It is frustrating to see that Khaleke Hudson is starting for Michigan. It is even more frustrating to see that a recruit that the staff tried very hard to land, and put plenty of time and resources in, apparently is about to choose Oklahoma. Yes, Brian Asamoah is now cyrstal balled by nearly every analyst to attend Oklahoma. Our staff has upgraded talent at nearly every position, but linebacker continues to suffer. I do like some of the youngsters like, McKee, Brightwell, and Pine, but we are going to be reaching for one in this class now. I can't understand why we struggle so badly with this position. There is opportunity here, why are we having so much trouble landing a kid with some solid offers and ability?
Not Linebacker U
- Thread starter 88Pitt88
- Start date
Because the football program has been screwed over by Nordy and Steve from back to the DE days. He finally had the program winning and recruiting and they decided to push the reset button. Then you get haywood, Graham and Mushmouth for 5 years trying to correct an image that didn't need correcting. They turned the focus away from football and winning and Pitt went back to a 6/7 win program. A 6/7 win program is never your plan A choice.
Narduzzi and the new admin are correcting the ship, but it takes time. It took DW 6 years to get to 10 wins....hopefully Narduzzi gets there sooner. Programs like UM and OU have incredible support from their administration, fans and region. Pitt has none of that.
Narduzzi and the new admin are correcting the ship, but it takes time. It took DW 6 years to get to 10 wins....hopefully Narduzzi gets there sooner. Programs like UM and OU have incredible support from their administration, fans and region. Pitt has none of that.
Staff can get creative. Henry Miller has the size to play LB. I think Zeise will do well there too. And, you mentioned Brightwell, Pine and McKee. They have some nice athleticism there.
Don't count out Zeise and Idowu but you are right with not recruiting as well at the LB position. Ironically the LB coach is in charge of recruiting.
The recruitniks here say Raines will be a LB
Are we getting him?? or will he go elsewhere as well?
I must say....getting Raines and Asamoah in the same class would put this complaint to bed.
Are we getting him?? or will he go elsewhere as well?
I must say....getting Raines and Asamoah in the same class would put this complaint to bed.
I feel like Pitt hasn't really had any pretty good/notable LB's since like, HB Blades/Clint Session. Some decent ones I guess. Correct me if I'm wrong
LB recruiting surprises me because I thought Harley would be the stud recruiter but that has not come to fruition yet.
The reality is Pitt is not competitive with the Michigan and Oklahomas of the world so we can't bemoan those losses. Those teams have huge following and have been relevant over the last 10 years in ways that Pitt has not.
Going to have to coach up who we have as the team strives to improve and hope that fans and donations follow along.
H2P
The reality is Pitt is not competitive with the Michigan and Oklahomas of the world so we can't bemoan those losses. Those teams have huge following and have been relevant over the last 10 years in ways that Pitt has not.
Going to have to coach up who we have as the team strives to improve and hope that fans and donations follow along.
H2P
Wanny got to 10 wins in his 5th coaching season, which is when his first full recruiting class were entering the 4th year. That team had better ranked recruiting classes than 12 of the 13 teams it played against, with ND being the only team with higher ranked classes. 10 wins should have been the minimum expectation, and of course, Dave underperformed. He stunk too.
DW got Pitt to a 10 win program. Pitt has not been there and may never get there again. Nordy did great for education and research but was a moron for athletics. Pushing the reset button was a terrible idea. Narduzzi is the man and hope he continues to go up vs plateau at 8 wins.
we can get creative with OLB but you have to find, identify and recruit a MLB. it's such a unique skill set. I fear Brightwell is a round peg in a square hole with being in the middle and is in there because there is no one else where his truly highest ceiling is at OLB. When is the last time we identified and landed a true high school MLB Recruit? Mason in '09 and Galambos in '13. That's all I see. Maybe wirginis but that's a stretch. That's 2 mlb recruits brought in to play middle dating back 8 years.. Maybe this elias Reynolds will prove me wrong but I think the kid has been hurt for a year plus..
That's insane how often we've missed at the MLB spot. 8 years we have signed 2? That's basically over 4 head coaches if we count the dude who beat up his girlfriend..
