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From the Desk of Jim Snyder
Our concerns about scheduling
This past week West Virginia picked up a home and away series with Mississippi State for the 2006-2007 season. On the surface this may not sound exciting to many Big East fans that might like to see a more attractive draw at the gate. However, we say kudos to West Virginia Athletic Director Ed Pasitolng. A job well done. He picked up a home and away series with an SEC team. He picks up non-conference games against a BCS conference school.
Most BCS schools have completed their non-conference schedules through at least the 2010 season. There are few opportunities in the next 6 years. This is also true of most of the mid-majors schools.
There had been rumors on the Pantherlair that Akron Head Coach JD Brookhart might do his old boss Walt Harris a favor and schedule Pitt. It simply is not that easy. Akron has completed their non-conference through at least the 2010 as have most other Division 1 schools.
You can always buyout an existing agreement but it can get very, very expensive. Pitt could have bought out Akron’s scheduled away games with Penn State (2004,2006), Virginia (2004), Purdue (2005), North Carolina State (2006), Ohio State (2007) or Michigan State (2010) but it would be very expensive. You will have to cover the buyout fee plus give the Zips a lot more money than they would have made playing these schools.
Syracuse has scheduled a two for one series with Akron (2080, 2009 and 2010). You better have your check book ready and be willing to play in the Rubber Bowl if you want to think about buying this one out. They also have a home and away series with Utah State (2008 and 2009). Again it will take a lot of money and a trip to the Rubber Bowl if you want this one.
We picked Akron for a couple of reasons. They publish their future schedules so it is easy for us to give you the facts. It is also easy for you to verify the story if you are a disbeliever as apparently a few are.
Penn State is no longer on the Pitt football schedule. Notre Dame disappears after next year. If you want an attractive home schedule Jeff Long must work hard NOW to simply deal with schedules 7-12 years down the road.
Pitt needs games for 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010. In 2006 Pitt plays 4 non-conference games and only one is against a BCS school. Akron and most other MAC schools are spoken for. Unless Jeff Long is able to pull a rabbit out of the hat, trouble is brewing. It is not all of Jeff’s making. Steve Pederson leaving for Nebraska and Pitt operating under an interim AD for a period did not help. The uncertainty of the Big East Conference did not help. There are also rumors that many ACC schools will not help Pitt because of the pending lawsuit which further limits Pitt’s options.
At most schools the Head Basketball Coach is basically in charge of the basketball schedule and this is true at Pitt. Pitt was frequently criticized in the national media for their basketball schedule this year. Let’s face it. It was made for a first year coach by the coach himself. Most of the difficult games were at home or at a neutral site. There were no difficult non-conference road games. I would have done the same thing if I were in his shoes. It does concern me what the 2004-2005 season will look like. On the surface there were no games scheduled this past year that might have resulted in an attractive return meeting this year. As an example, Pitt went to Georgia in the 2002-2003 season with the understanding they would come to Pitt this past season. In brief a two year contract set up this year’s schedule.
Pitt scheduled Division 1AA Furman in football this year for a couple of reasons. The only options available to them against Division 1A schools were backbreaker road games that Walt Harris did not want to play. Pitt needs six home games financially plus the Head Coach told Jeff it would be a rebuilding year with only four starters back on offense. With those two factors in mind Jeff scheduled Furman. There were few other options short of playing road games at places like LSU.
We bought into the “New Big East” because in fact there were no other options available to Pitt. On the other hand we have warned for almost a year that all of the Athletic Directors in the Big East Conference will have to work very hard to schedule out of conference games against BCS schools. Again we say kudos to WVU AD Ed Pastilong for a job well done.
In honor of this weekend’s NFL draft we can only say “Jeff Long you are on the clock.”
A nice pick up this week
Coach Harris and his staff picked up a verbal commitment from this week from LaRod Stephens of Johnstown. There are not many athletes these days that play football, basketball, baseball plus run track and wrestle. On top of that, he is a National Honor Society student. Great pickup.
His size will be a concern to some but LaRod is a gifted athlete that should put on weight once he concentrates on football. Often many readers have wonder if Tony Dorsett would have been offered in today’s world. He came out of Hopewell at a 155 pounds. The offer to LaRod probably confirms that he would have.
Why are fullbacks not drafted higher?
