From the Desk of Harry Psaros
An early look at Florida
The Pantherlair.com has spoke with several blue-chip players from the state of Florida. Here the scoop on a four players that appear to truly covet the Panthers (note: there will be many more in the future):
• Charles Deas (6 foot 4 inches, 330 pounds) from Boyd Anderson High School in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Deas is a rare athlete. He tips the scales at 330 pounds yet he is capable of running a 4.8 forty-yard dash. The Panthers have extended Charles a scholarship offer and he very much wants to leave the state of Florida. He has also been offered by Rutgers and Duke. We spoke with his coach and he openly stated that the Panthers scholarship offer appeared to be the only one that excited him. Coach Wannstedt and Coach Dunn are looking for big, physical linemen that can move. Deas personifies the type of player they are looking for. Most project big Charles as an offensive tackle on the next level. The Panthers area also taking a close look at this teammates Frantz Accine (6 foot, 180 pound cornerback) and Herb Bynes (6 foot 4 inch, 220 pound quarterback/athlete).
• Javon Hill (6 foot 4 inches, 330 pounds) from Monsignor Pace High School in Miami, FL. Hill can easily be labeled a “road grater”. He’s a big, physical lineman that enjoys run blocking. Javon has talked with future Panther star Conredge Collins and he is highly interested in the Panthers. Unlike Charles Deas, he was initially uneasy about leaving the state of Florida. I spoke to him recently and those concerns seem to have faded. He’s not only a solid athlete; Javon is a highly intelligent and articulate young man. Javon told me would love to open holes for Collins at Pittsburgh. When asked why he liked to run block, he stated, “You get to beat on the guy across from you”.
• Ian Evans (6 foot 3 inches, 240 pounds) from Countryside High School in Clearwater, FL. The Evans family lived in Pittsburgh for many years. He would love to receive an offer from the Panthers. Ian is a physical player known for his pass rushing skills. His current weight is close to 250 pounds, yet he is capable of running a 4.7 forty-yard dash. Evan told me he would like to receive an offer from Pittsburgh and bring his friend and teammate Seaver Brown with him. Brown is a towering 6 foot 6 inch, 300 pound offensive tackle. North Carolina State has already extended him a scholarship offer.
• Patrick Robinson (5 foot 11 inches, 175 pounds) from South Miami High School in Miami, FL. I spoke with South Miami High School Head Football Coach Joe Mira. He told me that Patrick attended the Miami NIKE camp last year. There were roughly 900 players in attendance. Robinson was the fastest player at camp registering times of 4.3, 4.28 and 4.48 seconds in the forty-yard dash. Coach Wannstedt is looking to add speed to the Panthers’ football team. Patrick has speed to spare. He is very interested in the Panthers and something tells me you will hear more from this player in the future. Robinson is capable of playing on either side of the ball. I assume the Panthers will recruit him as a cornerback. Coach Mira stated that the “Wannstedt factor” will greatly help the Panthers.
This and That…..
• I had the opportunity to speak with Chad Schofield and his father after attending spring practice. Big Chad and Mr. Schofield raved about their experience at practice and I was told they “couldn’t wait” to get back to Pittsburgh this weekend. I know it’s early, but it wouldn’t shock me if Chad commits before the end of summer.
• Big Chris Hanna from Gateway High School has been to multiple practices at Pitt. He told me he’s a “big Pitt fan” and I have a feeling he will commit if offered. Rutgers and Duke have recently extended him scholarship offers. Chris will be one of thirty players to visit Pitt this weekend.
• I’m frequently asked, “Hey Harry, who is our next commit?” The more we talk with linebacker Greg Webster from powerhouse Woodland Hills High School, the better we feel. He, like Hanna, has attended a myriad of spring practices and he will join Schofield and Hanna this weekend at Pitt’s junior day.
• We have talked with rugged defensive end Tyler Tkach several times. He, like Webster, seems like a player close to pulling the trigger and joining the Panther program. If he joins the Pittsburgh football team, he will automatically become the next Vince Crochunis in the classroom. Tyler has an outstanding 4.4 grade point average.
