From the Desk of Jim Snyder
Campbell, Pope and two winter enrollees
This past week Pitt received a verbal from Aliquippa’s Tommie Campbell (6’ 4” 200). He was recruited as an “athlete”. He will probably be tried at strong safety or maybe wide receiver when he reports to summer camp. He is only 17 years old. One of our “birdies” told the Pantherlair that the Pitt staff feels there is a good chance he will grow and end up playing the “Will” linebacker position at some point during his career. He has run a 4.43 in the 40 and is a track star for the Quips so he can run and has the frame to grow. Finding out that he was a cousin of 4-star basketball prospect Herb Pope was good news this week. You have to bet that Coach Dixon is hoping things workout for Campbell at Pitt. When I called to interview Tommie this week his mother teased him because he was not looking forward to telling a couple of college coaches that he was going to Pitt. His mother told him not to worry, Pitt would take good care of him. Just another case of mother knowing what’s best.
Aliquippa lost their opener to Oliver without Herb Pope. Tommie Campbell scored 19 points for the Quips. Herb Pope will attend a WPIAL hearing on Wednesday to determine his eligibility. He told the Pantherlair he is currently living with his grandmother. As many of you are aware his father was recently released from prison. His father is trying to complete the necessary paperwork to allow Herb to live with him. His father only lives a few blocks from his grandmother.
Over the past week or two we have talked to defensive lineman Craig Bokor (6’ 3” 280) and running back Rashad Jennings (6’ 2” 240). They both told the Pantherlair that were now eligible and would be coming to Pitt. These were two of the better prospects that signed with Pitt last February. We also spoke to a “birdie” that told the Pantherlair the Pitt staff expects both of the players to be enrolled at the University of Pittsburgh next month. This means both will participate in spring drills. January starts that participate in spring drills often have a good shot at making the two-deep chart during summer camp.
Would you like to take a visit at our expense?
This is the season when football prospects take their “official visits”. This weekend almost 1,000 high school football players will take visits to various colleges across the country. Pitt is operating at a little disadvantage because the staff was in Tampa this past weekend and could not host players.
Pitt will host large groups the next two weekends. You can find a list in the football database. Simply click on “Visit Dates”. These dates will continually change as recruiters fight to get players to visit their school. Each player is only allowed to take five (5) paid visits so you know if a player shows up he is probably pretty interested.
The coaches usually set these visits up so you have a mixture of players that have already committed with players that still have not made up their minds. The players that will come in on December 10th and December 17th will get to watch the Panthers practicing to play in a BCS Bowl game, which is a nice psychological edge. Offensive lineman Kurt Mattes in one of many players that will visit on December 10th. Moon’s John Bachman is scheduled to visit December 17th. Our read is that Bachman will be a Panther if Walt Harris gets a new deal. If he leaves many recruits will become a jump ball.
Pitt had verbal commitments from Columbus Brookhaven’s Dominic Jones and Akron Buchtel’s Bryan Williams. This week there were reports that both have visited other schools. So what the heck is going on? It may be in part to the rumors that swirl around the status of Pitt Head Coach Walt Harris. They may simply be hedging their bets. Our “birdies” say the Pitt staff talked to both of them this week and both on them told Pitt they still intend to Pittsburgh. We feel a little better about Dominic Jones than we do about Bryan Williams.
Washington’s Dunbar wide receiver James McDonald was leaning to Notre Dame until they fired Ty Willingham. He was scheduled to visit Pittsburgh this coming weekend but the Pitt staff told him they would not be taking any more wide receivers. Pitt cancelled his visit and he will visit Penn State instead.
Jeff Long you are on the clock
Pitt Head Coach Walt Harris is 9-4, 8-5 and 8-3 over the past three years. He has been the head coach at Pitt for eight (8) years. It is time to renew his contract or to release him so the program can move forward. Pitt AD Jeff Long caught a bye last year because he was relatively new at Pitt. This is no longer the case. It is time for him to huddle with Jerry Cochran and Chancellor Nordenberg and make a decision.
