy, but it does give you a guideline for what to look for.
Generally speaking, you want your current recruiting class to be contributing in Year Three. So that means when these recruits are redshirt sophomores or juniors, you'd like to start seeing them on the field, either as starters or regular contributors. It's not a perfect rule, since some players contribute earlier and others sit behind upperclassmen when positions are deep.
But the rule does more or less give you an idea of what you need in the class. To that end, you look at the current sophomore-eligible players:
RB - Malcolm Crockett, Rushel Shell
TE - JP Holtz
OL - Artie Rowell
DE - Devin Cook
DT - Darryl Render
LB - Nicholas Grigsby, Ejuan Price
CB - Lafayette Pitts
Pitt has nine sophomore-eligible players on scholarship; obviously the Panthers will sign more than nine recruits. In fact, we expect them to double that number. But we can start with those nine as needing to be replaced and then look for nine more on top.
Keep in mind that all of these numbers are what we see Pitt signing as of March 15. Things can - and most certainly will - change over the next 10 months. But this is roughly how I see Pitt filling out the class of 2014.
Quarterback
Pitt doesn't have any quarterbacks in the sophomore class, but the coaches will still take at least one in the class. Keller Chryst. I don't want to say that Pitt is slow-playing Kincade while waiting to see what Keller Chryst does because the Pitt coaches have told Kincade that they want him. But the continued pursuit of Keller Chryst while holding a commitment from Kincade indicates that Paul Chryst is pretty high on his nephew. Meanwhile, Kincade has been exploring his options with some new offers and recent visits.
The coaches have been keeping tabs on other targets like Andrew Ford, and from what I've heard, quarterbacks coach Brooks Bollinger likes both of those players. But the top targets are Kincade and Keller Chryst. I think if Pitt fully commits to Kincade, he will be a Panther, while the word I've heard on Keller Chryst is that Stanford and Pitt are his top choices.
If I had to bet right now, I'd say that Chryst picks Stanford and Kincade signs with Pitt. And I wouldn't rule out a second quarterback in the class, since after 2013, Pitt will have Trey Anderson, Chad Voytik, and Tra'Von Chapman on the roster. That's not a loaded position, so a second quarterback could be needed.
Target number: 1
Top targets: Chandler Kincade, Keller Chryst
Running back
The Three Year Out rule isn't perfect, and here's an example. Malcolm Crockett and Rushel Shell fit the bill, but if things go according to plan, I don't see Pitt signing two running backs in the class of 2014 to replace them.
"Things going according to plan," of course, means Shai McKenzie. He's the top target at running back and one of Pitt's top targets on the overall recruiting board. If Pitt can land him - and his offer sheet keeps growing - then I think the coaches will probably be satisfied to sign one running back in the class. If they miss on McKenzie, they could take two. And really, they could probably stand to sign two, since Isaac Bennett will graduate after 2014 and Shell could leave after that season, too, which would diminish the ranks quite a bit. Plus, James Conner is one of the running backs on the 2013 roster, and there's always the chance that he could move to the defensive line.
Still, if Pitt gets McKenzie, that should be enough. And at this point, Pitt is in good shape with him, but we'll see how things shape up after he takes visits this spring, summer and fall.
In the meantime, Pitt offered Coatesville running back Jonathan Hilliman are the only running backs with offers from Pitt at this point. Hilliman had interest in Pitt but isn't likely to end up as a Panther, but I think Pitt will most likely sign McKenzie, Worley or Vault. At this point, though, it's too early to make a safe call on McKenzie's destination, and that will affect the bigger picture at the position.
Target number: 1/2
Top targets: Shai McKenzie, Daquan Worley, Solomon Vault
Wide receiver
Pitt made a haul at receiver in the class of 2013 and doesn't have any players who fall under the Three Years Out rule, but I don't think that means the coaches will avoid the position in this class. Pitt still needs significant talent upgrades at receiver, especially after Devin Street graduates following this season.
At this point, most of the playmaking talent at receiver on the 2013 roster will be in the freshman class, so the skill will be back-loaded on the younger part of the roster. But the coaches need more than just Tyler Boyd, and that's why they have offered quite a few receivers already.
From what we can tell, Pitt is in good shape with almost all of the receivers it has offered so far, but it's not going to be easy to land just about any of them. Elijah Zeise have all spoken highly of Pitt in the past, but all of them are seeing new offers come in at a pretty good pace (and some faster than others; more on that later).
Either way, Pitt wants to get more than a few of them, and I could see the Panthers signing two or possibly three receivers in this class to continue restocking the position. I think Pitt gets K.J. Williams. The Panthers were the second team to offer him, but his list has increased considerably. Still, he likes Pitt and is very tight with Devin Street; Street is something of a mentor to Williams, and his word will go a long way. Street likes Paul Chryst and receivers coach Bobby Engram a lot, and I think he'll pass that on to Williams, which should help Pitt.
For the third spot, I'm going to go with Dorian Baker. He hasn't gotten as much attention on the board as some of the others, partially due to the fact that he's from out of state. But he's a good player who could project on either side of the ball, and he likes Pitt quite a bit after having taken a couple visits in the last year.
I also think Pitt has a great chance with Zeise (who could be a receiver or a defensive back), although there is stiff competition; West Virginia is close to offering, and Zeise is also strongly considering Ivy League schools. Still, I think Pitt can land him in addition to Williams and Baker, regardless of which side of the ball the coaches see for him.
Target number: 2
Top targets: KJ Williams, Saeed Blacknall, Troy Apke, Dorian Baker, Adonis Jennings, Elijah Zeise
Tight end
I feel like we've repeated this line a thousand times: these coaches want to keep the tight end room stocked and use the position a lot. As such, even though the Three Years Out rule only touches sophomore JP Holtz, and even though Pitt signed three tight ends in the class of 2013, I think they'll want to keep adding in this class.
For starters, Manasseh Garner and Drew Carswell will be done after the 2014 season. And even with the big haul in the class of 2013, Pitt still figures to enter this season with only six tight ends on the roster, which is one or two tight ends less than the coaches like to have at any one time. Plus, Devon Edwards is a candidate to move to the offensive line at some point in his career.
