From the desk of Jim Snyder
A few thoughts on the Backyard Brawl
The Panthers sure surprised me last Saturday night in Morgantown. They only had one shot an upset. Hold the ball and keep the clock running and hope for some turnovers and it worked. I might add that the Pitt defense played about as well as you could have possibly hoped. Congratulations to Paul Rhoads for being named Coordinator of the Week by Rivals.com. Coach Rhoads has taken heat over the last few years but his defense was simply outstanding Saturday night.
Where in the world was Steve Slaton? Why didn’t West Virginia throw the ball to him?
The Big East needs to upgrade their referees and it might take a few dollars to pull this off. They cost Louisville a bowl game when they missed the fair catch up at UConn. They cost Pitt a win at Rutgers. They almost cost Pitt their upset bid Saturday night. I urge you to send an e-mail to the Big East asking them to upgrade their referees going forward. Addressing the bowl situation and their group of referees should be priorities at the top of the page.
Don’t know if you caught Dave Wannstedt’s comments after the WVU game. He said he told Matt Cavanaugh to only throw the ball when absolutely necessary after their freshman quarterback threw the two interceptions. It is a tough way to run an offense but they had little choice.
Congratulations to Dave Wannstedt and the entire Pitt football team. It was a fun game to watch. I had friends calling me that are SEC fans telling me they watched every single play. The Pitt team and coaching staff have kept hope alive (big time).
Pitt was 3-3 down the stretch. They were competitive in all six. They should have been 4-2 if it had not been for the bad call at Rutgers. The road game Louisville game should have gone into overtime. Who knows what might happen in OT? This is a much different finish than last year.
Some hoops talk
Any win on the road is a good win in basketball. The Panthers are now 8-0 after beating the Dukes 73-68. The Pitt guards did not have a good game although Fields made a couple of plays late. Fields was only 3 for 13 from the field and had 5 turnovers. Ramon missed three free throws in the second half. The Duquesne guards looked quicker.
The Panthers now will play Washington on the road on Saturday. The Huskies are 4-3. It will be another test in a series of hurdles. Washington may not be waiting for their senior guard Ryan Appleby much longer. He one of the Pac-10's top 3-point shooters. Appleby, who suffered a fractured thumb on his shooting hand, recently began practicing with the team and is considered "a game-day decision" for the Huskies' home game against Pittsburgh on Saturday.
Sam Young is becoming a go-to-guy. He is averaging 18.6 points per game and was fourth in the Big East in scoring the last I looked. He had another very nice game at Palumbo this week.
The Dukes center Shawn James (6’ 10”) is a very good player. He is also 24 years old. It gave Pitt a chance to play a team with a quality big man and they won. DeJuan Blair is still a true freshman (great hustle plays by the big man) and still learning.
I will probably be campaigning all year for more playing time for Gilbert Brown.
Pitt and Georgetown are the only unbeaten teams in the Big East although there are a half dozen teams with one loss.
West Virginia looked good in beating Auburn 88-59. It will be interesting to see how they perform when they host the Dukes this weekend.
Nike Combines
It looks like the folks at Student Sports will holding a Nike combine in Pittsburgh on March 2nd. If you know a junior who would like to participate in this combine he can register at the Student Sports web site. These juniors should be Division 1 prospects. There will be testing that day.
A big week for the Pantherlair
The night Pitt beat West Virginia in football the Pantherlair had almost two thousand on our site. It set a record. The old record was set the night the announced the NCAA basketball pairings. Maybe Pitt isn’t solely a basketball school after all.
In one 24 hour period this week we had 13 content items. The night Cameron Saddler announced we had almost 1,300 fans on the site. Over five times as many as our nearest competitor.
It appears the Pitt fan base is being reenergized once again. Winning helps but it also helps if you have stars. Freshman LeSean McCoy on the football side and freshman DeJuan Blair on the basketball side should get Pitt fans excited once again.
A very big recruiting weekend
The list official visit list is always fluid situation as college coaches battle for position. The Pitt coaching staff is looking to strike while the iron is hot. They have a large group expected to visit this weekend.
Here is a tentative list.
