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From the Desk of Jim Snyder
Let's play the Vols
Former Pitt Assistant Coach Jon Calipari has gotten himself in a dispute with the University of Tennessee. John is refusing to plays the Vols in basketball at their 24,500 seat arena in Knoxville. He has suggested the games should be played in the center of the state in Nashville. He has the Vols in an uproar. Tennessee Athletic Director Mike Hamilton is threatening to cancel football games scheduled for 2005, 2006, 2009 and 2010. The Vols AD says he has talked to a number of schools including Pittsburgh. Pitt AD Jeff Long should get back on the telephone a pursue this one. If Penn State will not play you and Notre Dame will not play you then find someone who will. Pitt needs to sprinkle the non-conference schedule with teams that have a national reputation. It will not only help you get on TV but it will help sell tickets at Heinz Field.
We had heard rumors that Pitt was having difficulty scheduling a game next year (2004) while waiting for Louisville, Cincinnati and South Florida to join the conference next year (2005). Pitt plays Nebraska and Notre Dame next year and was not dying to take on another difficult non-conference game. Keep in mind that Pitt will suffer heavy losses on offense next year. We had also heard rumors they might have to take on a Division 1AA school. As it turned out, it was Indiana State University of Terre Haute, Indiana. Larry Bird graduated from this school many years ago. This is obviously a school better known for its basketball program than their football program.
Let's talk a little recruiting
The Pantherlair interviewed both Ted Ginn and Rory Nicol this past week. Ted is a 5 star prospect with over 50 offers while Rory is a 4 star prospect with 40 offers. These two have been well covered by the Pantherlair and the Rivals network. Subscribers to the Ultimate Ticket have enjoyed reading 50 articles between these two. You can be sure of further coverage in the next few weeks as these two highly regarded prospects take their official visits. Both players have what colleges are looking for. Both players have done well in the classroom and have the size and speed to make them high level Division 1A prospects. These two had many choices and both have Pitt in their top 5 and both will make official visits to the University of Pittsburgh.
Rory's sister Lisa is currently a freshman at Pitt. He has another sister, Ashley, that is currently a junior at Virginia Tech. We'd love to see Pitt sign this player from the WPIAL. He is a delight to talk to and comes from a good family. If we had to guess right now this looks like a battle between Pitt and Virginia. I hope I am wrong but I might give Virginia a slight edge.
The conventional wisdom is that Ted Ginn will end up being a toss up between Ohio State and Michigan with OSU having the edge. It will take a good visit when he returns to Pittsburgh with his coach (who is also his father). Pitt might have to finish strong with wins over Temple and Miami. These two have many options and small things can be the difference when you are choosing from a group of good schools.
Will West Virginia go to the SEC?
Periodically the Hoopies Board runs rampant with rumors about West Virginia being invited to join the SEC. Sorry folks but I do not see it. There simply is no economic incentive for the SEC to expand. They are happy as a clam with 12 schools. The SEC will not throw Vanderbilt out of the Conference. The SEC is periodically embarrassed in one recruiting scandal after another. Vanderbilt is their tangible proof that they hang out with nice folks . They help sanitize the stench that periodically comes out of the SEC. In addition Atlanta and Nashville are the fastest growing markets in the SEC home base. They will not want to abandon Nashville. It is growing rapidly and has enjoyed great prosperity even during the recent recession. They often hold their championship events in Nashville. It is the very heart of SEC country. There is a remote chance that Vanderbilt might de-emphasize sports somewhere down the distant road. It is a rich school that can probably afford to lose forever but they could tire of being everyone's Homecoming game.
If an opening did occur West Virginia would be far down the list of schools the SEC would target. Quite frankly WVU does not bring much to the party. They located in a state with a small and shrinking population. There are no major television markets in the state. Of all the things to concern yourself with in the realignment of conference this one does not merit much discussion at this point.
The next two moves in conference realignment should come from the Mountain West and the Big Ten. Will Notre Dame end up in the Big Ten? The answer to this question might take several months to play itself out.
