From the desk of Jim Snyder
Spring football wrap up
Now that spring practice is over for the 2006 football squad and the coaches have hit the road visiting high schools recruiting for the Class of 2007 we though it might be a good time to take an early look at where the Panthers might be headed this fall. Last year they were 5-6 and out of the bowl picture after making five consecutive appearances. It would not have taken much to pull out win over Ohio University or Nebraska last year. Pitt had a shot in the closing minutes of both games and would have been bowl eligible had they pulled out a win in either game.
The football schedule
The NCAA moves to 12 regular season games each year beginning this fall. On paper this year’s schedule looks a little easier than the one played last year. If the Panthers make just a little improvement they could find themselves back on the bowl circuit. This year Pitt gets Louisville (9-3) and West Virginia (11-1) at home. In addition Virginia (7-5) and Michigan State (5-6) replace Notre Dame (9-3) and Nebraska (8-4). After stumbling early last season Pitt won four of their last six games. Couple a little improvement with a slightly easier schedule and Pitt has a good shot a bowling once again.
The Pitt offense
What’s to like
Pitt should be stronger at quarterback this fall. Tyler Palko is a fifth-year senior. He seems to have a better handle on Matt Cavanaugh’s offense this spring and seems to be allowing other players to make plays a little more often. There also seems to be a little more zip on the ball. In addition backup quarterback Bill Stull should be much better prepared with a year in the system. At times last year Tyler’s arm looked a little tired last fall. Pitt brings in quarterbacks Dexter Davidson and Kevin Smith this summer. This should allow wide receivers to get their reps without leaving Tyler’s arm on the practice field. In addition teams with veteran quarterbacks have been known over achieve.
What’s to worry about?
Can offensive line coach Paul Dunn hammer together an offense line together in time for the opener Labor Day weekend against Virginia? The Pitt defense line spent a lot of time in the Pitt backfield this spring, which is a little scary when you consider the Pitt defense line is not exactly the strong point of this team. Pitt plays Virginia and Michigan State in the first three games. Can Coach Dunn make improvements up front early in the season?
Newcomers that could help the offense
PG writer Paul Zeise was recently asked what freshmen had a chance to play this fall. When he was done he had list 2/3 of the incoming freshmen class. That is a scary thought. Jeff Otah and Joe Thomas need to be the real deal. Pitt needs help up front and these two have the size to be a big help. Let’s hope they are quick learners. Running back Kevin Collier and wide receiver Dorin Dickerson have the ability to give Pitt some big play punch on offense. There certainly are many others that could help but if these four can be of immediate help the Panthers could have a lot more punch in their offense than we saw last fall.
The kicking game
The kicking game should be an area of strength at Pitt this fall. Punter Adam Graessele needs to be a little more consistent but he has a major league leg. David Abdul and Conor Lee are both capable Division 1 placekickers. It is all about confidence for any placekicker. I suspect David Abdul will be given first shot at the position because he is a senior but either is more than capable of doing the job. If you have a veteran quarterback help cutting down on team mistakes and a couple of good kickers you have a shot at staying in most games.
A look at the Pitt defense
What’s to like
Senior linebackers H.B. Blade and Clint Session both had a good spring session. They should form the hub of a more than adequate linebacking corp. Last year the Pitt secondary played well despite the fact the Pitt was unable to create a sufficient pass rush. Darrelle Revis is an outstanding cornerback. Mike Phillips should grab a starting slot in the secondary now that he is healthy again. The secondary should be strong again this year.
What to worry about?
Pitt often had trouble pressuring the passer last year and was seventh in the league in stopping the run last fall. Coach Greg Gattuso has taken over as defensive line coach and seems to have made some progress in the spring. Just much improvement we will see in the Pitt defense depends on the front four doing a better job against the run and putting more pressure on the passer on obvious passing situations.
Newcomers that could help the defense
The three newcomers we would like to see step up quickly are defensive tackle John Malecki, defensive end McKenzie Mathews and safety Lowell Robinson. All have big reputations. It they live up to the hype Pitt should be better at stopping their opponents this fall. Again there are a number of others that should help long term.
