From the desk of Jim Snyder
Some hoops talk
The Pitt basketball team finished this past season ranked No. 18 in the country (although Rivals.com had them at No. 16in their final ranking). They also picked off a Big East Tournament championship along the way. Rivals.com had Pitt ranked No. 23 in the country prior to the start of last season so I guess you could say they met or exceeded expectations despite having four players going down with injuries that required surgery.
This week Rivals.com has Pitt ranked No. 13 in the country for the 2008-09 basketball season. It was a ranking prepared before all of the underclassmen decided if they would enter the NBA draft. My guess is Pitt moves into the Top 10 if Sam Young decides to return to Pitt. Also still to be decided is will the NCAA give Mike Cook a 6th year? I hope you saw my link in which Jeff Greer from the Sporting News indicated a Pitt staffer told him that the odds are about 90% that Sam Young will return. It depends on what other underclassmen declare but he does not figure to be a first round draft choice.
Andy Katz from ESPN has Pitt ranked No. 3 in the country for 2008-09 but he has Ronald Ramon returning. For as close as Andy Katz is to Jamie Dixon and the Pitt program this more than a little embarrassing.
Next week Pitt will host their annual Jam Fest from April 18th through the 20th. This event is held at many locations but they usually try to make sure most of the best players end up playing at the Petersen Events Center. College coaches are allowed to attend this event as we are in an Evaluation Period so it should draw a large number of teams from Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, New Jersey and the Baltimore-Washington area. I have not seen a list of teams or rosters yet but I will pass them along when I do.
Last week we reported Pitt allowed Tom Lemming to hold a photo shoot at the UPMC complex. Next week you have the Jam Fest at the Pete. Anything you can do to get the top athletes on campus the better off you are.
This past week Nasir Robinson scored 15 points in the Charm City Challenge in Baltimore. His team lost but he was named to a five man all-star team.
As most of you are aware Oklahoma State recently fired Sean Sutton after 17-16 season. The Cowboys then turned their attention to Kansas coach Bill Self who played at Oklahoma State. Reportedly he was offered a $6 million signing bonus. Self has made a decision and he will remain in Kansas. Sources close to the scene in Oklahoma tell us that Pitt’s head basketball coach Jamie Dixon is now on a short list of about a half dozen candidates. Another candidate on their list is Kevin Stallings from Vanderbilt.
Oklahoma State has very deep pockets after T. Boone Pickens contributed $165 million to the Cowboys athletic program this year. Money will not be an object for Oklahoma State. Pitt played Oklahoma State this year and beat them 85-68 in a game played at the Pete.
Spring practice round up
Pitt still has four practice sessions left this spring plus their Spring Game at Heinz Field. We thought it might be a good idea to summarize what we have learned so far keeping in mind we have a long way to go before the opener against Bowling Green at the end of August.
On the offensive side of the ball Bill Stull looks like he is healthy once again and will start the season at quarterback. The big question now might be who will back him up? Can they redshirt Pat Bostick? Kevin Smith is often touted as being the best athlete with the strongest arm among the scholarship quarterbacks but there are often questions about his accuracy.
Pitt is deep at wide receiver. If All-Big East wideout Derek Kinder can make it all the way back by September they will be very deep. Also Cedric McGee is having a good camp. As talented as Jonathan Baldwin is he could be headed for a redshirt if this group lives up to expectations.
Pitt is also deep at running back. Sophomore LeSean McCoy could be headed for a very big year. Incoming freshman Chris Burns also figures to redshirt as well. In fact it could be that all 16 of the freshmen that start at Pitt in June will redshirt.
Dorin Dickerson seems to have found a home as an H-back. He has the ability to get deep which will give linebacker fits and his size creates matchup problems for defensive backs. He figures to be used in the role Darrell Strong played last year. On the assumption Nate Byham and John Pelusi will be healthy this fall the tight end position should be in good hands.
It really gets down to this; can Tony Wise hammer together an offensive line? Right now it looks like Joe Thomas and Jason Pinkston will open at tackle. C.J. Davis and John Malecki will be at guard and junior college transfer Robb Houser at center.
Pitt should have three talented young players backing them up in Chris Jacobson, Jordan Gibbs and Dan Matha.