I don't think it's a stretch to say that the coaches will look for two tight ends in this class, but we only list four offers and I'm not sure you could say Pitt is the top choice for any of those four. Avery Edwards, who has shown some interest in visiting from his home in Raleigh, NC, but again, I don't see him ending up here.
Of the four listed offers, Westerville (Oh.) South tight end Darryl Long seems to have the most interest in Pitt, and I'd probably call him the favorite from the group. But I think we'll see Pitt's tight end targets grow in the coming months, either through spring evaluations or in the summer prospect camps, and the Panthers will probably end up signing just one in the class.
Target number: 1
Top targets: Garrett Dickerson, Avery Edwards, Darryl Long
Offensive line
Like the receiver position, I don't think the restocking on the offensive line is done either. Pitt's got some decent numbers along the o-line - 15 scholarship players on the roster for 2013 - but the question is talent, and you don't need to look much further than the projected 2013 lineup to see what I mean. There is a good chance that the starting offensive line this fall will have two redshirt freshmen and possibly a true freshmen playing the tackle spots and center.
That tells you what the coaches think about the upperclassmen, and last year's haul of five offensive linemen sheds some light on those thoughts, too.
So while Pitt did sign five offensive linemen in 2013, I wouldn't be surprised to see the coaches go for three or possibly four in this class. The offer numbers back this up, as we list 14 offers to offensive linemen in the class so far.
Jarret LaRubbio, despite his growing offer sheet.
If Pitt could land those Grimm and LaRubbio, a tackle and a guard, respectively, and add another tackle to the group - possibly Danny Burns - that'd be a solid set of offensive linemen. And if they find another target to add in the spring evaluations or summer prospect camps, I could see them signing four in the class.
Target number: 3/4
Top targets: Mike Grimm, Alex Bookser, Ja'Merez Bowen, Danny Burns, Jamie Herr, Connor Hayes, Jarrett LaRubbio, Sam Mustipher
Defensive line
Pitt added five players to the defensive line in 2013, but I think they'll keep reloading, as the unit has three seniors and four juniors. So while the Three Years Out rule only points to Devin Cook and Darryl Render in the sophomore class, the barren years of defensive line recruiting in 2011 and 2012 have created a need for more.
So, like the offensive line, I could see Pitt going for three or possibly four defensive linemen in this class. There are only a handful of offers out so far, but I could see that number growing when the coaches go out for spring evaluations; I think we could see some new offers go out in Florida in May, and defensive linemen could be among that group.
For now, Jawhaun Bentley.
At defensive tackle, Craig Evans wants to visit Pitt after semi-reopening his recruitment (he originally committed to Wisconsin) but it seems like the most likely scenario is that he will end up as a Badger.
Target number: 3/4
Top targets: Noah Beh, Keyon Brown, Joe Henderson, Brock Boxen; potentially Tyler Burke and Jawhaun Bentley
Linebacker
Linebacker is one of the few positions that hasn't taken a major hit from the instability of the coaching changes, at least from a numbers standpoint. Pitt currently stands to have 13 scholarship linebackers on the roster this fall (although that number includes Emmanuel Rackard), and the group is rather back-loaded with youth; six linebackers on the fall roster will be freshmen or redshirt freshmen, and four of those are in the redshirt freshman group.
Assuming the coaches feel good about those six, there's not a desperate need for a slew of linebackers in this class. If you go by the Three Years Out rule, you see Nicholas Grigsby and Ejuan Price as redshirt sophomores, so you can use two as the starting point, and I think that's a good number to shoot for. Having eight linebackers in the true freshman, redshirt freshman, and redshirt sophomore classes - and having this staff recruit all eight - would be a good situation for the future.
As to targets, Pitt's got a number of offers out, but I think there are two that are most likely to sign with Pitt (assuming Tyler Burke and Jawhaun Bentley project more as defensive ends): Chase Winovich. Franklin is an inside linebacker and Winovich projects outside, and I think if the coaches could land those two, they'd be pleased with the linebacker class.
Target numbers: 2
Top targets: Zaire Franklin, Chase Winovich, Cameron Queiro
Defensive back
Pitt signed three defensive backs in the class, but the coaches wouldn't have minded adding one or two more. Of the 14 defensive backs set to be on the 2013 roster, six are juniors or seniors, while only Lafayette Pitts has sophomore eligibility. But that doesn't mean Pitt only wants one defensive back in the class.
Rather, I suspect the coaches will try to add a bunch of depth to the defensive backfield in this class. There are quite a few high-level defensive backs on the offer sheet already. Troy Vincent is the cream of the crop, and while Pitt has a better shot at landing him than national perception would indicate, I don't think he'll end up signing with the Panthers.
If Vincent is No. 1, then Aliquippa's Drew Lewis (who is the younger brother of Pitt redshirt freshman Ryan Lewis, as well as the nephew of former Panther Tim Lewis).
I think Pitt will get Henry, if only because I think he follows the Aliquippa pipeline. I think Pitt has done a good job with Nicholson, although my gut still tells me he will go out-of-state - probably Ohio State - and then I think Pitt lands Allen or Lewis or both. Henry, Allen/Lewis, and possibly Zeise would make for three good prospects, and then another defensive back could emerge from spring evaluations and the summer prospect camps (noticing a theme there? Spring evaluations and summer prospect camps will be important, particularly as the staff has been selective with offers).
However it comes together, Pitt wants to add more depth to its defensive backfield in this class.
Target number: 2/3
Top targets:. Troy Vincent, DeAndre Scott, Dravon Henry, Marcus Allen, Montae Nicholson, Drew Lewis, Juwann Winfree
Getting in early
Pitt has been selective with its offers, but the offers that have gone out have been for high-priority targets. But what has happened is that the recruits that these coaches prioritized have come onto the radars of other schools, and now recruits whose first offers came from Pitt are staring at impressive offer sheets.
Pitt was ahead of the curve on a number of prospects in this recruiting class; consider the trajectories of the following prospects. In each case, Pitt was the first or one of the first to offer, and the recruits have since blown up on the recruiting scene.