Former Panther Lousaka Polite has tested well in the NFL workouts. His time in the 40 and his Wonderlic score were among the best of all fullbacks tested. Lousaka was a three time captain at Pitt which will attest to his desirability in the clubhouse. However, despite the very solid performances is likely to be a second day draft pick. The NFL teams seldom makes fullback a high priority and the same goes for colleges. We had an article this week on Andrew McMillen of North Allegheny. He still is without a Division 1 scholarship offer despite having the size and grades. College often move at a slower pace with fullbacks as do the pros.
Let’s talk a little hoops
We spoke to Coach Bob Cimino yesterday at Mt Vernon. It appears that Pitt, St John’s and others are all still talking to his forward Dexter Gray (6‘ 6“). You will recall that Dexter made an official visit to Pitt last weekend. Coach Cimino tells me that Dexter is fully qualified. The coach also indicated that he still has not scheduled official visits to any other schools at this point.
Coach Cimino asked me if “Slice” was staying at Pitt. I told him that is a good question. I told him the folks at Pitt think highly of Barry. The feeling had been that he was unlikey to leave for another assistants job but apparently St. John’s had made a serious financial offer and it is “home” so you never know for sure. Barry would like to be a head coach some day. I guess it gets down to which you think is the best career path. Will St. John’s or Pitt get you there the fastest? Pitt’s program is further ahead of St John’s at this point so you better be confident you can turn it around in a competitive league.
We called Alex Galindo (6’ 6”) on his cell phone in New Jersey this week. He was in a meeting at the time with Coach Dixon and Slice. He obviously did not want to talk and said he would call us back later. Chris Dokish caught up to him later that night. He was at an athletic event and they had a bad connection but he did confirm his visit to Pitt this weekend after visiting with the Pitt staff.
I guess all you can say right now is Pitt is concentrating on a forward. It always raises the question of where the scholarship will come from. We can think of 5 or 6 possibilities. The coaches have some control over this and it is not totally fair to speculate when most of these players will be Panthers next fall.
From the Desk of Harry Psaros
Two Headed Monster
The University of Pittsburgh received a verbal commitment from running back LaRod Stephens (5 foot 8 ½ inches, 165 pounds). Stephens was an Associated Press First Team Class AAA All-State selection last season. He is considered one of the top tailbacks in the state of Pennsylvania. Known for his superior vision and phenomenal speed, LaRod is an exciting “scat back” type of runner. Another appropriate term for him may be “change of pace” tailback. With his diminutive size, some fans are left wondering where Coach Harris and staff will turn when they are looking for more of a physical running game. Their answer may come from hulk-like Class of 2004 running back Rashad Jennings.
Jennings, perhaps the greatest “steal” of Class of 2004, chose the Panthers over Virginia Tech. He is capable of running a 4.6 forty-yard dash, bench pressing 425 pounds and squatting 700 pounds. Rashad is the human equivalent of a rhino. Jennings rushed 192 times for 1,979 yards and scored 28 touchdowns last season.
With the powerful running style of Jennings and the cat like quickness of Stephens, the Panthers could soon have a “two headed monster” at the running back position. The coaching staff will now have to accumulate a solid group of offensive linemen to block for them.
Where’s the beef?
If you are looking for a big offensive lineman that would love to be a Pittsburgh Panthers, look no further than mammoth lineman Cyrus Kersey (6 foot 4 inches, 340 pounds) from Butchel High School in Akron, OH.
“Cyrus really likes the Panthers. He will be one of 30 people from our school coming to summer camp in Pittsburgh. I can tell you that Cyrus is going to do everything he can to earn a scholarship offer from them,” stated Butchel High School Head Football Coach Claude Brown.
“Cyrus is very strong. He recently was able to bench-press 225 pounds, 22 times. Cyrus is the second strongest player on our team. Nose tackle Carlos Parrish, another player the Panthers are looking at, bench-pressed 225 pounds 24 times,” added Coach Brown. “Despite his size, he’s very athletic and he could easily play left tackle on the next level. I’m not sure where the Panthers want him. He has long arms, great feet and he can move. I think Pittsburgh would have already offered, but they want to see his mobility in person.”
“Cyrus is ready to impress. If the Panthers offer him, he will jump at it. He wants to wear blue and gold. The school that gets him will be very lucky. You just don’t see a player with his size and mobility come around that often.”
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.
