From the desk of Jim Snyder
The Panthers are getting very young
Pitt lists 9 freshmen on offense and 8 on defense on this week’s two-deep chart. This is counting both true freshman and redshirt freshman. This represents 17 players with no college game experience prior to this year. Pitt has played 10 true freshmen in their first six games plus kicker Cody Sawhill who is a walk-on freshman. Most teams play 5-6 true freshmen. Pitt is taking their beatings with the young players but hopefully over time it will pay off.
Last week Dave Wannstedt had praise for redshirt freshman kicker Conor Lee. He basically said that based on practices he kicks right with Josh Cummings and David Abdul. He would feel very comfortable with any one of the three kicking but will go with the guys with more experience. Connor Lee is the reason you can be certain Pitt will not offer a scholarship this year to a placekicker.
Some things I think I think
There are some that question if Tyler Palko is suffering from a “tired arm”. His passes just don’t seem to have the zip on them that they did last year and he occasionally under throws receivers. Reporters have asked Coach Wannstedt who has reassured the media his arm is fine. He had the hand problem but not an arm problem. Walt Harris often praised Tyler Palko for his accuracy but he does not appear to be as accurate this year. You just can’t stop wondering.
As Pitt came out of camp Dave Wannstedt talked about how many scrimmage plays Pitt ran in fall camp. He said that Matt Cavanaugh remarked it was twice as many as an NFL team runs. At Rutgers 8 of the top 9 running backs were injured. Did Pitt leave their game on the practice field? I know some of these injuries occurred during games but bumps and bruises can add up. This may dovetail into the previous paragraph.
I keep reminding myself that Pete Carroll started out 2-5 and I am sure that Pete Carroll had a whole lot more talent on hand than Dave Wannstedt found when he took over at Pitt.
In case you missed it the Pitt-Syracuse kickoff has been set for Noon. It will be the Big East Game of the Week and will be televised locally by WTAE-TV.
If you are thinking of converting to an annual subscription this might be a good time. The annual recruiting Yearbook’s will go to the printer late this month and will be mailed on November 10th. You will save money plus get the Yearbook and AMP access. I believe they plan on selling the Yearbook for $9.95 but it is free to annual subscribers. The cost of the annual subscription is $8.83 per month versus $9.95 per month. Call Customer Service at 1-866-274-8257 (1-866-2Rivals) and they will take care of you.
There was a report this past week that the SEC will give up one of their bowl slots now that they have signed with the Liberty Bowl. The speculation is that they will give up their slot in the Independence bowl. I am not sure if this will have any effect of the Big East Conference.
Some recruiting thoughts
Just when you think you have heard it all. Last weekend forward Austin Wallace visited Pitt. Wallace raved about his visit to Pittsburgh. Harry did a follow up call and the kid told Harry his parents were leaning on him to go to Florida Atlantic. As I am writing this no decision has been made. I kind of liked the fact that Wallace was only 16 years old and still growing. He might grow into a nice replacement for Aaron Gray and Levon Kendall once they graduate.
The first team rankings came out this week and Pitt was ranked 7th in the country by Rivals.com. To maintain this ranking Pitt will need commitments from several other players. The number of prospects signed influences these rankings. Florida State, Tennessee, Southern Cal and others traditionally get commitments in December and January. They will climb into the top 10 before it is over. You can find the team rankings in the football database. I believe Rivals plans to update these once a week through February.
Right now Pitt has 17 verbals plus they must account for grayshirt Kevin Hughes. Hughes is currently at Pitt, as a part-time student, and will be on full scholarship in January. The number we hear for the Class of 2006 is 22 but we have a hunch that that number might grow to 25 because of the poor start this team has experienced. We should exercise care when spreading rumors about players transferring. Players usually do not transfer in the middle of a semester. History tells me the staff will sit down with players after the season. A few will be told there may not be a future for them playing football at Pitt. Pitt would be very reluctant to take away a scholarship but coaches have ways of telling players they might be better off at another school. Some of these transfers might not coming until next spring.
Linebacker Vernon “Pig” Smith has told a number of reporters including Harry Psaros of the Pantherlair and Jeremy Crabtree of Rivals.com that he hopes to graduate this year from Butler Junior College and attend Pitt. He often makes statement s like “I have not heard from them for a while”. This tends to set of warning signs in a reporters head. We have made inquiries on the Southside and so far he does not seem to be high on the radar screen. We get responses like, “We are not even sure he has his grades in order.” Rivals.com is in the process of evaluating junior college players. As a part of this process Jeremy will attend the Coffeyville-Butler junior college game this week and he will speak to the Butler coach. Maybe he can help us sort this out.
