From the desk of Jim Snyder
Good luck!
Hopefully you have seen our post on Harry Psaros leaving the Pantherlair. Harry has recently been working for the Pantherlair as a part-time freelance writer. He is relatively young but has been writing recruiting articles for a long time by Internet standards. Scout.com has been operating a site covering Pitt on a shoestring budget up until this point. Quite frankly we avoid criticize them because I kind of admired how much they did with so few resources. They have apparently now decided to invest some in their site. Harry was a logical choice and they have talked to him on a number of occasions this year. The Scout.com network is headquartered in Seattle, Washington and Harry worked for them before. We are “not pleased” that he is leaving but he tells us it may open up some opportunities for him down the road. He will continue with his day job and write for them as a part-time. He is hard worker so he should help them. We wish him well. The more information on Pitt athletics the better off we will all be.
Welcome aboard
We have hired a new writer by the name of Tony Greco. He is a Pitt graduate who majored in English and Communications. He did an internship in the Pitt SID office (as did Chris Peak). He also interned with the Pittsburgh Steelers in a similar capacity. He was also an Assistant SID at Purdue and Virginia. In addition he was an assistant football coach at one of the AAA schools in the Parkway Conference. He has also coached other sports at local high schools in the WPIAL. Tony Greco currently lives in Robinson Twp (where my wife grew up). Please give Tony a little time to get up to speed. He has followed Pitt football and basketball closely for the past couple of decades. Please welcome Tony Greco to the Pantherlair staff. Welcome aboard Tony!
Holidays and jury duty
We have several videos of Pitt commits for you in the pipeline. Many of the editors at Rivals are on vacation this week. Once they are back to work after the New Year’s holiday they should start digging their way out of a backlog that has accumulated recently. We have talked several times with defensive back Lowell Robinson this week about getting more video. His coach came through and it is fun stuff. Hopefully once we through the holiday and vacation season you will like what you see. There are several Pitt commits in the pipeline as well as a couple they are still recruiting.
Next week I could get tied up on jury duty. It has been a while since a served as a juror so I guess it is my turn again. I have a notice to report next week.
Toledo in the Big East?
It was interest to read the Toledo coach saying that Toledo might be a candidate for Big East expansion. It probably suggests that someone from the Big East is putting a list together and Toledo may be one of many schools on the list. You would think Memphis and/or Central Florida are also on the list. There must be others. If they go the expansion route it should be to the school that shows a willingness to invest in their athletic program.
Some football updates
One of our colleagues reports that Greg Lee has signed with an agent. If this is true there is no turning back. He is headed for the NFL draft. It could open up playing time for Dorin Dickerson and Aaron Smith but I am told the Pitt coaches wish Lee were also still in the mix.
We reported last week that the coaches were trying to see if they could get running back Kevin Collier cleared to start in January to help with the loss of running back Rashad Jennings. Kevin Collier now tells us this will not happen. He will finish high school in May and plans to report for summer school with many of the Pitt recruits. Kevin has had a checkered academic history. He apparently did poorly early in his high school career. He found himself as a junior. He had a breakout year on the football field. And he also stepped it up in the classroom. My recollection was that he had a “B” average in his junior year. He may simply need the next semester in the classroom to put himself in position to clear the NCAA Clearinghouse. Every conversation I have had tells me he is now a well ground kid who has his act together. He is a joy to interview.
The Dead Period
We are just about to come out of a “Dead Period” which will goes through January 1st. The Pitt coaches were given the week off to spend time with their families before gearing up for the stretch drive in recruiting. Coach Wannstedt has been at his home in Florida and does not return until Tuesday of next week. Pitt already has 21 verbal commitments so much of the staffs time will devoted to making sure this group stays on board and does not wonder off at the last second. You could argue that recruiting these 21 commits is the most important task as hand. It is a very solid group so they must pay attention to every detail with the guys already on board.
We believe that when all is said and done Pitt will try to sign 25 players meaning there are four more left. We outlined the targets in last week’s War Room, which you can check out on the War Room Archives message board if you missed it over the holidays.
Juniors
We have been starting to introduce our subscribers to juniors we think will generate Division 1 interest. Most of them are just looking for offers right now so they like all schools. Every school including Pitt must fill needs with only 25 scholarships. Some of these juniors may get offers from Division 1 schools but in the end may not fit Pitt’s needs. It is simply too early to tell. We will continue to report on juniors but do not expect the player to narrow his search at this point. Most will wait to see just what the interest level is before focusing on a school. Most just receiving form letters in the mail at this point although a few do have offers.
Looking for some help up front
The past two years Pitt has had trouble pressuring the passer. They have had some good defensive backs but if you give a major college quarterback all day to throw and opening passing lanes to throw through he will cause problems for your pass defense.
The Pitt coaching staff has verbal commitments from four prospects that are defensive tackle candidates. Franklin’s John Malecki, Baldwin’s Jason Pinkston, Johnstown’s Scott Corson and Jared Martin from Davie, Florida will all be give a shot this summer to compete for a spot on the two-deep chart at defensive tackle. However, Dave Wannstedt has often said he likes recruiting defensive lineman and converting them to offense as Pitt did with Charles Spencer. The first order of business should be to see if they can bolster a spot where Pitt is very thin (defensive tackle). Coach Wannstedt believes defense wins games.