We hope you read Chris Peak’s report from camp last night. The Pitt staff will have to have all players available until the two-deep chart sakes itself out. This might not happen until fall camp.
On defense Pitt is loaded up front. They have potential stars in linebacker Scott McKillop and defensive end Greg Romeus. The front four is at least eight deep and maybe more.
At safety Dom DeCicco and Elijah Fields give Pitt a big upgrade in athleticism over last year. The still need a corner to go with Aaron Berry. Who knows it might me redshirt freshman Buddy Jackson.
Pitt was ranked in a number of defensive categories a year ago. This unit should be better if the offense can move the ball giving them and give them a rest and a little better field position.
Maybe the biggest surprise has been the redshirt linebackers. Max Gruder, Greg Williams,Brandon Lindsey and Tristan Roberts are all taking turns impressing folks. None of them figure to challenge the starters but could help improve special teams play this fall.
Walk-on Chas Alecxih impressed folks last fall and is doing it again this spring. He turned down a scholarship offer from UConn to come to Pitt. Right now the staff is up against the wall in the scholarship limitations but he figures to get one at some point down the road. Walk-on defensive back Dan Carafo is also impressing camp observers.
The past three years Pitt is 16-19 but there is a quiet optimism building that the Panthers just may be ready to finally move forward. We hope you caught Olin Buchanan’s article yesterday. He is a football writer for Rivals.com. He spent time in Pittsburgh doing interviews. It is an excellent piece.
Olin Buchanan said of LeSean McCoy,” Not only is Pittsburgh tailback LeSean McCoy impressive on the ground, he's also impressively grounded.
It would be so easy for a tailback who rushed for 1,328 yards as a true freshman on an offense without an effective passing alternative to proclaim his own greatness. Yet McCoy isn't ready to accept that adjective even though he's already drawing some comparisons to Pitt legend Tony Dorsett, who rushed for 1,686 yards as a freshman in 1973.
Pitt's sports information department has released a chart comparing the players' freshman stats, but McCoy acknowledged there's really no comparison. "It's kind of cool for that comparison, but I can't compare with him," he's said. "He's a Hall-of-Famer, so that's crazy. He's a great player."
McCoy appears well on the way to becoming one, though. Last season, he had seven 100-yard games despite facing defenses with eight-man fronts and little regard for Pitt's passing game, which ranked 104th nationally.
This season, he expects to be better.
"Some games I look back on and I could have made better reads," he said. "It's hard to learn as you're playing. Now I'm older. As far as reading blocks, it all comes down to playing much faster and knowing what you're doing."
Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt agrees that knowledge is power.
"He left a lot of long runs on the field," Wannstedt said. "When he learns our offense better and defenses better, he'll have greater anticipation of what to do.
"But he has to improve on pass blocking and catching the ball. He has a lot of work to do."
Even though Pitt's passing game figures to improve with quarterback Bill Stull and wide receiver Derek Kinder returning from injuries, Wannstedt says he's planning to increase McCoy's workload.
Wannstedt worked with Emmitt Smith and Ricky Williams in the NFL, and learned about letting a running back be a workhorse.
"I kid (McCoy) that when I was with the Dolphins, Ricky Williams led the NFL in touches, and when I was in Dallas, Emmitt Smith led in touches," Wannstedt said. "I remember like yesterday we beat Buffalo and Ricky Williams carried 11 straight times to clinch a win. I tell LeSean I'm not afraid to hand the ball off."
And McCoy isn't afraid to pursue greatness running with it.”
If Coach Wise can put together an offense line and Sam Young returns Pitt could be nationally ranked in both football and basketball next school year. My guess is the women’s team will also be ranked. Agnus’ team finished No. 16 this year. We may have to put out a bridge alert for Yinzer Panther. The three major programs could all be nationally ranked. To borrow a phrase from NTOP these may be the good old days.
Tony Greco has being doing a series of interviews with the new coaches at Pitt. Today he talks to wide receiver coach Bryan Bossard. He has talent to work with this year if Bill Stull can get them the ball.
Next Saturday Pitt will hold their annual spring game at Heinz Field. Pitt players will sign autographs from 4:00-6:00 pm. The game is scheduled to be televised on the NFL Network and on WPCW at 6:00 pm although I am sure Steve Pedersen and Co. would prefer you attend in person.