Jonathan Baldwin WR/TE Aliquippa
Averin Collier Ath. Rochester, New York
Greg Cross QB Fort Scott CC
Mike Cruz TE/DT Johnstown Bishop McCort
Kevin Harper K Mentor, Ohio (Pitt commit)
Ronald Hobby DB Maryland (Pitt commit)
Jarred Holley DB Easton
Rob Houser C Butte CC
Roosevelt Maggitt LB Dwyer HS (Florida)
Mikhail Marinovich DE/TE Milford Academy
Antwuan Reed DB Johnstown (Pitt commit)
Marcus Sales WR Syracuse, New York
Mike Shanahan WR Norwin
To be honest I like Pitt’s chances with all the uncommitted players that are visiting. I think Pitt is in their top 2 or 3 in all cases. It may get down to how hard the Pitt staff pushes for a commitment. As an example Mikhail Marinovich does not yet have an offer.
The conventional wisdom mid-week was that before the weekend is over Robb Houser, Greg Cross, Marcus Sales and Mike Shanahan would all probably all be Panthers.
Recruiting recap
Hopefully you saw Tony Greco’s interview with Cameron Saddler. It is a fun interview. I told Saddler at the South Florida game I hope he came to Pitt because he was a good interview. In case you missed it we will leave it pinned at the top of the Between Fifth & Forbes board this weekend.
The plan coming into the weekend was to land two quarterbacks. In addition to JUCO quarterback Greg Cross they would take Tino Sunseri, Zack Stoudt or Dominick Britt. Things got a little bit complicated last night when Zack Stoudt committed. There have been reports that Sunseri was also close to committing. You have to believe the coaches will be meeting in their own War Room today to sort out the quarterback situation. Do they take three? Logic says no but stay tuned it could be an interesting weekend.
Trotwood-Madison linebacker Doug Rippy should make his official visit to Pitt next week. I have no idea if this guy can play but he sure passes the eyeball test. He looks like a football player.
It looks like Altoona’s A.J. Alexander has Pitt and Tennessee as his leaders. Alexander is also scheduled to take an unofficial visit to Pitt next weekend to watch the basketball game with Oklahoma State. He has a similar visit set for Tennessee next month.
We are getting some vibes on a slight cooling for Averin Collier. He has talked about wanting to be a running back this fall. If he is still in this mode this weekend he could end up a Syracuse. There just isn’t any room at the inn for another running back at Pitt right now.
It should come down to Pitt or Virginia for Jared Holley.
The last we heard the players from Central Catholic would visit in January. This could also be true of Lucas Nix. Their teams are all still alive in the state playoffs. DE Dan Vaughan and DB Andrew Taglianetti should visit in January (and maybe Sunseri).
It appears Pitt will take something in the 15-20 range in the Class of 2008. The recent buzz says it could be as high as 20 if they get everyone they are chasing. Don’t ask where they will get all of the scholarships. That is on page 2 but a couple could greyshirt (maybe Harper and Taglianetti).
A few fifth-year players may not be invited back. Coach Wannstedt indicated yesterday that was the case with Marcel Pestano.
Looking for a Christmas gift?
Rivals.com is running a special. If you upgrade now to an annual subscription for only $99.95 you will get a gift certificate worth $20.00 in the Rivals gift shop.
There are plenty of neat Pitt items in the gift shop. The certificate is only good on one item so if you pick something valued under $20.00 that will be your gift.
This is your chance to save money and buy a Christmas gift for someone you know. It’s a very good deal.
See the link at the bottom of this message to upgrade.
Pick’em winners
In case you missed our post the top four finishers in the Pantherlair’s 2007 Pick’em league will all get six months of the Pantherlair for free. It appears all four already subscribe so we will simply extend their subscription by six additional months. I have notified Customer Service so they should handle it.
Congratulations to these four:
1) Bkm67
2) gburgess1300
3) panth#1
4) UP#1
It was a tough year with all the upsets. It was a particularly tough year on Pitt fans with the Panthers going 5-7.
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.