Good news coming soon
Rivals and the Pantherlair should have some good news next week that will help beef up our recruiting coverage going forward. Stay tuned for further details.
I hate those pop-up ads
Few things are more annoying in life that those unwanted pop up ads. About a year ago Rivals made a decision NOT to sell pop-up ads. So if you see them they are not coming from Rivals. Unfortunately there are a lot of links put on our site so pop-ups are inevitable. I have installed pop-up killer software and it works quite well. It does not kill them all but it sure slows them down.
From the desk of Harry G. Psaros
Let's talk about defensive line recruiting
The recent loss to West Virginia University is still embedded in the heads of University of Pittsburgh fans throughout the country. Although the loss can be attributed to a slew of deficiencies, one of the scrutinized areas has been the Panthers defensive line. Fans have been clamoring to know whom the coaching staff has been pursing.
Let's take a look at several prospects the coaching staff is pursing. Most of these prospects are already set to visit the Panthers.
* DeJuan Guillory (6 foot 1 inches, 285 pounds) from Atlantic High School in Delray Beach, FL. Guillory is a squat and powerful nose tackle that is starting to gain a tremendous amount of attention from upper echelon programs. He is capable of running a 4.8 forty-yard dash and bench-pressing 330 pounds. The Pantherlair.com spoke with Atlantic High School Head Football Coach Chris Bean. "DeJuan is very strong and aggressive. He's squat and has a low center of gravity. He was so disruptive, opposing teams would double up on him every play," stated Coach Bean. "I felt for him this season. The constant double teams really took at toll on him in terms of endurance. Despite their efforts to nullify him, he still was a force in the trenches." Guillory told the Pantheralir.com that Pittsburgh, Nebraska, Georgia, LSU and Iowa State are in close contact with him. He has yet to receive an offer from the Panthers. The Pantherlair.com assumes that Guillory is a strong "Plan B" recruit.
* Nick Williams (6 foot 3 inches, 245 pounds) from Plantation High School in Plantation, FL. Williams is a close friend to current Panther H.B. Blades. He is the starting middle linebacker on one of the top ten high school football programs in the nation. Pittsburgh has offered and it appears the Panthers are strong leader for his services. "He visited Pittsburgh over the summer and came away very impressed," stated Plantation High School Head Football Coach Frank Hepler. "He is 6 foot 3 inches tall and 245 pounds. He projects as a defensive end on the next level. He runs around a 4.6 forty-yard dash. Nick is a three-year starter on a high school team that has been ranked top ten in the nation for quite some time. It's safe to say he's an excellent football player. I won't be shocked if he's in Pittsburgh next year. He loves the program and his buddy H.B. Blades is there too."
* Kenny Love Jr. (6 foot 4 inches, 275 pounds) from The Pennington School in Pennington, NJ. The Panthers coaching staff has coveted Love for quite some time. Kenny is a mobile and powerful defensive tackle. He is capable of running a 4.9 forty-yard dash and bench-pressing nearly 400 pounds. At this point, it appears to be a two-school race for his services. Love favors the Panthers and the Michigan State Spartans. The Panthers may have a slight edge because they were the first school to extend him a scholarship. It is important to note that Love's parents felt comfortable in Pittsburgh and liked the coaching staff.
* Phil Tillman (6 foot 2 inches, 305 pounds) from Valley Forge Military Academy in Valley Forge, PA. Tillman recently visited the Panthers last home game against Virginia Tech. He is a big, powerful defensive tackle that is known for his "non-stop motor". Tillman has been offered by Pittsburgh, Maryland, Indiana and Kentucky. The Panthers hold a strong lead for his services at this point. He is a friend of former Valley Forge attendees Larry Fitzgerald and Tutu Ferguson. Tillman will be in attendance this weekend when the Panthers play the Temple Owls in Philadelphia, PA. There is a strong possibility he will verbally commit at that time.