Summary
It would appear that Pitt needs only to make a modest amount of improvement to turn a 5-6 record into a let’s say a 7-5 record. This puts them bowl-eligible again. It is always possible that several of the newcomers from the heralded freshman class step up big and the Panthers could do much better. The fact that Virginia, West Virginia and Louisville are all at home makes it possible to dream about catching lighting in a bottle and having a much bigger year. However, Pitt probably needs two more recruiting classes under Dave Wannstedt leadership to get them to where they would like to be.
Some hoops recruiting
Pitt only has one scholarship left for the Class of 2006. I think at this point the coaching staff is recruiting with this assumption. Earlier this week I posted they might take more than one but after checking around I now am not so sure. It is always possible Aaron Gray could leave or some other opening could occur. For the moment it is our understanding that Pitt has only one scholarship give.
One of our “birdies” reported he heard from a prominent college coach that Pitt was the leader for Tyler Smith. This coach was recruiting Smith but has backed off. Quite frankly we thought so to a couple of weeks ago but the longer this thing drags out the less we sure about this assumption. We talked to his former high school coach at Giles County this week who suggested that he was still receiving visits from other coaches (possibly UAB and Cincinnati). I like Tyler as a player but am not crazy about how this recruiting story is dragging out.
We reported earlier that Hamady N’diaye visited Pitt on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday of this week. A colleague of ours ran into Ben Howland at the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles where the Bruins were holding their banquet and Ben told him that Jamie Dixon was in LA visiting Hamady N’diaye and his coach on Wednesday. I would say Coach Dixon would like to see the big guy in Blue and Gold. Assistant coach Mike Mahoney told the Pantherlair there should be a decision either today on Monday.
We had a fairly long talk with Coach Mahoney. It appears a few guys were interested in starting a made-for-basketball school. They did not want to start from scratch they found a small private school that had been in business for about 50 years. It had about 50 students and was accredited. They moved it to Simi Valley, California, which he indicated is north of LA about as far north as Malibu but inland). It is near where President Ronald Reagan is buried in what he described as horse country. It now has about 90 students. They play a national schedule. He said they are trying to provide a school for players west of the Mississippi that need a year or two of schooling to put themselves in a position to make it past the NCAA Clearinghouse. I found an article on the Rivals network which indicated that head coach Ron Slater is trying to make it the Oak Hill Academy or Notre Dame Prep of the West.
Justin Young of Rivals Hoops also has an article on the “Ticker” this morning about Hamady N’diaye. Check it out.
Coach Dixon is fond of saying you never stop recruiting. He has only one scholarship to give but it appears that he is tracking another player beyond Smith and N’diaye. Not sure who it is but apparently his search is focused on three players for the Class of 2006.
Now that Joe Lombardi has left to take the head-coaching job at IUP Pitt will need to fill his slot. Still no word on Barry Rohrssen. It is our understanding that Pitt is paying Barry a fair amount of money for being the assistant head coach. The jobs he is being considered for in the New York area might be a push at best financially particularly when you factor in the cost of living in New York. Pitt should consider either promoting Orlando Antigua or hiring Darelle Porter for the vacancy that currently exists.
Some football recruiting thoughts
We interviewed Bryan Williams of Valley Forge this past week and reported on the Between Fifth & Forbes message board we thought he would sign a Letter of Intent with Pitt today if you put one in front of him. This one is a little tricky because he was initially recruited by the Walt Harris staff. This one may get down to does Pitt want to take another junior college safety (remember JUCO safetyLowell Robinson is scheduled to start at Pitt this fall). We are not sure Pitt has sorted out yet where he fits into the picture. You are always limited in how many scholarships you can pass out. We love Bryan Williams and have our fingers crossed the new staff does too.
Early in the recruiting process we did not particularly like Pitt’s chances of landing Hampton’s Steve Paskorz but some on the Southside figure their chances are much better than I initially thought. Apparently he has told some he prefers staying close to home if possible. We have an article on Paskorz today.
Earlier this week Chris Peak interviewed Baldwin’s Justin Hargrove. Since the time of that interview a “birdie” has indicated that Hargrove has not been medically cleared to play this fall. Our source says that in all probability Hargrove will end up taking a “grayshirt”. This means he would not be a scholarship player until January of 2007.
