War Room August 12th
From the Desk of Jim Snyder
The University of Pittsburgh is a big place. In fact it is a very big place sprawling from the UPMC complex on the Southside over to Oakland and then down to Heinz Field. No one individual is totally up to date on everything that happens on a daily basis and that includes the folks that run the place. You would be surprised how often we are asked questions and we go to folks who you think would know the answer only to hear them say, “That is a very good question. I do not know. I will check it out and get back to you.”
Our goal is to provide a lot of information about Pitt football and basketball with a heavy dose of information about players that Pitt is recruiting. We know we have many subscribers that include prospects, families of players and many, many other members of the extended Pitt family. Our hope is our subscribers will help us fill in the blanks and make it a better experience for all of us.
I am constantly telling my wife something and she questions where I heard it. My response is often I read it on the Pantherlair. PittIs’99 provides us with the “Pitt New Stand” which you can find atop the Between Fifth & Forbes Board. It is constantly searching the Internet for articles about Pitt and/or the Big East Conference. Check it out from time to time. I believe it was he that also that also provided us with a link that allowed us to watch the new roof being put on the “Pete.” I have to admit there are days when even I am amazed at the amount of information that passes through this site.
Always keep in mind an annual subscription is your best deal. You save money plus you get access to the AMP service and the annual recruiting guide from Rivals.com. Call Rivals.com at 1-866-2Rivals (1-866-274-8257).
Rivals radio is on Sirius Satellite for two hours each day (channel 123). A third hour is carried only on the Internet. My guess is the day will come where the Radio show will be expanded to 4-6 hours per day. It is later broken down into segments for replay in case you missed the live show.
We were reading an article this past week this past week about former Panther John Congemi. He succeeded Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino at Pitt. The article indicated that he was a roommate of Dan Marino for one year. He lives in Florida about two miles from Dan and the two still stay in touch with each other. Congemi often does the color on the Big East game of the Week.
In case you missed our post Dave Wannstedt is moving into the dorms to save time so he does not have to drive to his home in Mt. Lebanon.
For those of you who do not regularly go to the basketball message boards there had been a “rumor” that Pitt was having some difficulties getting Sam Young cleared by the NCAA. Several of the Pitt players attended Pitt for summer school but Sam did not. This resulted in the other freshman being listed in a student directory but not Sam Young. Our “birdies” say he has been cleared for take off and will be reporting to Pitt on August 29th. Good news for coach Jamie Dixon and the entire Pitt basketball program. Our sources say he is in academic good standing with the University of Pittsburgh.
In case you missed our post earlier this week Perry quarterback Desmond Brentley had a meeting with the Pitt coaches last Friday. They assured him they are still recruiting him but did not make an offer. My feeling is he would accept on the spot. He has offers from Akron and Temple but would probably jump on a Pitt offer. We also reported on quarterback Thaddeus Lewis from Hialeah, Florida. You hate to deal in absolutes when reporting on recruiting but we would be surprised if he ended up at Pitt. We are not sure what is bothering him. It may be as simple as he does not want to be involved in a situation where a school is taking two quarterbacks in the same year. Most schools only take one per year. Pitt has been in an unusual situation recent years with transfers. Quarterback Dexter Davidson Coconut Creek, Florida is still scheduled for a visit Labor Day weekend. He has an offer and appears to be at the top of the pile. Harry Psaros will have an article later today on Dexter Davidson.
We will also report later this morning on running back Kevin Collier. Pitt is still the hunt for this 4-star running back.
We spoke to Coach Jeff Burns at Valley Forge Military Academy this week about his big tackle Jeff Otah (6’ 7” 340). Coach Burns had just returned from three weeks vacationing at the beach. He had just had an opportunity to talk to Otah who has offers from Pitt, West Virginia, Michigan State and Maryland. Coach Burns had also talked to Chris LaSalla from Pitt this week who was also asking what is up with the big fellow. Coach Burns said, “Jeff did not take any visits this summer. Our practices start next Friday so he will be on campus next week. It will give me more time to sit down with him and get a better read on his situation.” Jeff Otah plays in a junior college program at Valley Forge. This team plays a nine game schedule this fall. This will be his second year at Valley Forge so he will only have two years of eligibility should he choose Pitt.
We were very happy to hear that McDevitt’s LeSean McCoy and Aaron Berry are scheduled to visit Pitt this weekend. They had told us and other reporters the same thing before and we became skeptical. We had heard this song before. Pitt has been trying to get several of the McDevitt players to visit for months. Let’s cross our fingers that they have transportation this time and show up. We will interview both LeSean McCoy and Aaron Berry once they have made their visit. In case you may have missed it McCoy went on a day trip to Virginia Tech earlier this month.