Upper Marlboro (Md.) Wise S Marcus Allen
- Allen is almost up to 20 offers now, but his first one came from Pitt. Since then his list has ballooned with offers from Arizona, Boston College, Clemson, Duke, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Maryland, Nebraska, N.C. State, Northwestern, Penn State, Rutgers, San Diego State, Temple, Vanderbilt, and Wake Forest.
Mt. Lebanon WR Troy Apke
- Pitt was the first offer for Apke, as the coaches pulled the trigger midway through Apke's breakout junior season at Mt. Lebanon. Now his offer sheet is up to seven, with Georgia Tech, Penn State, Minnesota, Kentucky, Toledo and Bowling Green on board and more offers likely if he hits the camp circuit this summer.
Cleveland (Oh.) Cleveland Heights WR Dorian Baker
- Pitt was Baker's first offer, with a scholarship coming last summer during the Panthers' seven-on-seven passing camp. Minnesota has also gotten in the mix, as have Akron, Buffalo, and Ohio, while Louisville, Wisconsin, West Virginia and Indiana are interested.
Scranton Prep DE Noah Beh
- UConn and Temple were Beh's first offer, but Pitt was third, and Penn State, Boston College, Syracuse, and Maryland have joined the list since then.
Manalapan (NJ) WR Saeed Blacknall
- Rutgers, Boston College and Old Dominion beat Pitt to the punch on Blacknall, but the Panthers were his fourth offer. Since then, Blacknall has certifiably blown up, with almost 20 offers from the ACC (Clemson, FSU, Georgia Tech, Miami), Big Ten (Ohio State, Michigan, Nebraska, Wisconsin), SEC (LSU, Vanderbilt) and Pac-12 (Cal).
Mt. Lebanon OL Alex Bookser
- Like his teammate, receiver Troy Apke, Bookser's first offer came from the local school: Pitt. Virginia offered Bookser shortly thereafter, and now he's got 19 offers, with Alabama, Tennessee, Boston College, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Maryland, Northwestern, Ohio State, Rutgers, and WVU also on the list.
Wauchula (Fla.) Hardee DE Keyon Brown
- Miami (Fla.) jumped on Brown last summer and he'll most likely end up as a 'Cane, but Pitt was the second school from a BCS conference to offer. Since then Clemson, Georgia, Kentucky, Ole Miss, and N.C. State have also offered the four-star prospect who ranks as the No. 77 recruit in the nation.
Fairfield (Oh.) OL Danny Burns
- Burns has a decent offer sheet, but Pitt was the first school to join it. In addition to non-BCS schools like Akron, Bowling Green, Ohio, and Toledo, Burns has offers from Iowa State, Louisville, Nebraska, and West Virginia.
Philadelphia La Salle LB Zaire Franklin
- Franklin is still building his offer sheet and only has five offers, but Pitt was the second school from a BCS conference to offer him after Temple.
Bethel Park OL Mike Grimm
- Youngstown State was Grimm's first offer, but Pitt was the first BCS - and FBS - school to offer him, and the longevity of the relationship will be a selling point for Chryst and his staff. Arizona, Boston College, Rutgers, Virginia, and WVU have joined his offer sheet, and he is hearing from a lot more schools.
Blackhawk QB Chandler Kincade
- Pitt offered him while Todd Graham was still head coach, and after some deliberation, Chryst and company followed up with an offer last summer. Kincade's commitment to Pitt has kept a number of schools at bay, but Rutgers and Temple have offered and he visited Alabama and Tennessee.
Liberty Township (Oh.) Lakota East OL Jarret LaRubbio
- LaRubbio's recruitment is blowing up. He's up to 16 offers now, with Arizona State, Cincinnati, Duke, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Nebraska, N.C. State, and WVU among the schools that have pulled the trigger. Pitt was on LaRubbio before any of those schools, though, as the Panthers were his first offer.
Westerville (Oh.) South tight end Darryl Long
- Long's first offer came from Ohio U., but Pitt was the first BCS school to pull the trigger. Illinois offered a few hours after Pitt, and Indiana, Kentucky, Louisville, Missouri, and Purdue have since offered, along with Bowling Green and Toledo.
Washington RB Shai McKenzie
- McKenzie is something of a no-brainer as an extremely productive running back in Pitt's backyard, and the coaches offered him at the Panthers' prospect camp last July. Pitt was the first BCS school to pull the trigger on McKenzie, and his offer sheet is now pushing 30.
Gateway S Montae Nicholson
- Toledo and Bowling Green were the first schools to offer Nicholson, but Pitt was the first school from a BCS conference to offer him. Now his offer sheet is considerable, as Florida State, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio State, Penn State, Rutgers, Stanford, and WVU have also offered.
Tarpon Springs (Fla.) Clearwater Central Catholic DE Justus Reed
- WVU beat Pitt on being the first to offer Reed, but only by one day as the Panthers extended a scholarship the day after the Mountaineers did. Louisville, UConn, Marshall and UCF have since joined Pitt and WVU on Reed's offer list, and his exposure will grow this spring.
Bethlehem Liberty WR KJ Williams
- Pitt was offer No. 2 for Williams, following Rutgers, and the Panthers held a good position early with the four-star receiver who considers Pitt receiver Devin Street virtually family. Williams has seen his offer sheet grow to seven; not a mind-blowing number, but when the nine schools are Pitt, Rutgers, UCLA, Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona, Missouri, Vanderbilt, and Connecticut, it's an impressive seven.
Englewood (NJ) Dwight Morrow ATH Juwann Winfree
- Winfree showed up at Pitt's game against Gardner-Webb last September and left with his first scholarship offer. Like so many others on this list, his offer sheet has grown quite a bit since getting the Pitt offer; now it includes scholarships from Boston College, Cincinnati, Georgia, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Rutgers, South Carolina, Syracuse, Vanderbilt, and WVU.
Thomas Jefferson linebacker Chase Winovich
- Pitt was the first to offer Winovich, but the Panthers weren't the last. Boston College, Florida State, Syracuse and WVU have also offered, and his list will keep growing if he works out at prospect camps this spring and summer.
