War Room July 8th
From the desk of Jim Snyder
[/B]Some recruiting thoughts and odds and ends [/B]
Pitt has a verbal commitment from Seneca Valley’s quarterback Kevan Smith. The Pitt staff will try to take a second quarterback this year. They have currently have offers out to Thaddeus Lewis and Dexter Davidson. (Note: Pat Devlin committed to Miami yesterday). In a perfect world that is probably the order of preference. Lewis will be the more heavily recruited of the two. Lewis currently has eight (8) offers while Davidson has four (4). We believe that is also the ranking at the UPMC complex. Dexter Davidson, however, is leaning heavily to Pitt. His “official” visit is now scheduled for Labor Day weekend. Lewis appears willing to wait until after his senior season right now. At this point it appears if the Pitt staff wants an early commitment from a second quarterback Davidson is their best shot.
Bishop McDevitt’s LeSean McCoy has been slow to name favorites. From what we have observed he seems to enjoy the recruiting process. We do not expect him to make a decision until very late in the process. We think the Pitt coaches will not wait if they can get a commitment from a quality running back. Running back Kevin Collier from the Rochester, New York area has visited Pitt four times including a visit last Friday. Early this week he again talked to Coach Walker by phone. He told us he now has Dave Wannstedt’s cell phone number. One of our sources feels he will commit to Pitt in July. We agree that appears to be where this is headed. He told us yesterday he would make a decision before his team goes to fall camp in August. You never can be sure with teenagers during the recruiting process but he could be the next to commit to the Panthers.
In the early stages of the recruiting process most of the heights and weights come from high school coaches. They often know what college coaches are looking for and unfortunately some will hype the kids. It is one of the reasons so much money is spent on the Nike Camps. Student Sports, which is an affiliate of the Rivals network, organizes the camps. They bring in coaches to run the camps. These camps give us verified heights and weights. Look for the Nike check marks in the database. Most of the camps are held in the spring or early summer following a player’s junior year. These prospects are teens so many are not done growing. Nike times, heights and weights do give you a good reference point at a certain point in time.
College coaches try their best to get prospects to their camp. They want their own measurements. Are they really as tall as they say they are? Are they as fast? One of our colleagues is fond of saying you cut down the risk of a recruiting mistake if the Pitt coaches get to see them workout at the UPMC complex. It is not a perfect system but it improves your chance of getting a good football player if you see them workout at your facility.
Approximately 3,400 players will attend the Nike Camps. We like them to attend because it helps us get a photo taken by a professional photographer. When we have to rely on a picture provided by a player it often is a year old. That means we get often look at him as a sophomore.
Rivals.com has now made it possible to receive radio segments via iPods or MP3 players. To listen to Rivals.com Radio shows and interviews on your iPod or other MP3 player through iTunes (download at http://www.apple.com/itunes/), just click on the Podcast menu option, then click on the Sports category and scroll down to Rivals.com Radio Shows and Rivals.com Radio Interviews.
That's all there is to it! Now you can listen to Rivals.com Radio at your convenience on your MP3 player.
Rivals will often tell publishers the best way to grow subscriptions is for your school to hire a new coach. That certainly has happened at the Pantherlair when Pitt hired Dave Wannstedt. The Pantherlair has experience significant growth as Coach Wannstedt has reenergized the Pitt fan base.
When Notre Dame hired Charlie Weis as their new coach the Notre Dame site went through the roof. The Notre Dame site has enjoyed explosive growth this year. Rivals.com gave them a plaque at the annual convention recognized their growth this year. You can expect that many Notre Dame fans will wander over to the free football message board between now and Labor Day. They will go away after the game is played. Pitt can send them away quickly by beating the Fighting Irish for the second year in a row. There is a reason they call it Rivals.com.
Several weeks ago we told you Pitt was close to a deal with a Big Ten team that will open the season ranked in the Top 10 in the country. We had heard that Pitt was close to announcing a deal with Iowa. At the time we did not know if it was a two-year deal or a four-year deal. Over the next several years Pitt has non-conference games with Notre Dame, Michigan State, Iowa, North Carolina State, Virginia Tech, Miami, Navy and Clemson. There is still work to be done but Jeff Long is slowly plugging a few holes. Who knows maybe someone in Happy Valley will realize that deals can get done if you are a little creative? Maybe a deal similar to the Iowa deal is the answer.
Pitt also released their conference basketball schedule yesterday. You can find the Pitt press release on either of the basketball message boards.
In case you missed Jeremy Crabtree post he has given the answer to one of our most popular questions. When will Rivals.com pass out more stars?