Recruiting roundup
Once the Panthers play their Spring Game next Saturday we will enter into an Evaluation Period. The Pitt coaching staff will start visiting high schools within their recruiting footprint. The Pitt offer list continues to grow and we are likely to see more names added after the Evaluation Period.
Others may have to wait and camp at Pitt in June to get an offer. The coaching staff has a pile of offers out to four-star players but this group as a general rule does not make quick decisions. They often have multiple offers and take their time with the recruiting process.
In his first few years at Pitt Dave Wannstedt pushed for a few early commits to get the ball rolling. I am not sure they felt the need this year and have allowed the win over West Virginia create the buzz.
My guess is Pitt will receive a half dozen commitments or so before we get to fall camp. They might come off this list.
Brock DeCicco TE/DE Thomas Jefferson
Paul Carrezola TE Neshaminy
Cory King OL Lakeview
Dan Mason LB Penn Hills
Tyrone Ezell DL Steel Valley
A.J. Fenton LB.RB Erie McDowell
Terry Patrick DB Aliquippa
Juantez Hollins OL Aliquippa
Jack Lippert DE Central Dauphin
Todd Thomas WR Beaver Falls
All of these players are from the state of Pennsylvania. We have reported on Paul Carrezola, Cory King, Jack Lippert, and A.J. Fenton this week.
The Rivals.com video editors were tied up the past couple of weeks with the NCAA basketball tournament. Now that it is over video of football prospects have started to flow once again. This week we had video of Jaleel Clark, Jamal Merrell, Jamil Merrell, C.J. Brown, Matt Klatt, Bryan Underwood, Greg Smith and Shawn Bodtman. If you missed any of them you can check the Ticker.
We will have an article later today on Washington DC quarterback Emmanuel Yeager who has an offer from Pitt.
The War Room is targeted towards our premium customers. We ask that all information reported in the War Room MUST stay right here! That’s the way this deal works. When this information is repeated outside of the Between Fifth and Forbes forum it only cheapens the price of yours and every other die-hard who have purchased premium services. The War Room is one of our more popular features...thank you all for keeping the information on this board.
Some hoops talk
The Pitt basketball team finished this past season ranked No. 18 in the country (although Rivals.com had them at No. 16in their final ranking). They also picked off a Big East Tournament championship along the way. Rivals.com had Pitt ranked No. 23 in the country prior to the start of last season so I guess you could say they met or exceeded expectations despite having four players going down with injuries that required surgery.
This week Rivals.com has Pitt ranked No. 13 in the country for the 2008-09 basketball season. It was a ranking prepared before all of the underclassmen decided if they would enter the NBA draft. My guess is Pitt moves into the Top 10 if Sam Young decides to return to Pitt. Also still to be decided is will the NCAA give Mike Cook a 6th year? I hope you saw my link in which Jeff Greer from the Sporting News indicated a Pitt staffer told him that the odds are about 90% that Sam Young will return. It depends on what other underclassmen declare but he does not figure to be a first round draft choice.
Andy Katz from ESPN has Pitt ranked No. 3 in the country for 2008-09 but he has Ronald Ramon returning. For as close as Andy Katz is to Jamie Dixon and the Pitt program this more than a little embarrassing.
Next week Pitt will host their annual Jam Fest from April 18th through the 20th. This event is held at many locations but they usually try to make sure most of the best players end up playing at the Petersen Events Center. College coaches are allowed to attend this event as we are in an Evaluation Period so it should draw a large number of teams from Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, New Jersey and the Baltimore-Washington area. I have not seen a list of teams or rosters yet but I will pass them along when I do.
Last week we reported Pitt allowed Tom Lemming to hold a photo shoot at the UPMC complex. Next week you have the Jam Fest at the Pete. Anything you can do to get the top athletes on campus the better off you are.
This past week Nasir Robinson scored 15 points in the Charm City Challenge in Baltimore. His team lost but he was named to a five man all-star team.
As most of you are aware Oklahoma State recently fired Sean Sutton after 17-16 season. The Cowboys then turned their attention to Kansas coach Bill Self who played at Oklahoma State. Reportedly he was offered a $6 million signing bonus. Self has made a decision and he will remain in Kansas. Sources close to the scene in Oklahoma tell us that Pitt’s head basketball coach Jamie Dixon is now on a short list of about a half dozen candidates. Another candidate on their list is Kevin Stallings from Vanderbilt.