North Allegheny ATH Elijah Zeise
- Pitt was Zeise's first offer, and his slow climb has continued since then. Arizona and Temple have pulled the trigger, and West Virginia won't be far behind. A number of Ivy League schools are involved as well, as are Rutgers and Georgia Tech. Pitt's offer was notable since it came prior to his junior season, which is when he finally moved into the starting lineup for North Allegheny.
And that's not including Gaithersburg (Md.) athlete Courtel Jenkins (only offer is from Pitt, although he'll probably need to camp to solidify that offer). Those four are likely to add more offers as spring turns to summer, and Pitt was one of the first to pull the trigger.
From the above list of 20 recruits, 14 claim Pitt as the first BCS school to offer. And those 14 are some of Pitt's top overall targets:
Marcus Allen
Troy Apke
Dorian Baker
Alex Bookser
Danny Burns
Mike Grimm
Chandler Kincade
Jarrett LaRubbio
Darryl Long
Shai McKenzie
Montae Nicholson
Juwann Winfree
Chase Winovich
Elijah Zeise
That's an impressive list of recruits, and Pitt was the first school from a BCS conference - and, in some cases, the first school regardless of conference or classification - to offer them. If those 14 all ended up at Pitt, I'd say that's a top-20 class. You've got a quarterback, a running back, three very good receivers (counting Zeise, who Pitt likes for offense), a tight end, a quartet of really good offensive linemen, a linebacker, and four defensive backs. The defensive line isn't addressed in those 14 and the coaches would probably like a second linebacker, but if they could start with those 14 for the class, they'd be tickled.
But it's not that easy, because despite the fact that Pitt was the first to identify and prioritize those recruits, other schools have followed suit. And in some cases, a lot of schools have followed suit. So Pitt's early offers gave the Panthers an early edge, but almost all of those recruits are now engaged in highly competitive recruitments. Now we're getting to the point of this exercise:
Pitt has been selective with its evaluations and offers, but they're not the only coaches recruiting these prospects. And while the small class limits how many recruits Pitt can take, the coaches will have to be aware of where they stand with the names on the offer sheet. The staff can probably afford to wait until the prospect camps to evaluate a number of unoffered targets, but they've got to be cognizant of where they stand with those priority recruits who have offers; if the coaches sense that they may be losing ground - even at this early stage - they'll need to react accordingly. You don't want to overreact and put out offers if you're not sure about the recruit, but the coaches do need to have a standby list of "tier-two" recruits who would be in line for offers if some of the top targets fall off.
Of course, the coaches do have those lists; they have a recruiting big board just like every other coaching staff. But when you have fewer offers out due to a smaller class, you have to be prepared to act and react accordingly as the recruiting landscape changes.
The goals
In some ways, it is unfortunate that Pitt is working with a smaller class in 2014. The WPIAL is as strong as it has been in recent years, and there are some big-time players within striking distance of Pitt's campus. And while the coaches hit the 2013 class hard with 27 signings, the roster still needs to be restocked and rebuilt, which a big class would help accomplish.
But at the same time, the ideal situation would be to have a big class the year after a successful season on the field. Pitt's strongest recruiting class in the Dave Wannstedt Era was the 2011 class (yes, the one that ultimately got blown up in the coaching change), and the reason it was so strong was that it directly followed Pitt's 10-win season in 2009. The Panthers had a good season in 2009 and recruited off that season as they worked through the calendar year of 2010 to build the class of 2011. Things didn't work out, obviously, and the 9-win season of 2008 helped as well, but it's not a coincidence that Wannstedt's best class - other than his first class, which was largely built without having any interference from on-field activity - followed his best season.
Ideally, Pitt would enter the ACC in 2013 with a bang, win 9 or 10 games, compete for the ACC title, and play well in a bowl game, because right now the class of 2015 should be close to a full one as the Panthers currently have 23 juniors on the roster (they would be the spots that open up for the class of 2015).
Either way, the current situation is what Chryst and company have to deal with, and that means a small class of probably 18-20 recruits. The immediate repercussion is that Pitt has been selective with its offers so far; look at Pitt's offer sheet and then scroll through the offer sheets of some other schools, and you'll find fewer offers on Pitt's list than the others. I don't claim that we have every single one of Pitt's offers online, but I'm confident in saying that we have close to or upwards of 90%, and it's a pretty accurate list.
As for what this class is expected to bring to Pitt, I think the simplest - and admittedly oversimplified - way of putting it is this:
The 2013 class will lay the foundation, while the 2014 class will add some firepower.
In an ideal world, the class of 2013 will be the foundation upon which Pitt's success in 2015/16/17 is built. That's what you are hoping for when you sign five offensive linemen and four defensive linemen in your first full recruiting class: you're trying to build your team's future.
In the class of 2014, Pitt has a number of talented skill players within its reach. This roster still needs an influx of skill-position talent, and that's what this class needs to bring to the Panthers. If that can happen and a significant percentage of the recruits in both the 2013 and 2014 classes live up to their potential, Pitt should have a very good team in the next few years. Building a program - which is what Paul Chryst is trying to do - can take time, but this is the way to do it.
Welcome back to In the Pitt, Panther-Lair.com's rundown of everything going on in Pitt recruiting. Today we'll look at Pitt's approach to the recruiting class of 2014, target numbers for the class and positions, and how Paul Chryst and company have been ahead of the curve this year.
The class of 2014
As always when discussing the upcoming recruiting class and the shape and design of the class, there are two valuable resources to consult:
The Offer Sheet
The Scholarship Board
One tells you which recruits Pitt is targeting; the other tells you how much room the coaches have to get those targets in. We'll start with the latter resource since it will set the stage for how Pitt approaches the former.
Pitt is currently set to have 90 players on scholarship this fall. Obviously that is too many, and in a discussion that has been brought up many times - and will again, this year and beyond - the coaches will need to whittle the list by five. The first candidates are probably some of the walk-ons who earned scholarships for the first time last fall. Fullback Mark Giubilato and punter Matt Yoklic will probably stay on scholarship since they are both starters, and I don't think the coaches will take redshirt freshman receiver Chris Wuestner off scholarship, since they seem to like him quite a bit.