July 11: Rivals250 release
July 13: Assignment of four stars
July 18: Rivals100 ratings for all four stars
August 2: Rivals100 and state rankings updates
August 4: Assignment of three-stars
From the desk of Harry G. Psaros
Vernon Smith Update
The University of Pittsburgh added several quality players in the football recruiting class of 2004. One of the top players in the class was linebacker Vernon “Pig” Smith (5 foot 11 inches, 235 pounds) from Dillard High School in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Rivals.com ranked Vernon the 11th best middle linebacker in the nation. He chose the Panthers over Kansas State and Mississippi State. Smith was on track to join the Panthers until he failed to qualify academically. He is currently attending Butler Community College in El Dorado, KS.
To gain an update on Smith’s status, the Pantherlair.com spoke with Butler Community College Head Football Coach Troy Morrell. “Vernon is here this summer and he’s been working very hard. He came to us as a commitment to the University of Pittsburgh and we expect him to remain a Panther. Vernon is heading into his second season here as our starting middle linebacker,” stated Coach Morrell.
Smith registered 44 tackles (24 solo tackles), 6 tackles for a loss, 2 sacks and 1 forced fumble his first season with the Grizzlies. Butler Community College finished their season with an outstanding 11-1 record. The Grizzlies finished the season a runner-up to Pearl River Community College in the NJCAA Championship game.
“Vernon is performing well here and he expects to be attending the University of Pittsburgh at the end of his sophomore season.”
Smith was known as an aggressive and physical football player. He was notorious for hitting ability. Vernon came to Pitt as a package deal with friend and teammate Kelvin Chandler.
Pantherlair.com note: The coaching staff at the University of Pittsburgh has already received verbal commitments from the top three linebackers in Western Pennsylvania: Nate Nix from Thomas Jefferson High School, Greg Webster from Woodland Hills High School and Dan Loheyde from Gateway High School. We are skeptical whether this coaching staff will honor the commitment of a prior coaching staff. In fact they have told one of the linebackers they will take no more. They indicated to this recruit that they would not be taking any more linebackers. In addition we are skeptical they have room with the scholarship limitations they are working under. Vernon may still be working hard to get to Pitt but will there be any room at the inn? We will report our findings in the future. We are skeptical.
This post was edited on 7/8 7:17 AM by Jim Pantherlairif(GetAdminCookie() != 0) {document.write(' (Revisions[/URL])');}
From the desk of Jim Snyder
[/B]Some recruiting thoughts and odds and ends [/B]
Pitt has a verbal commitment from Seneca Valley’s quarterback Kevan Smith. The Pitt staff will try to take a second quarterback this year. They have currently have offers out to Thaddeus Lewis and Dexter Davidson. (Note: Pat Devlin committed to Miami yesterday). In a perfect world that is probably the order of preference. Lewis will be the more heavily recruited of the two. Lewis currently has eight (8) offers while Davidson has four (4). We believe that is also the ranking at the UPMC complex. Dexter Davidson, however, is leaning heavily to Pitt. His “official” visit is now scheduled for Labor Day weekend. Lewis appears willing to wait until after his senior season right now. At this point it appears if the Pitt staff wants an early commitment from a second quarterback Davidson is their best shot.
Bishop McDevitt’s LeSean McCoy has been slow to name favorites. From what we have observed he seems to enjoy the recruiting process. We do not expect him to make a decision until very late in the process. We think the Pitt coaches will not wait if they can get a commitment from a quality running back. Running back Kevin Collier from the Rochester, New York area has visited Pitt four times including a visit last Friday. Early this week he again talked to Coach Walker by phone. He told us he now has Dave Wannstedt’s cell phone number. One of our sources feels he will commit to Pitt in July. We agree that appears to be where this is headed. He told us yesterday he would make a decision before his team goes to fall camp in August. You never can be sure with teenagers during the recruiting process but he could be the next to commit to the Panthers.
In the early stages of the recruiting process most of the heights and weights come from high school coaches. They often know what college coaches are looking for and unfortunately some will hype the kids. It is one of the reasons so much money is spent on the Nike Camps. Student Sports, which is an affiliate of the Rivals network, organizes the camps. They bring in coaches to run the camps. These camps give us verified heights and weights. Look for the Nike check marks in the database. Most of the camps are held in the spring or early summer following a player’s junior year. These prospects are teens so many are not done growing. Nike times, heights and weights do give you a good reference point at a certain point in time.
College coaches try their best to get prospects to their camp. They want their own measurements. Are they really as tall as they say they are? Are they as fast? One of our colleagues is fond of saying you cut down the risk of a recruiting mistake if the Pitt coaches get to see them workout at the UPMC complex. It is not a perfect system but it improves your chance of getting a good football player if you see them workout at your facility.