* Brandon Daniel (6 foot 4 inches, 260 pounds) from Ely High School in Pompano Beach, FL and Alex Barrow (6 foot 4 inches, 250 pounds) from Dublin Coffman High School in Columbus, OH. The Pantherlair.com groups both of these players together because both are large defensive ends capable of growing into defensive tackles. Rivals.com ranks Daniel the 17th best defensive end in the nation. Pittsburgh, Virginia Tech, Kansas State and North Carolina State are the top four teams vying for his services. He will attend the Panthers home game against the Miami Hurricanes. Brandon is a phenomenal jumbo athlete capable of making an early impact. It appears the Virginia Tech Hokies are currently leading for his services. Daniel is close with current Panther linebacker Clint "The Hitman" Session. Barrow is a physical specimen that is just starting to scratch the surface of his vast potential. At a lengthy 6 foot 4 inches, he is capable of adding an additional 30 to 40 pounds. Alex has been impossible to read. One minute it appears the Panthers are leading. The next minute he's not sure if he?s going to visit. It appears his final decision will come down to Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and Maryland.
* Nhemie Theordore (6 foot 2 inches, 310 pounds) from Irvington High School in Irvington, NJ. The Pantherlair.com has spoke with several coaches at Irvington High School. It appears that none of the coaches have been in close contact with University of Pittsburgh. They indicated that Nhemie is highly interested in the Panthers but it appears that Coach Harris and staff have backed off of Theodore. Boston College and Michigan State have been heavily pursing him and remain in close contact. The Pantherlair.com will continue to monitor this situation.
Note to Pantherlair.com Fans: The staff at Pantherlair.com works diligently to bring you the best information regarding University of Pittsburgh football and basketball recruiting in addition to our game coverage. Thousands of Panther fans visit our site on a daily basis. We have received a tremendous amount of e-mail thanking us for our efforts. If you like our site, please feel free to tell other Pittsburgh fans about us. ?Spread the word?, and let us add to our ever growing online family of Panther fans.
This post was edited on 11/21 8:04 AM
From the Desk of Jim Snyder
Let's play the Vols
Former Pitt Assistant Coach Jon Calipari has gotten himself in a dispute with the University of Tennessee. John is refusing to plays the Vols in basketball at their 24,500 seat arena in Knoxville. He has suggested the games should be played in the center of the state in Nashville. He has the Vols in an uproar. Tennessee Athletic Director Mike Hamilton is threatening to cancel football games scheduled for 2005, 2006, 2009 and 2010. The Vols AD says he has talked to a number of schools including Pittsburgh. Pitt AD Jeff Long should get back on the telephone a pursue this one. If Penn State will not play you and Notre Dame will not play you then find someone who will. Pitt needs to sprinkle the non-conference schedule with teams that have a national reputation. It will not only help you get on TV but it will help sell tickets at Heinz Field.
We had heard rumors that Pitt was having difficulty scheduling a game next year (2004) while waiting for Louisville, Cincinnati and South Florida to join the conference next year (2005). Pitt plays Nebraska and Notre Dame next year and was not dying to take on another difficult non-conference game. Keep in mind that Pitt will suffer heavy losses on offense next year. We had also heard rumors they might have to take on a Division 1AA school. As it turned out, it was Indiana State University of Terre Haute, Indiana. Larry Bird graduated from this school many years ago. This is obviously a school better known for its basketball program than their football program.
Let's talk a little recruiting
The Pantherlair interviewed both Ted Ginn and Rory Nicol this past week. Ted is a 5 star prospect with over 50 offers while Rory is a 4 star prospect with 40 offers. These two have been well covered by the Pantherlair and the Rivals network. Subscribers to the Ultimate Ticket have enjoyed reading 50 articles between these two. You can be sure of further coverage in the next few weeks as these two highly regarded prospects take their official visits. Both players have what colleges are looking for. Both players have done well in the classroom and have the size and speed to make them high level Division 1A prospects. These two had many choices and both have Pitt in their top 5 and both will make official visits to the University of Pittsburgh.