This post was edited on 12/8 11:07 AM by Jim Pantherlair
Upgrade here
A few thoughts on the Backyard Brawl
The Panthers sure surprised me last Saturday night in Morgantown. They only had one shot an upset. Hold the ball and keep the clock running and hope for some turnovers and it worked. I might add that the Pitt defense played about as well as you could have possibly hoped. Congratulations to Paul Rhoads for being named Coordinator of the Week by Rivals.com. Coach Rhoads has taken heat over the last few years but his defense was simply outstanding Saturday night.
Where in the world was Steve Slaton? Why didn’t West Virginia throw the ball to him?
The Big East needs to upgrade their referees and it might take a few dollars to pull this off. They cost Louisville a bowl game when they missed the fair catch up at UConn. They cost Pitt a win at Rutgers. They almost cost Pitt their upset bid Saturday night. I urge you to send an e-mail to the Big East asking them to upgrade their referees going forward. Addressing the bowl situation and their group of referees should be priorities at the top of the page.
Don’t know if you caught Dave Wannstedt’s comments after the WVU game. He said he told Matt Cavanaugh to only throw the ball when absolutely necessary after their freshman quarterback threw the two interceptions. It is a tough way to run an offense but they had little choice.
Congratulations to Dave Wannstedt and the entire Pitt football team. It was a fun game to watch. I had friends calling me that are SEC fans telling me they watched every single play. The Pitt team and coaching staff have kept hope alive (big time).
Pitt was 3-3 down the stretch. They were competitive in all six. They should have been 4-2 if it had not been for the bad call at Rutgers. The road game Louisville game should have gone into overtime. Who knows what might happen in OT? This is a much different finish than last year.
Some hoops talk
Any win on the road is a good win in basketball. The Panthers are now 8-0 after beating the Dukes 73-68. The Pitt guards did not have a good game although Fields made a couple of plays late. Fields was only 3 for 13 from the field and had 5 turnovers. Ramon missed three free throws in the second half. The Duquesne guards looked quicker.
The Panthers now will play Washington on the road on Saturday. The Huskies are 4-3. It will be another test in a series of hurdles. Washington may not be waiting for their senior guard Ryan Appleby much longer. He one of the Pac-10's top 3-point shooters. Appleby, who suffered a fractured thumb on his shooting hand, recently began practicing with the team and is considered "a game-day decision" for the Huskies' home game against Pittsburgh on Saturday.
Sam Young is becoming a go-to-guy. He is averaging 18.6 points per game and was fourth in the Big East in scoring the last I looked. He had another very nice game at Palumbo this week.
The Dukes center Shawn James (6’ 10”) is a very good player. He is also 24 years old. It gave Pitt a chance to play a team with a quality big man and they won. DeJuan Blair is still a true freshman (great hustle plays by the big man) and still learning.
I will probably be campaigning all year for more playing time for Gilbert Brown.
Pitt and Georgetown are the only unbeaten teams in the Big East although there are a half dozen teams with one loss.
West Virginia looked good in beating Auburn 88-59. It will be interesting to see how they perform when they host the Dukes this weekend.
Nike Combines
It looks like the folks at Student Sports will holding a Nike combine in Pittsburgh on March 2nd. If you know a junior who would like to participate in this combine he can register at the Student Sports web site. These juniors should be Division 1 prospects. There will be testing that day.
A big week for the Pantherlair
The night Pitt beat West Virginia in football the Pantherlair had almost two thousand on our site. It set a record. The old record was set the night the announced the NCAA basketball pairings. Maybe Pitt isn’t solely a basketball school after all.
In one 24 hour period this week we had 13 content items. The night Cameron Saddler announced we had almost 1,300 fans on the site. Over five times as many as our nearest competitor.
It appears the Pitt fan base is being reenergized once again. Winning helps but it also helps if you have stars. Freshman LeSean McCoy on the football side and freshman DeJuan Blair on the basketball side should get Pitt fans excited once again.
A very big recruiting weekend
The list official visit list is always fluid situation as college coaches battle for position. The Pitt coaching staff is looking to strike while the iron is hot. They have a large group expected to visit this weekend.
Here is a tentative list.