Fullback Adam Lazenga, linebacker Emmanuel Rackard, and long-snapper Kevin Barthelemy are probably the most likely candidates to come off scholarship; if that happens, Pitt would still need two spots to open up. There are candidates all over the roster, but it's always tough to speculate on attrition. For the purposes of this discussion, let's assume that Lazenga, Rackard and Barthelemy don't have their scholarships renewed.
(I think one possibility has to be Dan Mason, who is sidelined this spring by turf toe and off-field issues; the off-field issues concern me - and the coaches - and I wonder if Mason and the coaches will mutually agree to move on in separate directions. But I digress).
Pitt will find a way to open the other two scholarship spots, but in terms of the recruiting class, taking two senior scholarships (Barthelemy and Rackard) off the books means fewer spots being open immediately for recruits. The Scholarship Board currently shows 16 seniors, which would be the starting point for the recruiting class; with those two removed, the number drops to 14. But the projection for a class is always higher than that starting number.
From what I've gathered, Pitt is shooting for at least 16 recruits in the class of 2014 and as many as 20, so for the purposes of our look at the class, we'll set the target number at 18.
The makeup of the class
So how will Pitt fill those 18? We'll start with the Three Years Out rule.
If you have read previous editions of In the Pitt, you've seen this before, and it's generally a good rule-of-thumb approach to identifying needs in a recruiting class. It's not a hard-and-fast policy, but it does give you a guideline for what to look for.
Generally speaking, you want your current recruiting class to be contributing in Year Three. So that means when these recruits are redshirt sophomores or juniors, you'd like to start seeing them on the field, either as starters or regular contributors. It's not a perfect rule, since some players contribute earlier and others sit behind upperclassmen when positions are deep.
But the rule does more or less give you an idea of what you need in the class. To that end, you look at the current sophomore-eligible players:
RB - Malcolm Crockett, Rushel Shell
TE - JP Holtz
OL - Artie Rowell
DE - Devin Cook
DT - Darryl Render
LB - Nicholas Grigsby, Ejuan Price
CB - Lafayette Pitts
Pitt has nine sophomore-eligible players on scholarship; obviously the Panthers will sign more than nine recruits. In fact, we expect them to double that number. But we can start with those nine as needing to be replaced and then look for nine more on top.
Keep in mind that all of these numbers are what we see Pitt signing as of March 15. Things can - and most certainly will - change over the next 10 months. But this is roughly how I see Pitt filling out the class of 2014.
Quarterback
Pitt doesn't have any quarterbacks in the sophomore class, but the coaches will still take at least one in the class. Keller Chryst. I don't want to say that Pitt is slow-playing Kincade while waiting to see what Keller Chryst does because the Pitt coaches have told Kincade that they want him. But the continued pursuit of Keller Chryst while holding a commitment from Kincade indicates that Paul Chryst is pretty high on his nephew. Meanwhile, Kincade has been exploring his options with some new offers and recent visits.
The coaches have been keeping tabs on other targets like Andrew Ford, and from what I've heard, quarterbacks coach Brooks Bollinger likes both of those players. But the top targets are Kincade and Keller Chryst. I think if Pitt fully commits to Kincade, he will be a Panther, while the word I've heard on Keller Chryst is that Stanford and Pitt are his top choices.
If I had to bet right now, I'd say that Chryst picks Stanford and Kincade signs with Pitt. And I wouldn't rule out a second quarterback in the class, since after 2013, Pitt will have Trey Anderson, Chad Voytik, and Tra'Von Chapman on the roster. That's not a loaded position, so a second quarterback could be needed.
Target number: 1
Top targets: Chandler Kincade, Keller Chryst
Running back
The Three Year Out rule isn't perfect, and here's an example. Malcolm Crockett and Rushel Shell fit the bill, but if things go according to plan, I don't see Pitt signing two running backs in the class of 2014 to replace them.
"Things going according to plan," of course, means Shai McKenzie. He's the top target at running back and one of Pitt's top targets on the overall recruiting board. If Pitt can land him - and his offer sheet keeps growing - then I think the coaches will probably be satisfied to sign one running back in the class. If they miss on McKenzie, they could take two. And really, they could probably stand to sign two, since Isaac Bennett will graduate after 2014 and Shell could leave after that season, too, which would diminish the ranks quite a bit. Plus, James Conner is one of the running backs on the 2013 roster, and there's always the chance that he could move to the defensive line.
Still, if Pitt gets McKenzie, that should be enough. And at this point, Pitt is in good shape with him, but we'll see how things shape up after he takes visits this spring, summer and fall.
In the meantime, Pitt offered Coatesville running back Jonathan Hilliman are the only running backs with offers from Pitt at this point. Hilliman had interest in Pitt but isn't likely to end up as a Panther, but I think Pitt will most likely sign McKenzie, Worley or Vault. At this point, though, it's too early to make a safe call on McKenzie's destination, and that will affect the bigger picture at the position.
Target number: 1/2
Top targets: Shai McKenzie, Daquan Worley, Solomon Vault
Wide receiver
Pitt made a haul at receiver in the class of 2013 and doesn't have any players who fall under the Three Years Out rule, but I don't think that means the coaches will avoid the position in this class. Pitt still needs significant talent upgrades at receiver, especially after Devin Street graduates following this season.
At this point, most of the playmaking talent at receiver on the 2013 roster will be in the freshman class, so the skill will be back-loaded on the younger part of the roster. But the coaches need more than just Tyler Boyd, and that's why they have offered quite a few receivers already.
From what we can tell, Pitt is in good shape with almost all of the receivers it has offered so far, but it's not going to be easy to land just about any of them. Elijah Zeise have all spoken highly of Pitt in the past, but all of them are seeing new offers come in at a pretty good pace (and some faster than others; more on that later).
Either way, Pitt wants to get more than a few of them, and I could see the Panthers signing two or possibly three receivers in this class to continue restocking the position. I think Pitt gets K.J. Williams. The Panthers were the second team to offer him, but his list has increased considerably. Still, he likes Pitt and is very tight with Devin Street; Street is something of a mentor to Williams, and his word will go a long way. Street likes Paul Chryst and receivers coach Bobby Engram a lot, and I think he'll pass that on to Williams, which should help Pitt.