• The Panthers need offensive tackle prospects. Remember three names from the state of Ohio: Bill Nagy (6 foot 5 inches, 295 pounds) from Hudson, OH, Joe Thomas (6 foot 5 inches, 285 pounds) from Parma, OH and Jared DeWalt (6 foot 6 inches, 310 pounds) from Lyndhurst, OH. Louisville and Northwestern have already offered Nagy. He attended the Panthers first junior day with his father and loved the trip. Bill’s father told me he was “blown away” by the visit and expected Coach Wannstedt to take the program to the next level. Michigan State and Miami, OH have already offered Thomas. DeWalt is a massive prospect that has been stuck on a poor high school team. All three linemen will be attending the Panthers summer football camp with something to prove. Don’t be surprised to see one, maybe two of these towering prospects offered a scholarship.
From the Desk of Jim Snyder
Let the camping season begin
The football camping season has started and will go on for the next two or three months. Last week Rivals.com held Junior Days at Rutgers and at Atlanta, Georgia. The first Nike Camp will be held April 10th in Miami. You can be sure with Charlie Partridge on the staff and the fact Dave Wannstedt lived in South Florida (on two separate occasions), there will be players in attendance that Pitt will eventually recruit.
The Nike Camp in Miami will start a series around the country over the next several weekends. The Nike Camp at State College will be held April 30th. It is held during an “evaluation period” so you can expect a number of college coaches in attendance. They are allowed to observe but cannot recruit at these camps.
Basketball has had AAU basketball for many years. Football now sees an explosion of camps. Adidas will sponsor one at the UPMC complex in May, Prep Star will hold one in Morgantown in May, there will be an MSL combine at Gateway High School in early May and another at the University of Akron.
Joe Butler will hold his 26th Metro Index Camp at the UPMC complex the second and third weeks of May. You can reach Joe Butler at 412-343-7099 if you know someone interested in the Metro Index Camp. We spoke to Joe Butler this week and he was concerned about the number of new camps. He said, “The Pittsburgh area isn’t what it used to be for turning out talent. It has stabilized, which is a good thing, but there are far too many camps over a short period of time.” Joe suggested that maybe there should be more in Florida or Georgia. He may be right but I think many of these players will attend multiple camps when possible.
Les Kemp will hold his AK Recruiting camps in three sessions on May 2nd & 3rd, May 9th and 10th and May 16th & 17th. They will be held at the Pittsburgh Sports Arena in Harmarville. You can reach Les Kemp at 724-826-1331 in you know of a high school player that would be interested in attending. We also spoke to Les this week.
One might draw an analogy between AAU basketball and the explosion in the number of football camps. Scholarship limitations make it a good idea for recruiters to check out as many prospects as possible. Like wise many prospects want as much exposure as possible to help them get the offer they want. Camps are a good way of making sure prospects are not dropping through the cracks.
Pitt and every other school will also hold their own summer camps in June or early July. These schools will try and talk prospects into visiting their facilities for workouts in front of their staffs. You can expect many in the Tri-state area to also attend camps held by Pitt, Penn State, Ohio State or Michigan.
Pitt resumes spring practice
Panther Head Coach Dave Wannstedt gave the team a week off for the Easter holidays. They resumed practice yesterday at the UPMC complex. They will now practice for four consecutive days. The spring game will held Saturday (April 16th ) at1:00 PM. It is tentatively scheduled for Heinz Field pending field conditions with the newly installed turf being the deciding factor.
Last week, several high school players took advantage of their spring breaks to take in a spring practice. Some of the players that took in a practice were Gateway lineman Chris Hanna, Valley linebacker Tyler Santucci, Center defensive back Ashton Cobb, West Allegheny’s wide receiver Dorin Dickerson, Quaker Valley’s Darren Rogers, Brush wide receiver Corey Clarke, Brush lineman Jared DeWalt, Woodland Hills linebacker Greg Webster and St Edward’s linebacker Ken Lamendola. The Pantherlair has reported on all of these prospects and we will continue to give you updates. We expect a number of prospects to attend Saturday’s practice including the newest Panther Scott Corson from Johnstown. This Sunday defensive lineman Dustin Ilgenfritz from Spring Grove High School near York is scheduled to attend practice.