The Pitt coaching staff would also like to build some depth a defensive end. Pitt has verbal commitments from Tyler Tkach from Northern Lehigh and Justin Hargrove from Baldwin. Justin Hargrove has suffered serious injuries the past two years and has played very little and as a result might make a good redshirt candidate. He also has a tall rangy build that might benefit from some time in the weight-room.
Last summer defensive end Tommie Duhart from Belle Glades failed to make it past the NCAA Clearinghouse. As a result one of the recruits from the Class of 2005 that was counted on to provide depth as a defensive end was off to a junior college. Since that time Pitt has continued to recruit defensive ends despite having commits from Tkach and Hargrove.
Pitt recruited defensive end Eric Latimore from Delaware who subsequently committed to Penn State. They are also involved in a recruiting battle for Syracuse defensive end McKenzie Mathews. I recently got a chance to watch senior video of him and he is a tall athletic guy and has the makings of a very good pass rusher. Pitt, Ohio State, Michigan and Boston College are his top four right now. It appears Miami has dropped back. He has scheduled a visit for Boston College the weekend of January 20th. If he keeps this appointment this one could go down to the wire.
Pitt has a visit scheduled for “Geno” Atkins on January 6th. As a junior Atkins played middle linebacker and many recruiters thought him to be too slow to be a linebacker. Atkins bulked up and is now a 270-pound defensive line candidate that many see as a defensive end. He played for a team that made it to the finals of the Florida 5A playoffs. His team was nationally ranked so you know he played in a good program. His father played in the NFL so you know he has good bloodlines. He is also scheduled to visit Auburn January 13th so there is stiff competition.
Pitt is also in the mix for Audie Augustine from Oakland Park, Florida. He is scheduled for a visit to Pitt January 20th. He is down to Pitt, South Carolina and NC State.
In summary Pitt is still very much in the mix for three defensive ends. They would like one of the remaining four slots to be a defensive end. Any of the three would fill their needs. We like Mathews the best but the competition is going to make it tough. They only need to be successful on one of these three.
Have a happy New Year
I was at the dentist as week or so ago and the assistant and receptionist kept asking me if I was traveling for the holidays. I told them no for the first time in several years the school I followed was not in a bowl game so my travel would be limited this year. Let’s all have a Happy New Year and make a New Year’s resolution to get the Panthers back into a bowl next year.
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.
Good luck!
Hopefully you have seen our post on Harry Psaros leaving the Pantherlair. Harry has recently been working for the Pantherlair as a part-time freelance writer. He is relatively young but has been writing recruiting articles for a long time by Internet standards. Scout.com has been operating a site covering Pitt on a shoestring budget up until this point. Quite frankly we avoid criticize them because I kind of admired how much they did with so few resources. They have apparently now decided to invest some in their site. Harry was a logical choice and they have talked to him on a number of occasions this year. The Scout.com network is headquartered in Seattle, Washington and Harry worked for them before. We are “not pleased” that he is leaving but he tells us it may open up some opportunities for him down the road. He will continue with his day job and write for them as a part-time. He is hard worker so he should help them. We wish him well. The more information on Pitt athletics the better off we will all be.
Welcome aboard
We have hired a new writer by the name of Tony Greco. He is a Pitt graduate who majored in English and Communications. He did an internship in the Pitt SID office (as did Chris Peak). He also interned with the Pittsburgh Steelers in a similar capacity. He was also an Assistant SID at Purdue and Virginia. In addition he was an assistant football coach at one of the AAA schools in the Parkway Conference. He has also coached other sports at local high schools in the WPIAL. Tony Greco currently lives in Robinson Twp (where my wife grew up). Please give Tony a little time to get up to speed. He has followed Pitt football and basketball closely for the past couple of decades. Please welcome Tony Greco to the Pantherlair staff. Welcome aboard Tony!
Holidays and jury duty
We have several videos of Pitt commits for you in the pipeline. Many of the editors at Rivals are on vacation this week. Once they are back to work after the New Year’s holiday they should start digging their way out of a backlog that has accumulated recently. We have talked several times with defensive back Lowell Robinson this week about getting more video. His coach came through and it is fun stuff. Hopefully once we through the holiday and vacation season you will like what you see. There are several Pitt commits in the pipeline as well as a couple they are still recruiting.
Next week I could get tied up on jury duty. It has been a while since a served as a juror so I guess it is my turn again. I have a notice to report next week.
Toledo in the Big East?
It was interest to read the Toledo coach saying that Toledo might be a candidate for Big East expansion. It probably suggests that someone from the Big East is putting a list together and Toledo may be one of many schools on the list. You would think Memphis and/or Central Florida are also on the list. There must be others. If they go the expansion route it should be to the school that shows a willingness to invest in their athletic program.
