September 30, 2011
It’s time for another edition of In the Pitt, Panther-Lair.com’s rundown of the latest in Pitt recruiting. Today we’re looking at the latest commit, the next commit, and what’s left for the class of 2012.
The first topic on the table is the most recent activity on the recruiting board. Pitt Adam Bisnowaty. Bisnowaty is a key recruit for a number of reasons.
For starters, there’s the pedigree: No. 21 offensive tackle recruit in the nation, No. 5 prospect in the state of Pennsylvania, and a top-200 recruit nationally.
Then there’s the “need” angle, as in, Pitt really needs tackles. Every experienced tackle other than Juantez Hollins will be gone after this season, and there’s not a whole lot of depth behind Hollins. Justin Virbitsky will be the only reserve tackle on the current two-deep who is back next season. So there will be opportunities for Bisnowaty and any other tackle they might bring in with this class (more on that in a minute).
There’s also a perception angle to Bisnowaty committing. All the write-ups about him picking Pitt included a simple statement that can carry a lot of weight:
He chose Pitt over Florida.
That’s significant. That makes a statement. That’s big. And he had a bunch of other offers too, like Penn State and Michigan and Michigan State and Virginia and West Virginia, and all of those are getting mentioned in every article about him committing. So every other recruit who is considering Pitt will hear that Bisnowaty looked at all of those “big-time” schools and decided on the Panthers.
Never mind the fact that Bisnowaty himself counts for something, what with the high ranking and all of that. Like Chad Voytik before him, Bisnowaty is the kind of recruit who can be held up as a harbinger of what the future will be at Pitt. You can almost hear the coaching staff talking to other high-profile recruits:
“We’ve got the quarterback, we’ve got the guy to block, now we just need the big-time guy to run the ball/catch the ball/play defense, and we want you to be that guy.”
- Bisnowaty is a big recruit for Pitt, and he joins Adam Pankey are the top two on the board right now, and both are appealing to the Pitt staff for different reasons.
As a junior-college standout, Rooks could come in and play right away, probably right tackle to bookend the line with Hollins. That would allow Bisnowaty - and Pankey, if he picks Pitt - to redshirt and develop over the next two years.
Both Rooks and Pankey have shown a lot of interest in Pitt; at one point this summer I would have called Pitt the favorite for Pankey - he essentially said as much himself - and Rooks had high marks for Pitt after his official visit earlier this month. But both are rather enigmatic young men, and it has been a bit more difficult to get a read on either in the last couple weeks.
I like Pitt’s chances with both, but I’ll hedge my bet and say Pitt gets one of the two.
- There are two more linemen to keep an eye on, though. One is Bishop McCort tackle Zach Rugg, a Connecticut commit who attended the Pitt-Notre Dame game. I think there’s more than a passing interest on both sides there, and if Pitt were to put the full-court press on Rugg, I think he’d jump ship.
And then there’s Central Catholic’s Logan Dietz. Dietz told me that Pitt has been keeping in very regular contact and showing a lot of interest; the question is whether or not the coaching staff will pull the trigger. If they do, I think Dietz will jump on it.
So those are two tackles sitting on the back-burner; perhaps the staff is waiting to get a better read on Rooks and Pankey. We’ll definitely be keeping an eye on all four linemen.
- Elsewhere on the offense, there are two big targets at running back, and you probably know the names by now: Hopewell’s Will Mahone. They’ve been the top two targets at running back since this coaching staff arrived, and both will be off the board in the next two weeks.
Mahone is the first to go. He’s announcing his commitment tonight after Fitch plays its game against Massillon-Jackson. The “official” final three schools for Mahone are Pitt, Notre Dame, and Michigan State, but it’s been a Pitt-Notre Dame battle for awhile now. As we’ve said for the past few months, Mahone’s mother is clearly in favor of the Irish, but on the other side are the Davis twins, the Pitt commits who have been very close with Mahone and his family for a long time.
