There are many more 3-star players than there are 4-star players. The trick is for the coaches to find which ones they can develop and play like a 4–5-star players. That is how schools like Pitt have a chance to compete.
Back in the days of Majors / Sherrill, a 4-5 star rated player didn’t exist. They were known as “Blue Chip” players. They were players that were rated highly by high school coaches, a few independent scouting services (Joe Butler) and writers that covered high school / college sports.
Let me give you a little perspective of recruiting then versus today …Pitt has always had problems bringing in highly rated players. In fact, most urban schools (outside of USC) have always had problems attracting highly ranked players. This includes schools SMU, TCU, Houston, Cincinnati, etc…UCLA has been mediocre forever…. As for Miami? Once they got it going in the early 80’s, they knew in order to sustain it, they needed to involve high dollar donors. They did it for years until they finally got bust in 2011:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_University_of_Miami_athletics_scandal
They haven’t been the same since…
As for Pitt….
From 1973 through the late 80’s was the only time Pitt was able to bring in highly ranked players on a consistent basis. Recruiting was helped immensely by the Golden Panthers. I don’t know any details, but I’ll throw out a name…Have you ever heard of a guy named Henry Lee Parker? He was one of the guys in the middle of the payment scheme for SMU in the 1980’s that got them the death penalty.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Methodist_University_football_scandal
Before SMU, he was employed by another school. Look under coaching staff, “Coordinator of Recruiting”. I’ll leave it at that….
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1974_Pittsburgh_Panthers_football_team. He left with Majors when Sherrill took over.
Even with the help of the Golden Panthers and a national championship, it was still difficult for Sherrill to land highly rated players that weren’t local. In addition, the depth of local talent was drying up and competition from other schools for the top players was still strong. To find more talented players, Sherrill & staff had to recruit harder at the local level and had to scout elsewhere for more talent. It’s the same thing Narduzzi ‘s doing today. Sherrill and the staff were able to land low recruited players that became stars like: Bill Maas, Chris Doleman, Hugh Green, Sal Sunseri, Russ Grimm…
Per the book “Golden Panthers” in Sherrill’s first class (1977) one national publication rated the following players as “can’t miss prospects”:
Benjie Pryor, Lindsay Delaney, Mike Christ, Artrell Hawkins, Rooster Jones, Skip Sylvester, Rick Trocano, and Carlton Williamson. In other words, 4 STAR PLAYERS.
The other 3 Star bums? Hugh Green, Ricky Jackson, Jerry Boyarsky, Russ Grimm, Mark May, Bill Neill, Greg Meisner, Bill Neill, Lynn Thomas. In fairness, there were a lot of players that didn’t pan out as well…Just like today…
Nothing has changed… Scouting is and was an imperfect science. Coaches are paid millions to coach, scout and recruit players. It is up to them to find players that fit their scheme and develop them.
Back in the days of Majors / Sherrill, a 4-5 star rated player didn’t exist. They were known as “Blue Chip” players. They were players that were rated highly by high school coaches, a few independent scouting services (Joe Butler) and writers that covered high school / college sports.
Let me give you a little perspective of recruiting then versus today …Pitt has always had problems bringing in highly rated players. In fact, most urban schools (outside of USC) have always had problems attracting highly ranked players. This includes schools SMU, TCU, Houston, Cincinnati, etc…UCLA has been mediocre forever…. As for Miami? Once they got it going in the early 80’s, they knew in order to sustain it, they needed to involve high dollar donors. They did it for years until they finally got bust in 2011:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_University_of_Miami_athletics_scandal
They haven’t been the same since…
As for Pitt….
From 1973 through the late 80’s was the only time Pitt was able to bring in highly ranked players on a consistent basis. Recruiting was helped immensely by the Golden Panthers. I don’t know any details, but I’ll throw out a name…Have you ever heard of a guy named Henry Lee Parker? He was one of the guys in the middle of the payment scheme for SMU in the 1980’s that got them the death penalty.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Methodist_University_football_scandal
Before SMU, he was employed by another school. Look under coaching staff, “Coordinator of Recruiting”. I’ll leave it at that….
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1974_Pittsburgh_Panthers_football_team. He left with Majors when Sherrill took over.
Even with the help of the Golden Panthers and a national championship, it was still difficult for Sherrill to land highly rated players that weren’t local. In addition, the depth of local talent was drying up and competition from other schools for the top players was still strong. To find more talented players, Sherrill & staff had to recruit harder at the local level and had to scout elsewhere for more talent. It’s the same thing Narduzzi ‘s doing today. Sherrill and the staff were able to land low recruited players that became stars like: Bill Maas, Chris Doleman, Hugh Green, Sal Sunseri, Russ Grimm…
Per the book “Golden Panthers” in Sherrill’s first class (1977) one national publication rated the following players as “can’t miss prospects”:
Benjie Pryor, Lindsay Delaney, Mike Christ, Artrell Hawkins, Rooster Jones, Skip Sylvester, Rick Trocano, and Carlton Williamson. In other words, 4 STAR PLAYERS.
The other 3 Star bums? Hugh Green, Ricky Jackson, Jerry Boyarsky, Russ Grimm, Mark May, Bill Neill, Greg Meisner, Bill Neill, Lynn Thomas. In fairness, there were a lot of players that didn’t pan out as well…Just like today…
Nothing has changed… Scouting is and was an imperfect science. Coaches are paid millions to coach, scout and recruit players. It is up to them to find players that fit their scheme and develop them.
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