We spoke to Coach Arcurio at Johnstown this week. They are going to hold the annual Ken Lantzy all-star game at Johnstown’s field this year. Three Trojans will participate including Pitt’s LaRod Stephens. The games features graduating seniors from the Laurel Highlands area in a North-South format.
Johnstown will have a huge offensive line this year. The Trojans also have a sophomore running back with a lot of speed. If he comes through they may be in the hunt again.
The lawsuit
Several Pitt fans have filed a class action lawsuit over the new plan for priority seating. Not sure what to say about this one. Most BCS schools have some sort of priority seating. Pitt’s current plan may not be the best but they sure need to find a way to increase donations to the athletic program if they want to remain competitive. It is our understanding that the athletic program now operates at a deficit and does not give the full complement of scholarships allowed by the NCAA in order to try to save money.
Annual giving for the athletic program puts Pitt in the second tier of Big East schools with football programs. If Pitt fans want to have the best coaches and they want to be competitive with Notre Dame, Louisville, UConn, West Virginia and Syracuse, Jeff Long needs to find a plan that will raise funds.
When the prior administration priced club seats in football we found there were too many club seats and they often went unsold. We are glad to see that there is a little better pricing plan going forward. These are great seats. They should not be unfilled or worse yet be filled by visiting fans.
It may be Pitt needs to come up with a fixed pricing plan for basketball as they have for football. It may take a year or two for them to find out what the market will bare so they do not end up with a problem similar to the football club seats.
As long as the IRS allows charitable deductions these types of programs will be popular with colleges throughout the United States.
Kudos to H. B. Blades
In case you missed it, H. B. Blades has been nominated for the Rotary Lombardi Award this year. If the retooled Pitt defense has a big year, he could win it. Pitt has not had a Lombardi winner since Hugh Green won the award in 1980. He is the only Panther ever to have won this award.
I believe I reported I ran into Hugh Green after the Nebraska football game last fall at a restaurant in Oakmont. He was there with a couple of friends including former Heisman Trophy winner Mike Rossier from Nebraska.
They will get a lot of offers
In Western PA the three high school players that will attract the mot attention from college recruiters this year are Darrin Walls (6’ 1” 185) from Woodland Hills (Walls has speed to burn), Jason Pinkston (6’ 5” 273) and Dorin Dickerson (6’ 3” 205) from West Allegheny. These three already have anywhere from eight to a dozen scholarship offers. Gateway’s Aaron Smith will be a step or two behind this group. Gateway’s Coach Terry Smith is his uncle. Coach Smith was the stepfather to Justin King who is now enrolled at Penn State.
Looking across the state of Pennsylvania, quarterbacks Pat Devlin and Jeremy Ricker seems to be turning recruiters heads as is running back LeSean McCoy. Bishop McDevitt could have six players that receive Division 1 scholarships. The fact that McCoy and Richter are at McDevitt insures the rest of their players will get plenty of looks. On the eastern side of the state, Philadelphia West Catholic’s John Maddox is starting to pile up the offers. The database lists him as a safety. Not sure if he should not be a wide receiver.
WPIAL teams that have legitimate Division 1 prospects should have an advantage on the playing field. Woodland Hills, Gateway, Penn-Trafford and Baldwin should all make some noise this fall if the supporting cast is there.
From the Desk of Steve Feller
Corson wants no part of it
The Pantherlair got word late last night that a few schools have picked up their recruitment of Scott Corson, even though he announced earlier this week, his intentions of signing with Pitt. He has been told offers are coming from Indiana and Illinois. West Virginia will still recruit Corson and offered a scholie. Other schools in contact since his announcement; Notre Dame, North Carollina and Virginia.
Corson is solid with Pitt and wants no part of this renewed attention.
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.
Note to Pantherlair.com Fans: The staff at Pantherlair.com works diligently to bring you the best information on University of Pittsburgh football and basketball recruiting (in addition to game coverage). Thousands of Panther fans visit our site on a daily basis. We have received a tremendous amount of e-mail thanking us for our efforts. If you like our site, please feel free to tell other fans about it. “Spread the word” and let’s add to our online family of Panther fans.