For the third spot, I'm going to go with Dorian Baker. He hasn't gotten as much attention on the board as some of the others, partially due to the fact that he's from out of state. But he's a good player who could project on either side of the ball, and he likes Pitt quite a bit after having taken a couple visits in the last year.
I also think Pitt has a great chance with Zeise (who could be a receiver or a defensive back), although there is stiff competition; West Virginia is close to offering, and Zeise is also strongly considering Ivy League schools. Still, I think Pitt can land him in addition to Williams and Baker, regardless of which side of the ball the coaches see for him.
Target number: 2
Top targets: KJ Williams, Saeed Blacknall, Troy Apke, Dorian Baker, Adonis Jennings, Elijah Zeise
Tight end
I feel like we've repeated this line a thousand times: these coaches want to keep the tight end room stocked and use the position a lot. As such, even though the Three Years Out rule only touches sophomore JP Holtz, and even though Pitt signed three tight ends in the class of 2013, I think they'll want to keep adding in this class.
For starters, Manasseh Garner and Drew Carswell will be done after the 2014 season. And even with the big haul in the class of 2013, Pitt still figures to enter this season with only six tight ends on the roster, which is one or two tight ends less than the coaches like to have at any one time. Plus, Devon Edwards is a candidate to move to the offensive line at some point in his career.
I don't think it's a stretch to say that the coaches will look for two tight ends in this class, but we only list four offers and I'm not sure you could say Pitt is the top choice for any of those four. Avery Edwards, who has shown some interest in visiting from his home in Raleigh, NC, but again, I don't see him ending up here.
Of the four listed offers, Westerville (Oh.) South tight end Darryl Long seems to have the most interest in Pitt, and I'd probably call him the favorite from the group. But I think we'll see Pitt's tight end targets grow in the coming months, either through spring evaluations or in the summer prospect camps, and the Panthers will probably end up signing just one in the class.
Target number: 1
Top targets: Garrett Dickerson, Avery Edwards, Darryl Long
Offensive line
Like the receiver position, I don't think the restocking on the offensive line is done either. Pitt's got some decent numbers along the o-line - 15 scholarship players on the roster for 2013 - but the question is talent, and you don't need to look much further than the projected 2013 lineup to see what I mean. There is a good chance that the starting offensive line this fall will have two redshirt freshmen and possibly a true freshmen playing the tackle spots and center.
That tells you what the coaches think about the upperclassmen, and last year's haul of five offensive linemen sheds some light on those thoughts, too.
So while Pitt did sign five offensive linemen in 2013, I wouldn't be surprised to see the coaches go for three or possibly four in this class. The offer numbers back this up, as we list 14 offers to offensive linemen in the class so far.
Jarret LaRubbio, despite his growing offer sheet.
If Pitt could land those Grimm and LaRubbio, a tackle and a guard, respectively, and add another tackle to the group - possibly Danny Burns - that'd be a solid set of offensive linemen. And if they find another target to add in the spring evaluations or summer prospect camps, I could see them signing four in the class.
Target number: 3/4
Top targets: Mike Grimm, Alex Bookser, Ja'Merez Bowen, Danny Burns, Jamie Herr, Connor Hayes, Jarrett LaRubbio, Sam Mustipher
Defensive line
Pitt added five players to the defensive line in 2013, but I think they'll keep reloading, as the unit has three seniors and four juniors. So while the Three Years Out rule only points to Devin Cook and Darryl Render in the sophomore class, the barren years of defensive line recruiting in 2011 and 2012 have created a need for more.
So, like the offensive line, I could see Pitt going for three or possibly four defensive linemen in this class. There are only a handful of offers out so far, but I could see that number growing when the coaches go out for spring evaluations; I think we could see some new offers go out in Florida in May, and defensive linemen could be among that group.
For now, Jawhaun Bentley.
At defensive tackle, Craig Evans wants to visit Pitt after semi-reopening his recruitment (he originally committed to Wisconsin) but it seems like the most likely scenario is that he will end up as a Badger.
Target number: 3/4
Top targets: Noah Beh, Keyon Brown, Joe Henderson, Brock Boxen; potentially Tyler Burke and Jawhaun Bentley
Linebacker
Linebacker is one of the few positions that hasn't taken a major hit from the instability of the coaching changes, at least from a numbers standpoint. Pitt currently stands to have 13 scholarship linebackers on the roster this fall (although that number includes Emmanuel Rackard), and the group is rather back-loaded with youth; six linebackers on the fall roster will be freshmen or redshirt freshmen, and four of those are in the redshirt freshman group.
Assuming the coaches feel good about those six, there's not a desperate need for a slew of linebackers in this class. If you go by the Three Years Out rule, you see Nicholas Grigsby and Ejuan Price as redshirt sophomores, so you can use two as the starting point, and I think that's a good number to shoot for. Having eight linebackers in the true freshman, redshirt freshman, and redshirt sophomore classes - and having this staff recruit all eight - would be a good situation for the future.
As to targets, Pitt's got a number of offers out, but I think there are two that are most likely to sign with Pitt (assuming Tyler Burke and Jawhaun Bentley project more as defensive ends): Chase Winovich. Franklin is an inside linebacker and Winovich projects outside, and I think if the coaches could land those two, they'd be pleased with the linebacker class.
Target numbers: 2
Top targets: Zaire Franklin, Chase Winovich, Cameron Queiro
Defensive back
Pitt signed three defensive backs in the class, but the coaches wouldn't have minded adding one or two more. Of the 14 defensive backs set to be on the 2013 roster, six are juniors or seniors, while only Lafayette Pitts has sophomore eligibility. But that doesn't mean Pitt only wants one defensive back in the class.
Rather, I suspect the coaches will try to add a bunch of depth to the defensive backfield in this class. There are quite a few high-level defensive backs on the offer sheet already. Troy Vincent is the cream of the crop, and while Pitt has a better shot at landing him than national perception would indicate, I don't think he'll end up signing with the Panthers.
If Vincent is No. 1, then Aliquippa's Drew Lewis (who is the younger brother of Pitt redshirt freshman Ryan Lewis, as well as the nephew of former Panther Tim Lewis).
