Recruiting the WPIAL this year

[Sean Miller Fan]

I was listening to Chris Peak's recwnt recent podcast interview with Ryan Donnelly and he said Pitt only has 7 offers out to WPIAL players. Donnelly said while this class only has 2 top-end players (Raines and Jurkovec), he thinks the class is deeper than last years in terms of players of that next-tier down.

So, that got me thinking. Is Pitt quietly de-emphasizing the WPIAL a bit? Maybe not. Probably not, but think about it.

- Pitt had its best season since 1982 with 2 of the best wins in all of college football all of last season and it coincided with perhaps its worst WPIAL recruiting class in many years (luckily we did well outside the WPIAL)

- Dan Kabbala was replaced and Narduzzi remarked they were "going in another direction."

- We hired Florida recruitinator Charlie Partridge.

Maybe Narduzzi and Co. feel like the local kids just dont want to stay hom, maybe the Pitt brand name is just too tarnished locally and beyond repair for at least the time being. Years of mediocrity, empty yellows, and negative media have maybe made the job of selling Pitt locally too hard.

So is Pitt just picking and choosing locally and trying to go into Ohio, FL, NJ, and the DMV?

 

[9nationalchampionships]

WPIAL players for the most part, tend to think higher of themselves that their star ranking. PITT will always get WPIAL players ( half of the team is from WPA) but the coaching staff realizes that they need players from OH, FLA, VA, MD, etc to win more games.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

WPIAL players for the most part, tend to think higher of themselves that their star ranking. PITT will always get WPIAL players ( half of the team is from WPA) but the coaching staff realizes that they need players from OH, FLA, VA, MD, etc to win more games.

I agree and I think this area gets over-recruited. Perhaps we are taking "resources" out of Western PA and putting them elsewhere. Maybe not, but its possible.

 

[sappycrease]

I wouldn't say we aren't emphasizing the area anymore. The 2017 class was the most talented WPIAL group in a while and we were only able to land one of those players. The 2017 class deemphasized PITT. I think Narduzzi would've taken about 8 more players from the '17 WPIAL class if they would have shown more interest.

Outside of Jurkovec, Raines, Zubovic, and Kradel there really isn't much talent in the '18 class to get overly excited about (IMO). So in a way, it seems we may be deemphasizing the '18 WPIAL class. Going forward it will probably depend on the amount of talent in the league, on a year to year basis.

Emphasizing other areas allows the staff to have some other options open up to them. In years past, after our primary targets went elsewhere, we were stuck taking MAC-level talent that weren't receiving any other P5 offers.

 

[Revenge Of The Noise]

Maybe a small impact but the basketball program hitting the skids adds some local football recruiting negatives that used to be major positives. When riding high it was always good to bring football recruits to our rocking hoops games and show them that Pitt was it in the city, at least THAT night anyway. And if not attending games, local recruits were at least hearing some positive Pitt news on local tv or paper even if just the score. Obviously no longer.

 

[Delpanther]

We're doing what's smart, pursuing the best players whether they are in our backyard or not.

 

[pittmeister]

They will always offer the top tier talent in the WPIAL.

However, two things; one will probably change and the other will continue...

1. Sanders, Jeter & Wade taught Narduzzi a lesson... None of them were really interested in coming to Pitt. Yet, he wasted a lot of time on trying to convince them otherwise. He won't do that again. Unless there is legitimate interest, he will move quickly in another direction... (That's why Charlie Partridge is here). In each case they were able to land players almost as good or better elsewhere

2. As for the second tier players locally, unless he sees big upside, he won't offer... See local 3 star prospects from the 2017 class; Zandier, Stone, Harper, Murray, Wise, Squires, Sestilli, Terry, Hamlin...

 

[pittdan77]

WPIAL teams aren't exactly crushing the eastern schools in the playoffs. Clairton keeps getting punked by a little catholic school in Altoona that still hasn't put a kid on a D-1 roster. Central Catholic, with all of it's D-1 talent, got handled in it's championship.

WPIAL plays some good football but this isn't the hotbed of talent that it used to be.

 

[joeydavid]

Current players who are also local would completely disagree with comment on Sanders. They will tell you if the decision was all his, he would be playing with his boys.

They will always offer the top tier talent in the WPIAL.

However, two things; one will probably change and the other will continue...