One of our subscribers asked for a new top ten. Here is a list based on our thoughts on need plus factoring in Pitt’s chances of actually landing the player.
1) Jared Martin –defensive tackle
2) Jason Diehl-offensive lineman
3) Geno Atkins-defensive lineman
4) Aaron Berry- defensive back
5) Audie Augustine-defensive end
6) Tamarcus Porter-defensive back/wide receiver
7) Jeff Otah-Offensive tackle
8) Elijah Fields-defensive back
9) Clarence Bailey-offensive tackle
10) Lucas Caparelli-safety
All of these players with the exception of Clarence Bailey currently have an offer. Pitt is still in the early phase of evaluating junior college players. At the end of the day it might not be Bailey but another junior college tackle. We are not a big proponent of junior college players but Pitt is very thin at offensive tackle and we think they need short-term help.
I was speaking to Franklin Regional coach Greg Botta this week. The primary purpose of the call was about Pitt recruit John Malecki but we eventually got around to talking about his running back Robbie Armstrong. Franklin is now 6-1 after beating Knoch 44-14. This week they travel to play Kiski Area.
Armstrong has been injured off and on throughout his career with the most serious injury being a broken foot, which required screws being inserted in his junior year. He broke his hand as a sophomore. He missed a couple of games this year with a hyper-extended elbow. He described Armstrong as a wild man who thinks it is his obligation to score every time he touches the ball. Armstrong has had some big games for the Franklin Panthers. He rushed for 195 yards their opener and 203 yards in another game.
Robbie Armstrong is 6’ 2 ½ inches and weighs 207 pounds. He has a 3.86 GPA. His coach tells us that he has recently drawn interest from Toledo, Pitt and Cincinnati. Toledo appears to be closest to offering.
From the desk of Chris Peak
There’s been a lot of talk lately about the ‘youth movement’ taking place in the Southside. I’ve written about it, Jim mentioned it above, and I know the writers at the papers have covered it this week as well. The most important thing to realize about this is that Dave Wannstedt has not given up on the season. It would be easy to look at the increased playing time of freshmen like Conredge Collins, Rashaad Duncan, John Bachman, CJ Davis, and Gus Mustakas as a sign that Wannstedt has decided to pack it in and get ready for next season. Granted, the playing time these young players experience now will have them better prepared for the future, when they will all be starters, but the simple fact is that these guys are the best options to back up the current starters. In the case of CJ, he’s actually become the best option at left guard, hence his starting role this week. Don’t be surprised if he retains that position throughout the season. The same goes for the others: who else is going to fill in for Charles Spencer at left tackle, especially now that Jerald Robinson is gone? Bachman is the best option. Not only do these guys give the team the best chance to win, but this will all pay dividends in the future, particularly on the offensive line.
Not surprisingly, the Pitt statistics crew doesn’t keep track of dropped passes and missed tackles. Actually, they most likely do but that information is not released to the media. You can bet that the coaches have the numbers, though. And you can bet that the coaches have been all over the defense for missed tackles, particularly after the Cincinnati game, when a number of plays were extended by sloppy tackling. The Panthers will have to improve in that area against a South Florida team that likes to create one-on-one situations. If you don’t wrap-up the Bulls, they will torch you with their speed. For all the things they do great, cornerbacks Darrelle Revis and Josh Lay need to improve in this area (to be fair, that’s probably the only thing Revis has done less than spectacularly). The dropped passes, particularly by Greg Lee also need to stop. If not, expect to see more and more throws to Darrell Strong and Derek Kinder. Strong has shown to have quite possibly the best hands on the team, and Kinder gets more reliable every week.
One final thought: as crazy as it seems, there’s still a chance that this team can earn a bowl bid, and quite possibly win the conference. I know there have been a lot of low points this season, but do you get the feeling that this team could surprise everyone and turn it on against Louisville and West Virginia, maybe even running the table to another BCS bowl? I’m not saying it will happen, but it certainly seems plausible.
Also, be sure to tune in to ESPN Radio 1250 tomorrow for the Blue-Gold Pre-game show. Tim Benz hosts and has a number of quality interviews and guests, including Chris Peak of the Pantherlair.