I think Pitt will get Henry, if only because I think he follows the Aliquippa pipeline. I think Pitt has done a good job with Nicholson, although my gut still tells me he will go out-of-state - probably Ohio State - and then I think Pitt lands Allen or Lewis or both. Henry, Allen/Lewis, and possibly Zeise would make for three good prospects, and then another defensive back could emerge from spring evaluations and the summer prospect camps (noticing a theme there? Spring evaluations and summer prospect camps will be important, particularly as the staff has been selective with offers).
However it comes together, Pitt wants to add more depth to its defensive backfield in this class.
Target number: 2/3
Top targets:. Troy Vincent, DeAndre Scott, Dravon Henry, Marcus Allen, Montae Nicholson, Drew Lewis, Juwann Winfree
Getting in early
Pitt has been selective with its offers, but the offers that have gone out have been for high-priority targets. But what has happened is that the recruits that these coaches prioritized have come onto the radars of other schools, and now recruits whose first offers came from Pitt are staring at impressive offer sheets.
Pitt was ahead of the curve on a number of prospects in this recruiting class; consider the trajectories of the following prospects. In each case, Pitt was the first or one of the first to offer, and the recruits have since blown up on the recruiting scene.
Upper Marlboro (Md.) Wise S Marcus Allen
- Allen is almost up to 20 offers now, but his first one came from Pitt. Since then his list has ballooned with offers from Arizona, Boston College, Clemson, Duke, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Maryland, Nebraska, N.C. State, Northwestern, Penn State, Rutgers, San Diego State, Temple, Vanderbilt, and Wake Forest.
Mt. Lebanon WR Troy Apke
- Pitt was the first offer for Apke, as the coaches pulled the trigger midway through Apke's breakout junior season at Mt. Lebanon. Now his offer sheet is up to seven, with Georgia Tech, Penn State, Minnesota, Kentucky, Toledo and Bowling Green on board and more offers likely if he hits the camp circuit this summer.
Cleveland (Oh.) Cleveland Heights WR Dorian Baker
- Pitt was Baker's first offer, with a scholarship coming last summer during the Panthers' seven-on-seven passing camp. Minnesota has also gotten in the mix, as have Akron, Buffalo, and Ohio, while Louisville, Wisconsin, West Virginia and Indiana are interested.
Scranton Prep DE Noah Beh
- UConn and Temple were Beh's first offer, but Pitt was third, and Penn State, Boston College, Syracuse, and Maryland have joined the list since then.
Manalapan (NJ) WR Saeed Blacknall
- Rutgers, Boston College and Old Dominion beat Pitt to the punch on Blacknall, but the Panthers were his fourth offer. Since then, Blacknall has certifiably blown up, with almost 20 offers from the ACC (Clemson, FSU, Georgia Tech, Miami), Big Ten (Ohio State, Michigan, Nebraska, Wisconsin), SEC (LSU, Vanderbilt) and Pac-12 (Cal).
Mt. Lebanon OL Alex Bookser
- Like his teammate, receiver Troy Apke, Bookser's first offer came from the local school: Pitt. Virginia offered Bookser shortly thereafter, and now he's got 19 offers, with Alabama, Tennessee, Boston College, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Maryland, Northwestern, Ohio State, Rutgers, and WVU also on the list.
Wauchula (Fla.) Hardee DE Keyon Brown
- Miami (Fla.) jumped on Brown last summer and he'll most likely end up as a 'Cane, but Pitt was the second school from a BCS conference to offer. Since then Clemson, Georgia, Kentucky, Ole Miss, and N.C. State have also offered the four-star prospect who ranks as the No. 77 recruit in the nation.
Fairfield (Oh.) OL Danny Burns
- Burns has a decent offer sheet, but Pitt was the first school to join it. In addition to non-BCS schools like Akron, Bowling Green, Ohio, and Toledo, Burns has offers from Iowa State, Louisville, Nebraska, and West Virginia.
Philadelphia La Salle LB Zaire Franklin
- Franklin is still building his offer sheet and only has five offers, but Pitt was the second school from a BCS conference to offer him after Temple.
Bethel Park OL Mike Grimm
- Youngstown State was Grimm's first offer, but Pitt was the first BCS - and FBS - school to offer him, and the longevity of the relationship will be a selling point for Chryst and his staff. Arizona, Boston College, Rutgers, Virginia, and WVU have joined his offer sheet, and he is hearing from a lot more schools.
Blackhawk QB Chandler Kincade
- Pitt offered him while Todd Graham was still head coach, and after some deliberation, Chryst and company followed up with an offer last summer. Kincade's commitment to Pitt has kept a number of schools at bay, but Rutgers and Temple have offered and he visited Alabama and Tennessee.
Liberty Township (Oh.) Lakota East OL Jarret LaRubbio
- LaRubbio's recruitment is blowing up. He's up to 16 offers now, with Arizona State, Cincinnati, Duke, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Nebraska, N.C. State, and WVU among the schools that have pulled the trigger. Pitt was on LaRubbio before any of those schools, though, as the Panthers were his first offer.
Westerville (Oh.) South tight end Darryl Long
- Long's first offer came from Ohio U., but Pitt was the first BCS school to pull the trigger. Illinois offered a few hours after Pitt, and Indiana, Kentucky, Louisville, Missouri, and Purdue have since offered, along with Bowling Green and Toledo.
Washington RB Shai McKenzie
- McKenzie is something of a no-brainer as an extremely productive running back in Pitt's backyard, and the coaches offered him at the Panthers' prospect camp last July. Pitt was the first BCS school to pull the trigger on McKenzie, and his offer sheet is now pushing 30.
Gateway S Montae Nicholson
- Toledo and Bowling Green were the first schools to offer Nicholson, but Pitt was the first school from a BCS conference to offer him. Now his offer sheet is considerable, as Florida State, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio State, Penn State, Rutgers, Stanford, and WVU have also offered.
Tarpon Springs (Fla.) Clearwater Central Catholic DE Justus Reed
- WVU beat Pitt on being the first to offer Reed, but only by one day as the Panthers extended a scholarship the day after the Mountaineers did. Louisville, UConn, Marshall and UCF have since joined Pitt and WVU on Reed's offer list, and his exposure will grow this spring.
