From the Desk of Jim Snyder
A quick look at football recruiting
We spoke to Akron Buchtel Coach Claude Brown on Wednesday. He indicated that Marlon Terry had gotten his ACT test scores back recently and that he expected Terry to sign with Pitt within a couple of days. We will follow up with Coach Brown early next week.
The last time we looked there are about 67 juniors from the state of Pennsylvania in the 2006 football database. This number should grow by a few each week. There are also a few sophomores but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
Here is a list of prospects we think have an offer from Pitt so far. This number will grow substantially as we move through the recruiting season. The Pitt staff will continue to review film. We will keep reporting to you.
Aaron Brown OT 6’ 6” 280 Cincinnati Princeton. OH
Charles Deas OL 6’ 5” 300 Dillard HS, FL
Pat Devlin QB 6’ 3” 194 Downingtown East, PA
Dorin Dickerson Ath 6’ 3” 205 West Allegheny HS, PA
Chris Hanna OL 6’ 4 292 Gateway HS, PA
Justin Hargrove DE 6’ 4” 230 Baldwin, PA
Jeremiah Hunter LB 6’ 2” 213 Manheim Central, PA
Jason Kates DT 6’ 2” 324 Bishop McDevitt, PA
Dan Loheyde LB 6’ 2” 220 Gateway, PA
LeSean McCoy RB 5’ 10” 193 Bishop McDevitt, PA
Nate Nix LB 6’ 3” 205 Thomas Jefferson HS, PA
Jason Pinkston OL 6’ 5” 270 Baldwin, PA
Aaron Smith Ath 6’ 0” 180 Gateway, PA
Darrin Walls DB 6’ 1” 175 Woodland Hills HS, PA
Greg Webster LB 6’ 2” 225 Woodland Hills HS, PA
Our understanding is that Coach Wannstedt has been getting to know his own team a little better this past week. He has been having one-on-one meetings with a number of players. He also has been having meetings with the defensive staff. He told a colleague he has been busy and has been having his lunch sent to the UPMC complex.
Helpful hints for new subscribers
Over the past few months we have seen a very nice growth pattern in our subscriber base. There is still a lot of room for growth in the Pitt fan base but clearly the existing fan base has been energized with the hiring of Dave Wanstedt. Over the next few weeks we would like to give our new subscribers a few hints to help them enjoy their subscription a little more.
1) Rivals Radio is on the air from 10AM until Noon (Monday through Friday). These shows are also archived so you can listen at your convenience. You can listen to them at a later time if you are busy with other matters. They also segment them so if you only have time to listen to a guest or two, it isn't so overwhelming.
2) Keep checking the “Ticker”. We will do our best to highlight articles but some days the ticker is so "fast and furious" there are articles even we miss. Check the “Ticker” on the upper left hand side of the site a couple of times a day.
3) Don’t forget the basketball “Scoreboard”. Our ticker service feeds scores as the games are in progress. We also have box scores for most of the top games. In addition we have up-to-date conference standings. It updates itself as each game is completed.
4) This time of year we will highlight the RPI ratings every few days. Quite frankly it makes watching college basketball a little more interesting this time of year. I found myself watching the second half of South Carolina’s upset of Kentucky because I knew it would help Pitt’s RPI rating. You can also find a link to the RPI Index under “Lair Resources” on the lower left hand side of our site.
5) The football database is still set up for a “default” for seniors (the Class of 2005). You can easily toggle to see juniors (Class of 2006). Rivals.com should change the default at the end of this month so it will be a little easier to check out juniors.
6) One of our subscribers indicated he was having troubles with pop-ups. Let face it, the Internet is overrun with Spyware. It can get into your computer with your knowledge. Steve has put a number of software recommendations at the top of the Between Fifth & Forbes Message Board. Please check it out. I use SpyBot and find it keeps these annoying pop-ups to a tolerable level.
Here is an important point. Rivals.com does NOT target subscribers with pop-up ads. If you are “Logged On” to Rivals you should not be seeing pop-up ads. If you are seeing them, you picked up spyware infections elsewhere and need to run SpyBot or some similar program. Please see Steve’s post for further help.
Will Notre Dame keep the Big East together?
When the ‘New Big East” was put together all parties signed a pre-nuptial agreement. The contract laid out a plan for the football schools to go there separate way after a period of five years. It has always been difficult for me to see how you could keep a 16-team league together. In addition we have discussed on numerous occasions that having only 8 football schools creates huge scheduling problems. Nine (9) is the ideal number.