Jonathan Baldwin WR/TE Aliquippa
Averin Collier Ath. Rochester, New York
Greg Cross QB Fort Scott CC
Mike Cruz TE/DT Johnstown Bishop McCort
Kevin Harper K Mentor, Ohio (Pitt commit)
Ronald Hobby DB Maryland (Pitt commit)
Jarred Holley DB Easton
Rob Houser C Butte CC
Roosevelt Maggitt LB Dwyer HS (Florida)
Mikhail Marinovich DE/TE Milford Academy
Antwuan Reed DB Johnstown (Pitt commit)
Marcus Sales WR Syracuse, New York
Mike Shanahan WR Norwin
To be honest I like Pitt’s chances with all the uncommitted players that are visiting. I think Pitt is in their top 2 or 3 in all cases. It may get down to how hard the Pitt staff pushes for a commitment. As an example Mikhail Marinovich does not yet have an offer.
The conventional wisdom mid-week was that before the weekend is over Robb Houser, Greg Cross, Marcus Sales and Mike Shanahan would all probably all be Panthers.
Recruiting recap
Hopefully you saw Tony Greco’s interview with Cameron Saddler. It is a fun interview. I told Saddler at the South Florida game I hope he came to Pitt because he was a good interview. In case you missed it we will leave it pinned at the top of the Between Fifth & Forbes board this weekend.
The plan coming into the weekend was to land two quarterbacks. In addition to JUCO quarterback Greg Cross they would take Tino Sunseri, Zack Stoudt or Dominick Britt. Things got a little bit complicated last night when Zack Stoudt committed. There have been reports that Sunseri was also close to committing. You have to believe the coaches will be meeting in their own War Room today to sort out the quarterback situation. Do they take three? Logic says no but stay tuned it could be an interesting weekend.
Trotwood-Madison linebacker Doug Rippy should make his official visit to Pitt next week. I have no idea if this guy can play but he sure passes the eyeball test. He looks like a football player.
It looks like Altoona’s A.J. Alexander has Pitt and Tennessee as his leaders. Alexander is also scheduled to take an unofficial visit to Pitt next weekend to watch the basketball game with Oklahoma State. He has a similar visit set for Tennessee next month.
We are getting some vibes on a slight cooling for Averin Collier. He has talked about wanting to be a running back this fall. If he is still in this mode this weekend he could end up a Syracuse. There just isn’t any room at the inn for another running back at Pitt right now.
It should come down to Pitt or Virginia for Jared Holley.
The last we heard the players from Central Catholic would visit in January. This could also be true of Lucas Nix. Their teams are all still alive in the state playoffs. DE Dan Vaughan and DB Andrew Taglianetti should visit in January (and maybe Sunseri).
It appears Pitt will take something in the 15-20 range in the Class of 2008. The recent buzz says it could be as high as 20 if they get everyone they are chasing. Don’t ask where they will get all of the scholarships. That is on page 2 but a couple could greyshirt (maybe Harper and Taglianetti).
A few fifth-year players may not be invited back. Coach Wannstedt indicated yesterday that was the case with Marcel Pestano.
Looking for a Christmas gift?
Rivals.com is running a special. If you upgrade now to an annual subscription for only $99.95 you will get a gift certificate worth $20.00 in the Rivals gift shop.
There are plenty of neat Pitt items in the gift shop. The certificate is only good on one item so if you pick something valued under $20.00 that will be your gift.
This is your chance to save money and buy a Christmas gift for someone you know. It’s a very good deal.
See the link at the bottom of this message to upgrade.
Pick’em winners
In case you missed our post the top four finishers in the Pantherlair’s 2007 Pick’em league will all get six months of the Pantherlair for free. It appears all four already subscribe so we will simply extend their subscription by six additional months. I have notified Customer Service so they should handle it.
Congratulations to these four:
1) Bkm67
2) gburgess1300
3) panth#1
4) UP#1
It was a tough year with all the upsets. It was a particularly tough year on Pitt fans with the Panthers going 5-7.
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.
This post was edited on 12/8 11:07 AM by Jim Pantherlair
Upgrade here