Bethlehem Liberty WR KJ Williams
- Pitt was offer No. 2 for Williams, following Rutgers, and the Panthers held a good position early with the four-star receiver who considers Pitt receiver Devin Street virtually family. Williams has seen his offer sheet grow to seven; not a mind-blowing number, but when the nine schools are Pitt, Rutgers, UCLA, Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona, Missouri, Vanderbilt, and Connecticut, it's an impressive seven.
Englewood (NJ) Dwight Morrow ATH Juwann Winfree
- Winfree showed up at Pitt's game against Gardner-Webb last September and left with his first scholarship offer. Like so many others on this list, his offer sheet has grown quite a bit since getting the Pitt offer; now it includes scholarships from Boston College, Cincinnati, Georgia, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Rutgers, South Carolina, Syracuse, Vanderbilt, and WVU.
Thomas Jefferson linebacker Chase Winovich
- Pitt was the first to offer Winovich, but the Panthers weren't the last. Boston College, Florida State, Syracuse and WVU have also offered, and his list will keep growing if he works out at prospect camps this spring and summer.
North Allegheny ATH Elijah Zeise
- Pitt was Zeise's first offer, and his slow climb has continued since then. Arizona and Temple have pulled the trigger, and West Virginia won't be far behind. A number of Ivy League schools are involved as well, as are Rutgers and Georgia Tech. Pitt's offer was notable since it came prior to his junior season, which is when he finally moved into the starting lineup for North Allegheny.
And that's not including Gaithersburg (Md.) athlete Courtel Jenkins (only offer is from Pitt, although he'll probably need to camp to solidify that offer). Those four are likely to add more offers as spring turns to summer, and Pitt was one of the first to pull the trigger.
From the above list of 20 recruits, 14 claim Pitt as the first BCS school to offer. And those 14 are some of Pitt's top overall targets:
Marcus Allen
Troy Apke
Dorian Baker
Alex Bookser
Danny Burns
Mike Grimm
Chandler Kincade
Jarrett LaRubbio
Darryl Long
Shai McKenzie
Montae Nicholson
Juwann Winfree
Chase Winovich
Elijah Zeise
That's an impressive list of recruits, and Pitt was the first school from a BCS conference - and, in some cases, the first school regardless of conference or classification - to offer them. If those 14 all ended up at Pitt, I'd say that's a top-20 class. You've got a quarterback, a running back, three very good receivers (counting Zeise, who Pitt likes for offense), a tight end, a quartet of really good offensive linemen, a linebacker, and four defensive backs. The defensive line isn't addressed in those 14 and the coaches would probably like a second linebacker, but if they could start with those 14 for the class, they'd be tickled.
But it's not that easy, because despite the fact that Pitt was the first to identify and prioritize those recruits, other schools have followed suit. And in some cases, a lot of schools have followed suit. So Pitt's early offers gave the Panthers an early edge, but almost all of those recruits are now engaged in highly competitive recruitments. Now we're getting to the point of this exercise:
Pitt has been selective with its evaluations and offers, but they're not the only coaches recruiting these prospects. And while the small class limits how many recruits Pitt can take, the coaches will have to be aware of where they stand with the names on the offer sheet. The staff can probably afford to wait until the prospect camps to evaluate a number of unoffered targets, but they've got to be cognizant of where they stand with those priority recruits who have offers; if the coaches sense that they may be losing ground - even at this early stage - they'll need to react accordingly. You don't want to overreact and put out offers if you're not sure about the recruit, but the coaches do need to have a standby list of "tier-two" recruits who would be in line for offers if some of the top targets fall off.
Of course, the coaches do have those lists; they have a recruiting big board just like every other coaching staff. But when you have fewer offers out due to a smaller class, you have to be prepared to act and react accordingly as the recruiting landscape changes.
The goals
In some ways, it is unfortunate that Pitt is working with a smaller class in 2014. The WPIAL is as strong as it has been in recent years, and there are some big-time players within striking distance of Pitt's campus. And while the coaches hit the 2013 class hard with 27 signings, the roster still needs to be restocked and rebuilt, which a big class would help accomplish.
But at the same time, the ideal situation would be to have a big class the year after a successful season on the field. Pitt's strongest recruiting class in the Dave Wannstedt Era was the 2011 class (yes, the one that ultimately got blown up in the coaching change), and the reason it was so strong was that it directly followed Pitt's 10-win season in 2009. The Panthers had a good season in 2009 and recruited off that season as they worked through the calendar year of 2010 to build the class of 2011. Things didn't work out, obviously, and the 9-win season of 2008 helped as well, but it's not a coincidence that Wannstedt's best class - other than his first class, which was largely built without having any interference from on-field activity - followed his best season.
Ideally, Pitt would enter the ACC in 2013 with a bang, win 9 or 10 games, compete for the ACC title, and play well in a bowl game, because right now the class of 2015 should be close to a full one as the Panthers currently have 23 juniors on the roster (they would be the spots that open up for the class of 2015).
Either way, the current situation is what Chryst and company have to deal with, and that means a small class of probably 18-20 recruits. The immediate repercussion is that Pitt has been selective with its offers so far; look at Pitt's offer sheet and then scroll through the offer sheets of some other schools, and you'll find fewer offers on Pitt's list than the others. I don't claim that we have every single one of Pitt's offers online, but I'm confident in saying that we have close to or upwards of 90%, and it's a pretty accurate list.
As for what this class is expected to bring to Pitt, I think the simplest - and admittedly oversimplified - way of putting it is this:
The 2013 class will lay the foundation, while the 2014 class will add some firepower.
In an ideal world, the class of 2013 will be the foundation upon which Pitt's success in 2015/16/17 is built. That's what you are hoping for when you sign five offensive linemen and four defensive linemen in your first full recruiting class: you're trying to build your team's future.
In the class of 2014, Pitt has a number of talented skill players within its reach. This roster still needs an influx of skill-position talent, and that's what this class needs to bring to the Panthers. If that can happen and a significant percentage of the recruits in both the 2013 and 2014 classes live up to their potential, Pitt should have a very good team in the next few years. Building a program - which is what Paul Chryst is trying to do - can take time, but this is the way to do it.