The one school that might keep the whole thing together is Notre Dame. Their Athletic Director Kevin White announced this past week that Notre Dame will play three (3) Big East teams per year. Quite frankly this promise has been made before and broken. The devil is in the details. If he truly enters into binding agreements to play three Big East teams every year this whole thing makes a little more sense.
In addition Notre Dame indicated they would enter into an agreement with the Meadowlands to play one game in New Jersey each year. Again the devil is in the details.
Playing Rutgers, Syracuse and UConn in the Meadowlands on a rotating basis might make sense to everyone. They have talked about including this game in the NBC deal. As long as the Big East team is getting paid an equal financial share this probably makes sense. A national TV game would help the football schools gain exposure. This could also be a financial help to a few of the Big East football programs.
Let’s advance the clock ahead to 2011. In this theoretical schedule, Notre Dame might play Pitt at Heinz Field, Syracuse in South Bend and UConn at the Meadowlands. Such a schedule might make sense to all parties. In addition they would continue to help the Big East put together bowl agreements. If this is announcement is carried through with binding contracts then looking at adding a football only school (like Navy) might make sense. In addition to playing Pitt, Syracuse and UConn in our hypothetical example they would play Navy in South Bend or Baltimore.
Let’s keep in mind Notre Dame made a similar verbal agreement with the old Big East and did NOT follow through. Let’s see if deals get actually get done. This new policy would not go into effect unless the NCAA moves to a 12 game schedule and would not start until 2009. Who knows maybe they can keep a 16-team league (plus one) together.
Beano and the script
Several weeks ago we reported to you in the War Room that we heard that Pitt was planning on keeping the same basic colors. Pitt would be placed on the helmets. Panthers would be put on the front of the jerseys but the old script would not be used. In short, the emphasis would shift to the use of “Pitt” and “Panthers” and away from Pittsburgh. These are relative things because it will still be the University of Pittsburgh. This information is a few weeks old but we think it is the general direction the university is headed.
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 2/19 7:32 AM by Jim Pantherlairif(GetAdminCookie() != 0) {document.write(' (Revisions[/URL])');}
A quick look at football recruiting
We spoke to Akron Buchtel Coach Claude Brown on Wednesday. He indicated that Marlon Terry had gotten his ACT test scores back recently and that he expected Terry to sign with Pitt within a couple of days. We will follow up with Coach Brown early next week.
The last time we looked there are about 67 juniors from the state of Pennsylvania in the 2006 football database. This number should grow by a few each week. There are also a few sophomores but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
Here is a list of prospects we think have an offer from Pitt so far. This number will grow substantially as we move through the recruiting season. The Pitt staff will continue to review film. We will keep reporting to you.
Aaron Brown OT 6’ 6” 280 Cincinnati Princeton. OH
Charles Deas OL 6’ 5” 300 Dillard HS, FL
Pat Devlin QB 6’ 3” 194 Downingtown East, PA
Dorin Dickerson Ath 6’ 3” 205 West Allegheny HS, PA
Chris Hanna OL 6’ 4 292 Gateway HS, PA
Justin Hargrove DE 6’ 4” 230 Baldwin, PA
Jeremiah Hunter LB 6’ 2” 213 Manheim Central, PA
Jason Kates DT 6’ 2” 324 Bishop McDevitt, PA
Dan Loheyde LB 6’ 2” 220 Gateway, PA
LeSean McCoy RB 5’ 10” 193 Bishop McDevitt, PA
Nate Nix LB 6’ 3” 205 Thomas Jefferson HS, PA
Jason Pinkston OL 6’ 5” 270 Baldwin, PA
Aaron Smith Ath 6’ 0” 180 Gateway, PA
Darrin Walls DB 6’ 1” 175 Woodland Hills HS, PA
Greg Webster LB 6’ 2” 225 Woodland Hills HS, PA
Our understanding is that Coach Wannstedt has been getting to know his own team a little better this past week. He has been having one-on-one meetings with a number of players. He also has been having meetings with the defensive staff. He told a colleague he has been busy and has been having his lunch sent to the UPMC complex.
Helpful hints for new subscribers
Over the past few months we have seen a very nice growth pattern in our subscriber base. There is still a lot of room for growth in the Pitt fan base but clearly the existing fan base has been energized with the hiring of Dave Wanstedt. Over the next few weeks we would like to give our new subscribers a few hints to help them enjoy their subscription a little more.