1. Sanders, Jeter & Wade taught Narduzzi a lesson... None of them were really interested in coming to Pitt. Yet, he wasted a lot of time on trying to convince them otherwise. He won't do that again. Unless there is legitimate interest, he will move quickly in another direction... (That's why Charlie Partridge is here). In each case they were able to land players almost as good or better elsewhere

2. As for the second tier players locally, unless he sees big upside, he won't offer... See local 3 star prospects from the 2017 class; Zandier, Stone, Harper, Murray, Wise, Squires, Sestilli, Terry, Hamlin...

 

[Panther_in_Kentucky]

I was listening to Chris Peak's recwnt recent podcast interview with Ryan Donnelly and he said Pitt only has 7 offers out to WPIAL players. Donnelly said while this class only has 2 top-end players (Raines and Jurkovec), he thinks the class is deeper than last years in terms of players of that next-tier down.

So, that got me thinking. Is Pitt quietly de-emphasizing the WPIAL a bit? Maybe not. Probably not, but think about it.

- Pitt had its best season since 1982 with 2 of the best wins in all of college football all of last season and it coincided with perhaps its worst WPIAL recruiting class in many years (luckily we did well outside the WPIAL)

- Dan Kabbala was replaced and Narduzzi remarked they were "going in another direction."

- We hired Florida recruitinator Charlie Partridge.

Maybe Narduzzi and Co. feel like the local kids just dont want to stay hom, maybe the Pitt brand name is just too tarnished locally and beyond repair for at least the time being. Years of mediocrity, empty yellows, and negative media have maybe made the job of selling Pitt locally too hard.

So is Pitt just picking and choosing locally and trying to go into Ohio, FL, NJ, and the DMV?

Let's be honest here: The WPIAL pretty much sucks. Take away single A Aliquippa and 2 or 3 other players and the rest suck. All the glorified gym teacher coaches in the WPIAL will be upset with that statement but it is true and has been true for 20 years.

HCPN has figured that out and knows that 3 Star Floridians are better than 4 Star WPIAL players. Sorry, the facts hurt.

 

[PhPanther1]

They will always offer the top tier talent in the WPIAL.

However, two things; one will probably change and the other will continue...

1. Sanders, Jeter & Wade taught Narduzzi a lesson... None of them were really interested in coming to Pitt. Yet, he wasted a lot of time on trying to convince them otherwise. He won't do that again. Unless there is legitimate interest, he will move quickly in another direction... (That's why Charlie Partridge is here). In each case they were able to land players almost as good or better elsewhere

2. As for the second tier players locally, unless he sees big upside, he won't offer... See local 3 star prospects from the 2017 class; Zandier, Stone, Harper, Murray, Wise, Squires, Sestilli, Terry, Hamlin...

Kissing HS kids asses is 50% of his job. He'll waste a ton of time on the next wpial star and then the next one and then the next one etc.

 

[raleighpanther]

I don't think there is any secret vision regarding the WPIAL. The staff wants the best players it can get, period.
Recruiting locally makes sense, because you have a higher probability of getting some because you are local. Some kids want to go away to school, but some want to stay and play for the local team, so by all means you go after them. No way we get Ford if he lives in Texas. Our chances were immensely higher because he is local.
But the limited number of offers to the WPIAL this year tells us they will only pursue kids that have the talent they want. They won't take any kids who are a level lower just because they're local.
But they won't shy away from a local kid either if he has the talent, afraid of putting in time that won't end in a commitment. If not someone local, they'll have to put their time in somewhere else, and its easier here.

 

[vegasgreed]

Yep. He will spend a ton of time with Raines this year......even if he doesn't come to Pitt

Kissing HS kids asses is 50% of his job. He'll waste a ton of time on the next wpial star and then the next one and then the next one etc.

 

[pittdan77]

All the glorified gym teacher coaches in the WPIAL will be upset with that statement but it is true and has been true for 20 years.

This is so funny but true.

 

[ncyajleel]

I have been watching some games from the Majors and Sherrill years, Pitt's most recent best, and I noticed they did a lot of recruiting outside of the WPIAL. More than I realized.

I was listening to Chris Peak's recwnt recent podcast interview with Ryan Donnelly and he said Pitt only has 7 offers out to WPIAL players. Donnelly said while this class only has 2 top-end players (Raines and Jurkovec), he thinks the class is deeper than last years in terms of players of that next-tier down.

So, that got me thinking. Is Pitt quietly de-emphasizing the WPIAL a bit? Maybe not. Probably not, but think about it.