Rory's sister Lisa is currently a freshman at Pitt. He has another sister, Ashley, that is currently a junior at Virginia Tech. We'd love to see Pitt sign this player from the WPIAL. He is a delight to talk to and comes from a good family. If we had to guess right now this looks like a battle between Pitt and Virginia. I hope I am wrong but I might give Virginia a slight edge.
The conventional wisdom is that Ted Ginn will end up being a toss up between Ohio State and Michigan with OSU having the edge. It will take a good visit when he returns to Pittsburgh with his coach (who is also his father). Pitt might have to finish strong with wins over Temple and Miami. These two have many options and small things can be the difference when you are choosing from a group of good schools.
Will West Virginia go to the SEC?
Periodically the Hoopies Board runs rampant with rumors about West Virginia being invited to join the SEC. Sorry folks but I do not see it. There simply is no economic incentive for the SEC to expand. They are happy as a clam with 12 schools. The SEC will not throw Vanderbilt out of the Conference. The SEC is periodically embarrassed in one recruiting scandal after another. Vanderbilt is their tangible proof that they hang out with nice folks . They help sanitize the stench that periodically comes out of the SEC. In addition Atlanta and Nashville are the fastest growing markets in the SEC home base. They will not want to abandon Nashville. It is growing rapidly and has enjoyed great prosperity even during the recent recession. They often hold their championship events in Nashville. It is the very heart of SEC country. There is a remote chance that Vanderbilt might de-emphasize sports somewhere down the distant road. It is a rich school that can probably afford to lose forever but they could tire of being everyone's Homecoming game.
If an opening did occur West Virginia would be far down the list of schools the SEC would target. Quite frankly WVU does not bring much to the party. They located in a state with a small and shrinking population. There are no major television markets in the state. Of all the things to concern yourself with in the realignment of conference this one does not merit much discussion at this point.
The next two moves in conference realignment should come from the Mountain West and the Big Ten. Will Notre Dame end up in the Big Ten? The answer to this question might take several months to play itself out.
Good news coming soon
Rivals and the Pantherlair should have some good news next week that will help beef up our recruiting coverage going forward. Stay tuned for further details.
I hate those pop-up ads
Few things are more annoying in life that those unwanted pop up ads. About a year ago Rivals made a decision NOT to sell pop-up ads. So if you see them they are not coming from Rivals. Unfortunately there are a lot of links put on our site so pop-ups are inevitable. I have installed pop-up killer software and it works quite well. It does not kill them all but it sure slows them down.
From the desk of Harry G. Psaros
Let's talk about defensive line recruiting
The recent loss to West Virginia University is still embedded in the heads of University of Pittsburgh fans throughout the country. Although the loss can be attributed to a slew of deficiencies, one of the scrutinized areas has been the Panthers defensive line. Fans have been clamoring to know whom the coaching staff has been pursing.
Let's take a look at several prospects the coaching staff is pursing. Most of these prospects are already set to visit the Panthers.
* DeJuan Guillory (6 foot 1 inches, 285 pounds) from Atlantic High School in Delray Beach, FL. Guillory is a squat and powerful nose tackle that is starting to gain a tremendous amount of attention from upper echelon programs. He is capable of running a 4.8 forty-yard dash and bench-pressing 330 pounds. The Pantherlair.com spoke with Atlantic High School Head Football Coach Chris Bean. "DeJuan is very strong and aggressive. He's squat and has a low center of gravity. He was so disruptive, opposing teams would double up on him every play," stated Coach Bean. "I felt for him this season. The constant double teams really took at toll on him in terms of endurance. Despite their efforts to nullify him, he still was a force in the trenches." Guillory told the Pantheralir.com that Pittsburgh, Nebraska, Georgia, LSU and Iowa State are in close contact with him. He has yet to receive an offer from the Panthers. The Pantherlair.com assumes that Guillory is a strong "Plan B" recruit.