From the Desk of Jim Snyder
Our concerns about scheduling
This past week West Virginia picked up a home and away series with Mississippi State for the 2006-2007 season. On the surface this may not sound exciting to many Big East fans that might like to see a more attractive draw at the gate. However, we say kudos to West Virginia Athletic Director Ed Pasitolng. A job well done. He picked up a home and away series with an SEC team. He picks up non-conference games against a BCS conference school.
Most BCS schools have completed their non-conference schedules through at least the 2010 season. There are few opportunities in the next 6 years. This is also true of most of the mid-majors schools.
There had been rumors on the Pantherlair that Akron Head Coach JD Brookhart might do his old boss Walt Harris a favor and schedule Pitt. It simply is not that easy. Akron has completed their non-conference through at least the 2010 as have most other Division 1 schools.
You can always buyout an existing agreement but it can get very, very expensive. Pitt could have bought out Akron’s scheduled away games with Penn State (2004,2006), Virginia (2004), Purdue (2005), North Carolina State (2006), Ohio State (2007) or Michigan State (2010) but it would be very expensive. You will have to cover the buyout fee plus give the Zips a lot more money than they would have made playing these schools.
Syracuse has scheduled a two for one series with Akron (2080, 2009 and 2010). You better have your check book ready and be willing to play in the Rubber Bowl if you want to think about buying this one out. They also have a home and away series with Utah State (2008 and 2009). Again it will take a lot of money and a trip to the Rubber Bowl if you want this one.
We picked Akron for a couple of reasons. They publish their future schedules so it is easy for us to give you the facts. It is also easy for you to verify the story if you are a disbeliever as apparently a few are.
Penn State is no longer on the Pitt football schedule. Notre Dame disappears after next year. If you want an attractive home schedule Jeff Long must work hard NOW to simply deal with schedules 7-12 years down the road.
Pitt needs games for 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010. In 2006 Pitt plays 4 non-conference games and only one is against a BCS school. Akron and most other MAC schools are spoken for. Unless Jeff Long is able to pull a rabbit out of the hat, trouble is brewing. It is not all of Jeff’s making. Steve Pederson leaving for Nebraska and Pitt operating under an interim AD for a period did not help. The uncertainty of the Big East Conference did not help. There are also rumors that many ACC schools will not help Pitt because of the pending lawsuit which further limits Pitt’s options.
At most schools the Head Basketball Coach is basically in charge of the basketball schedule and this is true at Pitt. Pitt was frequently criticized in the national media for their basketball schedule this year. Let’s face it. It was made for a first year coach by the coach himself. Most of the difficult games were at home or at a neutral site. There were no difficult non-conference road games. I would have done the same thing if I were in his shoes. It does concern me what the 2004-2005 season will look like. On the surface there were no games scheduled this past year that might have resulted in an attractive return meeting this year. As an example, Pitt went to Georgia in the 2002-2003 season with the understanding they would come to Pitt this past season. In brief a two year contract set up this year’s schedule.
Pitt scheduled Division 1AA Furman in football this year for a couple of reasons. The only options available to them against Division 1A schools were backbreaker road games that Walt Harris did not want to play. Pitt needs six home games financially plus the Head Coach told Jeff it would be a rebuilding year with only four starters back on offense. With those two factors in mind Jeff scheduled Furman. There were few other options short of playing road games at places like LSU.
We bought into the “New Big East” because in fact there were no other options available to Pitt. On the other hand we have warned for almost a year that all of the Athletic Directors in the Big East Conference will have to work very hard to schedule out of conference games against BCS schools. Again we say kudos to WVU AD Ed Pastilong for a job well done.
In honor of this weekend’s NFL draft we can only say “Jeff Long you are on the clock.”
A nice pick up this week
Coach Harris and his staff picked up a verbal commitment from this week from LaRod Stephens of Johnstown. There are not many athletes these days that play football, basketball, baseball plus run track and wrestle. On top of that, he is a National Honor Society student. Great pickup.
His size will be a concern to some but LaRod is a gifted athlete that should put on weight once he concentrates on football. Often many readers have wonder if Tony Dorsett would have been offered in today’s world. He came out of Hopewell at a 155 pounds. The offer to LaRod probably confirms that he would have.
Why are fullbacks not drafted higher?