An early look at Florida
The Pantherlair.com has spoke with several blue-chip players from the state of Florida. Here the scoop on a four players that appear to truly covet the Panthers (note: there will be many more in the future):
• Charles Deas (6 foot 4 inches, 330 pounds) from Boyd Anderson High School in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Deas is a rare athlete. He tips the scales at 330 pounds yet he is capable of running a 4.8 forty-yard dash. The Panthers have extended Charles a scholarship offer and he very much wants to leave the state of Florida. He has also been offered by Rutgers and Duke. We spoke with his coach and he openly stated that the Panthers scholarship offer appeared to be the only one that excited him. Coach Wannstedt and Coach Dunn are looking for big, physical linemen that can move. Deas personifies the type of player they are looking for. Most project big Charles as an offensive tackle on the next level. The Panthers area also taking a close look at this teammates Frantz Accine (6 foot, 180 pound cornerback) and Herb Bynes (6 foot 4 inch, 220 pound quarterback/athlete).
• Javon Hill (6 foot 4 inches, 330 pounds) from Monsignor Pace High School in Miami, FL. Hill can easily be labeled a “road grater”. He’s a big, physical lineman that enjoys run blocking. Javon has talked with future Panther star Conredge Collins and he is highly interested in the Panthers. Unlike Charles Deas, he was initially uneasy about leaving the state of Florida. I spoke to him recently and those concerns seem to have faded. He’s not only a solid athlete; Javon is a highly intelligent and articulate young man. Javon told me would love to open holes for Collins at Pittsburgh. When asked why he liked to run block, he stated, “You get to beat on the guy across from you”.
• Ian Evans (6 foot 3 inches, 240 pounds) from Countryside High School in Clearwater, FL. The Evans family lived in Pittsburgh for many years. He would love to receive an offer from the Panthers. Ian is a physical player known for his pass rushing skills. His current weight is close to 250 pounds, yet he is capable of running a 4.7 forty-yard dash. Evan told me he would like to receive an offer from Pittsburgh and bring his friend and teammate Seaver Brown with him. Brown is a towering 6 foot 6 inch, 300 pound offensive tackle. North Carolina State has already extended him a scholarship offer.
• Patrick Robinson (5 foot 11 inches, 175 pounds) from South Miami High School in Miami, FL. I spoke with South Miami High School Head Football Coach Joe Mira. He told me that Patrick attended the Miami NIKE camp last year. There were roughly 900 players in attendance. Robinson was the fastest player at camp registering times of 4.3, 4.28 and 4.48 seconds in the forty-yard dash. Coach Wannstedt is looking to add speed to the Panthers’ football team. Patrick has speed to spare. He is very interested in the Panthers and something tells me you will hear more from this player in the future. Robinson is capable of playing on either side of the ball. I assume the Panthers will recruit him as a cornerback. Coach Mira stated that the “Wannstedt factor” will greatly help the Panthers.
This and That…..
• I had the opportunity to speak with Chad Schofield and his father after attending spring practice. Big Chad and Mr. Schofield raved about their experience at practice and I was told they “couldn’t wait” to get back to Pittsburgh this weekend. I know it’s early, but it wouldn’t shock me if Chad commits before the end of summer.
• Big Chris Hanna from Gateway High School has been to multiple practices at Pitt. He told me he’s a “big Pitt fan” and I have a feeling he will commit if offered. Rutgers and Duke have recently extended him scholarship offers. Chris will be one of thirty players to visit Pitt this weekend.
• I’m frequently asked, “Hey Harry, who is our next commit?” The more we talk with linebacker Greg Webster from powerhouse Woodland Hills High School, the better we feel. He, like Hanna, has attended a myriad of spring practices and he will join Schofield and Hanna this weekend at Pitt’s junior day.
• We have talked with rugged defensive end Tyler Tkach several times. He, like Webster, seems like a player close to pulling the trigger and joining the Panther program. If he joins the Pittsburgh football team, he will automatically become the next Vince Crochunis in the classroom. Tyler has an outstanding 4.4 grade point average.
