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From the Desk of Jim Snyder
Some thoughts on the Big 33 game
After watching the Big 33 game this past weekend Pitt fans had to be thinking what might have been. The combination of the Big East Conference imploding and disappointing losses to Toledo and West Virginia caught up to the Pitt staff last year. Here are a few random thoughts on some of the players that participated last Saturday.
Ted Ginn, Jr. This five star standout was exactly as advertised. Speed, speed and more speed. Ohio State may have to use him as the next Dion Sanders. He is such a weapon on offense if you can just get the ball into his hands. He had Pitt in his top five and made an official visit to Pittsburgh. The losses to Toledo and West Virginia and the Big East implosion did Pitt in.
Anthony Morelli. This four-star player was exactly as advertised. He has a rifle for an arm but still must learn the passing game. The question will be does Penn State have anyone that can teach him? Coach Chaump did him a disservice by yanking him at the end. This was only an all-star game and Chad Henne had not set the world on fire.
Andrew Johnson. I have been suspect for sometime about his ability to be an every down running back. Not sure he likes contact. He made a nifty catch on an under thrown ball in the Big 33 game. The Canes might want to give him a look at wide receiver. Good athlete with great speed.
Curtis Brinkley. He is a great looking runner that gained over 7,400 yards at West Catholic. He has not qualified and appears headed to Hargrave Military Academy in Virginia. Syracuse will need to hold their breath. If Paul Pasqualoni were fired this year it would certainly reopen the entire recruiting process. It would be a big help if he stayed in the Big East Conference.
Stefan Brinson. He was totally under valued as a two-star player. Pitt has a good one. He transferred to Woodland Hills in mid-season as a junior and did not play much. He played out of position as a senior. He will make Pitt a very good defensive back. Looked a little bigger than I remembered him. He might be a safety before it is over.
Scott McKillop. He played a solid game and was usually around the action. Made a several nice tackles. He should be another solid player for the Panthers.
Darrelle Revis. Had a chance to make a tough catch at the end. He will be a defensive back in college. He is a good athlete that did not really get a chance to show his talents.
Rory Nichol. He showed enough to justify his four-star ranking. Had Pitt in top five but chose Ohio State. This one hurts. This Beaver star has a sister at Pitt.
James Bryant. Coach George Chaump obviously knew he had a good athlete and tried to get him involved. He blocked a punt but PA failed to capitalize. James agonized right up until Letter-of Intent Day before choosing Miami.
Brian Hoyer. This Ohio quarterback beat the PA all-stars. Pitt could have had him if they had not wasted two years chasing Morelli. Does not have a big arm but comes out very good program at St Ignatius and it showed on Saturday night in Hershey.
Devon Lyons. He made a couple of nice catches. Ohio State has a very good “athlete”. Not sure what position he will play in college. He could out grow the wide receiver position. Pitt never really had a shot at this Woodland Hills standout.
How many players do you want at your camp?
Kevin Gorman did an article on the 7 on 7 passing camps earlier this week. He quotes Chris LaSala, the Director of Football Operations, as saying Pitt can only handle 40 teams. He quotes Chris as saying they had to turn down 30 teams. Pitt must work hard to insure the top programs are involved each year. Woodland Hills, Akron Buchtel, Penn Hills, Gateway, Cleveland Glenville are programs that turn out Division 1 players virtually every year. If they only have space for 40 teams they have to make sure it is the top programs in Western PA and Ohio that are participating.
Walt Harris interview
Athlon magazine had a lengthy article in which they interviewed Bob Stoops, Larry Coker, Walt Harris, Rich Rodriquez, Urban Myers and others. Here is Coach Harris’ response to a couple of questions.
Q: What was your most painful moment last year?
A: On our opening possession in the third quarter at West Virginia, we drive and had a second-and-goal at the three with the game tied at 24. We got a five-yard false-start penalty that pushed us back to the eight. Two players later we threw an interception and came away with no points. Momentum really shifted and we lost.
Q: What was your best moment last year?
A: Playing Virginia Tech at a sold out Heinz Field in front of a national television audience. Our fullback Lousaka Polite, a Pittsburgh kid, got the ball on 3rd-and goal at the two. We were down 28-24 with under a minute left and could have been facing a fourth and goal. Lousaka got hit two yards deep in the backfield by two players but still kept on going and scored the winning touchdown. It was just a great, great scene.