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.
The Panthers are getting very young
Pitt lists 9 freshmen on offense and 8 on defense on this week’s two-deep chart. This is counting both true freshman and redshirt freshman. This represents 17 players with no college game experience prior to this year. Pitt has played 10 true freshmen in their first six games plus kicker Cody Sawhill who is a walk-on freshman. Most teams play 5-6 true freshmen. Pitt is taking their beatings with the young players but hopefully over time it will pay off.
Last week Dave Wannstedt had praise for redshirt freshman kicker Conor Lee. He basically said that based on practices he kicks right with Josh Cummings and David Abdul. He would feel very comfortable with any one of the three kicking but will go with the guys with more experience. Connor Lee is the reason you can be certain Pitt will not offer a scholarship this year to a placekicker.
Some things I think I think
There are some that question if Tyler Palko is suffering from a “tired arm”. His passes just don’t seem to have the zip on them that they did last year and he occasionally under throws receivers. Reporters have asked Coach Wannstedt who has reassured the media his arm is fine. He had the hand problem but not an arm problem. Walt Harris often praised Tyler Palko for his accuracy but he does not appear to be as accurate this year. You just can’t stop wondering.
As Pitt came out of camp Dave Wannstedt talked about how many scrimmage plays Pitt ran in fall camp. He said that Matt Cavanaugh remarked it was twice as many as an NFL team runs. At Rutgers 8 of the top 9 running backs were injured. Did Pitt leave their game on the practice field? I know some of these injuries occurred during games but bumps and bruises can add up. This may dovetail into the previous paragraph.
I keep reminding myself that Pete Carroll started out 2-5 and I am sure that Pete Carroll had a whole lot more talent on hand than Dave Wannstedt found when he took over at Pitt.
In case you missed it the Pitt-Syracuse kickoff has been set for Noon. It will be the Big East Game of the Week and will be televised locally by WTAE-TV.
If you are thinking of converting to an annual subscription this might be a good time. The annual recruiting Yearbook’s will go to the printer late this month and will be mailed on November 10th. You will save money plus get the Yearbook and AMP access. I believe they plan on selling the Yearbook for $9.95 but it is free to annual subscribers. The cost of the annual subscription is $8.83 per month versus $9.95 per month. Call Customer Service at 1-866-274-8257 (1-866-2Rivals) and they will take care of you.
There was a report this past week that the SEC will give up one of their bowl slots now that they have signed with the Liberty Bowl. The speculation is that they will give up their slot in the Independence bowl. I am not sure if this will have any effect of the Big East Conference.
Some recruiting thoughts
Just when you think you have heard it all. Last weekend forward Austin Wallace visited Pitt. Wallace raved about his visit to Pittsburgh. Harry did a follow up call and the kid told Harry his parents were leaning on him to go to Florida Atlantic. As I am writing this no decision has been made. I kind of liked the fact that Wallace was only 16 years old and still growing. He might grow into a nice replacement for Aaron Gray and Levon Kendall once they graduate.
The first team rankings came out this week and Pitt was ranked 7th in the country by Rivals.com. To maintain this ranking Pitt will need commitments from several other players. The number of prospects signed influences these rankings. Florida State, Tennessee, Southern Cal and others traditionally get commitments in December and January. They will climb into the top 10 before it is over. You can find the team rankings in the football database. I believe Rivals plans to update these once a week through February.
Right now Pitt has 17 verbals plus they must account for grayshirt Kevin Hughes. Hughes is currently at Pitt, as a part-time student, and will be on full scholarship in January. The number we hear for the Class of 2006 is 22 but we have a hunch that that number might grow to 25 because of the poor start this team has experienced. We should exercise care when spreading rumors about players transferring. Players usually do not transfer in the middle of a semester. History tells me the staff will sit down with players after the season. A few will be told there may not be a future for them playing football at Pitt. Pitt would be very reluctant to take away a scholarship but coaches have ways of telling players they might be better off at another school. Some of these transfers might not coming until next spring.
Linebacker Vernon “Pig” Smith has told a number of reporters including Harry Psaros of the Pantherlair and Jeremy Crabtree of Rivals.com that he hopes to graduate this year from Butler Junior College and attend Pitt. He often makes statement s like “I have not heard from them for a while”. This tends to set of warning signs in a reporters head. We have made inquiries on the Southside and so far he does not seem to be high on the radar screen. We get responses like, “We are not even sure he has his grades in order.” Rivals.com is in the process of evaluating junior college players. As a part of this process Jeremy will attend the Coffeyville-Butler junior college game this week and he will speak to the Butler coach. Maybe he can help us sort this out.
