Well put. Interesting in Kradel's article his mom was reluctant about "going to school in the city". And this is a battle we face. Has anyone been to Columbus, Ohio? It is a city. Has anyone been to Ohio State University? It is an urban campus. There is such a perception amongst especially suburbanites about Pitt being this "city school" like all other schools are these bucolic, tree lined bastions of utopia. And that is just not true. Even some place like Michigan, and I love Ann Arbor, I do, but it is pretty much an urban campus, Notre Dame is a nice campus, but South Bend makes Erie seem pretty. I lived in Morgantown. And sure, you can go 5-7 miles outside Morgantown and be in the sticks. Who wants to be in the sticks? Morgantown itself is like a big New Kensington or Butler. It ain't very pretty. Pitt gets this bad rap from those child raping enablers and there are so many of them, it permeates the mindset of Western Pennsylvanians.
I am guessing this stuck in the minds of Miles Sanders mom and Mr. Wade too. And to be honest, I am sure their environs were a bit different than Kradel's, so maybe the parents wanted distance between them and their HS friends. But right now, Miles Sanders if he was at Pitt would be handed the keys to the offense, getting 20+ carries a game. Oh well.
Hopefully....some wins, some more success will change this. Pitt is always going to struggle for attendance, but this "urban" campus stuff, well Pitt is not as bad or at least not the only one as it seems to be portrayed when local recruits try to make a college decision.