From the desk of Jim Snyder
Technical problems with the Ticker
Over the past week we have battled technical problems where the Ticker on the Home Page was not moving. Unfortunately it is a busy time in the recruiting season. From Monday through Thursday we had 64 articles come pouring across the Ticker for an average of 16 per day. I have tried to link some of the ones I thought were most interesting to the Between Fifth & Forbes Board but you might want to check the Ticker yourself in case I missed a few that might be of interest to you.
Some hoops talk
A couple of weeks ago we reported that Pitt might only have one scholarship to give for the Class of 2009 with the commitment of Lancaster McCaskey’s Lamar Patterson (6’ 5”) and the strong possibility that Pitt will get Darnell Dodson (6’ 7”) back once he has complete his academic requirements at a junior college in Miami.
Pitt needs to land a big man if possible and possibly two if another scholarship opens up. Forwards Sam Young and Tyrell Biggs will both be seniors next year.
The three at the top of the list appear to be:
1) Dante Taylor (6’ 8”) Ft Washington, MD (Pitt and Maryland)
2) Andrew Fitzgerald (6’ 9”) Owings Mills, MD (Pitt, Xavier and Kentucky)
3) Dan Jennings (6’ 8”) (Pitt, Memphis, West Virginia & others)
We reported on Dante Taylor when he was at the Jam Fest in Pittsburgh. This week the Maryland site also reported on him. Taylor is the No. 1 target of the Maryland Terps. They have already landed Jin Soo Kim (6’ 9”) so maybe that will work in Pitt's favor.
Should Pitt fail to land one off the list above or if they decide to take two several others come into play.
1) Zeke Marshall (6’ 11”) McKeesport, Pa.
2) Aaric Murray (6’ 10”) Glen Mills, Pa.
3) David Bruce (6’ 9”) Linden, NJ
4) Maurice Walker (6’ 10’) Toronto, Canada
5) Julius Omoniurhie (6’ 10”) Olney, Md.
This weekend Dan Jennings is scheduled to play in the Arizona Classic and Rivals.com will be there reporting.
My personal wish list would be to see them land both Dante Taylor and Zeke Marshall.
We had an article on the Ticker this week that indicated small forward Brian Oliver has Pitt in his top five. I am a little skeptical that Pitt would take a small forward or a guard unless they get a report that suggests Nasir Robison or Darnell Dodson may not qualify.
Everyone loves the Big East Conference
Approximately 10 days ago Rivals.com picked UConn as the No. 1 team in the country in basketball next year with Pitt closely behind at No. 2. They also had 7 Big East teams in the Top 15 and 10 Big East teams in the Top 35.
In theory this would give the Big East 10 NCAA Tournament teams. The chances are these teams will beat each other up and it will not play out that way but having 8 or maybe 9 teams participating in the Big Dance might not be unreasonable.
This week Dennis Dodd from CBS Sportsline predicted Pitt would crack the Top 25 in football this year and had them ranked No. 22. Dodd is so in love with the Big East he has five teams in the Top 25. Here is how he ranks Big East teams.
No. 9 West Virginia
No. 19 South Florida
No. 21 Connecticut
No. 22 Pitt
No. 25 Cincinnati
Pitt must play three of these teams on the road with only West Virginia at home. Rivals.com had a video this week. I hope you got to see it. It suggests they too will pick West Virginia to win the Big East but that Pitt should be ready to make a move up the Big East ladder and perhaps challenge them for a conference championship.
Last week the Big East announced they will fill 6 bowl slots this year with the addition of the bowl in St Petersburg. They will now play the SEC in the Papa John Bowl in Birmingham, Alabama and Conference USA in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Not bad when an 8 team league gets 6 bowl slots.
Big East Commissioner Mike Tranghese still has work to do but my guess the thought of 8-9 basketball teams in the NCAA tournament and 6 teams in bowls this coming season has to have him smiling a lot these days.
Here is what the Big East Bowl slots should look like this year:
1) BCS Bowl (the championship game is in Miami this year)
2) Gator/Sun Bowl (it should be the Gator Bowl’s turn- versus the ACC)
3) Meinke Car Care Bowl in Charlotte (versus the ACC)
4) International Bowl in Toronto (versus the MAC)
5) St. Petersburg Bowl (versus Conference USA)
6) Papa John Bowl (versus the SEC)
Note: The Big East was slated to supply a team to the Texas Bowl in Houston in 2008. I am assuming that obligation no longer exits. Start saving now. With six bowl slots to fill Pitt should be back in the bowl picture after a three year drought.
Recruiting Florida
Each year Pitt seems to pull at least one player out of Florida and in some years more. We had reported a few weeks ago that Pitt has offered three (3) players off the state championship team in Naples, Florida.
This week we reported the Pitt staff has offered linebackers Shane Gordon and Austin Gamble plus running back Jason Douglas from Cypress Bay. This program is friendly to Pitt so we should keep one eye on all three.