The belief was always that Mahone would follow the Davis twins, which seemed to bode well for Pitt. But the increased interest from Notre Dame and a trip or two to South Bend turned the tide. So things seem to be leaning that way, but someone close to the situation told yesterday that Pitt was still in it, and they wouldn’t be surprised if Mahone was trying to keep everyone guessing.
That may be the case, but I’m still thinking he picks the Irish tonight. I’ll be at the Fitch game and I’ll post updates on the board.
- And then there’s Shell. He’s been a No. 1 target for Pitt since he was a freshman, and he’ll make his announcement on October 14. According to the newspapers, Shell’s final three schools are Pitt, Alabama, and Oregon, but the story has been that he knows where he’s going and has his mind made up.
In the offensive edition of In the Pitt that we ran about a month ago, I said that it seemed like things were leaning toward Pitt for Shell, and that seems to be the case even more now. I won’t drop a “Pitt lock” on Shell - largely because I hesitate to go that far - but at this point, I will be very surprised if he doesn’t pick Pitt in two weeks.
And if Pitt gets Shell, then losing Mahone won’t be much of a big deal. Of course it’d be ideal to land two four-star running backs, but Shell is the better of the two - not to take anything away from Mahone, who is very good - and he has the chance to be a franchise running back.
- If Pitt lands Shell to complement Bisnowaty and Voytik, the Panthers will have highly-rated four-star recruits at quarterback, running back, and offensive tackle. That’s called a foundation, and it’s the kind of thing you can sell to other recruits.
And just with Shell and Bisnowaty, Pitt will have two of the top five prospects in the state and the top two recruits in western Pennsylvania. That last qualifier - the top two recruits in western PA - is important because Pitt’s top remaining defensive targets are almost all from the local area.
- Of the recruits left on the board, Pitt’s top four defensive targets appear to be linebacker Wayne Capers.
Of the four, Pitt has the best chance with Capers, a versatile athlete whose history of injuries has probably kept other schools away. But he’s talented enough - and staying healthy - that he could play either side of the ball, and Pitt likes him as a safety.
From what I’m hearing, Capers like Pitt, too. A lot. Enough that he could commit at any time. The only thing that may be holding him back is if other schools that haven’t offered are trying to get in his ear about waiting. But I’d put pretty high odds on him picking Pitt at some point in the near future.
After Capers, I think Bradley is the next most likely of the defensive targets. When his older brother Nick Grigsby was being recruited by Pitt, the word - directly from their mother - was that Bradley would go where Grigsby went. Well, Grigsby went to Pitt, so the logic follows that Bradley will be there, too. Bradley has said that he won’t decide based on Grigsby, but I’d be surprised if he ends up anywhere other than Pitt.
Rippy and Cox will be a little more difficult for Pitt. If the Panthers can land Shell and Capers, though, I think it will go a long way. You might remember Dave Wannstedt’s first full recruiting class: kids were getting caught up in the “we’re all going to Pitt together and we’re going to win a lot together.” I think there can be an element of that in this year’s class, too. Rippy, in particular, seems to be pretty independent, but if Pitt gets those other top WPIAL recruits, I think it will have him leaning to the Panthers. I’ve had a hard time getting a read on Cox, but I know Pitt wants him pretty badly. I think the key there will be to finish the season strong and put on a good show for his official visit.
- Obviously there are more players on the board that Pitt is keeping an eye on, but from what I can tell, those are the top targets. And if they can land Shell, Capers, Bradley, Rippy or Cox (let’s assume they only get one), and two of the four offensive linemen we mentioned (Rooks, Pankey, Dietz, Rugg), then they’ll have 23 commitments (with conservative estimates). That’s more than the coaching staff planned to take, but that’s usually how it goes.
From there, we’ll keep an eye on some peripheral recruits - maybe another quarterback or running back for depth, perhaps another offensive lineman - in case they want to push the limits. And maybe they’ll get to 25 after all.