Last year this staff was faced with the problem of the Big East Conference imploding. This year they were faced with a barrage from the media and many alums screaming for the coach to be fired. You win by recruiting good athletes. The Pitt staff has operated in a very bad environment for recruiting the past 18 months. It is time to bring some stability to the program. They must either extend Walt’s contract or announce they will go in another direction. Failure to move in one direction or another will only mean the administration is holding back the program not the players or the coaches.
This all reminds me of a story at a prior employer. We had a benefits program that was only offered to selected senior managers. I raised the question with one of my colleagues if we should extend this benefit to one of our managers. He bellowed, “Hell no! He has only worked here seven years. We haven’t decided if we are going to keep him yet.” I often chuckle over this incident over the years but that is exactly where Pitt finds themselves now with the football program.
Making an offer you can’t refuse
Rivals.com is now offering subscriptions on an annual basis. You can find the offer pinned at the top of the Between Fifth & Forbes Board. Instead of paying monthly you pay only once per year and save 20%. You also get a one-year free subscription to their AMP (All Media Pass service). They also have a limited number of Recruiting Yearbooks they will throw into the deal. This marketing campaign has been a huge success nationally in its first week. You can check the pin at the top of the Between Fifth & Forbes Board or call customer service 1-866-2-Rivals during business hours. These guys know their stuff. Ask them who will be the next coach at Notre Dame while you have them on the phone.
Rivals.com is also running a campaign to encourage subscribers to upgrade to the Ultimate Ticket. Nationally 97% of all subscriptions were Ultimate Tickets. Most customers see this as the best value for their money. I agree. Again just call 1-866-2-Rivals during business hours.
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.
This post was edited on 12/6 9:04 AM by Jim Pantherlairif(GetAdminCookie() != 0) {document.write(' (Revisions[/URL])');}
This post was edited on 12/6 9:06 AM by Jim Pantherlairif(GetAdminCookie() != 0) {document.write(' (Revisions[/URL])');}
Campbell, Pope and two winter enrollees
This past week Pitt received a verbal from Aliquippa’s Tommie Campbell (6’ 4” 200). He was recruited as an “athlete”. He will probably be tried at strong safety or maybe wide receiver when he reports to summer camp. He is only 17 years old. One of our “birdies” told the Pantherlair that the Pitt staff feels there is a good chance he will grow and end up playing the “Will” linebacker position at some point during his career. He has run a 4.43 in the 40 and is a track star for the Quips so he can run and has the frame to grow. Finding out that he was a cousin of 4-star basketball prospect Herb Pope was good news this week. You have to bet that Coach Dixon is hoping things workout for Campbell at Pitt. When I called to interview Tommie this week his mother teased him because he was not looking forward to telling a couple of college coaches that he was going to Pitt. His mother told him not to worry, Pitt would take good care of him. Just another case of mother knowing what’s best.
Aliquippa lost their opener to Oliver without Herb Pope. Tommie Campbell scored 19 points for the Quips. Herb Pope will attend a WPIAL hearing on Wednesday to determine his eligibility. He told the Pantherlair he is currently living with his grandmother. As many of you are aware his father was recently released from prison. His father is trying to complete the necessary paperwork to allow Herb to live with him. His father only lives a few blocks from his grandmother.
Over the past week or two we have talked to defensive lineman Craig Bokor (6’ 3” 280) and running back Rashad Jennings (6’ 2” 240). They both told the Pantherlair that were now eligible and would be coming to Pitt. These were two of the better prospects that signed with Pitt last February. We also spoke to a “birdie” that told the Pantherlair the Pitt staff expects both of the players to be enrolled at the University of Pittsburgh next month. This means both will participate in spring drills. January starts that participate in spring drills often have a good shot at making the two-deep chart during summer camp.
Would you like to take a visit at our expense?
This is the season when football prospects take their “official visits”. This weekend almost 1,000 high school football players will take visits to various colleges across the country. Pitt is operating at a little disadvantage because the staff was in Tampa this past weekend and could not host players.