Oklahoma State has very deep pockets after T. Boone Pickens contributed $165 million to the Cowboys athletic program this year. Money will not be an object for Oklahoma State. Pitt played Oklahoma State this year and beat them 85-68 in a game played at the Pete.
Spring practice round up
Pitt still has four practice sessions left this spring plus their Spring Game at Heinz Field. We thought it might be a good idea to summarize what we have learned so far keeping in mind we have a long way to go before the opener against Bowling Green at the end of August.
On the offensive side of the ball Bill Stull looks like he is healthy once again and will start the season at quarterback. The big question now might be who will back him up? Can they redshirt Pat Bostick? Kevin Smith is often touted as being the best athlete with the strongest arm among the scholarship quarterbacks but there are often questions about his accuracy.
Pitt is deep at wide receiver. If All-Big East wideout Derek Kinder can make it all the way back by September they will be very deep. Also Cedric McGee is having a good camp. As talented as Jonathan Baldwin is he could be headed for a redshirt if this group lives up to expectations.
Pitt is also deep at running back. Sophomore LeSean McCoy could be headed for a very big year. Incoming freshman Chris Burns also figures to redshirt as well. In fact it could be that all 16 of the freshmen that start at Pitt in June will redshirt.
Dorin Dickerson seems to have found a home as an H-back. He has the ability to get deep which will give linebacker fits and his size creates matchup problems for defensive backs. He figures to be used in the role Darrell Strong played last year. On the assumption Nate Byham and John Pelusi will be healthy this fall the tight end position should be in good hands.
It really gets down to this; can Tony Wise hammer together an offensive line? Right now it looks like Joe Thomas and Jason Pinkston will open at tackle. C.J. Davis and John Malecki will be at guard and junior college transfer Robb Houser at center.
Pitt should have three talented young players backing them up in Chris Jacobson, Jordan Gibbs and Dan Matha.
We hope you read Chris Peak’s report from camp last night. The Pitt staff will have to have all players available until the two-deep chart sakes itself out. This might not happen until fall camp.
On defense Pitt is loaded up front. They have potential stars in linebacker Scott McKillop and defensive end Greg Romeus. The front four is at least eight deep and maybe more.
At safety Dom DeCicco and Elijah Fields give Pitt a big upgrade in athleticism over last year. The still need a corner to go with Aaron Berry. Who knows it might me redshirt freshman Buddy Jackson.
Pitt was ranked in a number of defensive categories a year ago. This unit should be better if the offense can move the ball giving them and give them a rest and a little better field position.
Maybe the biggest surprise has been the redshirt linebackers. Max Gruder, Greg Williams,Brandon Lindsey and Tristan Roberts are all taking turns impressing folks. None of them figure to challenge the starters but could help improve special teams play this fall.
Walk-on Chas Alecxih impressed folks last fall and is doing it again this spring. He turned down a scholarship offer from UConn to come to Pitt. Right now the staff is up against the wall in the scholarship limitations but he figures to get one at some point down the road. Walk-on defensive back Dan Carafo is also impressing camp observers.
The past three years Pitt is 16-19 but there is a quiet optimism building that the Panthers just may be ready to finally move forward. We hope you caught Olin Buchanan’s article yesterday. He is a football writer for Rivals.com. He spent time in Pittsburgh doing interviews. It is an excellent piece.
Olin Buchanan said of LeSean McCoy,” Not only is Pittsburgh tailback LeSean McCoy impressive on the ground, he's also impressively grounded.
It would be so easy for a tailback who rushed for 1,328 yards as a true freshman on an offense without an effective passing alternative to proclaim his own greatness. Yet McCoy isn't ready to accept that adjective even though he's already drawing some comparisons to Pitt legend Tony Dorsett, who rushed for 1,686 yards as a freshman in 1973.
Pitt's sports information department has released a chart comparing the players' freshman stats, but McCoy acknowledged there's really no comparison. "It's kind of cool for that comparison, but I can't compare with him," he's said. "He's a Hall-of-Famer, so that's crazy. He's a great player."
