From the Desk of Jim Snyder
A look at a couple of incoming freshman
I had a chance to watch a replay of the Governors Bowl game between high school all-star teams from New York and New Jersey.
Running back Brandon Mason was named the offensive MVP of the New Jersey team. Harry has an interview with him at the bottom of the Pantherlair Home Page in case you might have missed it. Brandon gained 93 yards on 14 carries.
The New Jersey quarterback Mike Teel from Don Bosco Prep was injured on the second series with a high ankle sprain and they could not throw the ball after that injury. Brandon picking up this much yardage was not easy when New Jersey had no legitimate throwing threat.
Pitt recruit Brandon Mason (6’ 2” 215) reminds me a little of Duquesne’s Windell Brown in his running style. He is a tall rangy back that looks like he is all legs at times. He put on some nifty moves and good balance to break potential short runs into longer ones. I would like to have seen a little better pass blocking from him but it was an all-star game. The coaches feel his frame will easily carry another 10 pounds in a couple of years.
Windell Brown, as you have probably heard, is headed off to Susquehanna Junior College. He must graduate to be eligible. Two years from now his recruiting would start all over again. We suspect by that time Pitt will have moved in other directions. His is a gifted athlete but has a lot of work in front of him if he is ever to play Division I football.
Derek Kinder started at wide receiver for the New York all-stars. Unfortunately they rotated three quarterbacks and none of them could pass the ball. Several passes looked more like punts. They often threw the ball 10-yards over Derek’s head so he did not have a chance to show what he could do as a wide receiver.
Late in the second half Derek Kinder did return a punt for about 25 yards showing some really nifty moves as he worked his way down the near sideline. Pitt might want to take an early look at him as a kick returner.
A few thoughts on the late signees
Harry talks to the coach of Laney College, Stan Peters, this week about wide receiver Jason Gaffney (6’ 3” 185). Good stuff if you have not had a chance to read it please see the Home Page.
The big question with Jason Gaffney is the knee healthy? It appears to be and he seems to be back running a full speed. You never really know for sure until he is actually playing football but this could be a huge pickup for the Pitt staff if the knee holds up. He has only two years of eligibility left so the time for him to step up is now. Jason caught 21 passes on one game. It is hard to catch that many unguarded in a practice session.
Jason’s cousin Jabar Gaffney played for Florida and now plays in the NFL. One of my colleagues reminds me that Pitt thought they had a very good chance of landing Jabar Gaffney coming out of high school until the Florida Gators put on a late push. So this is the second time Pitt has recruited a member of the Gaffney family.
In talking to a “birdie” there is still concern about the knee of Princell Brockborough this year. We expect him to play this year but not be a full speed. Pitt might have to use him sparingly in practice to save his knee for game day. They also had to do this last year.
As we reported earlier, Terrell Allen had wrist surgery and will probably be redshirted this fall. The door is wide open for wide receiver Jason Gaffney to grab a lot of playing time this fall.
We tried to talk to the coach at the Air Force Prep program about Dominic Williams (6’ 4” 300) but they have a new coach who is not familiar with Dominic. He said he would do some checking around and try to get back to us. Ideally most freshman linemen are redshirt candidates so it might be that his contributions are a probably a little further off.
The depth chart
We have rearranged the depth chart. It really only represents our best thinking right now. We have not included any of the new comers but all of the in coming wide receivers certainly have the best shot at cracking the two-deep chart early. Once you get past Greg Lee everything else is a question mark.
Newcomers Jason Gaffney, Kelvin Chandler, Marcel Pestano and Derek Kinder will all get very long looks to see if they can catch the ball and run routes. Kelvin Chandler from Fort Lauderdale, Florida was in Pittsburgh during the summer camp and looked good caching the ball
After talking with a “birdie” we have moved Charles Spencer to left guard. Once you get past Rob Pettiti and John Simonitis there are a pile of question marks up front. Hopefully Charles Spencer will fill either the left guard or the right tackle slot. We will go with left guard for the moment.