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.
Spring football wrap up
Now that spring practice is over for the 2006 football squad and the coaches have hit the road visiting high schools recruiting for the Class of 2007 we though it might be a good time to take an early look at where the Panthers might be headed this fall. Last year they were 5-6 and out of the bowl picture after making five consecutive appearances. It would not have taken much to pull out win over Ohio University or Nebraska last year. Pitt had a shot in the closing minutes of both games and would have been bowl eligible had they pulled out a win in either game.
The football schedule
The NCAA moves to 12 regular season games each year beginning this fall. On paper this year’s schedule looks a little easier than the one played last year. If the Panthers make just a little improvement they could find themselves back on the bowl circuit. This year Pitt gets Louisville (9-3) and West Virginia (11-1) at home. In addition Virginia (7-5) and Michigan State (5-6) replace Notre Dame (9-3) and Nebraska (8-4). After stumbling early last season Pitt won four of their last six games. Couple a little improvement with a slightly easier schedule and Pitt has a good shot a bowling once again.
The Pitt offense
What’s to like
Pitt should be stronger at quarterback this fall. Tyler Palko is a fifth-year senior. He seems to have a better handle on Matt Cavanaugh’s offense this spring and seems to be allowing other players to make plays a little more often. There also seems to be a little more zip on the ball. In addition backup quarterback Bill Stull should be much better prepared with a year in the system. At times last year Tyler’s arm looked a little tired last fall. Pitt brings in quarterbacks Dexter Davidson and Kevin Smith this summer. This should allow wide receivers to get their reps without leaving Tyler’s arm on the practice field. In addition teams with veteran quarterbacks have been known over achieve.
What’s to worry about?
Can offensive line coach Paul Dunn hammer together an offense line together in time for the opener Labor Day weekend against Virginia? The Pitt defense line spent a lot of time in the Pitt backfield this spring, which is a little scary when you consider the Pitt defense line is not exactly the strong point of this team. Pitt plays Virginia and Michigan State in the first three games. Can Coach Dunn make improvements up front early in the season?
Newcomers that could help the offense
PG writer Paul Zeise was recently asked what freshmen had a chance to play this fall. When he was done he had list 2/3 of the incoming freshmen class. That is a scary thought. Jeff Otah and Joe Thomas need to be the real deal. Pitt needs help up front and these two have the size to be a big help. Let’s hope they are quick learners. Running back Kevin Collier and wide receiver Dorin Dickerson have the ability to give Pitt some big play punch on offense. There certainly are many others that could help but if these four can be of immediate help the Panthers could have a lot more punch in their offense than we saw last fall.
The kicking game
The kicking game should be an area of strength at Pitt this fall. Punter Adam Graessele needs to be a little more consistent but he has a major league leg. David Abdul and Conor Lee are both capable Division 1 placekickers. It is all about confidence for any placekicker. I suspect David Abdul will be given first shot at the position because he is a senior but either is more than capable of doing the job. If you have a veteran quarterback help cutting down on team mistakes and a couple of good kickers you have a shot at staying in most games.
A look at the Pitt defense
What’s to like
Senior linebackers H.B. Blade and Clint Session both had a good spring session. They should form the hub of a more than adequate linebacking corp. Last year the Pitt secondary played well despite the fact the Pitt was unable to create a sufficient pass rush. Darrelle Revis is an outstanding cornerback. Mike Phillips should grab a starting slot in the secondary now that he is healthy again. The secondary should be strong again this year.
What to worry about?
Pitt often had trouble pressuring the passer last year and was seventh in the league in stopping the run last fall. Coach Greg Gattuso has taken over as defensive line coach and seems to have made some progress in the spring. Just much improvement we will see in the Pitt defense depends on the front four doing a better job against the run and putting more pressure on the passer on obvious passing situations.
Newcomers that could help the defense
The three newcomers we would like to see step up quickly are defensive tackle John Malecki, defensive end McKenzie Mathews and safety Lowell Robinson. All have big reputations. It they live up to the hype Pitt should be better at stopping their opponents this fall. Again there are a number of others that should help long term.