A little on football recruiting
I spoke to former Panther Bill Cherpack about Brad Dawson. Coach Cherpack tells me he will quarterback Thomas Jefferson this year. Brad is listed in the database as an athlete. He attended the Nike Camp and ran a respectable 4.5 and had a vertical jump of 35 inches. Coach Cherpack said that he has interest from a number of Division I schools including several from the MAC conference. He does not think Brad will get an offer until we are into the season and schools can look at some game film.
Last year Coach Cherpak to TJ to Hoover, Alabama for a 7 on 7 passing camp. They shocked folks by beating national power Shreveport Evangelical Christian. The Jaguars then went on to a 12-1 regular season. This year TJ finished 5th at Hoover. Many of the better schools in the South participate in this 7 on 7 passing camp.
We also talked this week to Northgate coach Rich Hurley. He has two big lineman but both have some academic issues. It is possible that Ryan Bane (6’ 7” 310) may have to go the junior college route. It is possible he may end up at Lackawanna Junior College. A second big lineman Mike Marusak (6’ 5” 295) is receiving a lot of interest from Pitt, Notre Dame, Purdue and Penn State. He has a hearing disability and needs to retake the SAT exams. It will be an un-timed exam because if the disability. If he improves in this area he may still end up with several offers.
In case you missed Harry’s post on the Between Fifth & Forbes Board, Harry spoke to all-purpose back R.C. Lagomarsino and Pitt is no longer on his short list. Pitt offered early but he appears to have narrowed his search to Notre Dame, Northwestern and Stanford. With Pitt having verbal commitments from three “athletes” I am not sure he would still be on the Panthers radar.
One of our readers asked if Pitt had offered Quinten Odem from Farrell High School. He attended the Pitt summer camp and Pitt has been following him. We spoke to the player, his high school coach and the “birdies”. He has not been offered. He is still waiting for his first offer.
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 7/30 11:10 AM by Jim Pantherlair
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From the Desk of Jim Snyder
Some thoughts on the Big 33 game
After watching the Big 33 game this past weekend Pitt fans had to be thinking what might have been. The combination of the Big East Conference imploding and disappointing losses to Toledo and West Virginia caught up to the Pitt staff last year. Here are a few random thoughts on some of the players that participated last Saturday.
Ted Ginn, Jr. This five star standout was exactly as advertised. Speed, speed and more speed. Ohio State may have to use him as the next Dion Sanders. He is such a weapon on offense if you can just get the ball into his hands. He had Pitt in his top five and made an official visit to Pittsburgh. The losses to Toledo and West Virginia and the Big East implosion did Pitt in.
Anthony Morelli. This four-star player was exactly as advertised. He has a rifle for an arm but still must learn the passing game. The question will be does Penn State have anyone that can teach him? Coach Chaump did him a disservice by yanking him at the end. This was only an all-star game and Chad Henne had not set the world on fire.
Andrew Johnson. I have been suspect for sometime about his ability to be an every down running back. Not sure he likes contact. He made a nifty catch on an under thrown ball in the Big 33 game. The Canes might want to give him a look at wide receiver. Good athlete with great speed.
Curtis Brinkley. He is a great looking runner that gained over 7,400 yards at West Catholic. He has not qualified and appears headed to Hargrave Military Academy in Virginia. Syracuse will need to hold their breath. If Paul Pasqualoni were fired this year it would certainly reopen the entire recruiting process. It would be a big help if he stayed in the Big East Conference.
Stefan Brinson. He was totally under valued as a two-star player. Pitt has a good one. He transferred to Woodland Hills in mid-season as a junior and did not play much. He played out of position as a senior. He will make Pitt a very good defensive back. Looked a little bigger than I remembered him. He might be a safety before it is over.
Scott McKillop. He played a solid game and was usually around the action. Made a several nice tackles. He should be another solid player for the Panthers.
Darrelle Revis. Had a chance to make a tough catch at the end. He will be a defensive back in college. He is a good athlete that did not really get a chance to show his talents.