Why won’t he commit?
About a week ago we did an article on defensive tackle Arthur Jones (6’ 3” 280) from Endicott, New York. He has told two different reporters Syracuse is his favorite. He has visited the Orange a couple of times and they have offered. Despite this he says he will wait until fall. What is he waiting for?
Syracuse has struggled at times the past two years and is 10-14 during that stretch. This has some of the Syracuse alums grumbling. We suspect with all the turmoil going on in the Big East Conference that Syracuse was very reluctant to seriously consider a change at the end of last season. We also think a few of their recruits have taken a wait a see attitude. They may wait until they have a better idea how the upcoming season is unfolding before getting off the fence.
We think Pitt and Penn State will have the same problem with a few recruits. Once they see how the season is going there might be a few that are looking at Pitt and Penn State that might also jump of their fence.
We have enjoyed quite a bit of coverage on Nyan Boateng, Jesse Canada, Lavar Lobdell and other wideouts. One to keep an eye on is wide receiver Greg Orton from Wayne High School in the Dayton area. Greg is a rangy receiver at 6’ 4” 190 pounds. He is not a speed burner running but has good size and good hands. Mike Farrell reported this week that he is high on Pitt and Purdue. He has been to Pittsburgh on a couple of occasions and seems to like Pitt and their staff. He is a prospect that might be able to land. We have six video clips attached to his profile in the database. You might want to check him out.
We had one WPIAL recruit tell one of our reporters that he slept in and missed taking his SAT exams. It kind of makes you wonder. We will withhold his name in case he shows up at your favorite University some day.
We had a recruit from Ohio tell us that he enjoyed his trip to Pitt. Until he got there he had no idea that Tony Dorsett, Dan Marino and Mike Ditka ever played for Pitt. This knowledge made a favorable impression. You never know what they might discover if they will only make a visit.
This post was edited on 7/16 12:47 PM
This post was edited on 7/16 12:51 PM
A look at a couple of incoming freshman
I had a chance to watch a replay of the Governors Bowl game between high school all-star teams from New York and New Jersey.
Running back Brandon Mason was named the offensive MVP of the New Jersey team. Harry has an interview with him at the bottom of the Pantherlair Home Page in case you might have missed it. Brandon gained 93 yards on 14 carries.
The New Jersey quarterback Mike Teel from Don Bosco Prep was injured on the second series with a high ankle sprain and they could not throw the ball after that injury. Brandon picking up this much yardage was not easy when New Jersey had no legitimate throwing threat.
Pitt recruit Brandon Mason (6’ 2” 215) reminds me a little of Duquesne’s Windell Brown in his running style. He is a tall rangy back that looks like he is all legs at times. He put on some nifty moves and good balance to break potential short runs into longer ones. I would like to have seen a little better pass blocking from him but it was an all-star game. The coaches feel his frame will easily carry another 10 pounds in a couple of years.
Windell Brown, as you have probably heard, is headed off to Susquehanna Junior College. He must graduate to be eligible. Two years from now his recruiting would start all over again. We suspect by that time Pitt will have moved in other directions. His is a gifted athlete but has a lot of work in front of him if he is ever to play Division I football.
Derek Kinder started at wide receiver for the New York all-stars. Unfortunately they rotated three quarterbacks and none of them could pass the ball. Several passes looked more like punts. They often threw the ball 10-yards over Derek’s head so he did not have a chance to show what he could do as a wide receiver.
Late in the second half Derek Kinder did return a punt for about 25 yards showing some really nifty moves as he worked his way down the near sideline. Pitt might want to take an early look at him as a kick returner.
A few thoughts on the late signees
Harry talks to the coach of Laney College, Stan Peters, this week about wide receiver Jason Gaffney (6’ 3” 185). Good stuff if you have not had a chance to read it please see the Home Page.