Summary
It would appear that Pitt needs only to make a modest amount of improvement to turn a 5-6 record into a let’s say a 7-5 record. This puts them bowl-eligible again. It is always possible that several of the newcomers from the heralded freshman class step up big and the Panthers could do much better. The fact that Virginia, West Virginia and Louisville are all at home makes it possible to dream about catching lighting in a bottle and having a much bigger year. However, Pitt probably needs two more recruiting classes under Dave Wannstedt leadership to get them to where they would like to be.
Some hoops recruiting
Pitt only has one scholarship left for the Class of 2006. I think at this point the coaching staff is recruiting with this assumption. Earlier this week I posted they might take more than one but after checking around I now am not so sure. It is always possible Aaron Gray could leave or some other opening could occur. For the moment it is our understanding that Pitt has only one scholarship give.
One of our “birdies” reported he heard from a prominent college coach that Pitt was the leader for Tyler Smith. This coach was recruiting Smith but has backed off. Quite frankly we thought so to a couple of weeks ago but the longer this thing drags out the less we sure about this assumption. We talked to his former high school coach at Giles County this week who suggested that he was still receiving visits from other coaches (possibly UAB and Cincinnati). I like Tyler as a player but am not crazy about how this recruiting story is dragging out.
We reported earlier that Hamady N’diaye visited Pitt on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday of this week. A colleague of ours ran into Ben Howland at the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles where the Bruins were holding their banquet and Ben told him that Jamie Dixon was in LA visiting Hamady N’diaye and his coach on Wednesday. I would say Coach Dixon would like to see the big guy in Blue and Gold. Assistant coach Mike Mahoney told the Pantherlair there should be a decision either today on Monday.
We had a fairly long talk with Coach Mahoney. It appears a few guys were interested in starting a made-for-basketball school. They did not want to start from scratch they found a small private school that had been in business for about 50 years. It had about 50 students and was accredited. They moved it to Simi Valley, California, which he indicated is north of LA about as far north as Malibu but inland). It is near where President Ronald Reagan is buried in what he described as horse country. It now has about 90 students. They play a national schedule. He said they are trying to provide a school for players west of the Mississippi that need a year or two of schooling to put themselves in a position to make it past the NCAA Clearinghouse. I found an article on the Rivals network which indicated that head coach Ron Slater is trying to make it the Oak Hill Academy or Notre Dame Prep of the West.
Justin Young of Rivals Hoops also has an article on the “Ticker” this morning about Hamady N’diaye. Check it out.
Coach Dixon is fond of saying you never stop recruiting. He has only one scholarship to give but it appears that he is tracking another player beyond Smith and N’diaye. Not sure who it is but apparently his search is focused on three players for the Class of 2006.
Now that Joe Lombardi has left to take the head-coaching job at IUP Pitt will need to fill his slot. Still no word on Barry Rohrssen. It is our understanding that Pitt is paying Barry a fair amount of money for being the assistant head coach. The jobs he is being considered for in the New York area might be a push at best financially particularly when you factor in the cost of living in New York. Pitt should consider either promoting Orlando Antigua or hiring Darelle Porter for the vacancy that currently exists.
Some football recruiting thoughts
We interviewed Bryan Williams of Valley Forge this past week and reported on the Between Fifth & Forbes message board we thought he would sign a Letter of Intent with Pitt today if you put one in front of him. This one is a little tricky because he was initially recruited by the Walt Harris staff. This one may get down to does Pitt want to take another junior college safety (remember JUCO safetyLowell Robinson is scheduled to start at Pitt this fall). We are not sure Pitt has sorted out yet where he fits into the picture. You are always limited in how many scholarships you can pass out. We love Bryan Williams and have our fingers crossed the new staff does too.
Early in the recruiting process we did not particularly like Pitt’s chances of landing Hampton’s Steve Paskorz but some on the Southside figure their chances are much better than I initially thought. Apparently he has told some he prefers staying close to home if possible. We have an article on Paskorz today.
Earlier this week Chris Peak interviewed Baldwin’s Justin Hargrove. Since the time of that interview a “birdie” has indicated that Hargrove has not been medically cleared to play this fall. Our source says that in all probability Hargrove will end up taking a “grayshirt”. This means he would not be a scholarship player until January of 2007.
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.