It’s time for another edition of In the Pitt, Panther-Lair.com’s rundown of the latest in Pitt recruiting. Today we’re looking at the latest commit, the next commit, and what’s left for the class of 2012.
The first topic on the table is the most recent activity on the recruiting board. Pitt Adam Bisnowaty. Bisnowaty is a key recruit for a number of reasons.
For starters, there’s the pedigree: No. 21 offensive tackle recruit in the nation, No. 5 prospect in the state of Pennsylvania, and a top-200 recruit nationally.
Then there’s the “need” angle, as in, Pitt really needs tackles. Every experienced tackle other than Juantez Hollins will be gone after this season, and there’s not a whole lot of depth behind Hollins. Justin Virbitsky will be the only reserve tackle on the current two-deep who is back next season. So there will be opportunities for Bisnowaty and any other tackle they might bring in with this class (more on that in a minute).
There’s also a perception angle to Bisnowaty committing. All the write-ups about him picking Pitt included a simple statement that can carry a lot of weight:
He chose Pitt over Florida.
That’s significant. That makes a statement. That’s big. And he had a bunch of other offers too, like Penn State and Michigan and Michigan State and Virginia and West Virginia, and all of those are getting mentioned in every article about him committing. So every other recruit who is considering Pitt will hear that Bisnowaty looked at all of those “big-time” schools and decided on the Panthers.
Never mind the fact that Bisnowaty himself counts for something, what with the high ranking and all of that. Like Chad Voytik before him, Bisnowaty is the kind of recruit who can be held up as a harbinger of what the future will be at Pitt. You can almost hear the coaching staff talking to other high-profile recruits:
“We’ve got the quarterback, we’ve got the guy to block, now we just need the big-time guy to run the ball/catch the ball/play defense, and we want you to be that guy.”
- Bisnowaty is a big recruit for Pitt, and he joins Adam Pankey are the top two on the board right now, and both are appealing to the Pitt staff for different reasons.
As a junior-college standout, Rooks could come in and play right away, probably right tackle to bookend the line with Hollins. That would allow Bisnowaty - and Pankey, if he picks Pitt - to redshirt and develop over the next two years.
Both Rooks and Pankey have shown a lot of interest in Pitt; at one point this summer I would have called Pitt the favorite for Pankey - he essentially said as much himself - and Rooks had high marks for Pitt after his official visit earlier this month. But both are rather enigmatic young men, and it has been a bit more difficult to get a read on either in the last couple weeks.
I like Pitt’s chances with both, but I’ll hedge my bet and say Pitt gets one of the two.
- There are two more linemen to keep an eye on, though. One is Bishop McCort tackle Zach Rugg, a Connecticut commit who attended the Pitt-Notre Dame game. I think there’s more than a passing interest on both sides there, and if Pitt were to put the full-court press on Rugg, I think he’d jump ship.
And then there’s Central Catholic’s Logan Dietz. Dietz told me that Pitt has been keeping in very regular contact and showing a lot of interest; the question is whether or not the coaching staff will pull the trigger. If they do, I think Dietz will jump on it.
So those are two tackles sitting on the back-burner; perhaps the staff is waiting to get a better read on Rooks and Pankey. We’ll definitely be keeping an eye on all four linemen.
- Elsewhere on the offense, there are two big targets at running back, and you probably know the names by now: Hopewell’s Will Mahone. They’ve been the top two targets at running back since this coaching staff arrived, and both will be off the board in the next two weeks.
Mahone is the first to go. He’s announcing his commitment tonight after Fitch plays its game against Massillon-Jackson. The “official” final three schools for Mahone are Pitt, Notre Dame, and Michigan State, but it’s been a Pitt-Notre Dame battle for awhile now. As we’ve said for the past few months, Mahone’s mother is clearly in favor of the Irish, but on the other side are the Davis twins, the Pitt commits who have been very close with Mahone and his family for a long time.