That's insane how often we've missed at the MLB spot. 8 years we have signed 2? That's basically over 4 head coaches if we count the dude who beat up his girlfriend..
Yes, but you have to start winning some of these battles. You can't say every recruit you lose to those schools as "we are not worthy", you have to win some. I am not saying all, or even half, but some. How can you be expected to upgrade your talent if you can't land some of the kids that the top programs get.
I think it's time to start looking at some grad transfer types for '18. i know you cant make first contact but there has to be some talented upper classmen that are buried on the depth chart of some bigger programs. I don't see brightwell and Pine staying at middle, one if not both are better suited at Money. Even if brightwell shines from day one, you still need yet another capable player in there.
If you cant get one out of high school, you get a transfer. duzzi can do it with QBs, might as well try for middle backers too.
If you cant get one out of high school, you get a transfer. duzzi can do it with QBs, might as well try for middle backers too.
My god by next year, I would hope a Chase Pine and/or Cam Bright and some of these others are ready to play.
He got to 10 wins with a bowl game, one time, and never won the watered down Big East. That's actually pretty terrible. Wanny recruited better than the other Big East teams, by far, because Miami and VT left. When Rutgers, WVU and Cincinnati are your biggest recruiting challenges, it isn't hard to beat them off the field. Unfortunately, Wanny totally stunk on game day. There was one season where Pitt had 1/2 of the Big East all star team, and they still didn't win the conference. Really terrible.
He jumped the shark at Pitt and recruiting started to go down hill once high school recruits realized he lacked coaching ability on game day. Wanny would have gotten CRUSHED in the ACC.
Too bad it was SP who replaced him with the cluster**** and cluster****.
Linebacker has been a thorn in our side for years . Ever since Sean Lee went to the nitwits. McKillop was the lone exception. Stinks missing out on some local guys too like Adams and those guys from Trinity a few years ago although I think the O$U kid did okay but the PSU one didn't.
Hudson would have been nice but he seems to be like an Elijah Fields type. Not quite big enough for pure linebacker but a little too big for safety. He would have definitely been a huge asset this year.
Hudson would have been nice but he seems to be like an Elijah Fields type. Not quite big enough for pure linebacker but a little too big for safety. He would have definitely been a huge asset this year.
yes this is it in a nutshell but it was almost 8 years ago and we need to put the past behind.
not holding my breath for these incoming high school Dbs who are slated to compete at star eventually, will be ready to play at this level in 12 months. These guys are projects, years away to be P5 linebackers.. Bright looks like an edge rusher though, maybe someone who can be a money backer in a few years, kid can get around that corner quickly.
Im ready for Pine though, kid can run like a deer and is 240+, he needs to be a player for us asap.
LB recruiting has been a big time disappointment. Harley the RC is having problems recruiting his own position. Interesting.
With Asamoah, we were on him MUCH earlier than Oklahoma. Heck, when we started recruiting him, Stoops was the coach at Oklahoma. Now they have a first time HC and he's a offensive guy. Ouch.
Recruiting DB's to play LB in the ACC is not going to work.
With Asamoah, we were on him MUCH earlier than Oklahoma. Heck, when we started recruiting him, Stoops was the coach at Oklahoma. Now they have a first time HC and he's a offensive guy. Ouch.
Recruiting DB's to play LB in the ACC is not going to work.
pittdan77
Athletic Director
I think LB recruiting at Pitt under this defense will always look strange. The LB's are more like big safeties.
pittdan77
Athletic Director
I think that role is easier to fill with a "lower" rated player but that is dependent on how patient you can be with a kid adding weight and developing.
On the field performance this season will be critical as to how this recruit class finishes up.
Pretty scary given how tough the schedule appears.
Pretty scary given how tough the schedule appears.
But who's behind them?
You have to build depth at all positions to develop quality starters for future seasons.
We do need to step it up in the LB recruiting dept.. And we need to do so with the understanding that we aren't gong to win many recruiting battles with the Oklahomas of the world-so we need to identify the under the radar guys who can play. Narduzzi specialized in that at MSU.
Hudson is moving into the Jabrill Peppers hybrid LB/SS position in Don Brown's excellent defensive scheme. That's a fun flashy stat-machine job in that D.
I'd have to say he made the right decision. He must be happier than a pig in $hit right now.
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