• The Panthers need offensive tackle prospects. Remember three names from the state of Ohio: Bill Nagy (6 foot 5 inches, 295 pounds) from Hudson, OH, Joe Thomas (6 foot 5 inches, 285 pounds) from Parma, OH and Jared DeWalt (6 foot 6 inches, 310 pounds) from Lyndhurst, OH. Louisville and Northwestern have already offered Nagy. He attended the Panthers first junior day with his father and loved the trip. Bill’s father told me he was “blown away” by the visit and expected Coach Wannstedt to take the program to the next level. Michigan State and Miami, OH have already offered Thomas. DeWalt is a massive prospect that has been stuck on a poor high school team. All three linemen will be attending the Panthers summer football camp with something to prove. Don’t be surprised to see one, maybe two of these towering prospects offered a scholarship.
From the Desk of Jim Snyder
Let the camping season begin
The football camping season has started and will go on for the next two or three months. Last week Rivals.com held Junior Days at Rutgers and at Atlanta, Georgia. The first Nike Camp will be held April 10th in Miami. You can be sure with Charlie Partridge on the staff and the fact Dave Wannstedt lived in South Florida (on two separate occasions), there will be players in attendance that Pitt will eventually recruit.
The Nike Camp in Miami will start a series around the country over the next several weekends. The Nike Camp at State College will be held April 30th. It is held during an “evaluation period” so you can expect a number of college coaches in attendance. They are allowed to observe but cannot recruit at these camps.
Basketball has had AAU basketball for many years. Football now sees an explosion of camps. Adidas will sponsor one at the UPMC complex in May, Prep Star will hold one in Morgantown in May, there will be an MSL combine at Gateway High School in early May and another at the University of Akron.
Joe Butler will hold his 26th Metro Index Camp at the UPMC complex the second and third weeks of May. You can reach Joe Butler at 412-343-7099 if you know someone interested in the Metro Index Camp. We spoke to Joe Butler this week and he was concerned about the number of new camps. He said, “The Pittsburgh area isn’t what it used to be for turning out talent. It has stabilized, which is a good thing, but there are far too many camps over a short period of time.” Joe suggested that maybe there should be more in Florida or Georgia. He may be right but I think many of these players will attend multiple camps when possible.
Les Kemp will hold his AK Recruiting camps in three sessions on May 2nd & 3rd, May 9th and 10th and May 16th & 17th. They will be held at the Pittsburgh Sports Arena in Harmarville. You can reach Les Kemp at 724-826-1331 in you know of a high school player that would be interested in attending. We also spoke to Les this week.
One might draw an analogy between AAU basketball and the explosion in the number of football camps. Scholarship limitations make it a good idea for recruiters to check out as many prospects as possible. Like wise many prospects want as much exposure as possible to help them get the offer they want. Camps are a good way of making sure prospects are not dropping through the cracks.
Pitt and every other school will also hold their own summer camps in June or early July. These schools will try and talk prospects into visiting their facilities for workouts in front of their staffs. You can expect many in the Tri-state area to also attend camps held by Pitt, Penn State, Ohio State or Michigan.
Pitt resumes spring practice
Panther Head Coach Dave Wannstedt gave the team a week off for the Easter holidays. They resumed practice yesterday at the UPMC complex. They will now practice for four consecutive days. The spring game will held Saturday (April 16th ) at1:00 PM. It is tentatively scheduled for Heinz Field pending field conditions with the newly installed turf being the deciding factor.
Last week, several high school players took advantage of their spring breaks to take in a spring practice. Some of the players that took in a practice were Gateway lineman Chris Hanna, Valley linebacker Tyler Santucci, Center defensive back Ashton Cobb, West Allegheny’s wide receiver Dorin Dickerson, Quaker Valley’s Darren Rogers, Brush wide receiver Corey Clarke, Brush lineman Jared DeWalt, Woodland Hills linebacker Greg Webster and St Edward’s linebacker Ken Lamendola. The Pantherlair has reported on all of these prospects and we will continue to give you updates. We expect a number of prospects to attend Saturday’s practice including the newest Panther Scott Corson from Johnstown. This Sunday defensive lineman Dustin Ilgenfritz from Spring Grove High School near York is scheduled to attend practice.