Rory Nichol. He showed enough to justify his four-star ranking. Had Pitt in top five but chose Ohio State. This one hurts. This Beaver star has a sister at Pitt.
James Bryant. Coach George Chaump obviously knew he had a good athlete and tried to get him involved. He blocked a punt but PA failed to capitalize. James agonized right up until Letter-of Intent Day before choosing Miami.
Brian Hoyer. This Ohio quarterback beat the PA all-stars. Pitt could have had him if they had not wasted two years chasing Morelli. Does not have a big arm but comes out very good program at St Ignatius and it showed on Saturday night in Hershey.
Devon Lyons. He made a couple of nice catches. Ohio State has a very good “athlete”. Not sure what position he will play in college. He could out grow the wide receiver position. Pitt never really had a shot at this Woodland Hills standout.
How many players do you want at your camp?
Kevin Gorman did an article on the 7 on 7 passing camps earlier this week. He quotes Chris LaSala, the Director of Football Operations, as saying Pitt can only handle 40 teams. He quotes Chris as saying they had to turn down 30 teams. Pitt must work hard to insure the top programs are involved each year. Woodland Hills, Akron Buchtel, Penn Hills, Gateway, Cleveland Glenville are programs that turn out Division 1 players virtually every year. If they only have space for 40 teams they have to make sure it is the top programs in Western PA and Ohio that are participating.
Walt Harris interview
Athlon magazine had a lengthy article in which they interviewed Bob Stoops, Larry Coker, Walt Harris, Rich Rodriquez, Urban Myers and others. Here is Coach Harris’ response to a couple of questions.
Q: What was your most painful moment last year?
A: On our opening possession in the third quarter at West Virginia, we drive and had a second-and-goal at the three with the game tied at 24. We got a five-yard false-start penalty that pushed us back to the eight. Two players later we threw an interception and came away with no points. Momentum really shifted and we lost.
Q: What was your best moment last year?
A: Playing Virginia Tech at a sold out Heinz Field in front of a national television audience. Our fullback Lousaka Polite, a Pittsburgh kid, got the ball on 3rd-and goal at the two. We were down 28-24 with under a minute left and could have been facing a fourth and goal. Lousaka got hit two yards deep in the backfield by two players but still kept on going and scored the winning touchdown. It was just a great, great scene.
A little on football recruiting
I spoke to former Panther Bill Cherpack about Brad Dawson. Coach Cherpack tells me he will quarterback Thomas Jefferson this year. Brad is listed in the database as an athlete. He attended the Nike Camp and ran a respectable 4.5 and had a vertical jump of 35 inches. Coach Cherpack said that he has interest from a number of Division I schools including several from the MAC conference. He does not think Brad will get an offer until we are into the season and schools can look at some game film.
Last year Coach Cherpak to TJ to Hoover, Alabama for a 7 on 7 passing camp. They shocked folks by beating national power Shreveport Evangelical Christian. The Jaguars then went on to a 12-1 regular season. This year TJ finished 5th at Hoover. Many of the better schools in the South participate in this 7 on 7 passing camp.
We also talked this week to Northgate coach Rich Hurley. He has two big lineman but both have some academic issues. It is possible that Ryan Bane (6’ 7” 310) may have to go the junior college route. It is possible he may end up at Lackawanna Junior College. A second big lineman Mike Marusak (6’ 5” 295) is receiving a lot of interest from Pitt, Notre Dame, Purdue and Penn State. He has a hearing disability and needs to retake the SAT exams. It will be an un-timed exam because if the disability. If he improves in this area he may still end up with several offers.
In case you missed Harry’s post on the Between Fifth & Forbes Board, Harry spoke to all-purpose back R.C. Lagomarsino and Pitt is no longer on his short list. Pitt offered early but he appears to have narrowed his search to Notre Dame, Northwestern and Stanford. With Pitt having verbal commitments from three “athletes” I am not sure he would still be on the Panthers radar.
One of our readers asked if Pitt had offered Quinten Odem from Farrell High School. He attended the Pitt summer camp and Pitt has been following him. We spoke to the player, his high school coach and the “birdies”. He has not been offered. He is still waiting for his first offer.
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 7/30 11:10 AM by Jim Pantherlair
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