- Pitt had its best season since 1982 with 2 of the best wins in all of college football all of last season and it coincided with perhaps its worst WPIAL recruiting class in many years (luckily we did well outside the WPIAL)

- Dan Kabbala was replaced and Narduzzi remarked they were "going in another direction."

- We hired Florida recruitinator Charlie Partridge.

Maybe Narduzzi and Co. feel like the local kids just dont want to stay hom, maybe the Pitt brand name is just too tarnished locally and beyond repair for at least the time being. Years of mediocrity, empty yellows, and negative media have maybe made the job of selling Pitt locally too hard.

So is Pitt just picking and choosing locally and trying to go into Ohio, FL, NJ, and the DMV?

 

[pittmeister]

Yep. He will spend a ton of time with Raines this year......even if he doesn't come to Pitt

You'r right, they will recruit Raines hard, because there is mutual interest. That is the key...He has attended practices and has been receptive to Narduzzi. You keep recruiting him hard.

You knew Hamlin was interested in Pitt because he was always at the Pitt practices. Ford committed early and was a huge Pitt fan...

I think Wade and Jeter went to one practice. Jeter mostly hung around Pitt to watch his brother play basketball. Thorpe wasn't coming to Pitt and Narduzzi knew it. He was a PSU legacy...Lugg, Adams and Hinish all committed early...

Momma was not gonna let Sanders come to Pitt... So that should have been enough to stop recruiting him right there.

If there is MUTUAL interest, then you keep recruiting them. If there isn't, then you treat that player like any other player that's not from the area... You move on...no special treatment...

 

[oldpantherfan]

Some you talk really stupid.
The best answer to all of this is from delpanther, .
The worst was from pittdan77. Clairton won 4 straight PIAA championships, have been in the championship game in at least the last 6 years, and was considered a top 20 program in the country. So next time speak with some sense and knowledge.
All others fall in between.
It seems to me that most posters here speak negatives about the WPIAL just like they do Pitt (but yet call themselves fans lol).
But my questions to all of you is if you live in western Pa what makes you such football experts on other states and how we compare ?
How many games a year do you go to and watch in Florida, California, Texas, Ohio, etc ? Of even in western pa ?
Compared to the coaches how much game film of teams and players do you watch ?
When you can really answer those questions then you are qualified to be an expert in WPIAL (or national) football !
I love the support local football (including Pitt) gets on this site. Lol.

 

[Swervin27]

I have been watching some games from the Majors and Sherrill years, Pitt's most recent best, and I noticed they did a lot of recruiting outside of the WPIAL. More than I realized.

times were different then. SEC wasn't what it was nor was the ACC. Eastern independent football was king back then and pitt was a national program back then too.

 

[Swervin27]

Some you talk really stupid.
The best answer to all of this is from delpanther, .
The worst was from pittdan77. Clairton won 4 straight PIAA championships, have been in the championship game in at least the last 6 years, and was considered a top 20 program in the country. So next time speak with some sense and knowledge.
All others fall in between.
It seems to me that most posters here speak negatives about the WPIAL just like they do Pitt (but yet call themselves fans lol).
But my questions to all of you is if you live in western Pa what makes you such football experts on other states and how we compare ?
How many games a year do you go to and watch in Florida, California, Texas, Ohio, etc ? Of even in western pa ?
Compared to the coaches how much game film of teams and players do you watch ?
When you can really answer those questions then you are qualified to be an expert in WPIAL (or national) football !
I love the support local football (including Pitt) gets on this site. Lol.

I like when fans compare wpial to florida and texas.. pretty fair comparison, basically SW pa to states like florida and texas.. let's at least try and keep it comparable, populations or even square mileage..

 

[Revenge Of The Noise]

Both The blessing and The dilemma of the locals are that it is easier to stay in the conversation with them when local. Our coaches can hit their off season basketball and track meets, plus have them informally at ours. But it's a dilemma in that familiarity comes when contempt for Pitt. The media is not on our side. Our negatives are magnified and our enemies are whitewashed or censored. Take last season... in a friendly or even neutral place, Pitt' s season would have been considered a nice success. Beat two top5 teams, took two top 15 to the final possession. Hands down the most dynamic offense in America, NFL or college. But those were yawned at.

Conversely PSU certainly deserved kudos for its nice season, but what they got was way over the top. Its a wonder the adoring articles and puff pieces weren't blurred in the paper from the writers and editors drool.