The camping season
This week we had two reports from the Elite Camp at the Cleveland Browns Stadium. Last year Chris Ball and Paul Rhoads recruited Ohio. Now that they are no longer on the Pitt coaching staff recruiting it seems to be unfolding at a slower pace in Ohio this year. Hopefully it will pick up as the spring Evaluation Period unfolds. Quarterback Patrick Nicely from Willoughby, Ohio looks like he is about to explode. It will be interesting to see if Pitt offers him.
Yesterday they held the Big Time Showcase at Rutgers. We have a couple of articles up on the Ticker from the Rutgers site this morning. I would expect at least one from a Rivals analyst later this morning. Several players with Pitt offers attended this event. Quarterback Emmanuel Yeager was named the Offensive MVP. Yeager has an offer from Pitt.
Today the Nike Camp circuit moves to Columbus, Ohio and on Saturday it moves to State College. We should have several reports over the next few days. We talked to quite a few prospects over the past two weeks who indicated they would be at the Nike Camp on Saturday. Here is a partial list of some that have registered. We have listed their shirt number and if Pitt has offered (o).
Tavon Austin (o) RB Baltimore Dunbar No. 556
E.J. Banks (o) Ath Montour No. 799
Adam Bostick TE Manheim, Twp. No. 747
Corey Brown (o) DB/WR Gateway No. 519
Justin Brown (o) WR Concord, DE No. 519
Paul Caliguire OL Montour No. 861
Paul Carrezola (o) TE Neshaminy No. 752
Jaleel Clark (o) WR Parkland No. 753
Jay Colbert DE Neshaminy No. 613
Brock DeCicco (o) TE Thomas Jefferson No. 616
Pat Eger OL Thomas Jefferson No. 894
Tyrone Ezell (o) DT Steel Valley No. 895
A.J. Fenton (o) RB/LB Erie McDowell No. 759
Adam Gress OL West Mifflin No. 897
Duron Harmon (o) Delaware No. 678
Dave Istanich OL Johnstown No. 873
Nick Kindler OL Trinity No. 528
Jack Lippert (o) DE Central Dauphin No. 768
Dan Mason (o) LB Penn Hills No. 638
Pat Nicely QB South Willoughby, Ohio No. 773
Cory Nolton DE Baldwin No. 815
Jordan Paskorz DE/LB Hampton No. 775
Mike Poplaski TE Mechanicsburg No. 778
Colin Rodkey OL Gateway NO. 783
B.J. Stevens DE Gateway No. 819
Derrick Thomas (o) DB Eleanor Roosevelt No. 550
Kevin Weatherspoon WR/DB Clairton No. 573
John Wetzel OL Brashear No. 904
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 5/9 9:03 AM by Jim Pantherlair
Technical problems with the Ticker
Over the past week we have battled technical problems where the Ticker on the Home Page was not moving. Unfortunately it is a busy time in the recruiting season. From Monday through Thursday we had 64 articles come pouring across the Ticker for an average of 16 per day. I have tried to link some of the ones I thought were most interesting to the Between Fifth & Forbes Board but you might want to check the Ticker yourself in case I missed a few that might be of interest to you.
Some hoops talk
A couple of weeks ago we reported that Pitt might only have one scholarship to give for the Class of 2009 with the commitment of Lancaster McCaskey’s Lamar Patterson (6’ 5”) and the strong possibility that Pitt will get Darnell Dodson (6’ 7”) back once he has complete his academic requirements at a junior college in Miami.
Pitt needs to land a big man if possible and possibly two if another scholarship opens up. Forwards Sam Young and Tyrell Biggs will both be seniors next year.
The three at the top of the list appear to be:
1) Dante Taylor (6’ 8”) Ft Washington, MD (Pitt and Maryland)
2) Andrew Fitzgerald (6’ 9”) Owings Mills, MD (Pitt, Xavier and Kentucky)
3) Dan Jennings (6’ 8”) (Pitt, Memphis, West Virginia & others)
We reported on Dante Taylor when he was at the Jam Fest in Pittsburgh. This week the Maryland site also reported on him. Taylor is the No. 1 target of the Maryland Terps. They have already landed Jin Soo Kim (6’ 9”) so maybe that will work in Pitt's favor.
Should Pitt fail to land one off the list above or if they decide to take two several others come into play.
1) Zeke Marshall (6’ 11”) McKeesport, Pa.
2) Aaric Murray (6’ 10”) Glen Mills, Pa.
3) David Bruce (6’ 9”) Linden, NJ
4) Maurice Walker (6’ 10’) Toronto, Canada
5) Julius Omoniurhie (6’ 10”) Olney, Md.
This weekend Dan Jennings is scheduled to play in the Arizona Classic and Rivals.com will be there reporting.
My personal wish list would be to see them land both Dante Taylor and Zeke Marshall.
We had an article on the Ticker this week that indicated small forward Brian Oliver has Pitt in his top five. I am a little skeptical that Pitt would take a small forward or a guard unless they get a report that suggests Nasir Robison or Darnell Dodson may not qualify.
Everyone loves the Big East Conference
Approximately 10 days ago Rivals.com picked UConn as the No. 1 team in the country in basketball next year with Pitt closely behind at No. 2. They also had 7 Big East teams in the Top 15 and 10 Big East teams in the Top 35.