We spoke to Coach Arcurio at Johnstown this week. They are going to hold the annual Ken Lantzy all-star game at Johnstown’s field this year. Three Trojans will participate including Pitt’s LaRod Stephens. The games features graduating seniors from the Laurel Highlands area in a North-South format.
Johnstown will have a huge offensive line this year. The Trojans also have a sophomore running back with a lot of speed. If he comes through they may be in the hunt again.
The lawsuit
Several Pitt fans have filed a class action lawsuit over the new plan for priority seating. Not sure what to say about this one. Most BCS schools have some sort of priority seating. Pitt’s current plan may not be the best but they sure need to find a way to increase donations to the athletic program if they want to remain competitive. It is our understanding that the athletic program now operates at a deficit and does not give the full complement of scholarships allowed by the NCAA in order to try to save money.
Annual giving for the athletic program puts Pitt in the second tier of Big East schools with football programs. If Pitt fans want to have the best coaches and they want to be competitive with Notre Dame, Louisville, UConn, West Virginia and Syracuse, Jeff Long needs to find a plan that will raise funds.
When the prior administration priced club seats in football we found there were too many club seats and they often went unsold. We are glad to see that there is a little better pricing plan going forward. These are great seats. They should not be unfilled or worse yet be filled by visiting fans.
It may be Pitt needs to come up with a fixed pricing plan for basketball as they have for football. It may take a year or two for them to find out what the market will bare so they do not end up with a problem similar to the football club seats.
As long as the IRS allows charitable deductions these types of programs will be popular with colleges throughout the United States.
Kudos to H. B. Blades
In case you missed it, H. B. Blades has been nominated for the Rotary Lombardi Award this year. If the retooled Pitt defense has a big year, he could win it. Pitt has not had a Lombardi winner since Hugh Green won the award in 1980. He is the only Panther ever to have won this award.
I believe I reported I ran into Hugh Green after the Nebraska football game last fall at a restaurant in Oakmont. He was there with a couple of friends including former Heisman Trophy winner Mike Rossier from Nebraska.
They will get a lot of offers
In Western PA the three high school players that will attract the mot attention from college recruiters this year are Darrin Walls (6’ 1” 185) from Woodland Hills (Walls has speed to burn), Jason Pinkston (6’ 5” 273) and Dorin Dickerson (6’ 3” 205) from West Allegheny. These three already have anywhere from eight to a dozen scholarship offers. Gateway’s Aaron Smith will be a step or two behind this group. Gateway’s Coach Terry Smith is his uncle. Coach Smith was the stepfather to Justin King who is now enrolled at Penn State.
Looking across the state of Pennsylvania, quarterbacks Pat Devlin and Jeremy Ricker seems to be turning recruiters heads as is running back LeSean McCoy. Bishop McDevitt could have six players that receive Division 1 scholarships. The fact that McCoy and Richter are at McDevitt insures the rest of their players will get plenty of looks. On the eastern side of the state, Philadelphia West Catholic’s John Maddox is starting to pile up the offers. The database lists him as a safety. Not sure if he should not be a wide receiver.
WPIAL teams that have legitimate Division 1 prospects should have an advantage on the playing field. Woodland Hills, Gateway, Penn-Trafford and Baldwin should all make some noise this fall if the supporting cast is there.
From the Desk of Steve Feller
Corson wants no part of it
The Pantherlair got word late last night that a few schools have picked up their recruitment of Scott Corson, even though he announced earlier this week, his intentions of signing with Pitt. He has been told offers are coming from Indiana and Illinois. West Virginia will still recruit Corson and offered a scholie. Other schools in contact since his announcement; Notre Dame, North Carollina and Virginia.
Corson is solid with Pitt and wants no part of this renewed attention.
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.
Note to Pantherlair.com Fans: The staff at Pantherlair.com works diligently to bring you the best information on University of Pittsburgh football and basketball recruiting (in addition to game coverage). Thousands of Panther fans visit our site on a daily basis. We have received a tremendous amount of e-mail thanking us for our efforts. If you like our site, please feel free to tell other fans about it. “Spread the word” and let’s add to our online family of Panther fans.