(The most humorous thing is that local commentators were simultaneously audacious enough to downplay Pitt's season, while rationalizing that PSU loss to Pitt was a 'good loss' because Pitt had such a good season... and a reason PSU should have been in the playoff!).

These things aren't by accident. There are clear agendas... Its pounded into the locals daily. And they influence the locals. Sure, we aren't as successful as we should be. Sure we deserve a mocking are times. But we're not rock bottom (well, basketball may well be going forward, but that's recent). And of course Pitt and upmc are the major employers of the region and the reason (along with CMU) why Pittsburgh didn't become East Detroit or West Patterson in the 80s.

Yet locally Pitt's rep is total mud. Stop the average Joe on the street (non-alum for sure, even some alum) who only knows Pitt by what he hears on the radio or sees in the PG and his attitude will mostly be:

1. Pitt should be paying tons in taxes and evilly evades it.
2. The impeccably managed city with its glistening bike lanes is totally broke solely because of this.
3. Pitt employees are serfs that Pitt/upmc cruelly won't allow to unionize, and pay in surplus Dinocat merchandise.
4. Pitt professors are mad men that kill their kindly doctor wives with cyanide they cook up in our chemistry labs.
5. Pitt encourages its students to trash Oakland and half the students there are criminals who victimize the other half.
6. Pitt intimidates elderly kindly Oakland landowners to steal and knock down their impeccably maintained architectural gems to erect cheap ugly cinder block buildings (and won't pay tax on em)
7. Upmc is run by a tyrant worse than 100 Trumps who ruthlessly tears down ghetto hospitals here to build medical palaces in Ireland and other parts of the state. And then votes himself 9 figure salaries.
8. Each upmc hospital is a rathole teeming with mold and hapless patients are dying daily due to it.
9. Upmc cruelly locks out all but wealthy Caucasians from using its hospitals due to its ruthlessly restrictive insurance
10. Upmc won't give poor, heroic and impeccably managed Allegheny General 'fair' treatment.

This is just the non sports spin. I think we all know the attitude conveyed about our sports.

So it's probably a miracle we get any local recruits!

Sometimes no coverage at all, as we receive in remote locales, is better than relentless negativity.

 

[pittdan77]

Some you talk really stupid.

I've obviously met my match.

 

[pittdan77]

Some you talk really stupid.
The best answer to all of this is from delpanther, .
The worst was from pittdan77. Clairton won 4 straight PIAA championships, have been in the championship game in at least the last 6 years, and was considered a top 20 program in the country. So next time speak with some sense and knowledge.
All others fall in between.
It seems to me that most posters here speak negatives about the WPIAL just like they do Pitt (but yet call themselves fans lol).
But my questions to all of you is if you live in western Pa what makes you such football experts on other states and how we compare ?
How many games a year do you go to and watch in Florida, California, Texas, Ohio, etc ? Of even in western pa ?
Compared to the coaches how much game film of teams and players do you watch ?
When you can really answer those questions then you are qualified to be an expert in WPIAL (or national) football !
I love the support local football (including Pitt) gets on this site. Lol.

Clairton did win four straight championships but got run twice by a school that struggled to even make the playoffs four years ago and has zero D1 talent. I mean, yeah, the stomped on some world class D5 and D10 schools to get there. But then they let a District 6 school beat them? Do you know how many kids from the D6 hotbed play in D1? Central Catholic is behaving like ND's feeder program and got throttled in the championship game. Please tell me which one of those facts are wrong?

The map below shows where every "Top 15" recruit in the last 17 years comes from. I don't watch much film but explain to me why Pitt's staff should be losing sleep over WPIAL recruits?

I know I "talk real stupid" but this is what facts look like.

 

[PITTISITT02]

Malik Sheppard transferred to Aliquippa a few weeks back him and Raines should put up crazy numbers. Since most of you get your WPIAL info here instead of actually watching these kids play. Malik Sheppard is a standout Ath who played for Beaver Falls last year. He is extremely under recruited and will blow up this year.

 

[BradlyPitt]

Clairton did win four straight championships but got run twice by a school that struggled to even make the playoffs four years ago and has zero D1 talent. I mean, yeah, the stomped on some world class D5 and D10 schools to get there. But then they let a District 6 school beat them? Do you know how many kids from the D6 hotbed play in D1? Central Catholic is behaving like ND's feeder program and got throttled in the championship game. Please tell me which one of those facts are wrong?