McCoy appears well on the way to becoming one, though. Last season, he had seven 100-yard games despite facing defenses with eight-man fronts and little regard for Pitt's passing game, which ranked 104th nationally.
This season, he expects to be better.
"Some games I look back on and I could have made better reads," he said. "It's hard to learn as you're playing. Now I'm older. As far as reading blocks, it all comes down to playing much faster and knowing what you're doing."
Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt agrees that knowledge is power.
"He left a lot of long runs on the field," Wannstedt said. "When he learns our offense better and defenses better, he'll have greater anticipation of what to do.
"But he has to improve on pass blocking and catching the ball. He has a lot of work to do."
Even though Pitt's passing game figures to improve with quarterback Bill Stull and wide receiver Derek Kinder returning from injuries, Wannstedt says he's planning to increase McCoy's workload.
Wannstedt worked with Emmitt Smith and Ricky Williams in the NFL, and learned about letting a running back be a workhorse.
"I kid (McCoy) that when I was with the Dolphins, Ricky Williams led the NFL in touches, and when I was in Dallas, Emmitt Smith led in touches," Wannstedt said. "I remember like yesterday we beat Buffalo and Ricky Williams carried 11 straight times to clinch a win. I tell LeSean I'm not afraid to hand the ball off."
And McCoy isn't afraid to pursue greatness running with it.”
If Coach Wise can put together an offense line and Sam Young returns Pitt could be nationally ranked in both football and basketball next school year. My guess is the women’s team will also be ranked. Agnus’ team finished No. 16 this year. We may have to put out a bridge alert for Yinzer Panther. The three major programs could all be nationally ranked. To borrow a phrase from NTOP these may be the good old days.
Tony Greco has being doing a series of interviews with the new coaches at Pitt. Today he talks to wide receiver coach Bryan Bossard. He has talent to work with this year if Bill Stull can get them the ball.
Next Saturday Pitt will hold their annual spring game at Heinz Field. Pitt players will sign autographs from 4:00-6:00 pm. The game is scheduled to be televised on the NFL Network and on WPCW at 6:00 pm although I am sure Steve Pedersen and Co. would prefer you attend in person.
Recruiting roundup
Once the Panthers play their Spring Game next Saturday we will enter into an Evaluation Period. The Pitt coaching staff will start visiting high schools within their recruiting footprint. The Pitt offer list continues to grow and we are likely to see more names added after the Evaluation Period.
Others may have to wait and camp at Pitt in June to get an offer. The coaching staff has a pile of offers out to four-star players but this group as a general rule does not make quick decisions. They often have multiple offers and take their time with the recruiting process.
In his first few years at Pitt Dave Wannstedt pushed for a few early commits to get the ball rolling. I am not sure they felt the need this year and have allowed the win over West Virginia create the buzz.
My guess is Pitt will receive a half dozen commitments or so before we get to fall camp. They might come off this list.
Brock DeCicco TE/DE Thomas Jefferson
Paul Carrezola TE Neshaminy
Cory King OL Lakeview
Dan Mason LB Penn Hills
Tyrone Ezell DL Steel Valley
A.J. Fenton LB.RB Erie McDowell
Terry Patrick DB Aliquippa
Juantez Hollins OL Aliquippa
Jack Lippert DE Central Dauphin
Todd Thomas WR Beaver Falls
All of these players are from the state of Pennsylvania. We have reported on Paul Carrezola, Cory King, Jack Lippert, and A.J. Fenton this week.
The Rivals.com video editors were tied up the past couple of weeks with the NCAA basketball tournament. Now that it is over video of football prospects have started to flow once again. This week we had video of Jaleel Clark, Jamal Merrell, Jamil Merrell, C.J. Brown, Matt Klatt, Bryan Underwood, Greg Smith and Shawn Bodtman. If you missed any of them you can check the Ticker.
We will have an article later today on Washington DC quarterback Emmanuel Yeager who has an offer from Pitt.
The War Room is targeted towards our premium customers. We ask that all information reported in the War Room MUST stay right here! That’s the way this deal works. When this information is repeated outside of the Between Fifth and Forbes forum it only cheapens the price of yours and every other die-hard who have purchased premium services. The War Room is one of our more popular features...thank you all for keeping the information on this board.