The belief was always that Mahone would follow the Davis twins, which seemed to bode well for Pitt. But the increased interest from Notre Dame and a trip or two to South Bend turned the tide. So things seem to be leaning that way, but someone close to the situation told yesterday that Pitt was still in it, and they wouldn’t be surprised if Mahone was trying to keep everyone guessing.
That may be the case, but I’m still thinking he picks the Irish tonight. I’ll be at the Fitch game and I’ll post updates on the board.
- And then there’s Shell. He’s been a No. 1 target for Pitt since he was a freshman, and he’ll make his announcement on October 14. According to the newspapers, Shell’s final three schools are Pitt, Alabama, and Oregon, but the story has been that he knows where he’s going and has his mind made up.
In the offensive edition of In the Pitt that we ran about a month ago, I said that it seemed like things were leaning toward Pitt for Shell, and that seems to be the case even more now. I won’t drop a “Pitt lock” on Shell - largely because I hesitate to go that far - but at this point, I will be very surprised if he doesn’t pick Pitt in two weeks.
And if Pitt gets Shell, then losing Mahone won’t be much of a big deal. Of course it’d be ideal to land two four-star running backs, but Shell is the better of the two - not to take anything away from Mahone, who is very good - and he has the chance to be a franchise running back.
- If Pitt lands Shell to complement Bisnowaty and Voytik, the Panthers will have highly-rated four-star recruits at quarterback, running back, and offensive tackle. That’s called a foundation, and it’s the kind of thing you can sell to other recruits.
And just with Shell and Bisnowaty, Pitt will have two of the top five prospects in the state and the top two recruits in western Pennsylvania. That last qualifier - the top two recruits in western PA - is important because Pitt’s top remaining defensive targets are almost all from the local area.
- Of the recruits left on the board, Pitt’s top four defensive targets appear to be linebacker Wayne Capers.
Of the four, Pitt has the best chance with Capers, a versatile athlete whose history of injuries has probably kept other schools away. But he’s talented enough - and staying healthy - that he could play either side of the ball, and Pitt likes him as a safety.
From what I’m hearing, Capers like Pitt, too. A lot. Enough that he could commit at any time. The only thing that may be holding him back is if other schools that haven’t offered are trying to get in his ear about waiting. But I’d put pretty high odds on him picking Pitt at some point in the near future.
After Capers, I think Bradley is the next most likely of the defensive targets. When his older brother Nick Grigsby was being recruited by Pitt, the word - directly from their mother - was that Bradley would go where Grigsby went. Well, Grigsby went to Pitt, so the logic follows that Bradley will be there, too. Bradley has said that he won’t decide based on Grigsby, but I’d be surprised if he ends up anywhere other than Pitt.
Rippy and Cox will be a little more difficult for Pitt. If the Panthers can land Shell and Capers, though, I think it will go a long way. You might remember Dave Wannstedt’s first full recruiting class: kids were getting caught up in the “we’re all going to Pitt together and we’re going to win a lot together.” I think there can be an element of that in this year’s class, too. Rippy, in particular, seems to be pretty independent, but if Pitt gets those other top WPIAL recruits, I think it will have him leaning to the Panthers. I’ve had a hard time getting a read on Cox, but I know Pitt wants him pretty badly. I think the key there will be to finish the season strong and put on a good show for his official visit.
- Obviously there are more players on the board that Pitt is keeping an eye on, but from what I can tell, those are the top targets. And if they can land Shell, Capers, Bradley, Rippy or Cox (let’s assume they only get one), and two of the four offensive linemen we mentioned (Rooks, Pankey, Dietz, Rugg), then they’ll have 23 commitments (with conservative estimates). That’s more than the coaching staff planned to take, but that’s usually how it goes.
From there, we’ll keep an eye on some peripheral recruits - maybe another quarterback or running back for depth, perhaps another offensive lineman - in case they want to push the limits. And maybe they’ll get to 25 after all.