The map below shows where every "Top 15" recruit in the last 17 years comes from. I don't watch much film but explain to me why Pitt's staff should be losing sleep over WPIAL recruits?

I know I "talk real stupid" but this is what facts look like.

bishop guilfoyle beat johnstown a few years ago, they made it to the AAA eastern final that season

they have more than 50 kids on their roster, which is ridiculous for a class A school and more than some schools in the largest classification

they have also won about 48 straight games, they could break clairton's state record, but you think they aren't that good because they don't have D1 players? clairton might have 2 - 4 guys that would start for them and those are the few college quality players clariton had

central lost to the philly version of central, they recruit out of state not just the surrounding counties like central does

 

[pittdan77]

they have also won about 48 straight games, they could break clairton's state record, but you think they aren't that good because they don't have D1 players? clairton might have 2 - 4 guys that would start for them and those are the few college quality players clariton had

Yeah, BG plays a real meat grinder of a conference schedule against some of the smallest rosters in the state. They're a well funded, central PA all-star team in a land of 160 pound offensive linemen playing at schools with bigger soccer rosters. Probably will break the record if the recruiting budget stays in tact.

And actually, they did beat Johnstown this year (the only other good team in that conference). Johnstown had a good season because they were able to keep a couple of kids from bolting to Bishop McCort, for once. And they made it to the quarter's this year. Beat Jersey Shore, Clearfield, and Dubois to get there before getting it handed to them by Bethlehem Catholic. They had some talent. Exoree Loe, the Barber kid. Better wrestlers but good athletes. Their coaching got better but don't kid yourself, they're not exactly a powerhouse of any kind. Probably their best season in twenty years.

 

[Pitt4Life34]

You'r right, they will recruit Raines hard, because there is mutual interest. That is the key...He has attended practices and has been receptive to Narduzzi. You keep recruiting him hard.

You knew Hamlin was interested in Pitt because he was always at the Pitt practices. Ford committed early and was a huge Pitt fan...

I think Wade and Jeter went to one practice. Jeter mostly hung around Pitt to watch his brother play basketball. Thorpe wasn't coming to Pitt and Narduzzi knew it. He was a PSU legacy...Lugg, Adams and Hinish all committed early...

Momma was not gonna let Sanders come to Pitt... So that should have been enough to stop recruiting him right there.

If there is MUTUAL interest, then you keep recruiting them. If there isn't, then you treat that player like any other player that's not from the area... You move on...no special treatment...

The only thing here I would add meister is over the years there have been some recruits that change their minds at the end. Sadly for Pitt the Foster saga does happen both ways. I'm sure there have been some late decisions that went Pitt's way. The time spent while things looked bleak would be the difference in some cases I would think.

 

[AZULDOS]

Have to defend Clairton a little, lol. BG is like NA playing single a ball. No major "athletes" but skilled enough and 2-3 deep. Same with the line, much bigger and 2 deep. A lot like Southern Columbia years past. your average Single A population is not going that deep. When SC crushed Duquesne years ago they had a separate O and D. The Dukes could not hang but for about 2 quarters. Its like Floyd Merriweather vs. Klitscho. You can stick and move all you want and your punches won't tickle the heavyweight, But if you cant hit the money shot to the temple! Start getting tired, Vlad gives you a few blows while you slow down, slow down to the point he punches your head off, it will be a wrap...Brute force & size wins sometimes over skill and dance.

Even though the WPIAL has lost steam, I will say It seems some of these kids who ultimately may not end up anywhere or dot the PSAC landscape, if in Florida, with essentially the same skill set, would most likely end up at least on a FCS or Tier 3 FBS Sunbelt level team roster. I don't know, there is so many Florida players that dot rosters, that are the less heralded recruits. They seem to get the benefit of the doubt. but they have, Similar or same measurables. Essentially if you did move a Quippa, Clairtons , Jeannettes etc, skill heavy teams down there coaches seem to take a chance, even if stats are like a solid backup 500 yards rushing, and maybe less size at 5'9 165, and bigger programs give the kid the benefit of the doubt because of who he may have played against most weeks and believe he can become an "Antonio Brown" more than the same kid up here. Similar kids here end up at most with the PSAC schools or not recruited at all. Guess what I am saying WPIAL is not "top level" overall but it seems more opportunity is given to other regions to roughly the same kid.