McCoy gets a lot of the attention at McDevitt but Berry is also a good prospect. He missed a few games with injury last fall but showed his competitive spirit at the Nike Camp this spring.
The Pitt staff tried to get McDevitt quarterback Jeremy Ricker on campus and might have given him a written offer if he had shown up at the UPMC complex. This staff has been reluctant to pass out offers unless the player shows interest in Pitt. They were slow to offer wide receiver John Maddox because they did not think he had interest.
This year Duke, Akron, Nebraska and North Carolina often were very quick to pass out scholarship offers. Their philosophy is to cast a very wide net. This Pitt staff often wants to insure there is some interest on the part of the player or they are slow to offer.
The Pitt football team will be in full gear for the first time on Sunday. Their first scrimmage is scheduled for Monday afternoon. The team will also scrimmage on Friday August 19th and Tuesday August 23rd.
Pitt practices are closed to the general public. However the team will practice at FanFest at Heinz Field. This year FanFest will be held on Thursday August 25th. Fan Fest starts at 6:00 PM. I believe the team will start practicing at 7:30 PM.
The new Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis is not media friendly. He has closed practices to the media and provides little in the way of information. He told them I know you are in the information gathering business but I am not in the information providing business. My advice is that coach Weis had better win and win big. The media will eventually turn on him. Coach Harris was basically a shy, introverted person. Dealing with the media often looked painful. In the end the media turn on coach Harris and they will eventually do the same to Charlie Weis if he does not win big.
Getting the commitment of Franklin’s Nate Byham is another nice recruiting coup for Dave Wannstedt and his staff. Nate has soft hands and creates match-up problems. He is tough for any linebacker to cover and too big for many corners. When we talked with Nate earlier this week we suspected it would not be too long. He had called the coaches while on vacation. They thought that was a positive sign and so did we. When we asked about any further visits he got very reluctant to say he would make any more visits. At one point He told us I guess it is getting near crunch time for me to make a decision. Nate is the third highly recruited athlete the Pitt staff has landed. Could Aaron Smith be the next to commit from Western PA? This 4-star “athlete” will announce his choice later this month.
Pitt also has a few players from Florida visiting Labor Day weekend. Please see the “visit list” in the database. My guess is Wannstedt will not disappoint a land a few from Florida before too long.
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.
From the Desk of Jim Snyder
The University of Pittsburgh is a big place. In fact it is a very big place sprawling from the UPMC complex on the Southside over to Oakland and then down to Heinz Field. No one individual is totally up to date on everything that happens on a daily basis and that includes the folks that run the place. You would be surprised how often we are asked questions and we go to folks who you think would know the answer only to hear them say, “That is a very good question. I do not know. I will check it out and get back to you.”
Our goal is to provide a lot of information about Pitt football and basketball with a heavy dose of information about players that Pitt is recruiting. We know we have many subscribers that include prospects, families of players and many, many other members of the extended Pitt family. Our hope is our subscribers will help us fill in the blanks and make it a better experience for all of us.
I am constantly telling my wife something and she questions where I heard it. My response is often I read it on the Pantherlair. PittIs’99 provides us with the “Pitt New Stand” which you can find atop the Between Fifth & Forbes Board. It is constantly searching the Internet for articles about Pitt and/or the Big East Conference. Check it out from time to time. I believe it was he that also that also provided us with a link that allowed us to watch the new roof being put on the “Pete.” I have to admit there are days when even I am amazed at the amount of information that passes through this site.
Always keep in mind an annual subscription is your best deal. You save money plus you get access to the AMP service and the annual recruiting guide from Rivals.com. Call Rivals.com at 1-866-2Rivals (1-866-274-8257).
Rivals radio is on Sirius Satellite for two hours each day (channel 123). A third hour is carried only on the Internet. My guess is the day will come where the Radio show will be expanded to 4-6 hours per day. It is later broken down into segments for replay in case you missed the live show.
We were reading an article this past week this past week about former Panther John Congemi. He succeeded Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino at Pitt. The article indicated that he was a roommate of Dan Marino for one year. He lives in Florida about two miles from Dan and the two still stay in touch with each other. Congemi often does the color on the Big East game of the Week.
In case you missed our post Dave Wannstedt is moving into the dorms to save time so he does not have to drive to his home in Mt. Lebanon.
For those of you who do not regularly go to the basketball message boards there had been a “rumor” that Pitt was having some difficulties getting Sam Young cleared by the NCAA. Several of the Pitt players attended Pitt for summer school but Sam did not. This resulted in the other freshman being listed in a student directory but not Sam Young. Our “birdies” say he has been cleared for take off and will be reporting to Pitt on August 29th. Good news for coach Jamie Dixon and the entire Pitt basketball program. Our sources say he is in academic good standing with the University of Pittsburgh.