One of our subscribers asked for a new top ten. Here is a list based on our thoughts on need plus factoring in Pitt’s chances of actually landing the player.
1) Jared Martin –defensive tackle
2) Jason Diehl-offensive lineman
3) Geno Atkins-defensive lineman
4) Aaron Berry- defensive back
5) Audie Augustine-defensive end
6) Tamarcus Porter-defensive back/wide receiver
7) Jeff Otah-Offensive tackle
8) Elijah Fields-defensive back
9) Clarence Bailey-offensive tackle
10) Lucas Caparelli-safety
All of these players with the exception of Clarence Bailey currently have an offer. Pitt is still in the early phase of evaluating junior college players. At the end of the day it might not be Bailey but another junior college tackle. We are not a big proponent of junior college players but Pitt is very thin at offensive tackle and we think they need short-term help.
I was speaking to Franklin Regional coach Greg Botta this week. The primary purpose of the call was about Pitt recruit John Malecki but we eventually got around to talking about his running back Robbie Armstrong. Franklin is now 6-1 after beating Knoch 44-14. This week they travel to play Kiski Area.
Armstrong has been injured off and on throughout his career with the most serious injury being a broken foot, which required screws being inserted in his junior year. He broke his hand as a sophomore. He missed a couple of games this year with a hyper-extended elbow. He described Armstrong as a wild man who thinks it is his obligation to score every time he touches the ball. Armstrong has had some big games for the Franklin Panthers. He rushed for 195 yards their opener and 203 yards in another game.
Robbie Armstrong is 6’ 2 ½ inches and weighs 207 pounds. He has a 3.86 GPA. His coach tells us that he has recently drawn interest from Toledo, Pitt and Cincinnati. Toledo appears to be closest to offering.
From the desk of Chris Peak
There’s been a lot of talk lately about the ‘youth movement’ taking place in the Southside. I’ve written about it, Jim mentioned it above, and I know the writers at the papers have covered it this week as well. The most important thing to realize about this is that Dave Wannstedt has not given up on the season. It would be easy to look at the increased playing time of freshmen like Conredge Collins, Rashaad Duncan, John Bachman, CJ Davis, and Gus Mustakas as a sign that Wannstedt has decided to pack it in and get ready for next season. Granted, the playing time these young players experience now will have them better prepared for the future, when they will all be starters, but the simple fact is that these guys are the best options to back up the current starters. In the case of CJ, he’s actually become the best option at left guard, hence his starting role this week. Don’t be surprised if he retains that position throughout the season. The same goes for the others: who else is going to fill in for Charles Spencer at left tackle, especially now that Jerald Robinson is gone? Bachman is the best option. Not only do these guys give the team the best chance to win, but this will all pay dividends in the future, particularly on the offensive line.
Not surprisingly, the Pitt statistics crew doesn’t keep track of dropped passes and missed tackles. Actually, they most likely do but that information is not released to the media. You can bet that the coaches have the numbers, though. And you can bet that the coaches have been all over the defense for missed tackles, particularly after the Cincinnati game, when a number of plays were extended by sloppy tackling. The Panthers will have to improve in that area against a South Florida team that likes to create one-on-one situations. If you don’t wrap-up the Bulls, they will torch you with their speed. For all the things they do great, cornerbacks Darrelle Revis and Josh Lay need to improve in this area (to be fair, that’s probably the only thing Revis has done less than spectacularly). The dropped passes, particularly by Greg Lee also need to stop. If not, expect to see more and more throws to Darrell Strong and Derek Kinder. Strong has shown to have quite possibly the best hands on the team, and Kinder gets more reliable every week.
One final thought: as crazy as it seems, there’s still a chance that this team can earn a bowl bid, and quite possibly win the conference. I know there have been a lot of low points this season, but do you get the feeling that this team could surprise everyone and turn it on against Louisville and West Virginia, maybe even running the table to another BCS bowl? I’m not saying it will happen, but it certainly seems plausible.
Also, be sure to tune in to ESPN Radio 1250 tomorrow for the Blue-Gold Pre-game show. Tim Benz hosts and has a number of quality interviews and guests, including Chris Peak of the Pantherlair.
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.