The big question with Jason Gaffney is the knee healthy? It appears to be and he seems to be back running a full speed. You never really know for sure until he is actually playing football but this could be a huge pickup for the Pitt staff if the knee holds up. He has only two years of eligibility left so the time for him to step up is now. Jason caught 21 passes on one game. It is hard to catch that many unguarded in a practice session.
Jason’s cousin Jabar Gaffney played for Florida and now plays in the NFL. One of my colleagues reminds me that Pitt thought they had a very good chance of landing Jabar Gaffney coming out of high school until the Florida Gators put on a late push. So this is the second time Pitt has recruited a member of the Gaffney family.
In talking to a “birdie” there is still concern about the knee of Princell Brockborough this year. We expect him to play this year but not be a full speed. Pitt might have to use him sparingly in practice to save his knee for game day. They also had to do this last year.
As we reported earlier, Terrell Allen had wrist surgery and will probably be redshirted this fall. The door is wide open for wide receiver Jason Gaffney to grab a lot of playing time this fall.
We tried to talk to the coach at the Air Force Prep program about Dominic Williams (6’ 4” 300) but they have a new coach who is not familiar with Dominic. He said he would do some checking around and try to get back to us. Ideally most freshman linemen are redshirt candidates so it might be that his contributions are a probably a little further off.
The depth chart
We have rearranged the depth chart. It really only represents our best thinking right now. We have not included any of the new comers but all of the in coming wide receivers certainly have the best shot at cracking the two-deep chart early. Once you get past Greg Lee everything else is a question mark.
Newcomers Jason Gaffney, Kelvin Chandler, Marcel Pestano and Derek Kinder will all get very long looks to see if they can catch the ball and run routes. Kelvin Chandler from Fort Lauderdale, Florida was in Pittsburgh during the summer camp and looked good caching the ball
After talking with a “birdie” we have moved Charles Spencer to left guard. Once you get past Rob Pettiti and John Simonitis there are a pile of question marks up front. Hopefully Charles Spencer will fill either the left guard or the right tackle slot. We will go with left guard for the moment.
Why won’t he commit?
About a week ago we did an article on defensive tackle Arthur Jones (6’ 3” 280) from Endicott, New York. He has told two different reporters Syracuse is his favorite. He has visited the Orange a couple of times and they have offered. Despite this he says he will wait until fall. What is he waiting for?
Syracuse has struggled at times the past two years and is 10-14 during that stretch. This has some of the Syracuse alums grumbling. We suspect with all the turmoil going on in the Big East Conference that Syracuse was very reluctant to seriously consider a change at the end of last season. We also think a few of their recruits have taken a wait a see attitude. They may wait until they have a better idea how the upcoming season is unfolding before getting off the fence.
We think Pitt and Penn State will have the same problem with a few recruits. Once they see how the season is going there might be a few that are looking at Pitt and Penn State that might also jump of their fence.
We have enjoyed quite a bit of coverage on Nyan Boateng, Jesse Canada, Lavar Lobdell and other wideouts. One to keep an eye on is wide receiver Greg Orton from Wayne High School in the Dayton area. Greg is a rangy receiver at 6’ 4” 190 pounds. He is not a speed burner running but has good size and good hands. Mike Farrell reported this week that he is high on Pitt and Purdue. He has been to Pittsburgh on a couple of occasions and seems to like Pitt and their staff. He is a prospect that might be able to land. We have six video clips attached to his profile in the database. You might want to check him out.
We had one WPIAL recruit tell one of our reporters that he slept in and missed taking his SAT exams. It kind of makes you wonder. We will withhold his name in case he shows up at your favorite University some day.
We had a recruit from Ohio tell us that he enjoyed his trip to Pitt. Until he got there he had no idea that Tony Dorsett, Dan Marino and Mike Ditka ever played for Pitt. This knowledge made a favorable impression. You never know what they might discover if they will only make a visit.
This post was edited on 7/16 12:47 PM
This post was edited on 7/16 12:51 PM