In case you missed our post earlier this week Perry quarterback Desmond Brentley had a meeting with the Pitt coaches last Friday. They assured him they are still recruiting him but did not make an offer. My feeling is he would accept on the spot. He has offers from Akron and Temple but would probably jump on a Pitt offer. We also reported on quarterback Thaddeus Lewis from Hialeah, Florida. You hate to deal in absolutes when reporting on recruiting but we would be surprised if he ended up at Pitt. We are not sure what is bothering him. It may be as simple as he does not want to be involved in a situation where a school is taking two quarterbacks in the same year. Most schools only take one per year. Pitt has been in an unusual situation recent years with transfers. Quarterback Dexter Davidson Coconut Creek, Florida is still scheduled for a visit Labor Day weekend. He has an offer and appears to be at the top of the pile. Harry Psaros will have an article later today on Dexter Davidson.
We will also report later this morning on running back Kevin Collier. Pitt is still the hunt for this 4-star running back.
We spoke to Coach Jeff Burns at Valley Forge Military Academy this week about his big tackle Jeff Otah (6’ 7” 340). Coach Burns had just returned from three weeks vacationing at the beach. He had just had an opportunity to talk to Otah who has offers from Pitt, West Virginia, Michigan State and Maryland. Coach Burns had also talked to Chris LaSalla from Pitt this week who was also asking what is up with the big fellow. Coach Burns said, “Jeff did not take any visits this summer. Our practices start next Friday so he will be on campus next week. It will give me more time to sit down with him and get a better read on his situation.” Jeff Otah plays in a junior college program at Valley Forge. This team plays a nine game schedule this fall. This will be his second year at Valley Forge so he will only have two years of eligibility should he choose Pitt.
We were very happy to hear that McDevitt’s LeSean McCoy and Aaron Berry are scheduled to visit Pitt this weekend. They had told us and other reporters the same thing before and we became skeptical. We had heard this song before. Pitt has been trying to get several of the McDevitt players to visit for months. Let’s cross our fingers that they have transportation this time and show up. We will interview both LeSean McCoy and Aaron Berry once they have made their visit. In case you may have missed it McCoy went on a day trip to Virginia Tech earlier this month.
McCoy gets a lot of the attention at McDevitt but Berry is also a good prospect. He missed a few games with injury last fall but showed his competitive spirit at the Nike Camp this spring.
The Pitt staff tried to get McDevitt quarterback Jeremy Ricker on campus and might have given him a written offer if he had shown up at the UPMC complex. This staff has been reluctant to pass out offers unless the player shows interest in Pitt. They were slow to offer wide receiver John Maddox because they did not think he had interest.
This year Duke, Akron, Nebraska and North Carolina often were very quick to pass out scholarship offers. Their philosophy is to cast a very wide net. This Pitt staff often wants to insure there is some interest on the part of the player or they are slow to offer.
The Pitt football team will be in full gear for the first time on Sunday. Their first scrimmage is scheduled for Monday afternoon. The team will also scrimmage on Friday August 19th and Tuesday August 23rd.
Pitt practices are closed to the general public. However the team will practice at FanFest at Heinz Field. This year FanFest will be held on Thursday August 25th. Fan Fest starts at 6:00 PM. I believe the team will start practicing at 7:30 PM.
The new Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis is not media friendly. He has closed practices to the media and provides little in the way of information. He told them I know you are in the information gathering business but I am not in the information providing business. My advice is that coach Weis had better win and win big. The media will eventually turn on him. Coach Harris was basically a shy, introverted person. Dealing with the media often looked painful. In the end the media turn on coach Harris and they will eventually do the same to Charlie Weis if he does not win big.
Getting the commitment of Franklin’s Nate Byham is another nice recruiting coup for Dave Wannstedt and his staff. Nate has soft hands and creates match-up problems. He is tough for any linebacker to cover and too big for many corners. When we talked with Nate earlier this week we suspected it would not be too long. He had called the coaches while on vacation. They thought that was a positive sign and so did we. When we asked about any further visits he got very reluctant to say he would make any more visits. At one point He told us I guess it is getting near crunch time for me to make a decision. Nate is the third highly recruited athlete the Pitt staff has landed. Could Aaron Smith be the next to commit from Western PA? This 4-star “athlete” will announce his choice later this month.
Pitt also has a few players from Florida visiting Labor Day weekend. Please see the “visit list” in the database. My guess is Wannstedt will not disappoint a land a few from Florida before too long.
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.