1) Rivals Radio is on the air from 10AM until Noon (Monday through Friday). These shows are also archived so you can listen at your convenience. You can listen to them at a later time if you are busy with other matters. They also segment them so if you only have time to listen to a guest or two, it isn't so overwhelming.
2) Keep checking the “Ticker”. We will do our best to highlight articles but some days the ticker is so "fast and furious" there are articles even we miss. Check the “Ticker” on the upper left hand side of the site a couple of times a day.
3) Don’t forget the basketball “Scoreboard”. Our ticker service feeds scores as the games are in progress. We also have box scores for most of the top games. In addition we have up-to-date conference standings. It updates itself as each game is completed.
4) This time of year we will highlight the RPI ratings every few days. Quite frankly it makes watching college basketball a little more interesting this time of year. I found myself watching the second half of South Carolina’s upset of Kentucky because I knew it would help Pitt’s RPI rating. You can also find a link to the RPI Index under “Lair Resources” on the lower left hand side of our site.
5) The football database is still set up for a “default” for seniors (the Class of 2005). You can easily toggle to see juniors (Class of 2006). Rivals.com should change the default at the end of this month so it will be a little easier to check out juniors.
6) One of our subscribers indicated he was having troubles with pop-ups. Let face it, the Internet is overrun with Spyware. It can get into your computer with your knowledge. Steve has put a number of software recommendations at the top of the Between Fifth & Forbes Message Board. Please check it out. I use SpyBot and find it keeps these annoying pop-ups to a tolerable level.
Here is an important point. Rivals.com does NOT target subscribers with pop-up ads. If you are “Logged On” to Rivals you should not be seeing pop-up ads. If you are seeing them, you picked up spyware infections elsewhere and need to run SpyBot or some similar program. Please see Steve’s post for further help.
Will Notre Dame keep the Big East together?
When the ‘New Big East” was put together all parties signed a pre-nuptial agreement. The contract laid out a plan for the football schools to go there separate way after a period of five years. It has always been difficult for me to see how you could keep a 16-team league together. In addition we have discussed on numerous occasions that having only 8 football schools creates huge scheduling problems. Nine (9) is the ideal number.
The one school that might keep the whole thing together is Notre Dame. Their Athletic Director Kevin White announced this past week that Notre Dame will play three (3) Big East teams per year. Quite frankly this promise has been made before and broken. The devil is in the details. If he truly enters into binding agreements to play three Big East teams every year this whole thing makes a little more sense.
In addition Notre Dame indicated they would enter into an agreement with the Meadowlands to play one game in New Jersey each year. Again the devil is in the details.
Playing Rutgers, Syracuse and UConn in the Meadowlands on a rotating basis might make sense to everyone. They have talked about including this game in the NBC deal. As long as the Big East team is getting paid an equal financial share this probably makes sense. A national TV game would help the football schools gain exposure. This could also be a financial help to a few of the Big East football programs.
Let’s advance the clock ahead to 2011. In this theoretical schedule, Notre Dame might play Pitt at Heinz Field, Syracuse in South Bend and UConn at the Meadowlands. Such a schedule might make sense to all parties. In addition they would continue to help the Big East put together bowl agreements. If this is announcement is carried through with binding contracts then looking at adding a football only school (like Navy) might make sense. In addition to playing Pitt, Syracuse and UConn in our hypothetical example they would play Navy in South Bend or Baltimore.
Let’s keep in mind Notre Dame made a similar verbal agreement with the old Big East and did NOT follow through. Let’s see if deals get actually get done. This new policy would not go into effect unless the NCAA moves to a 12 game schedule and would not start until 2009. Who knows maybe they can keep a 16-team league (plus one) together.
Beano and the script
Several weeks ago we reported to you in the War Room that we heard that Pitt was planning on keeping the same basic colors. Pitt would be placed on the helmets. Panthers would be put on the front of the jerseys but the old script would not be used. In short, the emphasis would shift to the use of “Pitt” and “Panthers” and away from Pittsburgh. These are relative things because it will still be the University of Pittsburgh. This information is a few weeks old but we think it is the general direction the university is headed.
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 2/19 7:32 AM by Jim Pantherlairif(GetAdminCookie() != 0) {document.write(' (Revisions[/URL])');}