Pitt will host large groups the next two weekends. You can find a list in the football database. Simply click on “Visit Dates”. These dates will continually change as recruiters fight to get players to visit their school. Each player is only allowed to take five (5) paid visits so you know if a player shows up he is probably pretty interested.
The coaches usually set these visits up so you have a mixture of players that have already committed with players that still have not made up their minds. The players that will come in on December 10th and December 17th will get to watch the Panthers practicing to play in a BCS Bowl game, which is a nice psychological edge. Offensive lineman Kurt Mattes in one of many players that will visit on December 10th. Moon’s John Bachman is scheduled to visit December 17th. Our read is that Bachman will be a Panther if Walt Harris gets a new deal. If he leaves many recruits will become a jump ball.
Pitt had verbal commitments from Columbus Brookhaven’s Dominic Jones and Akron Buchtel’s Bryan Williams. This week there were reports that both have visited other schools. So what the heck is going on? It may be in part to the rumors that swirl around the status of Pitt Head Coach Walt Harris. They may simply be hedging their bets. Our “birdies” say the Pitt staff talked to both of them this week and both on them told Pitt they still intend to Pittsburgh. We feel a little better about Dominic Jones than we do about Bryan Williams.
Washington’s Dunbar wide receiver James McDonald was leaning to Notre Dame until they fired Ty Willingham. He was scheduled to visit Pittsburgh this coming weekend but the Pitt staff told him they would not be taking any more wide receivers. Pitt cancelled his visit and he will visit Penn State instead.
Jeff Long you are on the clock
Pitt Head Coach Walt Harris is 9-4, 8-5 and 8-3 over the past three years. He has been the head coach at Pitt for eight (8) years. It is time to renew his contract or to release him so the program can move forward. Pitt AD Jeff Long caught a bye last year because he was relatively new at Pitt. This is no longer the case. It is time for him to huddle with Jerry Cochran and Chancellor Nordenberg and make a decision.
Last year this staff was faced with the problem of the Big East Conference imploding. This year they were faced with a barrage from the media and many alums screaming for the coach to be fired. You win by recruiting good athletes. The Pitt staff has operated in a very bad environment for recruiting the past 18 months. It is time to bring some stability to the program. They must either extend Walt’s contract or announce they will go in another direction. Failure to move in one direction or another will only mean the administration is holding back the program not the players or the coaches.
This all reminds me of a story at a prior employer. We had a benefits program that was only offered to selected senior managers. I raised the question with one of my colleagues if we should extend this benefit to one of our managers. He bellowed, “Hell no! He has only worked here seven years. We haven’t decided if we are going to keep him yet.” I often chuckle over this incident over the years but that is exactly where Pitt finds themselves now with the football program.
Making an offer you can’t refuse
Rivals.com is now offering subscriptions on an annual basis. You can find the offer pinned at the top of the Between Fifth & Forbes Board. Instead of paying monthly you pay only once per year and save 20%. You also get a one-year free subscription to their AMP (All Media Pass service). They also have a limited number of Recruiting Yearbooks they will throw into the deal. This marketing campaign has been a huge success nationally in its first week. You can check the pin at the top of the Between Fifth & Forbes Board or call customer service 1-866-2-Rivals during business hours. These guys know their stuff. Ask them who will be the next coach at Notre Dame while you have them on the phone.
Rivals.com is also running a campaign to encourage subscribers to upgrade to the Ultimate Ticket. Nationally 97% of all subscriptions were Ultimate Tickets. Most customers see this as the best value for their money. I agree. Again just call 1-866-2-Rivals during business hours.
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.
This post was edited on 12/6 9:04 AM by Jim Pantherlairif(GetAdminCookie() != 0) {document.write(' (Revisions[/URL])');}
This post was edited on 12/6 9:06 AM by Jim Pantherlairif(GetAdminCookie() != 0) {document.write(' (Revisions[/URL])');}