* Nick Williams (6 foot 3 inches, 245 pounds) from Plantation High School in Plantation, FL. Williams is a close friend to current Panther H.B. Blades. He is the starting middle linebacker on one of the top ten high school football programs in the nation. Pittsburgh has offered and it appears the Panthers are strong leader for his services. "He visited Pittsburgh over the summer and came away very impressed," stated Plantation High School Head Football Coach Frank Hepler. "He is 6 foot 3 inches tall and 245 pounds. He projects as a defensive end on the next level. He runs around a 4.6 forty-yard dash. Nick is a three-year starter on a high school team that has been ranked top ten in the nation for quite some time. It's safe to say he's an excellent football player. I won't be shocked if he's in Pittsburgh next year. He loves the program and his buddy H.B. Blades is there too."
* Kenny Love Jr. (6 foot 4 inches, 275 pounds) from The Pennington School in Pennington, NJ. The Panthers coaching staff has coveted Love for quite some time. Kenny is a mobile and powerful defensive tackle. He is capable of running a 4.9 forty-yard dash and bench-pressing nearly 400 pounds. At this point, it appears to be a two-school race for his services. Love favors the Panthers and the Michigan State Spartans. The Panthers may have a slight edge because they were the first school to extend him a scholarship. It is important to note that Love's parents felt comfortable in Pittsburgh and liked the coaching staff.
* Phil Tillman (6 foot 2 inches, 305 pounds) from Valley Forge Military Academy in Valley Forge, PA. Tillman recently visited the Panthers last home game against Virginia Tech. He is a big, powerful defensive tackle that is known for his "non-stop motor". Tillman has been offered by Pittsburgh, Maryland, Indiana and Kentucky. The Panthers hold a strong lead for his services at this point. He is a friend of former Valley Forge attendees Larry Fitzgerald and Tutu Ferguson. Tillman will be in attendance this weekend when the Panthers play the Temple Owls in Philadelphia, PA. There is a strong possibility he will verbally commit at that time.
* Brandon Daniel (6 foot 4 inches, 260 pounds) from Ely High School in Pompano Beach, FL and Alex Barrow (6 foot 4 inches, 250 pounds) from Dublin Coffman High School in Columbus, OH. The Pantherlair.com groups both of these players together because both are large defensive ends capable of growing into defensive tackles. Rivals.com ranks Daniel the 17th best defensive end in the nation. Pittsburgh, Virginia Tech, Kansas State and North Carolina State are the top four teams vying for his services. He will attend the Panthers home game against the Miami Hurricanes. Brandon is a phenomenal jumbo athlete capable of making an early impact. It appears the Virginia Tech Hokies are currently leading for his services. Daniel is close with current Panther linebacker Clint "The Hitman" Session. Barrow is a physical specimen that is just starting to scratch the surface of his vast potential. At a lengthy 6 foot 4 inches, he is capable of adding an additional 30 to 40 pounds. Alex has been impossible to read. One minute it appears the Panthers are leading. The next minute he's not sure if he?s going to visit. It appears his final decision will come down to Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and Maryland.
* Nhemie Theordore (6 foot 2 inches, 310 pounds) from Irvington High School in Irvington, NJ. The Pantherlair.com has spoke with several coaches at Irvington High School. It appears that none of the coaches have been in close contact with University of Pittsburgh. They indicated that Nhemie is highly interested in the Panthers but it appears that Coach Harris and staff have backed off of Theodore. Boston College and Michigan State have been heavily pursing him and remain in close contact. The Pantherlair.com will continue to monitor this situation.
Note to Pantherlair.com Fans: The staff at Pantherlair.com works diligently to bring you the best information regarding University of Pittsburgh football and basketball recruiting in addition to our game coverage. Thousands of Panther fans visit our site on a daily basis. We have received a tremendous amount of e-mail thanking us for our efforts. If you like our site, please feel free to tell other Pittsburgh fans about us. ?Spread the word?, and let us add to our ever growing online family of Panther fans.
This post was edited on 11/21 8:04 AM