In theory this would give the Big East 10 NCAA Tournament teams. The chances are these teams will beat each other up and it will not play out that way but having 8 or maybe 9 teams participating in the Big Dance might not be unreasonable.
This week Dennis Dodd from CBS Sportsline predicted Pitt would crack the Top 25 in football this year and had them ranked No. 22. Dodd is so in love with the Big East he has five teams in the Top 25. Here is how he ranks Big East teams.
No. 9 West Virginia
No. 19 South Florida
No. 21 Connecticut
No. 22 Pitt
No. 25 Cincinnati
Pitt must play three of these teams on the road with only West Virginia at home. Rivals.com had a video this week. I hope you got to see it. It suggests they too will pick West Virginia to win the Big East but that Pitt should be ready to make a move up the Big East ladder and perhaps challenge them for a conference championship.
Last week the Big East announced they will fill 6 bowl slots this year with the addition of the bowl in St Petersburg. They will now play the SEC in the Papa John Bowl in Birmingham, Alabama and Conference USA in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Not bad when an 8 team league gets 6 bowl slots.
Big East Commissioner Mike Tranghese still has work to do but my guess the thought of 8-9 basketball teams in the NCAA tournament and 6 teams in bowls this coming season has to have him smiling a lot these days.
Here is what the Big East Bowl slots should look like this year:
1) BCS Bowl (the championship game is in Miami this year)
2) Gator/Sun Bowl (it should be the Gator Bowl’s turn- versus the ACC)
3) Meinke Car Care Bowl in Charlotte (versus the ACC)
4) International Bowl in Toronto (versus the MAC)
5) St. Petersburg Bowl (versus Conference USA)
6) Papa John Bowl (versus the SEC)
Note: The Big East was slated to supply a team to the Texas Bowl in Houston in 2008. I am assuming that obligation no longer exits. Start saving now. With six bowl slots to fill Pitt should be back in the bowl picture after a three year drought.
Recruiting Florida
Each year Pitt seems to pull at least one player out of Florida and in some years more. We had reported a few weeks ago that Pitt has offered three (3) players off the state championship team in Naples, Florida.
This week we reported the Pitt staff has offered linebackers Shane Gordon and Austin Gamble plus running back Jason Douglas from Cypress Bay. This program is friendly to Pitt so we should keep one eye on all three.
The camping season
This week we had two reports from the Elite Camp at the Cleveland Browns Stadium. Last year Chris Ball and Paul Rhoads recruited Ohio. Now that they are no longer on the Pitt coaching staff recruiting it seems to be unfolding at a slower pace in Ohio this year. Hopefully it will pick up as the spring Evaluation Period unfolds. Quarterback Patrick Nicely from Willoughby, Ohio looks like he is about to explode. It will be interesting to see if Pitt offers him.
Yesterday they held the Big Time Showcase at Rutgers. We have a couple of articles up on the Ticker from the Rutgers site this morning. I would expect at least one from a Rivals analyst later this morning. Several players with Pitt offers attended this event. Quarterback Emmanuel Yeager was named the Offensive MVP. Yeager has an offer from Pitt.
Today the Nike Camp circuit moves to Columbus, Ohio and on Saturday it moves to State College. We should have several reports over the next few days. We talked to quite a few prospects over the past two weeks who indicated they would be at the Nike Camp on Saturday. Here is a partial list of some that have registered. We have listed their shirt number and if Pitt has offered (o).
Tavon Austin (o) RB Baltimore Dunbar No. 556
E.J. Banks (o) Ath Montour No. 799
Adam Bostick TE Manheim, Twp. No. 747
Corey Brown (o) DB/WR Gateway No. 519
Justin Brown (o) WR Concord, DE No. 519
Paul Caliguire OL Montour No. 861
Paul Carrezola (o) TE Neshaminy No. 752
Jaleel Clark (o) WR Parkland No. 753
Jay Colbert DE Neshaminy No. 613
Brock DeCicco (o) TE Thomas Jefferson No. 616
Pat Eger OL Thomas Jefferson No. 894
Tyrone Ezell (o) DT Steel Valley No. 895
A.J. Fenton (o) RB/LB Erie McDowell No. 759
Adam Gress OL West Mifflin No. 897
Duron Harmon (o) Delaware No. 678
Dave Istanich OL Johnstown No. 873
Nick Kindler OL Trinity No. 528
Jack Lippert (o) DE Central Dauphin No. 768
Dan Mason (o) LB Penn Hills No. 638
Pat Nicely QB South Willoughby, Ohio No. 773
Cory Nolton DE Baldwin No. 815
Jordan Paskorz DE/LB Hampton No. 775
Mike Poplaski TE Mechanicsburg No. 778
Colin Rodkey OL Gateway NO. 783
B.J. Stevens DE Gateway No. 819
Derrick Thomas (o) DB Eleanor Roosevelt No. 550
Kevin Weatherspoon WR/DB Clairton No. 573
John Wetzel OL Brashear No. 904
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 5/9 9:03 AM by Jim Pantherlair