Former Panther Lousaka Polite has tested well in the NFL workouts. His time in the 40 and his Wonderlic score were among the best of all fullbacks tested. Lousaka was a three time captain at Pitt which will attest to his desirability in the clubhouse. However, despite the very solid performances is likely to be a second day draft pick. The NFL teams seldom makes fullback a high priority and the same goes for colleges. We had an article this week on Andrew McMillen of North Allegheny. He still is without a Division 1 scholarship offer despite having the size and grades. College often move at a slower pace with fullbacks as do the pros.
Let’s talk a little hoops
We spoke to Coach Bob Cimino yesterday at Mt Vernon. It appears that Pitt, St John’s and others are all still talking to his forward Dexter Gray (6‘ 6“). You will recall that Dexter made an official visit to Pitt last weekend. Coach Cimino tells me that Dexter is fully qualified. The coach also indicated that he still has not scheduled official visits to any other schools at this point.
Coach Cimino asked me if “Slice” was staying at Pitt. I told him that is a good question. I told him the folks at Pitt think highly of Barry. The feeling had been that he was unlikey to leave for another assistants job but apparently St. John’s had made a serious financial offer and it is “home” so you never know for sure. Barry would like to be a head coach some day. I guess it gets down to which you think is the best career path. Will St. John’s or Pitt get you there the fastest? Pitt’s program is further ahead of St John’s at this point so you better be confident you can turn it around in a competitive league.
We called Alex Galindo (6’ 6”) on his cell phone in New Jersey this week. He was in a meeting at the time with Coach Dixon and Slice. He obviously did not want to talk and said he would call us back later. Chris Dokish caught up to him later that night. He was at an athletic event and they had a bad connection but he did confirm his visit to Pitt this weekend after visiting with the Pitt staff.
I guess all you can say right now is Pitt is concentrating on a forward. It always raises the question of where the scholarship will come from. We can think of 5 or 6 possibilities. The coaches have some control over this and it is not totally fair to speculate when most of these players will be Panthers next fall.
From the Desk of Harry Psaros
Two Headed Monster
The University of Pittsburgh received a verbal commitment from running back LaRod Stephens (5 foot 8 ½ inches, 165 pounds). Stephens was an Associated Press First Team Class AAA All-State selection last season. He is considered one of the top tailbacks in the state of Pennsylvania. Known for his superior vision and phenomenal speed, LaRod is an exciting “scat back” type of runner. Another appropriate term for him may be “change of pace” tailback. With his diminutive size, some fans are left wondering where Coach Harris and staff will turn when they are looking for more of a physical running game. Their answer may come from hulk-like Class of 2004 running back Rashad Jennings.
Jennings, perhaps the greatest “steal” of Class of 2004, chose the Panthers over Virginia Tech. He is capable of running a 4.6 forty-yard dash, bench pressing 425 pounds and squatting 700 pounds. Rashad is the human equivalent of a rhino. Jennings rushed 192 times for 1,979 yards and scored 28 touchdowns last season.
With the powerful running style of Jennings and the cat like quickness of Stephens, the Panthers could soon have a “two headed monster” at the running back position. The coaching staff will now have to accumulate a solid group of offensive linemen to block for them.
Where’s the beef?
If you are looking for a big offensive lineman that would love to be a Pittsburgh Panthers, look no further than mammoth lineman Cyrus Kersey (6 foot 4 inches, 340 pounds) from Butchel High School in Akron, OH.
“Cyrus really likes the Panthers. He will be one of 30 people from our school coming to summer camp in Pittsburgh. I can tell you that Cyrus is going to do everything he can to earn a scholarship offer from them,” stated Butchel High School Head Football Coach Claude Brown.
“Cyrus is very strong. He recently was able to bench-press 225 pounds, 22 times. Cyrus is the second strongest player on our team. Nose tackle Carlos Parrish, another player the Panthers are looking at, bench-pressed 225 pounds 24 times,” added Coach Brown. “Despite his size, he’s very athletic and he could easily play left tackle on the next level. I’m not sure where the Panthers want him. He has long arms, great feet and he can move. I think Pittsburgh would have already offered, but they want to see his mobility in person.”
“Cyrus is ready to impress. If the Panthers offer him, he will jump at it. He wants to wear blue and gold. The school that gets him will be very lucky. You just don’t see a player with his size and mobility come around that often.”
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.