Approximately 3,400 players will attend the Nike Camps. We like them to attend because it helps us get a photo taken by a professional photographer. When we have to rely on a picture provided by a player it often is a year old. That means we get often look at him as a sophomore.
Rivals.com has now made it possible to receive radio segments via iPods or MP3 players. To listen to Rivals.com Radio shows and interviews on your iPod or other MP3 player through iTunes (download at http://www.apple.com/itunes/), just click on the Podcast menu option, then click on the Sports category and scroll down to Rivals.com Radio Shows and Rivals.com Radio Interviews.
That's all there is to it! Now you can listen to Rivals.com Radio at your convenience on your MP3 player.
Rivals will often tell publishers the best way to grow subscriptions is for your school to hire a new coach. That certainly has happened at the Pantherlair when Pitt hired Dave Wannstedt. The Pantherlair has experience significant growth as Coach Wannstedt has reenergized the Pitt fan base.
When Notre Dame hired Charlie Weis as their new coach the Notre Dame site went through the roof. The Notre Dame site has enjoyed explosive growth this year. Rivals.com gave them a plaque at the annual convention recognized their growth this year. You can expect that many Notre Dame fans will wander over to the free football message board between now and Labor Day. They will go away after the game is played. Pitt can send them away quickly by beating the Fighting Irish for the second year in a row. There is a reason they call it Rivals.com.
Several weeks ago we told you Pitt was close to a deal with a Big Ten team that will open the season ranked in the Top 10 in the country. We had heard that Pitt was close to announcing a deal with Iowa. At the time we did not know if it was a two-year deal or a four-year deal. Over the next several years Pitt has non-conference games with Notre Dame, Michigan State, Iowa, North Carolina State, Virginia Tech, Miami, Navy and Clemson. There is still work to be done but Jeff Long is slowly plugging a few holes. Who knows maybe someone in Happy Valley will realize that deals can get done if you are a little creative? Maybe a deal similar to the Iowa deal is the answer.
Pitt also released their conference basketball schedule yesterday. You can find the Pitt press release on either of the basketball message boards.
In case you missed Jeremy Crabtree post he has given the answer to one of our most popular questions. When will Rivals.com pass out more stars?
July 11: Rivals250 release
July 13: Assignment of four stars
July 18: Rivals100 ratings for all four stars
August 2: Rivals100 and state rankings updates
August 4: Assignment of three-stars
From the desk of Harry G. Psaros
Vernon Smith Update
The University of Pittsburgh added several quality players in the football recruiting class of 2004. One of the top players in the class was linebacker Vernon “Pig” Smith (5 foot 11 inches, 235 pounds) from Dillard High School in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Rivals.com ranked Vernon the 11th best middle linebacker in the nation. He chose the Panthers over Kansas State and Mississippi State. Smith was on track to join the Panthers until he failed to qualify academically. He is currently attending Butler Community College in El Dorado, KS.
To gain an update on Smith’s status, the Pantherlair.com spoke with Butler Community College Head Football Coach Troy Morrell. “Vernon is here this summer and he’s been working very hard. He came to us as a commitment to the University of Pittsburgh and we expect him to remain a Panther. Vernon is heading into his second season here as our starting middle linebacker,” stated Coach Morrell.
Smith registered 44 tackles (24 solo tackles), 6 tackles for a loss, 2 sacks and 1 forced fumble his first season with the Grizzlies. Butler Community College finished their season with an outstanding 11-1 record. The Grizzlies finished the season a runner-up to Pearl River Community College in the NJCAA Championship game.
“Vernon is performing well here and he expects to be attending the University of Pittsburgh at the end of his sophomore season.”
Smith was known as an aggressive and physical football player. He was notorious for hitting ability. Vernon came to Pitt as a package deal with friend and teammate Kelvin Chandler.
Pantherlair.com note: The coaching staff at the University of Pittsburgh has already received verbal commitments from the top three linebackers in Western Pennsylvania: Nate Nix from Thomas Jefferson High School, Greg Webster from Woodland Hills High School and Dan Loheyde from Gateway High School. We are skeptical whether this coaching staff will honor the commitment of a prior coaching staff. In fact they have told one of the linebackers they will take no more. They indicated to this recruit that they would not be taking any more linebackers. In addition we are skeptical they have room with the scholarship limitations they are working under. Vernon may still be working hard to get to Pitt but will there be any room at the inn? We will report our findings in the future. We are skeptical.
This post was edited on 7/8 7:17 AM by Jim Pantherlairif(GetAdminCookie() != 0) {document.write(' (Revisions[/URL])');}