Some football updates
One of our colleagues reports that Greg Lee has signed with an agent. If this is true there is no turning back. He is headed for the NFL draft. It could open up playing time for Dorin Dickerson and Aaron Smith but I am told the Pitt coaches wish Lee were also still in the mix.
We reported last week that the coaches were trying to see if they could get running back Kevin Collier cleared to start in January to help with the loss of running back Rashad Jennings. Kevin Collier now tells us this will not happen. He will finish high school in May and plans to report for summer school with many of the Pitt recruits. Kevin has had a checkered academic history. He apparently did poorly early in his high school career. He found himself as a junior. He had a breakout year on the football field. And he also stepped it up in the classroom. My recollection was that he had a “B” average in his junior year. He may simply need the next semester in the classroom to put himself in position to clear the NCAA Clearinghouse. Every conversation I have had tells me he is now a well ground kid who has his act together. He is a joy to interview.
The Dead Period
We are just about to come out of a “Dead Period” which will goes through January 1st. The Pitt coaches were given the week off to spend time with their families before gearing up for the stretch drive in recruiting. Coach Wannstedt has been at his home in Florida and does not return until Tuesday of next week. Pitt already has 21 verbal commitments so much of the staffs time will devoted to making sure this group stays on board and does not wonder off at the last second. You could argue that recruiting these 21 commits is the most important task as hand. It is a very solid group so they must pay attention to every detail with the guys already on board.
We believe that when all is said and done Pitt will try to sign 25 players meaning there are four more left. We outlined the targets in last week’s War Room, which you can check out on the War Room Archives message board if you missed it over the holidays.
Juniors
We have been starting to introduce our subscribers to juniors we think will generate Division 1 interest. Most of them are just looking for offers right now so they like all schools. Every school including Pitt must fill needs with only 25 scholarships. Some of these juniors may get offers from Division 1 schools but in the end may not fit Pitt’s needs. It is simply too early to tell. We will continue to report on juniors but do not expect the player to narrow his search at this point. Most will wait to see just what the interest level is before focusing on a school. Most just receiving form letters in the mail at this point although a few do have offers.
Looking for some help up front
The past two years Pitt has had trouble pressuring the passer. They have had some good defensive backs but if you give a major college quarterback all day to throw and opening passing lanes to throw through he will cause problems for your pass defense.
The Pitt coaching staff has verbal commitments from four prospects that are defensive tackle candidates. Franklin’s John Malecki, Baldwin’s Jason Pinkston, Johnstown’s Scott Corson and Jared Martin from Davie, Florida will all be give a shot this summer to compete for a spot on the two-deep chart at defensive tackle. However, Dave Wannstedt has often said he likes recruiting defensive lineman and converting them to offense as Pitt did with Charles Spencer. The first order of business should be to see if they can bolster a spot where Pitt is very thin (defensive tackle). Coach Wannstedt believes defense wins games.
The Pitt coaching staff would also like to build some depth a defensive end. Pitt has verbal commitments from Tyler Tkach from Northern Lehigh and Justin Hargrove from Baldwin. Justin Hargrove has suffered serious injuries the past two years and has played very little and as a result might make a good redshirt candidate. He also has a tall rangy build that might benefit from some time in the weight-room.
Last summer defensive end Tommie Duhart from Belle Glades failed to make it past the NCAA Clearinghouse. As a result one of the recruits from the Class of 2005 that was counted on to provide depth as a defensive end was off to a junior college. Since that time Pitt has continued to recruit defensive ends despite having commits from Tkach and Hargrove.
Pitt recruited defensive end Eric Latimore from Delaware who subsequently committed to Penn State. They are also involved in a recruiting battle for Syracuse defensive end McKenzie Mathews. I recently got a chance to watch senior video of him and he is a tall athletic guy and has the makings of a very good pass rusher. Pitt, Ohio State, Michigan and Boston College are his top four right now. It appears Miami has dropped back. He has scheduled a visit for Boston College the weekend of January 20th. If he keeps this appointment this one could go down to the wire.
Pitt has a visit scheduled for “Geno” Atkins on January 6th. As a junior Atkins played middle linebacker and many recruiters thought him to be too slow to be a linebacker. Atkins bulked up and is now a 270-pound defensive line candidate that many see as a defensive end. He played for a team that made it to the finals of the Florida 5A playoffs. His team was nationally ranked so you know he played in a good program. His father played in the NFL so you know he has good bloodlines. He is also scheduled to visit Auburn January 13th so there is stiff competition.
Pitt is also in the mix for Audie Augustine from Oakland Park, Florida. He is scheduled for a visit to Pitt January 20th. He is down to Pitt, South Carolina and NC State.
In summary Pitt is still very much in the mix for three defensive ends. They would like one of the remaining four slots to be a defensive end. Any of the three would fill their needs. We like Mathews the best but the competition is going to make it tough. They only need to be successful on one of these three.
Have a happy New Year
I was at the dentist as week or so ago and the assistant and receptionist kept asking me if I was traveling for the holidays. I told them no for the first time in several years the school I followed was not in a bowl game so my travel would be limited this year. Let’s all have a Happy New Year and make a New Year’s resolution to get the Panthers back into a bowl next year.
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.
